Dragonmarks Elite: Golden Stream of Silver (IC)

[CozJa]

Chapter One: The Enemy Within



After completing his last mission, the fourth, for the Dragonmarks Elite, Blue was promoted to be officially a member of the Elites, one of the few Warforged able to reach past the level of ‘Affiliate’. Not that it meant anything: after all, ranks in the group are only a badge of valour to show between companions, and none of the agents has ever considered the chain of command something to follow strictly (or even loosely). It took some time for Blue to adapt to this concept of giving ranks without really using them, but Aaren programming was really well done, and as he used to say: “few warforged can show Blue’s ability to change and adapt to new situations”.
The warforged was invited on the moving fortress to meet with commander d’Phiarlan, and heard of new recruits. Now, it is time to meet them.


It was difficult for Dekland to convince you to join this trip with a bunch of dragonmarked fanatics. “Look, I know what you think of the houses, and you know you are often right! But this time… this time they are trying to do something good! I’ve seen them in action in the outskirt of the Eldeen reaches last year! They stopped an agent of the Lords of Dust and were even able to broker a peace between to druidic sects that were rivaling themselves for almost a century! You must go and see for yourself! Please, if not for yourself, at least do it for the Flame! You must heed its calling!”
Whether it was the Flame, Dekland, or the fact that a voyage like this was a novelty, you accepted the invitation, and there you are, waiting to meet one so called commander of those Phiarlan spies.



When traveling from Thrane to the next known stop of the moving fortress, Jack had the time to recall Tzandra words. “The Flame calls you there, something big is going happen, and you will find more things that lie burning beneath the surface.” Somewhat cryptic, especially from a Templar and not from a prophet, but words worth remembering. Meeting the Dragonmarks Elite the last year was almost a casualty, even if Jarlaxle never seem to act randomly; now, after that mission against the Lord of Dust pawns seemed more a defeat, at least in the eyes of some of the less accepting in the Church hierarchy, knowing that his work was appreciated by someone was a good news for Jack. Maybe what for Jack looked like a stop in his tracks, was actually a new beginning? After all, the Flame burns in mysterious ways...



A free week of travel in the most expensive (and slow) ship ever built was an interesting offer; at least that’s what said Gerad d’Medani, Master Inquisitive and agent of the Twelve who contacted you for the third time in less than a year. This time you accepted his offer: “Consider it a pleasure cruise, and maybe you’ll find that the work proposal of our commander is not as bad as you thought”. After all, looking at the Mournland from the windows of the fortress seemed safer than being out there. Now the week is passed, and it is time to meet this famous ‘commander’


http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/eberron/images/e/e6/Argonth.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090108212855

Argonth, the moving fortress, known in all Breland as a glorious relic of times that nobody really wants to live again.

The constant grind of metal gears and clockwork components creates a slow, steady, humming noise that somehow is not annoying as it should be; it even seem to disappear whenever you walk on the golden tiles covering the Great Hall’s floor. Surely king Boranel did not restrain himself in throwing money to transform this would-be fortress in an attraction and a manifest to Breland power.

Eera ir’Jalon, Argonth master of magic, told you to wait for her in the Great Hall, an immense room covered with paintings on the walls, depicting various scenes of the Last War, some stylized, some more realistic; all of them picture soldiers of Breland winning a fight or protecting innocent people. The eight columns sustaining the ceiling, which looks way higher in the inside than on the outside, are covered with purple drapes, while banners of the Bear, Breland national symbol, hang from the ceiling every two columns. All the place is clearly meant to impress its visitors, as few as they may be. Every voice echoes in the room, as if all of those who speak were empowered by some arcane manipulation.

It is only a matter of time before Eera comes back, but now only four figures stand in the Hall, and the humming gears feel more distant every second they wait, while the fortress seems to be still in place, even if the clockwork mechanisms are clearly declaring the opposite: from the distance, you perceive that they are turning faster.


Keeping there links to the OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?517523-Dragonmarks-Elite-Golden-Stream-of-Silver-(OOC))and your sheets

Inuurasha (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1105324)
Sgt. Jack Hammer (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1089758)
Sidara Kell (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1119186)
Blue (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1040967)

[Griff_Goodbeard]

Inuurasha looked over the hall and a slight chill crept up her spine. The whole fortress brought back unpleasant memories of The Last War. Her gaze lingered on the paintings, sadness in her eyes. She understood of course, people needed these images to rally their spirit after such a horrible period in history. She’d just as well prefer to forget. Forget the horrors war beset upon the lands of Khorvaire, forget the families torn apart, and the atrocities committed by neighbor against neighbor. Of course the scar on the land that is the Mournland, made forgetting impossible, and with the Treaty of Thronehold providing only the most fragile of peace the need to rally national pride was still paramount to the nations leaders. She’d seen the same happening in Thrane, though she’d done her best to shelter herself from the worst of it.

She was still dressed in a simple, traveling outfit common to the people of Adar, loose fitting and comfortable and a small holy symbol of the Silver Flame hung from her neck. She rubbed her neck and was thankful she’d decided to stow away her armor for the journey. I’m getting too old for this kind of thing, she recalled telling Dekland a week ago when he had approached her with the idea of traveling here and joining up with this peacekeeping squad. And standing here in the cavernous room she felt every bit of her hundred and ten years. Her spirit was resolute however. She had agreed to Dekland's request, with reservations, and before she left Thane had gone to take council with the Keeper, Jaela. She knew it enraged the Cardinal’s that Jaela granted her the occasional audience, but they dared not challenge the will of the Voice of the Flame. It had been jarring, when she met Jaela for the first time because of the physical age of the girl, but she had found the Keeper both wise, comforting, and endearing. The had talked for hours before the trip and Jaela had helped her steel her resolve for what was sure to be a long and dangerous mission.

She shifted her gaze to the other’s in the room, studying them one by one. She’d not met any of them before and she wondered if these were to be her companions on this journey. She’d met many half-giants in Adar and she was sure one of the three standing here was of that race, but she’d never seen one look quite the way this one did and wondered about his past and where he had come from. As her gaze passed to the warforged the chill she’d been holding back returned a bit. Warforged made her nervous, by their very nature. Reminders of the Last War aside, they troubled her if only because of the secrecy surrounding their creation. She knew they had a soul, but where did it come from? And how had Cannith harnessed this energy. The unanswered questions troubled her, but she held no prejudice against them. She’d known and been friendly with many ‘forged over the years, and knew they possessed the same capacity for kindness and valor inherent in the human race. Her eyes shift to the final figure standing there and she was relived to see another woman in the crew. She nodded in acknowledgment of the woman and broke the silence, hearing her voice echo within the chamber. “Greetings and well met. I am Inuurasha, child of the Rasha clan, walker in the shadows, and humble servant of The Flame. I have traveled many miles from Thrane to be here, and am honored to meet each of you. I assume you are also here to take audience with Eera, as I am?"

[iTookUrNick]

Jack stands quietly in the Great Hall. Having recently undergone a ritual to reduce his own size, to the half-giant the room seems even bigger, but he guess he will eventually get used to everything looking that way. While certainly impressed by the host, Jack is well versed in the Arcane arts and could at least name most of the enchantments in place, and sometimes even how they function. Tail, his familiar since the time was still in Xen'drik, sits comfortably on his shoulder, his tiny talons biting in the fabric of his master's simple robe. Jack is not one to show off, though the many marks and tattoos on his exposed flesh can draw some stares at times, and this extends to the way he dresses.

As he waits, he glances at the others gathered with him. They all seem quite experienced, but very different from each other.
He recognises the warforged from his previous experience with the Elites, one year before. The rest of them, though, must be fresh recruits, like himself. It speaks volumes of the rate of attrition of such a group: apparently, being the best does not mean being invincible.

Opposite to him he sees a fellow believer of the Silver Flame. Jack seems to recall seeing her a couple of times as he fulfilled his role as a guard to the Speaker, though they did not interact directly. While he would like to believe that is proof enough of the good character of the woman in front of her, Jack is keenly aware from previous experience that sometimes there will be conflict among people with the same goals and ambitions. He just prays she's not the subject of Tzandra's cryptic warning. Time would tell, as with most things.

The last one registers to his enhanced senses as a fellow spell caster, though it hardly looks that way. She looks...vibrant... as if standing still were not a natural state for her. Her yellow eyes seem to grab the attention of the viewer and put him on their guard, but the flame touched weapon does a lot to reassure Jack about the woman: it might very well be they have a lot more in common than arcane capabilities.

He is pulled from his thoughts as the woman in front of him breaks the silence. She greets them very politely, which is always a good thing in Jack's book.
"I greet you all as well. I am Jack Hammer, born in Xen'drik and now hailing from Flamekeep, student of the arcane arts and its application on the battlefield, fellow servant of the Silver Flame, sworn Protector of the Keep and the Speaker. I cannot speak for the others, but i can confirm I was made to wait here by master Eera. I believe, however, that we are waiting on someone else: the head of the Dragonmarked Elites, if my sources are to be trusted. And they usually are."

[3SecondCultist]

The being known as Blue stands in the Great Hall, his adamantine plates of his face never changing as he takes in the details of Brelish extravagance in the face of war. It's ironic - such a nationalist impulse gave birth to him, in a way. If it weren't for Breland, Aaren would not have had the funding to create Project Cobalt in the first place. While he's never been one for formal settings, this place seems unusually nice and ornate, so he takes extra special care not to crush anything beneath his heavy tread. Every single one of his steps on the floor resounds throughout the chamber; a slow but steady 'thump-thump-thump' as he moves close to the middle of the space. Blue pays no attention to the sight of the lands beyond the windows. He's already surveyed them and studied Argonth's most likely path through the countryside. He's been there since before any of the new recruits or other Elite members arrive, but shows no signs of impatience. In fact, if anyone were to try and ascribe a quality to the glimmering blue eyes beneath the helm, one might say that they were quite content to sit and wait forever.

At the various introductions, the huge warforged turns his head and orients his shoulders towards each speaker with a slow grinding sound. He says nothing for a while - a much longer pause than is customary in most conversations, long enough in fact for most to believe that he's either not listening or completely ignoring whoever is talking. He does nod slightly at the one who is called 'Jack Hammer', however, upon recognizing him from an earlier assignment, but doesn't answer the question of the woman in veils, this 'Inuurasha' with the overly long name. The glowing lines beneath Blue's armor plates fluctuate with a silent energy, the only real sign beyond his actual movement that this thing is more than just a living statue. Eventually, he does speak. Just three little words, rasped through metal vocal cords as though through a lightning rail engine, but they're enough to serve his purposes.

"I am Blue."

[rypt]

Sidara has hardly stopped moving since she entered the great hall. Pacing alongside the far wall, she glances often and impatiently through the large curtained windows. She seems ill at ease in this floating fortress, wholly disinterested in the extravagance of its furnishings. To those standing nearby, it is all too apparent that she wishes she were elsewhere.

As the others exchange introductions, she steps into the shadow of one of the large columns and leans a shoulder against the rounded stone. Tucking her thumbs behind her belt buckle, for a rare moment, she is still.

Appearing relatively young, and of unremarkable height and build, she does not cut a particularly imposing figure. But her eyes, shining from the darkness, yellow, inhuman, predatory, are wearisome in their intensity. Her armor, which she wears with the comfort of a second skin, evidences a lifetime of battle, with small scratches, dents and gouges marking nearly inch of the polished metal. A longsword hangs sheathed at her hip, its grip faded with use and worn to the contours of her hands.

Her gaze falls first on Inuurasha and then on Jack. She looks them each up and down in turn, her expression a glacial scowl. Symbols of their faith draw particular scrutiny and evoke particular disgust, but she says nothing to either before turning to Blue with a sigh.

"Never seen a warforged quite like you," she muses after a moment of quiet inspection, seeming to appreciate the construct's unique features. She smiles at his simple greeting. "And where were you made?"

I apologize again for the delay. This was probably one of the hardest introductory posts I've ever had to write. There's simply no way Sidara would be happy to learn that she's supposed to work with two followers of the Silver Flame, but I don't want to be overtly hostile towards other players' characters, and I certainly don't want anyone to mistake Sidara's disrespect as a character for my disrespect as a player. Finding the right balance will continue to be a challenge moving forward, and I hope you guys won't hesitate to speak up if you feel as though I've handled something inappropriately.

Edit: I admit I was hoping that Blue had been made in Korth Eston as it would have made for some interesting discussion, but alas, I see now that that's not in the cards.

[3SecondCultist]

Blue assesses the threat of the last person to enter the Great Hall, and finds her to be of a higher potential danger. The way she moves suggests a formidable warrior spirit, and her gear marks her out as somebody with experience. But it is her eyes - those yellow, unwavering slits - that are worth the juggernaut's notice. As before, he is slow to answer, his mind parsing out many details great and small. Whether he is unaware or simply doesn't care that his protracted silences are coming off as aloof or rude is not certain. Either way, Blue's eyes meet hers for an uncomfortably long time before he speaks for a second time.

"I was born in Eston." He emphasizes that singular word without elaborating on why. Project Cobalt - and everything surrounding it - has been filed away as just another secret project of the Last War. Its many financiers and geniuses are either dead or missing; Blue only cares about the whereabouts of one. "And there are no warforged like me: only me." The words are not intended as a boast, but as simple statement of fact. They only had enough material for one.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack notice the scowl and the lack of an introduction, but resolves not to press the issue. Despite the end of the war, most of its tragedies are still fresh in people's minds and some individuals had it worse than others. This, in turn, reminds him of his time after the Siege of Shadukar, but he decides not to go there. Fortunately, there does not seem to be anyone from Karrnath among the assembled guests.

Instead, he cheers at the answer given by Blue: "Well said! Freedom and honour to the new Warforged people. May the Flame guide your steps." As a former slave himself, Jack is a strong supporter of the recognition of the rights of warforged. And when he heard of war forged converting to the True Faith, he knew that not only they were people, but they could be good people to boot.

Enthusiasm aside, Jack does consider Blue's latter claim. While he certainly looks like the armored hulk of adamantine that people imagine when they think of heavy warforged soldiers, there are some serious modifications in and around the plates. He concentrates, trying to discern the details. He sees some psionic power, not his specialty really) that is an achievement in itself. And then something else... a reactor of sorts? He has no clue.

Do not worry about offending me. I know this is a game, and the setting was made to foster conflict.
At the same time, I think you made the right decision in not pushing the issue at this time. I'm sure we'll have multiple occasions to explore the topic during the game.

[Griff_Goodbeard]

Inu listens as her new companions speak. The anger and derision in the woman eyes take her aback at first, but the Last War has created many feuds, and this isn't the first time she's felt this anger from a stranger for reasons her allegiance to Thrane and The Flame. She resolves to know this woman better and hopefully change her mind as time goes by.

The warforged is fascinating to her, and she wonders if he is truly a one of a kind model. She never seen one constructed as he is and knows that Cannith was doing all kinds of unusual things in their creation labs during the war so it is certainly possible.

Well the Jack seems friendly at least, she thinks. She sighs, pushing her thoughts of days at the monastery from her head and focusing on the uncomfortable task of bringing this group together, as she was honor-bound to do.

[CozJa]

As you are speaking, the doors on the opposite side of the room open with a loud noise; you can see two cowled warforged moving it from each side, as two figures enter and calmly walk toward you.
One of them is your well known guest, Eera ir'Jalon; the middle aged woman wears a finely crafted blue robe with white intersections resembling different geometric patterns changing with her movements, while the other one is a tall, lean elf, with penetrating green eyes and jet-black hairs, wearing a dark vest completely devoid of any embellishment.
If it wasn't for the striking contrast between his sober appearance and Eera gaudy robe, you would feel hard-pressed in noticing the elf presence, like he was more than able to blend into the background, whatever it may be.

The wizard is the first to speak:
"Thank you for being here, I know that some of you may find themselves quite away from home here in Brelish territory, both in mind and body. But my friend here, Eluvan, wanted to speak with you about... pressing matters."

As she point toward him, the elf look at each of you, studying your movements and reactions.

"Greetings to you, I am commander Eluvan d'Phiarlan, actual leader of the Dragonmarks Elite. Some of you already know what that means, what being an Elite means; and some of you, hopefully, will learn it. As of now, the only thing you need to remember is that our first and foremost goal is to preserve peace across Khorvaire. We are here on Argonth, because in the last year our agents detected a strange pattern of accidents in the city of Sharn. You may have heard of them during your voyages, but only lately the Dark Lanterns were able to connect the dots."


Those are all the news related to these 'accidents':

The Burned Bodies (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebsi/20070723a)
The disappeared tower (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebsi/20051003b)
The mad Wizard (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebsi/20061009a)
The Falling Tower (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebsi/20050110a)


Eluvan stops for a moment, while one of the cowled warforged re-enters the room, approaches Lady ir'Jalon and hands them a pack of papers.

"You will find more informations about the City Watch investigation reading those papers; the only thing we know for sure, is that somebody is behind those attacks, somebody that seem interested in raising tensions in the city. Needless to say it, but many politicians in Breland are blaming other nations, and campaigning for direct interventions; the Dark Lanterns have still everything in control, but we fear that another spark could have terrible consequences."

[iTookUrNick]

Jack feels the two elves coming before they even enter the room. He is relieved, as their arrival breaks the awkwardness of the halting conversation (team building efforts will be necessary in the future). He turns to look just a moment before the doors start swinging, taking in the details of the new arrivals. The commander does seem like a person you'd rather not get on the bad side of. He bows to both of them in formal greeting, not willing to interrupt.

As the commander explains the issue, Jack recalls the articles on recent editions of Korranberg Chronicle regarding incidents in Sharn. The city gets plenty of coverage, some of it bordering on the unbelievable, but there are a few that stand out in retrospect: cases that featured both powerful magics and a surprising lack of clues regarding the perpetrators.

As the commander finishes speaking, and the envelopes are getting passed around, Jack takes stock once more of the assembled group. He speaks: "Commander, I am honoured to be among those selected to keep the peace across Khorvaire, and I will strive to succeed on whatever mission you assign us as a sacred duty. However, it looks to me that what you have here in this room is more of a strike team than an inquisitive unit. Do we have any leads yet? Are we supposed to keep our investigation private, or will we be able to count on Brelish agents on-site? And finally, if I may ask, are you expecting strong resistance and conflict within the confines of the city?"

Finally, we have a destination. And... a target, I guess, shady as they might be. :smallamused:

I don't expect it to matter at the moment, but do let me know if someone stands out for things such as creature type (for example in case they are disguised or something), particularly high intelligence or very strong auras.

Also, I wanted to ask about your thoughts regarding planar binding in general. I think a Movanic Deva could be a great asset to our current mission, especially since we also lack a supporting divine caster, but I get it is a big deal.

[CozJa]

The elf turns at Jack, and raises his head to look him in the eyes.

You are right, in fact we didn't call you there to 'investigate', but to retrieve informations. Being here on Argonth is not by chance: We are approaching Sterngate, the fortress guarding Marguul Pass and you will have to go there. After considerable efforts, we were able to discover that the Emerald Claw has a hidden base in the caves north of Marguul Pass, where they are keeping sensitive documents on their operations in Breland. Our hope is that by obtaining those documents, we will be able to trace the culprits of those attacks in Sharn, and deal a powerful blow to this terrorist organization. After this, we will consider how to... act"

Eluvan browses quietly through the papers, probably not really paying attention on what is written on it.

"... as for your other question, you will have the full support of Brelish army and the Dark Lanterns. We have already dispatched some agents that are waiting for you at Sterngate."


You can now access the dossier in the OOC thread, under the 'Extra Info' spoiler.

@iTookUrNick: regarding auras, Jack catches a moderate arcane aura on Eera and nothing at all on Eluvan. As for planar Binding, see the OOC thread

[rypt]

Sidara flashes a wry smile at Blue's response. "Were you, now? Well, I was born Eston too. I don't know what that makes us other than equally far from home. Something less than kin but more than strangers, I suppose."

At the sound of the opening doors, she tilts her head to one side. "Tell me that's what I think it is." She bends over at the waist to peer around the pillar beside her. "Finally," she mutters at the sight of their approaching hosts.

Sidara listens as patiently as she is able to Eera and Eluvan's introductions. She hasn't the foggiest idea what's been going on in Sharn, and she isn't particularly excited by the prospect of investigating. Better to leave that kind of work to the inquisitives. At the mention of an Emerald Claw base, however, she perks up.

"So why us?" she asks the shadowmarked elf. "Why me," she gestures to Blue, "why him," and then to the pair of oddball Flamites behind her, her expression souring, "and why them?"

[3SecondCultist]

"Indeed," grumbles the warforged to the woman Sidara as she speaks more of Eston. "That was well-said."

Blue nods in some semblance of cordiality as the two figures approach and discuss the particulars of the mission. Despite Eluvan's rank as the commander of the Dragonmarked Elite, Blue finds himself almost unconsciously gravitating towards Eara ir'Jalon. Of the two, she is the one who has spent the time getting to know him, to fix him up between missions. He trusts her. The promises he's made to the organization will stand of course, and he has not come this far only to back down from the first mission... but before Jack speaks up, Blue cannot help but feel a twinge of disappointment. A civilian investigation is not where his talents lie. He is more than aware of his tendency to make others uncomfortable in his presence. So it comes as something of a relief when he hears that the actual mission will be an infiltration of caves north of the Marguul Pass.

He looks at Sidara again when she brings up the question of why. He thinks about that for a moment, and then another. He does not need to know 'why'. A soldier does not ask why he fights, and so Blue has never asked Eluvan - or any of the other members of the Dragonmark Elite - why they do what they do. They protect people; that's good enough for him. Blue shakes his head slightly, the words of Aaren coming back to him. They are at odds with everything he learned on the battlefield.

And yet, he is rather curious about the make-up of this team. While he trusts his commanding officers to put the right people on this mission, the tension between Sidara and the other two is palpable. A unit is only as strong as the bonds between them. An old saying, but a true one. He wonders quietly whether this one will last very long.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack perks up as well at the mention of the Emerald Claw. The Flame holds all sacred duties in high esteem, but the Claw is particularly reviled among the enemies of the Faith, especially because of the events of the last war, and Jack is eager to strike down one of their operations.

He is less pleased to hear the tone in the woman's voice (she has yet to give them a name). However, he is curious to hear the answer to her question, so he keeps silent.

Afterwards, he takes the opportunity for a couple more questions of a more operative nature:
"Two quick ones: what are the chances of collateral damage within the caves complex, and do you have a summoning circle available within this keep?"

[Griff_Goodbeard]

Inuurasha watches as the pair enter the room, studying their movements. She listens, as Eluvan lays out the situation. Peace across Khorvaire was the goal and reason she was here, but a shred of skepticism remained in her mind. No one profited more from the Last War than the Dragonmarked houses, and she knew there were those within its ranks that like nothing more than to see fragile peace fractured once again. She pushed the thoughts from her mind, reminding herself not to hold onto the past too tightly and to not let those past experiences shape her future.

She furrows her brow as Eluvan speaks of Sharn. It had been almost five decades since she’d been rescued from the sewers there by the grace of The Flame, and the city held nothing for her but painful memories. She hadn’t heard of any of the troubles being discussed currently, but then again she hadn’t heard news of Sharn at all in years as she’d deliberately avoided it. Her mind wandered to Roland; such a sweet naive man. He’d been dead nearly fifty years by the blade of an assassin meant for her, but when she closed her eyes she could see his sweet face and hear his jovial laugh as if he were right in front of her.

Thank the Flame she whispered to herself as Eluvan discussed striking the outpost at Marguul Pass, perhaps I’ll avoid the towers after all she thought. She listened with quiet composure as her companions spoke, wincing a bit at the unnamed female’s characterization of her and Jack, but feeling compassion for the troubled woman none the less. She could still feel from time to time the pain and anguish being forced to abandon your homeland caused to a person. These feeling would come on like trickles in the recesses of her brain without warning and would spread throughout her body like raindrops rolling down a sheet of glass. She’d never experienced anything like that personally of course, the memories and feelings she felt were those of Rasha, the Quori progenitor of her line. But these feeling made her sympathetic to the feeling of this trouble Cyran. Her anger made sense when viewed against the backdrop of the Cyran-Thranish conflicts that punctuated the war. She hoped that they’d have a chance while on the road to talk and clear the air. But regardless of this woman’s feelings, there was a job to do and little time to do it.

“I accept your charge Eluvan, and I will see it done.” She says, breaking her silence in a firm direct voice. “How long will it be until we reach Sterngate?"

[CozJa]

"Well said, lady of two worlds," Eluvan answers to Inuurasha, then he goes on to explain.
"We are approaching Sterngate, and you will have to leave shortly. That answers even your question, Master Jack, We don't have time for summonings now, but at Sterngate there's a Ghallanda hostel, that should be able to give you the needed assistance in these kind of things. You will be able to assess the best course of action when you reach the fortress, and receive a survey of the place, we asked the help of some... friends."

The elf turns to Sidara "As for your question, you are all powerful and expert warriors. But that is not the first reason you are here. All of you bear the scars of war and death, all of you know of loss, and all of you know how important it is that something as the Last War doesn't happen again. Remember this when you will have to fight into those caves, or when you will travel with people you don't trust: Your mission is not about yourselves, it is about every living creature of Khorvaire, whether it is a Human, elf, warforged, or whatever else."

[iTookUrNick]

Jack accepts the elf's explanation with a polite nod, resolving to direct any further questioning to the field agents. His trepidation rising but well under control, he waits for the fortress to arrive to their destination.

[Griff_Goodbeard]

"Very good." Inu says when their proximity to Sterngate is revealed. This entire fortress made her a bit uneasy and she'd be glad when they were on their way. "I'm still in my traveling clothes, and need to prepare for the journey that awaits us." She continues, retreating a few steps and crouching down while producing a worn leather sack. She places the sack on the floor and opens it wide, sticking her arm in up to the biceps and fishing around. She produces a breastplate of mitheral, scuffed and worn from use, a symbol of the Silver flame etched upon it as well as underclothes, a pair of loose fitting breeches and a pair of high, soft leather boots.

“I should mention, before we set off” she says as she begins disrobing “that I have the ability to link our minds for short periods of time, a few times each day. It is a blessing of Rasha, progenitor of my line.” She is now nearly naked and you can see her lithe and athletic body is covered in the same twisting tattoos that adorn her face. Many scars are visible as well, a testament to her years of battle. She seems completely at ease and without hesitation, despite her current state of undress. She’d been raised to have no modesty about the body in her homeland of Adar, and years as a solider had only reenforced this.

She continues speaking as she dresses, “I’m mentioning it because I seek approval from each of you, I believe it would aid us in our mission, but would never link our minds with out permission first.” She looks up as she says this, meeting the yellowed eyes of the woman without a name.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack sends to Inuurasha: 'It is extremely kind to ask for permission. You have mine, of course. I expect you will have no problem if I do the same. My own special kind of telepathy is not as far reaching as yours might be, but it is always active. I suggest we save yours for when we need or expect to split up.

[3SecondCultist]

Finding all of Eluvan's answers to the questions asked to be satisfactory, Blue simply bobs his head once in agreement, the sliding of the metal plates around his neck and shoulders grinding out of place and then back again, before realizing that the rest of this team is making their consent known verbally. "I accept this mission, commander," the construct of war says with as much fervour as he can muster.

While he has nothing more to add himself, Blue listens intently to any more operational details, not even blinking an eye as the monk decides to disrobe in front of their commanding officers. If her aim is to make Commander d'Phiarlan uncomfortable, things might not go according to plan. Then again, it could just be practicality. Who is he to judge? So the warforged says nothing, content to wait for the floating fortress to arrive at Sterngate so they can reconnoiter. When she speaks up about matters of tactics, however, Blue gains a spark of animation.

"What is the effective range on your link, Inuurasha? Will it work across planar boundaries? And would it be susceptible to a dis?"

[Griff_Goodbeard]

That is good to know Jack, I agree. Inu mentally responds. She turns toward the warforged as he begins to speak.

"We would need to be fairly close when establishing the link", she looks around, "perhaps within a distance front that wall over there to the door" she says motioning. "Once the link is established, it's range is the whole of Eberron." She rubs her chin distractedly, thinking for a moment. "I don't believe the link will extend to other planes of existence, but I honestly can't be sure as I've never tried maintaining it across planar boundaries."

She wonders if the construct has had occasion to traverse the bounds to other planes or is just being thorough and makes a mental note to ask him about it later. "It does not function in an area of dead magic zone, and I imagine would be susceptible to a targeted dispel, though I've never had that happen."


Range in establishing the link is 75ft, fyi.

[rypt]

Though she seems less than satisfied by the elf's response, Sidara offers no objection. "Yeah, fine, but you'll have to excuse my lack of enthusiasm. There is no shortage of suffering in this world, and it just so happens that you're sending me into a cave with two people whose church is responsible for the majority of mine."

Sidara rolls her eyes at Inuurasha's immodesty, but does not bother to move. In reply to the monk's request, she laughs a humorless laugh. "If you really want to hear my thoughts, you can go right ahead."

[iTookUrNick]

"One does not have to follow the Flame to do the Flame's work." quotes Jack, helpfully. "It helps me to remember that when I work with people that do not share my belief, and I'm sure it can help you as well to think our interests are aligned in this: there are few individuals as hated to our Church and our Cause as the members of the Emerald Claw."

[CozJa]

Eluvan looks at Sidara after her retort, and answers her with a cold glare: "We don't need enthusiasm, we need results." then, he salutes each of you, and quickly leaves the room.

"I thank you all for being here, and even Eluvan does; it's just that... we are growing thin in our resources." says Eera ir’Jalon who, instead, invites you to follow her across the entrance she came from before, where two cowled warforged are waiting; the little room has nothing of interest, apart from a curious pulley that seems intended both for people and materials alike.
“This is your way out,” she explains, as one of the warforged opens the door with a loud squeak, and the other starts maneuvering two levers on the wall.

She steps on the pulley with all of you and you descend for some time. When you reach the bottom, you find yourselves on the left side of Argonth, at a distance of no more than 150ft from the rocky terrain below.
“I know that this is not the best system of transportation, but captain ir’Ranek didn’t plan for a stop at Sterngate. Liutenant Harod d’Deneith of the Blademarks will be in charge of the expedition logistic, contact him as soon as you reach Sterngate.”

As you see the figure of a fortress raising up in the mountain's horizon, slowly becoming bigger as you approach it, miss ir’Jarnon enters into the pulley, ready to come back up.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to my studies. Be aware, especially you Blue, else I’ll have to replace my repairing kit!” She says with a smile; before leaving, Eera casts upon you a Feather Fall spell, to let you jump off the Moving Fortress with ease.

When the fortress is near enough, you all descend with ease, landing on the rocky terrain of Marguul Pass, not distant from the only road leading to the fortress. At the gates of Sterngate you can see four heavily armored soldiers that already noticed you and are expecting for you to approach them.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack follows Eera as she leads them out. He half listens as she gives the usual speech of how they are all spread thin (which cheapens a little the one about how they are the best), already focused on what it's going to happen after they leave. In doing so he misses the part where they are not stopping to disembark, making him go 'What...?' as they are lowered to the side of the fortress and expected to leave. Still, it's an easy enough idea to pick up after seeing the feather fall spell cast.

The descent is quite uneventful, especially for someone accustomed to flying as he is. When on solid land once more, he dusts himself off and moves with his companions toward their next stop: Sterngate.

[3SecondCultist]

Blue salutes Commander d'Phiarlyn stiffly, not registering the change in the elf's tone whatsoever. Orders are orders, and besides, the elf is right; in his experience, esprit du corps has never stopped an enemy's blade. Remembering the last time he had living squad mates, Blue decides not to share this insight out loud.

When escorted from Argonth's halls and out onto the platform, the warforged takes another moment to survey the hilly terrain. It will make for good ambushes and other stealth engagements, which unfortunately is not his specialty. He will need to prove his value to the team in some other way. Looking down at the ground below, Blue sees a potential opportunity. He listens to Eara intently, and nods when she mentions him, but he does not wait for anyone to cast a ward on him. Her words have made up his mind. The fall will not even hurt. Jumping off, the warforged descends at full speed, hurtling towards the ground.

Blue lands with a spectacular thud, falling onto one knee and planting his enchanted battlefist into the hard packed earth, which rattles at his impact. Pulling out his midnight blue crystal greatsword - itself nearly the size of a smaller human - is more tiresome, and he finds that he can barely lift it. That will change when we meet the enemy. He looks up at his new teammates as they float lazily to the ground, waiting for them so he can get walking to Sterngate.

[rypt]

As though his eyes levied some unspoken challenge, Sidara meets the the Phiarlan's glare in kind, holding it wordlessly and unwaveringly until the moment of his exit.

The ill-tempered Cyran then turns to Jack. "Nor does one have to follow the church," she remarks as she steps away to follow ir'Jalon.

It is good to be moving again, more so to be free of this plodding monstrosity. When Eera indicates the precise manner of their departure, Sidara can only laugh, watching with a wide smile as Blue leaps from the edge of the fortress and plummets toward the earth below. "I knew I liked that one," she quips before stepping off the platform and allowing the fortress-mage's magic to carry her gently to the ground.

Once she's landed, she takes a moment to admire the depression created by the warforged's impact before turning her attention to the not-so-distant Sterngate. "The name's Sidara, by the way."

[Griff_Goodbeard]

Inu follows the group as they exit the chamber and make their way to bowls of the fortress. She's aching for the open air and moves quickly.

"Indeed they do not, friend." She replies to Sidara. "The Flame burns bright, without need for the attention of man." She contemplates continuing, but thinks better of it for the time being. "A discussion for another time perhaps. For now, a focus on quick resolution to our charge."

She steps of the edge and lets Eera's magic carry her to the ground. "Well met Sidara, it seems we're indeed expected." She says, nodding toward the soldiers as she begins walking toward Sterngate.

[iTookUrNick]

"Well met indeed" agrees Jack. He continues as they move towards Sterngate: "This was... educational, I guess. We learned two things: the first name of the last of our companions to provide it, and which one of us has no need for feather fall spells." It is clear from the tone that he found the last bit impressive. "You seem of very sound constitution, my friend. It would be useful to know what other things do not bother you that might bother our enemies instead. I will not be asking what does bother you, but you are free to volunteer such information if you think I can help in some way."

[3SecondCultist]

There is no need to be too boastful about these things. It is his purpose to withstand the world; for him to take pride in it would be akin to a bird marvelling at its wings every time it takes flight. The thought makes Blue pause. How would I know if this is the case? I have certainly never lived the life of a bird. He realizes belatedly that once again, he has not answered a question posed of him.

"It would be simpler to list my weaknesses." Once more, Blue isn't boasting; it's all about making sure his squadmates are informed. He'll be in the trenches with them before too long, and the secrets that went into his creation are not as important as trusting the people at his back. He taps his chestplate to let the adamantine ring. "Exposure to fire or acid can hurt me. It damages my composite plating and inner systems. I am also vulnerable to effects that alter my form. Beyond that, I am more or less invulnerable. I also have a few extra safeguards, but they have limits."

He pauses again. "Any help you could be in that field would be appreciated."

[iTookUrNick]

"Aww" comments Jack, a bit crestfallen at hearing the answer of the warforged "Changing forms is actually one of my speciaties. Too bad it would be quite hard to improve on what you already have.

Still, I hear you and I think I will be able to help in that regard, though it is far from a complete immunity. As for fire and acid, I could do something for that as well, though today it would be just one or the other. Perhaps we can come up with better ideas in the days to come. ". 'Provided I survive the mission' he adds in his head: he has no illusions on who has the best chances of survival in the group.

I think that these interactions we are a great start, but we should not 'delay' the core of the story. We can keep talking as we do stuff, like in real life. :smallamused:

[CozJa]

As you move to the fortress, you see the two guards at the gate looking at you: both seem war veterans, bracing their glaives with experience and wearing well crafted and polished armors. One of them, clearly older, bears on his face the scars of numerous fights, while the other have a look on his eyes that tells tales of many battlefields.
As you come, the older one greets you glancing at Blue with wonder: “Hey, at first I thought people on Argonth were throwing somethin’ away. You must be the craziest warforged I’ve ever met!”
The other one, younger but more professionally suited, speaks with you in a more serious tone.
“We were waiting for you, the expedition is working out the details in the central room of the keep.”
as he speaks, a door in the gate opens, with a third guard letting you enter.

Passing through the courtyard, you see a dwarven sergeant drilling a group of soldiers, ten humans and two shifters; on your left there’s a stable from where you hear the neigh of horses.
All the structure is practically built, and is perfectly fitted into the mountains delimiting Marguul’s pass.

Entering the keep, you are conducted into a large, austere room. You can see a wooden table with a map stretched on it, at the two sides, an armored man bearing the Blademarks badge is arguing with a female hobgoblin about something like ‘territorial hierarchies’; while the two are hotly debating (and the most feral one happens to be the human!) you can notice other people in the room: three humans wearing leather armors and a black cowl, a man wearing a mail armor over white-blue garments and a mantle spotting the Brelish coat of arms; he’s walking in circles behind the table, waiting for the argument to end.

Alone on the other side of the room, a hobgoblin warrior, wearing a breastplate, with a chain wrapped around his waist and a sword hanging on his back, looks at the scene with embarrassment, and turns to you with the hope that the entrance of newcomers can put an end to what is happening.


Ok, decided to go on with the scene, so you have more interactions if needed.

iTookUrNick: Jack can recognize a quite powerful magical aura coming from the hobgoblin warrior's sword and some minor auras from the hobgoblin woman and the other man discussing with her. All of them are of arcane origin.

[rypt]

The last thing Sidara had expected to find at the heart of Sterngate's keep was a pair of the same Darguuni hobgoblins whose warbands the fortress had been built to repel. You've got to be kidding me, she thinks to herself as she glances around the room. This day keeps getting better and better...

After noting the presence of the leather-clad soldiers and the man she presumes to be their commander, Sidara approaches the lone goblinoid at the far end of the room. He seems to hold some authority here, whatever sense that makes. The hope in his eyes is met with loathing in hers, a withering glare that perhaps he had not expected. To a Cyran, however, the treachery of his kin is not easily forgotten nor forgiven.

"Eera ir'Jalon sent us," she says shortly. "We're here to meet with lieutenant Harod." She gestures toward the armored man with the Blademarks badge. "That him?"

Assuming the hobgoblin answers affirmatively, and regardless of whatever​ else he might have to say afterwards, Sidara steps away to join the Deneith heir and the female Darguuni with whom he's fervently engaged.

"Hey, you two mind finishing this up another time? We need to speak with the lieutenant." If both are too consumed by their bickering to respond, she slams an open hand on the top of the table and repeats, in a far more forceful tone than before, "Hey!"

Intimidate check, if needed, for Sidara's more forceful interruption: [roll]d20+18[roll] [25] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21885301&postcount=38)

[3SecondCultist]

I hope he survives the mission, thinks Blue in Jack's direction as they take the final steps towards Sterngate's front door. The man doesn't seem all that suited to front-line combat. Then again, he could easily surprise him. Casters, more often than not, tended to change the whole parameter of a battlefield. Either way, the warforged is quiet for the rest of their journey, nodding only at the young man who ushers them into the fortress. As they move through the courtyard, Blue takes the time to survey the state of the yard, the cadets, and the equipment therein. He notes the presence of the shifters with silent approval. It's good to see that some people see merit in all of Khorvaire's races.

Once inside the keep, Blue follows Sidara's lead. Even though he has the most experience with the Elite, she seems intent on being the one to handle the negotiation and speaking. That suits him just fine. Those in the room would see Blue silently looming behind Sidara, his adamantine frame sounding just like a suit of heavy armour. The blue lines of soul energy glow all the brighter for the relative lack of light in the room.

When the man and hobgoblin caught in an argument don't stop immediately, Blue steps forward. It's not a threat, simply a way to acknowledge that there are other people in the room and that the time for quarrels has passed.

[Griff_Goodbeard]

Inu follow the group though the fortress, staying ever mindful of her surroundings. She wonders how many were stationed here during the war and what became of them. Upon entering the room, she moves off to her left and simply observes. Sidara seemed impatient and her directness made Inu slightly uncomfortable. She'd been raised to carry herself with a certain discretion, and her duties to the flame had only reinforced that.

As Sidara moves to the table to engage she engages the hobgoblin warrior and in a soft tone. My name is Inuurasha, what is yours? There seems to be some kind of dispute here, what seems to be the problem?

[iTookUrNick]

Jack follows the others through the keep. He holds no particolar feeling towards cyrean troops or for shifters; the time of the crusade is long past in his mind.
Hobgoblins are a different thing, though. He spent long years in the slave pits in Darguun, fighting for the amusement of an Hobgoblin overlord and his vassals. The experience has left him a bit bitter towards the entire race, despite the Flame's teachings of fairness and equality among all people. The best he can do for himself is keep his composure, letting others take the lead on this. He takes the opportunity to take a look at the map currently on the table. He also manages to take a better look at the hobgoblins 's strongly magical sword without actually staring: he makes it a habit to check most items of significance whenever he can.
Patiently, he waits to see what the intervention of the two women of the group will bring.

[CozJa]

The Hobgoblin warrior has barely the time to answer "Yes, he and..."; Sidara doesn't wait for his answer and points directly at the war table.
As she slams her hand on the table, he widens his eyes, looking at her with a mixture of respect and awe.
He turns to Inu, who seems to be the most amicable of the group.
"Ah, and to think that some people consider goblinoids as feral! Look at her!" He exclaims, speaking in an accentless common
"But I forgot my manners! My name is Mahr'k Ghaalrash, Lord-General of Lhesh Haruuc" He says, extending his open hand to the Kalashtar woman.
"I'm here to protect our... ambassador for the mission, Gheelra Brightcry." as he says the name, he points with his head toward the woman hobgoblin. "I suppose you are the expeditionary force we were expecting?"

At the same time, Sidara's show of alternative diplomatic efforts seems to have had the intended effect, since both the hobgoblin and man arguing with each other stop to look at the yellow-eyed woman, while one of the cowled figures jumps at the thump.

"I am Liutenant Harod d'Deneith of the Blademarks. And you must be Sidara Kell. Finally you are here. We were discussing with our... host, the best course of action for the mission, and how external relations are to be handled."

"You can safely say that you are trying to force us into ignoring every goblinoid we meet!" Answers the goblinoid woman, who speaks with a good common, but with a heavily guttural accent.

"Now, stop it, Gheelra, we have enough things to think about!" Harod gestures the map, showing at Sidara and the others the place. You can see that the map describes Marguul pass in the Darguun side, and you can spot two different mountain ways, which seem to be nothing more than little roads carved into the rocks, leading to east; the northern road is crooked and longer, and approaches the cave you have to reach from the eastern side, after a 180° turn on the road; the southern way departs from Maargul pass and reaches the cave almost directly, but it lies far into a part of the map dotted with question marks.
The cave where you are directed is marked with a red circle, and lies in a mountain side, not distant from the southern road.

"So, as you can see, here's the place you will have to reach. The southern way passes into an untamed territory, where many sighting of goblinoid bands were reported. The northern road is safer, but it will take you at least a day longer to reach the cave, and approaching it from low, it will be easier to be spotted, if those terrorists are guarding the place. Now, Gheelra here, insists on taking the southern side because she wants to kill some goblin, while I think that our safest bet is to pass from north, possibly using some illusion to cover your passage."

Gheerla interrupts Harod and points at the southern pass, slamming her finger on the map.

"I don't want to *kill* goblins! I'm saying that if we want to move quickly, the southern way si much better! If those Emerald you speak about are as dangerous as you say, the faster we kill them, the better! Besides, the vessel of Lhesh Haruuc protects us, and no independent warband or tribe will have the gut to attack us, unless they desire to taste the fury of the duur'kala!"

Harod sighs and looks at the four of you, waiting for your opinion on the matter.

[3SecondCultist]

Blue absorbs all of the information over the course of a few moments. His blue eyes flicker from the Deneith soldier to the goblinoid by the name of Gheelra and back again, and for a moment, they seem to narrow in something akin to concentration as the warforged weighs the various risks of each approach.

"The path to the south will be less dangerous to us. My armor configuration is not suited for stealth. I can move out ahead to trigger any traps and draw out our enemies." Blue then nods at Sidara and Inuurasha. "I will be the anvil, you the hammer. This strategy minimizes casualties. I am not a citizen of any of Khorvaire's nations. By simply walking the path, I am breaking no law. Should I be engaged, you can say you were defending a traveling companion. Anyone who tries to harm us will die. Beyond that, it will not hurt the local goblins."

Distinctly aware that he has spoken more now than since he's met his new team, the warforged falls silent. A soldier such as him does not give commands, only offer suggestions. Whether they accept his strategy or choose a different path is entirely up to them.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack, who has remain silent so far, nods at the Warforged comment and answers the implicit question of the Liutenant. "If we decide take the northern road, I can cover our final approach with invisibility spells without too much trouble, though they are only good for a few minutes at a time: it might or might not be enough. I could also use a figment and veil ourselves as a pack of wild animals or something, though I do not know of any beast that would not arise suspicion when used in such fashion.

It might just be worth getting there through the fastest path, even if we risk getting tanged in an engagement with a goblin war band. If the ambassador here thinks her lord's banner can keep away all but the boldest of them, we should make use of it. And if someone does attack us, we'll take the opportunity to rid the region of a threat, however minor. I expect our forces to be more than a match for such an engagement.

Incidentally, I'm not entirely clear on the scale of the map to make an accurate projection of our needs. How long is the trip supposed to take, one way or the other?

[CozJa]

"Considering that you have to travel through mountain passes, if you take the short road it will take you one day and a half, give or take. The longest one is going to be three days. I don't think that using horses would be that much useful, considering the terrain. The group will consist of the four of you, our 'notable' ambassador and her bodyguard, and three agents from Breland."

[iTookUrNick]

"So it takes twice as long if we go the long way, right? That's way too much to even consider. We should get on our way as soon as we are ready. comments Jack, becoming even more resolute in his evaluation. He counts the people assigned to the expedition: there might be one too many if he gets the help he is about to ask. If not, they'll manage with what they have.

Speaking of getting ready, do you happen to have a space suitable for summoning? After that, whatever the results, I will need a few more minutes with all of you to set up things for my peculiar way of doing magic to work."

[CozJa]

The captain of the keep, who stayed silent since you entered the room, answers to the question: "We have no arrangement like this at the keep, but there is a Ghallanda safe house in the western side of the walls; I think they should be able to arrange for extra-planar space. But... for what do you need it, if I may ask? Summoning often means trouble, and I don't want even more trouble in my keep!"

[iTookUrNick]

"There will be no trouble." says Jack assuredly, trying to assuage the captain's fears.
"I will ask the Flame to provide us with a willing helper of pure intentions. We might or might not receive, but either way it will not be disruptive in any way."

[rypt]

"Three days?" Sidara scoffs. "Yeah, sorry. I don't think that's going to work. We'll take the short road. Traveled long enough and slowly enough as it is." At least there seemed to some consensus on this one. Not that it would change her mind if there wasn't. Having spent nearly a week aboard Argonth, Sidara isn't sure she can stomach another three days on the road with two devotees of the Church and a pair of hobgoblins to boot.

Glancing to the three hooded figures whom she presumes to be the aforementioned Brelish agents, Sidara's eyes linger for a moment on the one who had jumped at the sound of her hand. "You sure these guys are necessary?" she asks, looking back at the lieutenant. "How many claws are we expecting here?"

[Griff_Goodbeard]

"A pleasure to meet you Lord-General." Inu replies nodding to the warrior. "We're all eager to achieve swift resolution to this issue." she continues, deflecting from his comment about Sidara.

She listens to Harod lay out the routes and options and to Blue and Jack's comments. "You make excellent points Lieutenant," she begins smiling "I'd wager the northern pass would be the correct call in most situations with most teams. I certainly would like to avoid extraneous conflict if at all possible." She could feel the tide in the room seeming to turn toward supporting Gheelra's idea, and her natural instinct was to make sure the Deneith didn't feel ignored.

"That being said, with this team's particular strengths perhaps the southern route may be better suited to us. Depending on the resistance encountered, it's not inconceivable that we could be in and out and back in the time it would take us to arrive via the longer route."

[iTookUrNick]

Jack appreciates the effort at moderation and civility that Inu is making, though he can't get himself to do the same.
"Indeed" he says, stressing her latest point "you have to plan according to a team's strengths. And Strength is this team's actual strength, to be sure. Myself not included, obviously, but then I tend not to get too involved with the actual fighting."

"The Ghallanda safe house will do nicely. I'm a quick hand with diagrams, we should be all done and ready to leave within the hour."

[CozJa]

The Blademarks liutenant open his arms and let them fall on his waist, as if resigned to your group's choice "it's decided then, short road it is... Since you are all fresh and ready, departure will be two hours from now, before darkness starts to fall, I'm sure our guides will be able to help you sort the road during the a night march. The first part of the road is the most secure, and it is better if you approach the dangerous mountain pass during day... You can go now."

After your choice, Gheerla smirks and direct herself to the exit. "It is fine, at least this group shows more wisdom that their supposed commander; now, if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to do."
As she leave the room, the hobgoblin warrior follows behind, and stops a moment to salute the two officiers, then he bows to Inuurasha; "Ma'am" address her respectfully, and leaves.

While the three cowled men enter another room on the left side, Harod answers to Sidara consideration. "They are agents of the crown, and I can assure you that their abilities will come useful in hazardous environments. As for the expected enemy forces, I fear I cannot be very precise: what we know for sure is that the Emerald Claw was setting up a secret base in that little cave since a long time; to pass completely unnoticed, they must be few in numbers, or aided by really powerful magic, but I suspect the former is way more probable then the latter. The problem is that we don't know if they have been able to ally themselves with some of the goblinoid splinter groups residing in the mountains. That's one of the reasons we accepted Darguun offer to send reinforcements."

At the same time, the Captain of the Keep signals Jack, and whoever wants to drink or relax, to follow him outside to the Ghallanda safe house. As you pass again through the courtyard you see that the soldiers are still training and notice Mahr'k Ghaalrash that is concentrated in meditation. Sitting with folded legs and his eyes closed, while his blade is planted on the soil in front of him, with the chain you noticed before now wrapped around the blade, and on the floor another weapon, that Jack immediately can recognize being a Xen'drik boomerang, like those used by the Drow tribes.

You pass through a wooden door in the stone, and find yourself in a comfortable environment, that looks larger and more illuminated than what you expect from the outside. There are three tables for people to sit drinking and at least five rooms for hosts. As you enter, you are greeted by an Halfling that offers you beverages, while another one, at the Captain suggestion, brings Jack into one of the rooms, leaving him enough space to perform his incantations.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack excuses himself from the rest of the group with a bow "I'll be back in a few minutes. And if you hear screaming, do come and see what the fuss is all about" he says half jokingly at the Captain's expenses.
Once in the room Jack makes sure that nothing shall disturb his preparations and casting, then starts inscribing runes on the floor with a dagger and sprinkle them with silver powder. He figures he'll mend them afterwards, or just put back the rug over them. Finally, he starts the actual casting, awaiting with trepidation for any kind of response from his deity's servants.

Let's see if I get all the pieces correctly. It's a take 10 Spellcraft check to draw the diagram in 10 minutes (final result 36). At a certain point he stops and casts an Eagle's splendour spell to make himself more presentable. Said diagram is then strengthened with a magic circle vs good spell and a dimensional anchor spell just before the binding. Finally, the actual calling spell takes place.

The Will DC to have someone actually show up when called is 24 (10 + 5 [spell level] + 9 [Int bonus]) and the Charisma check to agree to aid is [roll0] + any circumstance bonus for offering to do good (from +0 to +6).

There. Let's see what we come up with. I'm looking for a Movanic Deva but any good-aligned outsider will do :smallbiggrin:

[Griff_Goodbeard]

Inu listens quietly as the group hashes out the details of their departure. The kind smile remains on her face as she looks from person to person, but her eyes seem expressionless, almost glassy, as if she is lost in thought. She studies the three cowled men for a moment before remarking “Greetings friends, you must be our Brelish support. An honor to make your acquaintance.”


Using Inu’s at will Detect Evil ability on the people in the room.


After a moment, she turns to Harod, nodding her head. “We will see this done quickly Lieutenant.” Then follows the captain out of the room. As they make their way across the courtyard, she sees the hobgoblin warrior in meditation and smiles to herself, having had the same idea. She calls to her companions “I’ll be here in the courtyard, meditating and making ready for our journey if I’m needed for anything.”

She peels of to the left, finding an unoccupied area for which to prepare. She sets about her routine of meditation, blocking out the sounds of the training soldiers. She whispers a prayer to the Silver Flame, asking for strength and wisdom in the coming days as she is stretching and contorting her body is slow measured movements. When she feels loose, she begins her meditations. She’d been a shadow walker for more than a hundred years, but somehow every time she meditated the dance of shadows she felt as if a young girl dancing for the first time.

She dances now, whirling and looping as she skips along the ground, feet barely making contact with earth before springing again. As she moves, her eyes close, and her mind drifts. She replays the day, taking in everything told to her by Eluvan, Eera, and Harod about their mission. She visualizes each step in the journey and prays they will be able to achieve their goals with a minimum loss of life. She was loath to take a humanoid life, even though she knew it was necessary at time and the will of the Flame.

As she continued whirling, literal shadows seem to bleed from her skin and surround her. She lept and spun in the air, falling into an almost trance-like state. Her mind fell further into meditation and the thoughts of the day and current mission are replaced by the image of her daughter. The face floating before her mind’s eye was still a girl, no more than five, the age she’d been when Inu had left her with her grandmother in Adar and had returned to Khorvaire to answer the Flame’s call. That had been almost seventeen years ago and she wondered what her daughter looked like now. She missed the girl dearly and sadness crept into her heart as it often did when thinking of Inara, she walked with it for awhile, unafraid of the feeling, then turned her heart toward the light of the Silver Flame and felt her spirt lift.

She was sweating when she finally came to a stop, and fell to her knees slowly to complete her post meditation devotions. A contented smile crossed her face and she felt a quiet confidence in her spirit. She was sure the mission would be a success.

[rypt]

While Inu dances and Jack entreats celestial aid, Sidara tends to her sword. Taking a bucket of water in one hand and her longsword in the other, she sits down on a step along the edge of the courtyard. She rests the flat of her blade against her knee and dips a small gray stone into the bucket. As she runs the stone smoothly and repeatedly from the heel of the blade to the tip, she watches the Brelish soldiers sparring across the way.

Nearest her, an unseasoned half-elf struggles against a much stronger and much more experienced opponent. It is obvious that the young khorovar is aware of his shortcomings, for each contest lasts only as long as his meager defense can hold. Never once does he attempt to strike his attacker, not even when the larger man's powerful but ponderous blows give him an obvious opening to do so.

Sidara tries to focus her attention elsewhere, but the longer the mismatched encounter continues, the more frustrated she becomes. The first time the half-elf's retreat leads him to trip over his own feet, Sidara rolls her eyes. The second time, she grits her teeth. The third time, she nearly crushes the whetstone in her fist, standing so abruptly that her sword clatters to the ground.

"You there, boy!" she calls out to the half-elf, waving him over. "Yes, you! Get over here!"

She paces in place while she waits for the young soldier to approach.

"I don't know if you're tired of making a fool of yourself out there but I'm tired of watching it. You keep tripping over own feet because they're too damn close together." She bends over, grabs his legs, and forcibly positions them into a suitable fighting stance -- left foot forward, right foot back, with enough space between them to pass the hilt of his sword. "Now bend your knees. There. That's better. When you move backwards, you lead with your back foot. When you move forward, you lead with the front." She pulls him towards her then pushes him away to make him practice.

"Now your friend over there, he's got at least 60 pounds on you, but he's slow. He favors cross-cuts from his right side, so keep your guard here." She pulls his hands low and tilts his grip so his sword angles up and to his left. "Keep an eye on his elbow," she adds, speaking more quietly now than she had before. "He kicks it out to the side before he strikes."

Taking a step back, she looks him up and down and sighs. "Well? What are you doing still standing here? Get your ass back out there."

[CozJa]

Jack

As the half-giant completes his spells, a figure starts forming into the circle, at first, it is an indistinguishable flickering whit fog that looks like is going to be blown away, then the figure becomes clearer, and the searched creature shows up: a beautiful and bright Deva, with a flaming sword in his hand, appears before Jack. Enraged by that unexpected calling, the creature tries to strike his caller, but discover its inability to do it. Then, he looks at Jack with his burning eyes:
“What do you want from me, pitiful mortal? Why are you unsettling Shavarath delicate balance of power for your unworthy squabbles?”


Inu

As the cowled men return Inu greetings, she can perceive a faint evil aura around two of them, and a moderate one surrounding the hobgoblin bard. She notices an evil aura even when looking at the hobgoblin warrior, but with more attention it can be ascertained that it emanates from the sword, not the creature.

As she walks outside and starts dancing, her actions don’t go unnoticed, and some of the training troops glance at her movements with interest, even if all of them are too worried by their instructor to pay enough attention to the elegant Kalashtar.

Sidara

As you speak with the perplexed half-elf, the instructor and the other soldiers look at you and him with a mixture of curiosity and ill-conceived arrogance. As the young warrior tries again to fight his comrade. This time, he still struggles, but seem to have caught Sidara’s suggestions: he is able to dodge a couple of blows and, when the bulkier and slower opponent moves exactly as Sidara said, he is able to strike at the elbow, disarming him, while all of the troops cheer for his success. The Khoravar turns to Sidara with a satisfied expression, before the dwarven drillmaster shouts at the two contenders to go back in line, and they swiftly comply at the order.

The captain, who left the safehouse after Jack entered the room, approaches Sidara with a satisfied smile:
“I never thought I’d seen that recruit doing something different than falling. You must have military training, and a good one too! Care to teach the troops some tricks while you’re waiting, or when you’ll be back from the mission?”

[iTookUrNick]

Jack

'If patience is a virtue, how comes Celestials are always so wrathful when they appear?' thinks Jack, biting back a stiff retort retort. Instead he bows to the creature and speaks in a calm voice:
"Apologies for the inconvenience. I do not doubt that the struggle I pulled you from is most important, and I do not ask you to linger one moment more than strictly necessary before returning to join the fight.

However, I want you to remember that the war has many fronts, and sometimes resources have to be made available to prevent further complications down the line. This is such an instance. There are forces at work here on the material plane that wish to plug the world back into the chaos and suffering of war. Forces that include, but are likely not limited to, the Cult of the Emerald Claw. My team and I are trying to oppose said forces, unmaking their members and eradicating them from this world and generally keeping the peace. Specifically, we have located a secret base of operation that might be involved in a series of terrorist attacks, and we are about to raid it. We would welcome your assistance in this matter.

The spell I used to bring you here requires me to specify a contract for your release. I do not mean to keep you here against your will. Thus, I state the following as my offer: that you help us of your own free will for as much time as you deem appropriate in our struggle against the Emerald Claw and whoever else is plotting to bring the nation of Khorvaire back to war. I trust that you appreciate our need and the importance of the mission at hand, and that you will exercise your best judgment on the matter."

Having stated his terms, Jack cannot help but add a side comment "I guess next time I will go ahead and bind a fiend instead. I was cautioned against it by multiple sources, but who am I to argue against the words of a Deva? Not only I will get the help I need, but I will also aid the side of the Light in winning the Battleground."

Btw, how will we handle the retiring of 3SecondCultist?

[CozJa]

The flaming sword of the Deva burns with rekindled brightness when Jack speaks of his plans "Destroying those vile mockeries of justice will be a good deed. I will follow you, for now, but do not try to trick me into serving more than is needed. You called me to help in destroying the forces of evil, and I will do it. But I have no interest in the destiny of this plane, or in stopping wars, as you said. The real War rage harder in my home, and not even all the forces of your world combined would be able to be more than a whispering wind, in front of the eternal bladestorms of Shavarath."

As Jack adds his comment, the Deva looks at him with concerned, fiery, eyes.
"Do not play with demons, and do not act as you know how the planes work. Indeed, you may help us in battle by calling away one of the fiendish denizens, but what if you where to call a demon who is fighting against devils, therefore giving them an advantage in another front against the forces of light? As I told you, the delicate balance of Shavarath should not be undervalued."


Sorry, couldn't help trolling Jack a bit :smalltongue:
Anyway, Jack won by far the Charisma contest and, no matter what he says, the Deva will follow him around to the very end of his mission, considering him his leader. That said, he may not have a very high opinion of Jack as a person, but I'm sure that can change along the way.

As for 3Sec, I'll just have Blue leave for an emergency while you were preparing.

[iTookUrNick]

"I shall keep all that in mind for future reference." answers Jack with a bow, determined to keep the conversation civil despite the disdain of the celestial. "We should get downstairs and gather our party right away. They should be ready by now, and we should not waste even a moment of your valuable time by dilly-dallying."

[rypt]

Looking towards the half-elf, Sidara nods her approval of the young warrior's performance. "I'd keep an eye on that one if I were you," she says to the approaching captain. "There's promise there." While she listens to the captain's request, she bends down to pick up her sword, plucking her thumb across its edge. Deeming it suitably sharp, she returns the blade to the sheath on her hip and shrugs. "I suppose I've got some time to kill." She gestures towards the boisterous drillmaster and chuckles. "You sure he won't mind?"

As the soldiers fall in line, Sidara draws a wooden practice sword from a rack at the edge of the training field. Stepping closer to the troops, she studies their ranks, and after a moment's consideration, points first to a broad-shouldered human, then to the smaller of the two shifters, and finally to the open space in front of her. "You and you, here and here."

For the next hour, she provides instruction on a variety of combat techniques, from ways to leverage a blade for throws and disarms, to half-swording, and other less-than-conventional uses of a free off-hand. Few of these techniques could be found in a book in the library of Rekkenmark; most are of Sidara's own formulation, implemented and refined over the course of nearly 20 years of war.

With two of the more experienced soldiers executing maneuvers which she first demonstrates on her own, Sidara makes frequent use of her wooden sword to poke and pull, correcting flaws of form and posture. Though there is no mistaking her ornery disposition, she offers praise and criticism in equal measure, seeming more animated and engaged than she has at any point since boarding Argonth. This outpost's environment is both familiar and comfortable to her, and one she has not often experienced since Cyre's own military force was obliterated by the Mourning.

[CozJa]

Many of the soldiers on the walls are distracted by the newcomers: Innurasha elegant dance seems to have had a relaxing effect not only on her, but even on those who seen her perform: a supernatural calm found its place in the heart of many grizzled veterans.
In another place, a group of recruits is, instead, feeling a powerful drive to perfect their abilities, and many of them, even their drillmaster, will have a lot to think about during the night, regarding what they have learnt. Looking like a lonely woman, Sidara knows a lot about teamwork, and she has been able to teach a good part of it.

For his part, Jack comes up with a new ‘friend’, ready to help the group in their fight against the Emerald Claw.

As each of you assemble in front of the gate to the Darguun controled side of Marguul pass, the two hobgoblins are already there waiting, the Lord-General, wearing a metalline black plate and mounting a banner over his shoulders, looks like a goblinoid hero of old, or an impersonator who lost a passage for the Carnival of Shadows. The Duur’kala (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20040816a), called seem more relaxed now, and offers a dry but educated smile to each of you, not reacting to the deva presence; as for the three cowled men, each of them has a backpack probably full with their ‘tools of the trade’, some wands, rations, and other instruments. The older one is surely an arcanist, because he brings with him a component pouch, and looks with fascination at the extraplanar creature.
Sadly, Harod d’Deneith has an unexpected news for the group:
“We had to relocate Blue, there was an immediate emergency and he had to depart for another destination. I would have preferred for you to have an experienced agent in the mission, but after what I have seen you do here in only an hour, I’m sure you will be succesful.”

Gheerla cannot the resist the opportunity to remark the situation: “So, we still have to start, and we are already down one? Amazing work Harod… at least the less we are the fast we go. Llesh Haruuc wants our relic back as soon as possible.”

This time the liutenant choose to ignore her, and orders the gate open.

“Evening is approaching, but with the help of your guides you may travel during night; the first part of the road is easy enough to permit it; and our ‘ambassador’ said one thing right: faster is better."

As you are passing through the gate, Sterngate's captain calls for you, waving his hands while bringing something to see:
"Hey, wait a minute! I wanted to thank you for what you are doing, you and the liutenant here may be adventurers, but we are there to protect our country, and I wanted to thank you on behalf of Brelish Army Sterngate regiment. Here's something for you: we haven't got many resources to spare, but those may be useful against the Emerald Claw. I lost four men against a group of those terrorists, and I know their tactics"
Ha hands you two potions and a bottle of oil, with labels on them: 'Protection from Evil', 'Hide from Undead' and 'Bless Weapon'.

[iTookUrNick]

Sorry for the late reply. I am abroad and I will be back in about 10 days. I Will post, but maybe less frequently.
Jack thanks the men on the walls for their generosity but asks for no potion; he might make use of one or two later, bit they might be better suited to others.
As the group assembles and gets ready to set forth, Jack starts doing his magic. He counts ten people, including the Angel, his familiar and himself. He starts weaving astral threads to bind the group together, easing the effort of doing magic on each other. Without breaking stride, he quietly moves from person to person asking about themselves. He only needs a minute with each, and what is being said has no relevance with the magic at work. Still, it is a good time to get to know them, their goals and their preferences. To each he asks their names and provenance (if he does not know in advance), as well as their preferred tactics. He wants to know if they would prefer the protection of the Silver Flame or if they would rather hide in the darkness; if, given the choice, they would rather be bigger and stronger or smaller and more agile, and if there is anything that they fear in particular, or that they could use. He also asks why they are going on this mission, and what they hope to accomplish for themselves: it always pays to know the motives of one's companions.
Finally, having completed the tapestry of the group in his mind, he turns himself invisible using the power of his ancestors and gets to work as he walks, weaving his spells inside said tapestry.

[rypt]

Looking over the assembled company, Sidara takes measure of the brave or foolish few who will soon be fighting alongside her. "Did you and your men serve during the war?" she asks of the senior Brelish agent. "If I trust to watch back out there, will I regret it?" The question is forward, her tone is firm, but her intent is not to disparage. If she receives a satisfactory answer, she claps a hand on the man's soldier. "Good."

Stepping in front of the deva, she bows her head in a rare showing of respect. "Bright one," she says in the celestial tongue. "Welcome." She need not question the competence of an angel of Shavarath.

Moving right past the hobgoblins, whose presence here is an unfortunate necessity, she nods stiffly to Jack and Inu before glancing about in search of their warforged companion. "Where's Blue?" she asks with a glance to their Blademarked handler.

The Deneith's answer provokes a string of muttered curses, some in the common tongue but most in orcish. "Well that's great. Thank you, lieutenant. Your vote of confidence is just as valuable to us as a nearly indestructible warforged..."

Rather than hear whatever excuse he has to offer, Sidara turns around and steps closer to the gate. Frustrated though she may be -- Blue was the one she liked, after all -- it's clear she's ready to leave.

Or, at least, she was. Hearing Gheerla's final remark, Sidara turns suddenly on her heels, looking from Gheerla to Mahk'r to Harod. "Wait-- what relic? What in Khyber's darkest depths is she talking about?"

If possible, I'd like to use the same modified Sense Motive check from before to get a sense of how capable the Brelish troops are. The same goes for the two hobgoblins. I don't need exact builds, just looking for a general sense of their level and whether or not they seem like frontline combatants. Not sure if you'd prefer one check or two, but here's two just in case:

Sense Motive + BAB: [roll0]
Sense Motive + BAB: [roll1]

[CozJa]

“I hope you know how to fight better than why you are here!” says Gheerla; before anyone answers, Mahk’r explodes “Oh stop it, now! That’s pushing it too far! We have to work together, and you are supposed to be the ambassador!” He tells her in common, so that anyone can understand. He turns to Sidara and answers her, while the group leaves the gates.

“Two months ago, a holy relic was stolen from one of our ancient ruins: the tears of Laegran. We believe that the culprits were Emerald Claw cultists, even if we ignore the reason. Llesh Haruuc ordered us to find the relic and bring it back to its proper place. And that’s why we’re here. At least until my Duur’kala won’t get us booted out from every group across Khorvaire!”

“And why should that be your problem? You can always go back to your beloved jungles.” answers her.

Commander Harod d’Deneith looks at your group as you start the voyage, with Jack gently conversing with his new companions and Sidara and Gheerla looking at each other like they were going to kill themselves in a couple of minutes.
“Good luck, and may the Sovereigns guide your way… you’ll need it”

As Jack speaks with the group, Sidara observes with care each answer, to better assess what they are capable of.

One of them, who looks like he is the leader of the group (or, at least, the more talkative one) presents himself as Alain Smythe; he explains that his work is that of an expert in trapping systems, and has had more than three years of experience as an adventurer in the Eldeen Reaches, before joining the Dark Lanterns. At Jack questions he answers that he prefers to hide in darkness and to be smaller and agile. Regarding his fears he answers: “Somebody knowing my fears” with a smile, then shows Jack a bunch of alchemical flasks and a Hand Crossbow. “I prefer to keep people at distance. Well… enemies, at least!”
The youngest one (who startled at Sidara intervention at the meeting) presents himself as Beren Devin. He speaks way less than Alain, and frequently let the other man answer for him: he, too, is an expert infiltrator, even if he doesn’t want to explain where, and for whom, he worked before. His tactical answers are basically the same as Alain’s, even if he spots a shortsword and has no flasks; when asked about his fears, he answers that fear is something no-one should get rid of.

The third man is called Wrogar Bakker. Jack immediately recognize, by speaking with him, that he is a fellow arcanist, and Wrogar, who doesn’t look very amiable, brightens up a bit at the Half-Giant’s mention of its incantations, explaining that he graduated at Arcanix and is now working with the Brelish government with the desire to be part of a group working for something ‘big and important’. At Jack’s mention of size modifications, he offers to discuss what spells they could use and how they could complement each other arsenal.

Gheerla, for once, looks a bit more relaxed after half an hour of walking, and answers to Jack’s questions with less rudeness than expected: she is a bardic enchantress of the hobgoblin tribes, and knows some useful spell to render herself more difficult to hit. She has abilities that can bolster all the group, and obviously prefers to stay away from the frontlines.
Conversely, Mahk’r is a powerful warrior, and appreciates every help possible in covering the frontlines; at Jack’s mention of ‘tactics’, the hobgoblin’s eyes widen and he starts talking about endless technicalities about troop formations, flanking positions, the best use of terrain and strike forces, and a lot of things specific to military sciences, that become quickly boring for everyone but the more versed in the art of war.

Observing her new group of companions, Sidara tries to ascertain their abilities, sure, it is difficult without actually seeing them in action, but her experience in the field gives her a little advantage: Wrogar and Alain seem to be decent warriors compared to the soldiers she helped trained, but leagues behind she or Jack. Beren is probably on par with the recruits, as far as combat prowess goes. Clearly they were not sent to help in battle.
The heavily armed hobgoblin, instead, looks like he would be a match even for Sidara usual standards, while the female one is “trickier”: she may be on par with them, but looks and moves like somebody who wants to hide her real strenght, succedeing in it.

[iTookUrNick]

As he makes his 'round', Jack quikly comes to realize that his travelling companions are quite the sneaky lot, and would hardly welcome the illuminating protection of the Flame. Still, there are other kind of helps that can be offered. He files the information away for future use.

Finding out about the ulterior motive of the two hobgoblins is... refreshing, at least to Jack. It helps to know what motivates people, especially If you do not particularly like them. "What does this relic do, exactly? It's function might give us a clue on why it was stolen..." he asks to investigate the subject further.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]

[rypt]

Sidara's head snaps towards Gheerla, a terrible fury burning behind her yellow eyes. While Mahk'r attempts to explain the situation, the Cyran is both silent and still, gaze unyielding as she stares a hole through the female hogboblin. With Jack following up on the nature of the stolen relic, Sidara steps closer to the insolent dirge singer. "You needn't worry about my fighting skill," she says lowly once their faces are mere inches apart. "By the time this is all over, you'll be thanking your savage gods that your people rebelled when they did. A few years later and I might've been here to put a bloody end to it." Without waiting for Gheerla's response, she steps away and continues down the mountain pass.

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

[CozJa]

Gheerla, momentarily surprised by Sidara's words, looks like is going to retort, but then Jack question regarding the artifact calls for her attention. After all, even if she doesn't like those outlanders, she is a Dirge Singer, and cannot lose the occasion to tell a story! The Hobgoblin starts speaking, and her voice seems... different,
in a way, just like her anger flew away.
"Laegran Illitidhslayer was a Bugbear barbarian, a renwoned warrior whose wrath against the horrible invaders was said to be so deep as to make is will unconquerable. Even the most clever and ancient between the Daelkyr were unable to control Laegran's mind, or even to influence it, and he killed many of the brain-eaters.
Due to his power, the Lord of Eyes itself decided to send his avatar, a horrible giant Beholder called Xizdakx, to attack Laegran's castle with an immense army of Beholders, Dolgaunt, and other abominations. After six days and seven nights of fighting, all of Laegran people were dead, or worse, so the Bugbear hero opened the gates of the castle and invited the enemies to enter. When the Lord of Eyes avatar was inside, Laegran destroyed the pillars sustaining his castle with his own two hands, killing most of the enemy army.
When the castle was falling, Laegran fought against the Xizdakx to trap him under the ruins; between the rumbling ruins, Laegran struck the Beholder in his central eye, killing it, and in that moment he had a revelation: he understood that the Daelkyr would be trapped into the heart of the world, but the mighty Dhakaani empire would scramble into dust like his castle.
And he cried"

After she finishes the story, the bard turns to Jack, "We don't know for sure how they works, they are used as a remembrance in one of our yearly holidays; some belive that they have thaumaturgic properties and that, if smeared on a maddened person, they can bring back the light to a darkened mind. But I believe they are only legends. Their value is in what they represent for our people.
We have no gods nor masters," she turns briefly to Sidara while telling this, "
But we have a great respect for our past..."

[rypt]

Sidara laughs humorlessly at Gheerla's final remark. "And who will respect you as you respect Laegran Illithidslayer? Hm? What stories will your grandchildren tell their grandchildren of the innocents you betrayed, slaughtered and enslaved? What stories will they tell of your brave king, Lhesh Haruuc, who stole his kingdom from peasants and farmers?" With that, she spits into the dirt at her feet and turns her back to the dirge singer once again.

[iTookUrNick]

Sometimes enough is enough, even for mild-mannered Jack, and even if he actually agrees with what it is being said. He cuts in after Sidara in a reproachful tone: "Mind your words, lady Sidara. We are here to stop a new war from exploding, not to bring it about. Regardless of the merits of your accusations, this is not the time nor the place to make them. We are heading into a fight as an unproven team, and we would do well to do whatever we can to bind ourselves together rather that push each other away in disdain. There will be another time to address your concerns." When the Flame wills it, he does not add if not in his mind. He turns to the Hobgoblin "Most of this applies to you as well. Despite the differences in our worldview, we will be called to put them aside soon enough. We might as well do it now."

That settled, he goes back to his previous question: "So, you are implying that this relic of yours is merely... 'ornamental'. For me, that only means one of two things: either you don't actually know what it does because you are missing a critical pice of information, or there someone else involved who values the relic for the same reasons that you do. Either way, we should be careful and keep in mind we do not see the whole picture yet.'

Despite his outburst, Jack's attention never falters, and he keeps his eyes and ears peeled at all times.

[CozJa]

As Sidara lashes out again at the Dirge Singer, Mahk'r grimaces briefly;
"Our Lhesh did what..." Gheerla tries to answer, but Jack's forceful intervention stops her.
Mahk'r, still walking, briefly interjects, "Well said, holy man, let our... 'flames', burn only against those who deserve it."

Beren and Wrogar exchange a quick glance, but is clear that both are worried about how the mission will work out, with such a group; in the meantime, Inuurasha and the summoned celestial keep walking silently.

As you advance, Gheerla ponders what Jack said. "I think that the second option is more probable, for what I know there are many adventurers and treasure hunters who value ancient manufacts; I know that legends usually have some part of truth, but the story of Laegran always struck me as an ancient tradition and I would be surprised if his tears had really all those magical powers. Anyway, I prefer if we don't speak too much for the rest of this voyage, you and my bodyguard may be eager to bond with each other, but I prefer to be in company of the whispering winds."

As the group advances during the night, with those that can see clearly in the dark aiding those who cannot, the group traverse the easier path, until morning comes, where with more ease of sight, the road becomes more and more difficult.


At 5 A.M. you distinctly recognize a distant sound, like that of a beast moving on rocks; it may be due to your primal senses, still tied to the ancient perils of Xen'drik's jungles, but you are pretty sure something moved atop the cliffs. Looking into the darkness it is difficult to distinguish some real form from those created by the mountains, but you are pretty sure one of those rocks *moved*



At around 6 A.M. briefly before dawn, you hear the rocks rolling down from one side of the mountain; as you turn to look, you see nothing of interest, as the rugged crags can play into the shadows giving away so many different forms.

[rypt]

Sidara offers only a wordless guttural noise in response Jack's rebuke, waving away his concern with a gesture that is both acknowledgement and dismissal, equal parts "sure, whatever," and "get off my back." The truth of the matter is that she's more than happy to continue the journey in silence. It suits her mood and the misery that is the company of two hogboblins and two of Flamekeep's finest.

At the sound of movement in the early hours of the morning, she instinctively draws on the magic of her blood, granting herself vision beyond the ken of even the most canny nocturnal predators.

In response to the sound of rolling rocks, Sidara will expend a first level spell slot through her Infernal Sorcerer Eyes feat to grant herself 10 minutes of perfect night vision. She is able to see through darkness of any kind (magical and nonmagical) out to the limit of her line of sight, ignoring any concealment provided by darkness spells or effects.

[iTookUrNick]

When Jack first sees the movement on the ridge, he shares his insight with the rest of the group, warning all to keep their eyes peeled.
Later, seeing how Sid's attention is once more drawn toward that spots, he draws near and asks: "Do you see anything of note? As I said, it almost seemed like the rocks themselves moved. It would not be impossible that someone is trying to set us up in an ambush by disguising themselves. That, or some rock creature is going about their business."

[rypt]

"Nothing," Sidara grumbles frustratedly, her eyes trained on the ridge. "I don't think we're alone out here though."

[CozJa]

After Sidara uses her arcane ability to better peer into darkness, Mahk'r approaches her and Jack;

"You noticed them, right? I believe they may be one of the mountain tribes. goblins, or... bugbears, more probably."

He looks around and touches the vessel he still keeps unfolded.

"Does your burning eyes tell you something? I didn't see anything, but I'm sure they are following us since we left Sterngate. The symbol of Lhesh Haruuc protects every traveller, but not from curiosity. They'll want to know what our group is doing here."

As you speak, Wrogar joins you. "I can set up some personal defense field against ranged aggressions, if needed. Let me know if you require some application of it."

[iTookUrNick]

"Well, it seems we we're been rather slow on the uptake, then: I only noticed them a little while ago. What do you suggest we do? I do not think it would do to ignore them completely, especially if they turn out to be hostile, but at the same time I would rather avoid unnecessary sidetracking, or being seen as hostile." reasons Jack.

To the trackers: "You know the land around here. Are we relatively safe on this road? If you were to set up an ambush, where would you do it? We could scout ahead and check, and even prepare a counter-ambush of our own in case one is waiting for us."

To the two Goblins: "In your opinion, would it be advisable to parlay with this group that is shadowing us? Specifically, I'm talking about either of you, or the two of you together, doing it: it's clear you are best equipped for the task and, frankly, it might be one of the main reasons you are here with us in the first place. Either way, I would rather not divulge more information than we need, unless you think it serves our purposes."

Jack turns to Sidara: "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

To Wrogar: "Save your spells for the others. I'd rather not make a target of myself in the first place." answers Jack, declining the offer. He turns invisible instead, continuing with a smile (that no one sees): "Don't worry, I'm not bailing on you. It pays to keep a few tricks out of view, in case they bother us."

[rypt]

Sidara groans when Mahk'r asks the same question that Jack had asked only moments before. "I haven't seen a damn thing," she says with an agitated sigh. "I heard them moving around up there, but that's it."

To both the hobgoblin's statement and the sergeant's question, she offers, "If all they want is to keep an eye on things, then I don't particularly care if they know why we're here. But if they're looking to share that information with anybody else, then we've got a problem."

[iTookUrNick]

"Then I suppose we cannot afford not to make sure" comments Jack. "We should meet them, sooner rather than later, and find out."

[CozJa]

Mahk'r looks around again, then turns to Sidara, since Jack is no more visible: "As I told you, the banner gives us an official protection, but I concur that it would be better to know their intentions. As much as the mountain tribes hate strangers, they would not dare to attack a caravan guided by hobgoblins, but we can't be sure that we will be even when you come back."

Gheerla, for the first time betraying a glimpse of preoccupation in her eyes, joins the group in the discussion.
"I'm sure that we will overcome wathever challenge those stupid thieves brought to our country; anyway, We can contact our 'followers' to see if they can be of any assistance; after all, we *are* looking for invaders"

Mahk'r consults himself with Alain, who brings out a map of the region, less detailed than the one at Sterngate, but still useful for the situation.

"There's a little plateau at half an hour of march from here. We could make camp there, and it would be difficult to ambush us. From that point, we could try and see if our mountain 'escorts' are interested in making themselves known. What do you think about it?"

[rypt]

Yeah, sure," Sidara remarks in a dubious tone, eyeing the hobgoblin's standard. "You can trust your banner all you like; I prefer to trust my sword."

While Mahk'r and Alain study the map, Sidara grows increasingly restless. She loathes stillness even under the most agreeable of circumstances, and standing in a narrow mountain pass surrounded by goblinoids she cannot see is about as far from agreeable as it gets. Once she's heard Mahk'r's proposal, she starts walking again immediately. "I think it's time we get moving," she says back over her shoulder. "The sooner we know what these mountain dwellers are up to, the better."

[iTookUrNick]

"Sounds reasonable. We want to be in a good position when we meet them. And if they do not come to us, then we will have to go to them and check them out." sums up Jack, satisfied at having a plan.

[CozJa]

As Sidara moves, the rest of the group follow suit, while Inuurasha uses her shadow abilities to disappear, blending into the night low-light; "I'll follow them from the shadows" says she, before whirling away from sight, into the black darkness.

As you walk to the desired position, the dim lights of dawn slowly disappear into the rising sun, and bright rays illuminate the surrounding mountains; it is a beautiful day, and if it wasn't for the difficult task that await your group, the plateau would be a perfect place to observe with awe nature's work.
As all the members of the group position themselves, Mahk'r plants his banner into the terrain, and Gheerla starts chanting something.

the Hobgoblin warrior calls for Sidara: "Gheerla and I can communicate with every tribe, thanks to the authority of our banner, but the mountaineers are unpredictable: it would be better if you stand with us, since Jack has gone invisible. And, please, be assertive, but not aggressive, I hope we can avoid bloodshed."

Gheerla finish chanting, then open her mouth and a powerful call in goblinoid resonates on all the plateau. After her words finish echoing through the rocks, you see many indistinct figures raising up from the distance.
Slowly, three towering Bugbears approach your 'camp'; they are clothed in furs, and wear necklaces decorated with little skulls. Two of them have clubs, and the other one, the taller, has a sword and wears a leather armor.
Gheerla and the trio exchange some words in Goblinoid, and Mahk'r whispers to Sidara that she said them that the humans are a group of wardens here to apprehend evil criminals. As she finish, the armored one looks at the human group.

"Strangers. This Headhorn clan territory. Why you here?"

[iTookUrNick]

As the goblins prepare the plateau for the meeting, Jack does a little preparing of his own. As the calls goes forth and the Bugbear approach, he casts Detect Thoughts, then silently positions himself to the side the incoming group (opposite Inuyasha) and stands invisibly in a good position to strike, should the situation require it. Telepathically, he sends to Sidara: "Indeed, it would be best if we avoided any useless bloodshed, but if necessary we should still be ready to act. I will be listening to what will be said in meeting itself as well as to our guests' thoughts. It would be best if you could guide their minds to think about their loyalties and to whether they report to anyone. Subtly, if at all possible. In case something else is needed, or if an attack is warranted, I will signal everyone like this, so that we might coordinate and surprise them."
Detect thoughts, DC 20 to resist on each of the three Bugbear. I also get to know if anyone else gets near (100ft) of us and if there are magical auras about. And finally I'll throw in a [roll0] because it never hurts. Do I need to roll for hide/move silently as well? In case I do: [roll1] and [roll2].

[rypt]

With hardly a diplomatic bone in her body, Sidara cannot fathom how it came to be decided that she would make the best spokesperson for the group. Gritting her teeth in frustration as she listens to Jack's telepathic instruction, she wishes she knew where the half-giant was standing, that she might better aim her scowl.

She paces in a small circle while she waits for their meeting's final preparations to be made. Only once the massive bugbears make their presence known is she finally still, standing as tall as her stature allows.

"We're here for the Order of the Emerald Claw," she answers firmly. With a wave of her hand, a symbol appears in the dirt at her feet, an outline of a five-tendriled flame reminiscent of a hand. "Look familiar?

"It would take from now until sunset to list all the horrific sh*t these people have perpetrated over the years, but know that they're not the kind of folks you want as your neighbors. They are a scourge on this world and they are here. Right now. Hiding in the caves beneath these very mountains. We're going to remove them, and the sooner it's done, the sooner we'll be gone. Is that going to be a problem for the Headhorn tribe?"

Sidara casts prestidigitation to draw the Emerald Claw mark in the dirt.

[CozJa]

As Sidara traces the Claw, the three bugbears tighten their grasp on their weapons, and an expression of contempt appears on their faces; they start speaking with Gheerla in their mother language, and the armored one, who looks like their chief, stomps on the dirt, and looks directly in Sidara's eyes.

"We hate Claw, desacrate holy caves. You kill them, Headhorn thank you!"

The bugbear approaches Sidara even more, trying to look as menacing as possible.
"You sure can do it, woman?"

Gheerla keeps talking with them and Mahk'r smiles briefly: "They are talking with about flying heads and tentacled creatures smelling of death. And they are not sure of how a group of... ehm... 'puny humans' would be able to beat those monsters." The Warrior leans on the banner, and whispers to Sidara and the three Brelish agents, who are now closer to them. "I wouldn't take their word for granted, anyway, those tribals are known to magnify everything."



As you scan the minds of all presents, you find that Gheerla is impossible to clearly understand, but you are not sure if this is for the fact that she is thinking in a language you don't know, or she has too much willpower to surrender her ego to an external mind.
The three bugbears, while somewhat difficult to understand due to the language barrier, have more simple minds, and are easier to read: you perceive a lot of commotion, resentement toward other humans, and one of them is haunted by images of horrible creatures with decomposed skin.
You are even able to read into the minds of Alain and Beren. The former one is looking at the bugbears, considering how to better strike them if the need arise, while the latter is quite discomforted by the perspective of fighting undead monsters

Suddenly, the Deva you summoned enters into the range of activity of your magical power, and sends a message directly into your mind. <Beware of your companions, I perceive the demon's taint when we are around them>

[rypt]

Sidara holds her ground as the warlord steps closer. "As sure as the sun and the moons," she answers in an even tone, looking up into the bugbear's eyes. She waves her hand again, this time to dash the Order's mark from the dirt.

"Have your scouts been tracking the Claw as closely as they've been tracking us? Do you have a guess of their numbers?"

Once the bugbear has answered, she asks, "How many ways are there into or out of these caves?"

Some Knowledge checks to see what she knows of creatures matching the bugbear's descriptions.

Knowledge (dungeoneering): [roll0]
Knowledge (arcana): [roll1]

[iTookUrNick]

Good thing I said 'Subtle', thinks Jack to himself.

He sends to Sidara his findings as she speaks with the Bugbears 'I do not perceive anything out of place. One of the Bugbears is quite afraid of what I believe are undead.

Keep digging, see if we can find something useful.'

'Which ones are you referring to?' sends Jack, troubled. The celestial could not have delivered direr news than having corruption among one's own allies.
Some rolls to see if Jack recognises the creatures in question: [roll0], [roll1].

[CozJa]

The Bugbear continues staring at Sidara for a moment that seems incredibly long, then he relaxes and makes a welcoming gesture with his hand.
"Fine, you pass. Kill them."

When Sidara makes her questions, the bugbear tries to answer as best as he can, sometimes being translated by Gheerla. He explains that they started tracking the group from a distance since they relocated them (or at least since they noticed them) months before. When they tried to give a closer look three of their patrols disappeared, with only one survivor; after this, they decided to control them from distance. As for the caves, for what they know that part of the mountain is not linked to anything else and the cave should not be linked to anything at all. But they don't know if the Emerald Claw worked something different.

Interrogated by Sidara regarding the expected number of enemies, one of the other two bugbears, with his eyes wide open, starts rambling in a strange mixture of goblinoid and common, you can only pick something like "A fly of heads!" and "A commando tentacles", but he seems to be a bit touched in his mind.
Gheerla tries to translate and explain as best as she can, but even she looks puzzled by the bugbear's words "I think he wants to say that there are many 'flying head monsters' and that the 'tentacles', or probably 'tentacled faces' in your language, ambushed them when they were fighting the heads. That means we should not expect more than four or five of this kind of monsters: that's the basic commando unit count for bugbears"


The Deva answer is more puzzling than his first phrase: "I don't know. I sense the taint of abyssal magic on the goblins and the woman, but I'm unable to understand from where it comes, my senses are still numbed by your homeplane. Just, be wary of them. All of them!"



Jack, aided by the confused images he perceives from one of the bugbears mind, thinks immediately at Beholders and Illithids, but something seems off in the descriptions: first of all, he doesn't perceive the typical fear of eyes and rays that everyone who met a Beholder would know; furthermore, something in those tentacled horrors seems... off, but he cannot understand what. It's just like he is thinking at them from the wrong perspective, but the powerful wizard cannot grasp exactly why.



As she thinks at the descriptions, Sidara believes that the flying heads may be a group of Beholders, but hopes that it really isn't.

As for the tentacled creatures, there are many options, and the warrioress is not exactly sure on what might be the rightful one, especially considering the 'smelling of death bit'... maybe Carrion Crawlers?

[rypt]

Sidara's furrowed brow holds an unkind mixture of unease, doubt and confusion as she to listens to Gheerla's attempt to make sense of whatever it is this bugbear thinks he saw. On the one hand, a pack of eye tyrants sounds spectacularly dangerous, but on the other, she isn't sure if she should trust anything this mountain-dweller has to say. The longer his rambling continues, the less interested Sidara seems, until Gheerla mentions the size of a bugbear scouting party.

"Hold on -- is he trying to say that these creatures used to be bugbears?"

[iTookUrNick]

To Sidara: 'Well, I think the bugbears are telling the truth. As for the content of what they are saying, I'm not as sure, but I do not think it's former bugbears (though it might be). Something does not match up: we will see when we get there. We should still be careful, though: if there are indeed beholders lurking in the caves, we might be in for a very difficult fight.

"Well, that is not as helpful as I wish it was, but I will follow your advice. Keep me posted if you find out more on who should I guard against specifically, and why." sends Jack, even more troubled.

[CozJa]

Gheerla stops a moment to explain the meaning of those bugbear's words.

"In bugbear's culture, counting happens by mean of military units; a commando means four, a Duur'shak means three, a 'sniper' means two, and a Berserk means one. It's not very practical for outsiders, but they can understand each other. Since 'commando' is even use to indicate a number of four, or like four, similar to how you humans use the 'a couple of' term, it means that they were four, or possibly five. So no, they are not saying that the creatures used to be bugbears. But again, I don't know how much this raving creature's words should be listened to. Since it looks like we can pass, I propose that we give them farewell and keep going, unless you have more questions."


The Angelic creature nods toward your invisible figure's direction.

[rypt]

Sidara looks at Gheerla with an expression of bewilderment as the dirge singer explains the bugbears' bizarre colloquialisms. "What? That's just -- ugh," she cuts herself short with a groan, thinking better of what she was about to say. "Forget it. Let's just get going."

She turns to the bugbear chief. "I think we have what we need. You'll have your cave back in short order."

[iTookUrNick]

Somehow satisfied despite the nebulous details and the lack of concrete evidence regarding their enemies, Jack prepares to follow the rest of the party once the Bugbears leave.
Sure, let's go.

[CozJa]

As the conversation if cut short by the bugbears inability to convey more useful informations, the group assembles and prepares to depart: Gheerla accompanies the bugbears for a short part of the road, discussing with them in their native language and bowing to the monsters, before they definitely leave (probably to keep following you from the other side of the mountains); Mahk'r picks the banner out of the terrain and puts it again on his backpack, while Beren helps Wrogar with reassembling some of their sheets and tools, and Alain discuss the next movements with the Hobgoblin warrior.

As Gheerla comes back to the group, Alain express his considerations on the next movements: “We should be able to cover the remaining distance in between ten and fourteen hours, not counting an extended rest, which I believe all of us earned. In that way, we can decide if we want to approach the cavern after or before dawn. I suggest we act right after dawn, since we may be able to negate some of the advantages monstrous creatures have in the dark, and gives us a clear shot in breaking into the cave; but that would make not much difference once we'll be inside.”

After you decide the best strategy, the rest of the day passes on uneventfully, as you advance and rest, almost as if you were a normal group of explorers or retired soldiers. You see no trace of threats, and even your unexpected goblinoid 'guests' seem to have left satisfied.


Unless you have something to add IC, you can post OOC your decision regarding the still night/after dawn approach at the cave.

[iTookUrNick]

"If you are worried about sight, I would suggest going right before dawn. If we do rest for a bit, I will be able to provide those who can't see in the dark with the means to do so, which as you pointed out will be useful within the cave complex as well. However, if you suspect some other advantage, then I guess it makes sense to wait." comments Jack, back among the visible. He looks at Sidara, expecting another brusque remark from her.

[rypt]

Sidara shrugs her shoulders. "Light or dark won't make a difference for me, but if you can give others the ability to see in the dark, I don't see what we have to lose by making our move before dawn. If we're lucky, we might catch some of their knights while they're still asleep."

[iTookUrNick]

"Ah, we should be so lucky!" comments Jack. "Still, it is decided. We'll strike with the cover of darkness. Once inside, though, those who want it will be receive the luminous protection of the Flame."

[CozJa]

As you decide the appropriate time to act, you finally reach the cavern; laying on some boulders, you can see the cavern's entrance from a distance of around 50ft. The darkness covers almost every trace of movement, and the rocky outlines lose themselves into the mouth of night.

“Let it be a night attack, then; you two, formation Halas Five, move now!” Says Alain.
Acting at the appropriate time, the three dark lanterns are the first to take initiative; Wrogar casts a spell on Beren (Jack recognize it as a standard darkvision), while the ranger activates an headband to obtain the same result.
Alain and Beren advance toward the cavern entrance, looking for traps and possible secret passages.

Mahk'r turns to Jack, adjusting his banner to have it not being an hindrance into the cave.
"Any help from the Flame would be appreciated, wise man." He says, then extract a large spiked chain and wields it in his hands, advancing slowly; Gheerla casts a couple of spells on herself, and follows in Mahk'r footsteps with a fixed distance; you can't help but feel that the two of them did something similar many times.

After some time, you here a 'whirl' and a 'click', like some system springing, but nothing happens. Beren signals that everything is ok, and all of you can advance into the cave.

[iTookUrNick]

As they near the cave, Jack takes the Deva to a side and asks it: "I know we might or might not get a useful answer, but I was hoping you could take a few moment and see if you can divine something about what's in those caves. Specifically, I'd like to know where and when we'll be facing the stiffest resistance, so that we might use our resources appropriately."
He also makes a point to explain to every member of the group where and when he will use magic on them, and to agree on what kind of blessing they will be receiving, to make sure it will aid them rather than hamper them in their efforts.

Right before the final approach, he casts his long-duration buffs for the whole party. He asks the Deva to do the same, as they discussed previously.
As the signal comes, he turns invisible and proceeds with the others, his familiar next to him and the deva in front of him for protection.

Jack asks the Deva to use one of its Divination SLAs to get that answer. Good result on a 79 or lower, i think: [roll0].

Buffs are as follow, each one can be given to those who want it:
Full day:
- Greater resistance (https://dndtools.net/spells/spell-compendium--86/resistance-greater--4098/): +3 to saves (resistance)
- Greater luminous amor (https://dndtools.net/spells/book-of-exalted-deeds--52/luminous-armor-greater--8/): +8 AC (armor), -4 to enemy attacks in melee range. Also functions as a daylight spell (daylight in a 60-foot radius, and dim light for an additional 60 feet beyond that). He uses a charge of Rod of Body Restoration to offset the str damage.
- anticipate Teleportation (https://dndtools.net/spells/spell-compendium--86/anticipate-teleportation--3963/)

Up to about 2 hours:
- Heroism (https://dndtools.net/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/heroism--2553/): +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks
- Benediction (https://dndtools.net/spells/complete-champion--57/benediction--582/): +2 luck bonus on all saving throws, can choose to reroll a single attack roll, saving throw, skill check, or ability check after seeing the result of the initial roll, ending the spell. Not active on Jack himself. :(
- Guardian Spirit (https://dndtools.net/spells/magic-of-incarnum--74/guardian-spirit--1826/): when activated (immediate action), for 1 minute +2 insight bonus on Armor Class, Reflex saving throws, Dexterity checks (including initiative checks), and Dexterity-based skill checks.
- Ironguts (https://dndtools.net/spells/spell-compendium--86/ironguts--4674/); +5 alchemical bonus on Fortitude saves against all kinds of poisons
- Magic circle against Evil: +2 deflection vs evil, wards from mental control, and from summoned creatures.

On Jack and his familiar only (personal range):
- Heart of Water (https://dndtools.net/spells/complete-mage--58/heart-of-water--879/)
- Heart of Earth (https://dndtools.net/spells/complete-mage--58/heart-of-earth--877/)

The deva will provide:
- Protection from arrows
- Death ward (9 min duration, just in case we find something nasty at the beginning. as it takes a full minute to buff everyone, later on it will renew it on Jack only, unless a specific, known threat is near, such as the toughest fight if we get that divination working).

Already in the quiescent weave, ready to be cast but not active, are the following (10-12 minutes duration):
- Cat's Grace (https://dndtools.net/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/cats-grace--2790/): +4 Dex (enhancement)
- Fly (https://dndtools.net/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/fly--2816/): 60ft (good), 40 ft if encumbered
- Reduce Person (https://dndtools.net/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/reduce-person--2860/)
- Draconic Might (https://dndtools.net/spells/spell-compendium--86/draconic-might--4414/): +4 to Strength, Constitution, and Charisma, Natural armor (enhancement), immunity to magic sleep and paralysis effects.

Jack might be fatigued by the casting (he is if he fails one of the following, DC varies): [roll1], [roll2], [roll3], [roll4], [roll5], [roll6], [roll7]. Edit: indeed, Jack should be fatigued. I will have him burn through 1 point of inspiration to avoid that. Adding the two used to cast the cleric spells, it's now at 12/15.

Finally, good old [roll8] and [roll9] for Jack; [roll10] and [roll11] for the Deva.

[rypt]

With final preparations underway, Sidara unsheathes her sword and holds it out in front of her. The weapon is a curious thing -- forged of Flametouched Iron, a rare metal found in only in Thrane, but of a form and design clearly inspired by the orc smiths of the Shadow Marches. Running her fingers along its edge, she intones a spell to imbue the blade with powerful magical energy. A moment later, a second spell summons before her an invisible barrier of force, a wave of displaced air buffeting those gathered nearby.

Once Beren signals that it is safe to proceed, the Cyran soldier follows behind Gheerla, her eyes magically adjusted to the pre-dawn darkness.

It's about damn time, she thinks to herself as she approaches the mouth of the cave.

Sidara will refresh her casting of greater magic weapon (11 hour duration) and then cast shield (8 minute duration). She will also expend a 2nd level spell slot for 20 minutes of infernal night-vision.

From Jack, she'll happily accept greater resistance, magic circle against evil, heroism, benediction and ironguts. Greater luminous armor would be helpful once a fight breaks out, but I don't think its smart to have a daylight spell active while we're attempting to enter the cave under the cover of darkness.

[iTookUrNick]

The Armor will be activated once inside the cave. Since others will light things up anyway then, it would probably be pointless not to get it, unless one means to sneak around.

Reading your post made me realize I did not specify it anywhere, bit that's why I meant. :smallredface:

[CozJa]

As the Deva stops for a moment, recollecting some possible divination to help on the task at hand, all of you can feel that the darkness in the cave seems different from the normal darkness of the night, as if it was more... unnatural, in some way...

The Deva breaks the silence after a while, giving you some input: "I perceive an immediate threat, and we should be ready to act as fast as possible. After this, all is lost into an overwhelming sense of evil; I can only feel that something here resonates with the same dark vibration I perceived in the depths of the cave. But I am unable to understand what. Be wary of everything!"

As you enter the place, you feel the darkness around you becoming more dense; with it, a disgusting stench of death and dried blood overcomes everything else. As you try with difficulty to see clearly around the cave, you notice that it is quite large, and it's impossible to distinguish clearly what is on the walls.
After a while, Jack's Deva companion shouts an alert: "LOOK AT THE CEILING!"

As he says it, three different groups of horrible creatures, attached with slimy tentacles on the ceiling, spread their bat-like wings and start flying around: you can see that they have no bodies, just flying heads that resemble human and goblinoid features; suddenly you realize what happened to the Bugbears who entered the cave!

As the monsters attack you, three other silent figures approach you from distance, seemingly disinterested in concealing their presence: they are similar in form to the disgusting aberrations known as "mind-flayers" legendary creatures considered by many cultists of the dragon below as 'holy harbingers' of the Daelkyr's blessings, but theyr skin, even to a black and white darkvision, looks paler and decadent, and part of theyr limbs show signs of decomposition.


@iTookUrNick: So, Jack doesn't even need to roll his knowledge checks: he immediately recognizes the flying monsters as Vargouilles.
The other ones are Vampiric Mind-Flayers, and if you want to roll religion and dungeoneering checks to see how much he knows about them it can be done!

@rypt: Sidara is surely isn't the knowledgeable type, but she can recognize the vargoulles too, if you want to try the same rolls for the Vampiric Mind-Flayers you're free to try!

@Both: so, here's the initiative order:

Jack+Deva 34
Vampiric Mind-Flayers 27
Hobgoblins 25
Sidara 11
Dark Lanterns 8
Vargouilles 8

There will be no surprise round, since you were expecting an attack and the Deva noticed the monsters.

Here's the map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LqsyOFHSUbSyHAPvMWGTqyB-YYgAD0hMyh83QME-Dgo/edit?usp=sharing) You should be able to edit it, if not let me know. I placed you according to your posts, but if you'd prefer to start in a different position I have no problems with it; just describe your movements IC and (if you want, else I'll do it) directly modify your positioning in the map. Even if the posting order would be iTookUrNick ->me->rypt->me again, for the sake of keeping things going post when you can! I prefer to modify slightly the order of action than to have you wait another two weeks! :smallwink:

[iTookUrNick]

Jack is aware of the creatures' locations and, more importantly, the creatures' type as soon as he is in range (100 ft). He will also see any enchantments in place.
[roll0], [roll1] to see what he knows about these things.
He will use his MOVE action to trigger his quiescent weaving buffs for the whole party.
He will use his STANDARD action to cast Prismatic Mist (https://dndtools.net/spells/players-handbook-ii--80/prismatic-mist--2975/) on the group of enemies on the right (see outline on the map).
He uses 3 inspiration points to get an extra STANDARD action to turn the vampires.
Note that with the buffs, the Hobgoblins jump ahead of the vampires in the initiative order, and the lanterns are before the Vargouilles rather than at the same time.

I took the liberty to add my familiar to the combat grid. It might be more of a burden than a resource, but all the spells in place might give it a chance (say, against a varguille or something). Plus, I might polymorph it at one point, though probably not this fight.
For the time being, the familiar READIES an action to intercept anything closing on Jack. Its damage is pitiful (1!) but it's meant to be defensive.

The Deva will use her FULL ROUND action to charge one of the vampire mind flayers. She will charge the one in the top-left quadrant. She has the speed to reach and then some.
[roll2], [roll3], [roll4], [roll5] (19–20/×2)

Jack is the first to sense the enemies in the cave, but it is the Deva that spots them first and warns the others. With a few quick words, he completes the spells that he had previously laid to rest in his weave. An explosion of light and magic descends upon the party and spreads outward, illuminating everything as if the sun had gone up. Scarcely a moment has passed that he turns on he offensive, conjuring a fine mist in the thick of the enemy forces. That''s a bit of a gamble on Jack's part, as it might become ineffective or outright dangerous. He warns the others: "Stay out of the mist on our right!"
Finally, with a decise gesture, he brandish his holy symbol and declares: "Begone, foul creatures!"

The celestial wastes no time and charges one of the creatures with a single leap, aiding herself with her powerful wings and bringing her flaming sword to bear. As she does so, she hollers "For the Silver Flame!"
Tail, the familiar, circles Jack and watches for incoming dangers.

[CozJa]

When Jack uses his holy power, the nearest vargouilles explode into a bright light, releasing a disgusting greenish pus on the floor; as the mist appears, some of the cratures start shrieking horribly, and one of the Mind Flayers appears from it, with some trace of an electric charge still releasing from it. The creature let slip a inhuman cry, then a guttural noise that could be considered... a laugh... and starts communicating into your minds. "You think you can control us? You think you can scare us? See what real power IS!"
As he speaks telepathically, a cone of sonic energy comes forth from his mouth. blasting everyone in its path. The hobgoblins are able to resist it's effect, and Beren shrugs it off without problems; Wrogar and Alain, instead, are affected by it, and they seem incapable to react at what is happening around them.


The Vampiric Mind Flayer releases a Mind Blast, DC 16 or stunned for 8 turns... good luck :smalltongue:


On the other side of the cave, the Deva runs as a ligthing bolt toward the other Vampiric Mind Flayer, as a storm of Vargouilles tries uneffectively to scratch it; he is able to hit the undead abomination with his fiery sword. the aberrant creature shouts for the pain, then tries to stun the celestial warrior with the same tactic used by the other one.


Only for the Deva, DC 16 Will or stunned for 6 turns


The third Vampiric Mind Flayer, affected by the mist, tries to use it as concealment and gain some distance from the group.

At the same time, Gheerla and Mahk'r prepare themselves for the fight: the capable warrior moves toward the other storm of Vargouilles, as to protect the left side of the group, and extracts a spiked chain, waiting for the monsters to attack.
The Dirge Singer starts chanting a strange litany in goblinoid, using its effects with the goal to protect the group against the Vargouilles shrieks.


Mahk'r moves to R25, while Gheerla starts using a countersong, her perform is [roll0]

[rypt]

Sidara tightens her jaw and narrows her eyes as she gazes across the cavern. She is equally disgusted by what she does see -- a throng of abhorrent and unnatural creatures -- as she is irritated by what she does not -- even a single knight of the Emerald Claw. She knows that these reanimated vargouilles and mind flayers cannot possibly be the whole of the Order's presence here.

When the consciousness of the nearest mind flayer touches her own, Sidara wheels to face the tentacled monstrosity. Leaning into the wave of psychic energy it unleashes, she scoffs at the creature's boast of "real power."

With little more than a thought, she invokes a spell to hasten her own movements and those of her nearby companions. It's a spell that most of them are likely to have experienced many times before, yet not only does Sidara elicit its magic with unusual ease, but she also seems to realize its effect with unusual potency.

In the heartbeat's span that follows, Sidara moves with such astonishing speed that to those looking elsewhere, it's likely not immediately apparent where she's moved to, only that she's no longer standing between Wrogar and Gheerla. The whistle of her blade announces her position behind the isolated mind flayer, and heralds a blow delivered with enough force to shatter bone and stone alike.

Swift action: Sidara casts haste (quickened by way of the Swiftblade's Sudden Casting class feature) on everyone but Jack, Jack's familiar and the deva. Sorry, Nick!
Unforunately, Mahk'r and Jack are more than 30 feet apart and I figure it's better to get Mahk'r.

Move action: Sidara moves to AF26.

Standard action: Sidara attacks VM2. She will Power Attack for a -4 penalty to attack and a +8 bonus to damage. If the attack hits, the Knockback feat will grant her a free bull rush attempt with a +8 bonus on the Strength check. She does not move with this bull rush attempt. Her aim is to force the mind flayer to collide with the wall at AC29 (or AD29?).


Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit confirm: [roll2]
Crit damage: [roll3]

Bull rush (on hit only): [roll4]
If the mind flayer hits the wall, it takes an additional [roll5] damage due to the Dungeon Crasher Fighter ACF.

HP 88/88, DR 10/magic vs ranged, Speed 130 ft., 90 ft. fly (good)
AC 27 (29 vs. evil), Touch 14 (16 vs. evil), Flat-footed 24 (26 vs. evil), Fort 18, Ref 17, Will 14

[iTookUrNick]

You can have that guy reroll his Will save, but at the cost of expending the benediction. It might be worth it.
[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]; all good.
Shielded by the power of the Light and unshakeable faith, neither Jack nor the Deva are hampered by the blast. "Go get them!" exults Jack as Sidara attacks.

[CozJa]

Sidara attacks catches the monster by surprise, and the sheer momentum of her launch sends the Vampire crashing into the wall. Surprised, but still alive, the revolting creature loses a couple of peaces of dead skin, and two of its tentacles dislocate from his mouth, dangling on the left side and giving him an even more grotesque appearance;

the Vargouilles in the cave start storming toward the group, while others on the left side try to distract the Deva from his fight.
As one of them tries to charge into the stunned Dark Lanterns, Mahk'r attacks it while it passes, immediatly destroying it, and the others decide to take a safer approach.

Beren, who is the only one left reactive, unsseathes his shortsword and puts himself between the Vargouilles and his companions, attacking one of the flying heads


Mahk'r attack on the Vargouille [roll0] Damage [roll1], the monster dies
Beren attack on another Vargouille [roll2] [roll3]
Jack Deva must roll 3 Fortitude saves at DC 12 to overcome the Vargouilles Shrieks or suffer paralysis for [roll4] round

[iTookUrNick]

the Draconic might spell makes all of us immune to paralysis.

[CozJa]

well, clearly the vargouilles don't Know it :P then state the Deva's actions!

[iTookUrNick]

The Deva continues his assault with her sword on the vampiric creature, slashing repeatedly and ignoring the varguilles.
Almost on the other side of the cave, Jack decides to get his hands dirty with the Flame's work and proceeds to stab the other vampire with a well placed thrust. Tail zips near Jack, aiding him and distracting the creature.
Deva, full attack:
- 1d20+18[roll], [roll=Dmg1]2d6+8[roll],[roll=FireDmg1]1d6[roll], [roll=Crit1]1d20+18[roll]
- [roll=Hit1]1d20+13[roll], [roll=Dmg1]2d6+8[roll],[roll=FireDmg1]1d6[roll], [roll=Crit1]1d20+13[roll]

Jack, charge (with reach, spending 1IP to add Int to dmg):
- [roll=Hit1]1d20+13[roll], [roll=Dmg1]1d6+10[roll], [roll=Crit1]1d20+13[roll]
Tail, aid another
- roll[Aid]1d20+21, to get +2 to hit for Jack. He might provoke an AoO from the vampire, but against a 39+4 effective AC.

Edit: I'll roll OOC

[CozJa]

The Vampiric Mind Flayer fighting against the Deva, now cornered, decides to lash out his rotting tentacles against the holy creature and, at the same time, the one between Jack and Sidara, who looks badly injured, and spots a lot of fresh purple cracks on his dull-grey skin, tries to get the opportunity to hit Jack familiar, then moves to attack Sidara with a desperate move.

Meanwhile, Gheerla keeps singing, and moves closer to the center of the battle, while Mahk'r charges one of the Vargouilles attacking Beren, felling it with one attack of his spiked chain.


Mahk'r attack vs the Vargouille [roll0]

Mind Flayer 3 full attack: 4 tentacles: [roll1] damage [roll2]; [roll3] damage [roll4]; [roll5] damage [roll6]; [roll7] damage [roll8];
Slam [roll9] damage [roll10]

Mind Flayer 1 attack: Tentacle [roll11] damage [roll12] and Energy Drain of 2 levels if hits.

[rypt]

Sidara darts forward to cut down the wounded mind flayer before turning her abyssal gaze to the north and west. With Mahk'r's chain making short work of the swarming varguilles, she races across the cavern floor to assist the embattled deva.

As a full round action, Sidara will use Spring Attack. She'll move 5 feet to AE27, attack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22326082&postcount=107) and kill (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22326468&postcount=108) VM2, and then move 125 feet to M13.

[CozJa]

As Sidara fell the horrible creatures, all the Vargouilles start shrieking in agitation, and their flapping becomes more hectic;
Beren decides to take advantage from the openings left by Sidara and Mahk'r actions and attacks one of the Vargouilles, killing it with one blow; unfortunately, one of the flying heads is fast enough to attack him, but thanks to Jack's magic, he is able to resist the creature's poisoned bite.

On the other sides, three Vargouilles flank Sidara, trying to distract her from the Battle between the Deva and the Vampiric aberration, but the warrior is to fast for them, and they aren't able to land a blow on her.


When he sees the Mind Flayer fall, destroyed by Sidara blow, Jack remembers something he read years ago in a boring, forgotten book somewhere in Flamekeep library: Vampiric Mind Flayers are considered a rare and dangerous kind of creation, and it's not true if they are vampires twisted by the Daelkyrs, or Daelkyrs creations turned by some vampire lord; there's still an advanced debate between the proponents of the two theories, but both groups agree on few things: since the Mind Flayers lack many of the abilities traditionally given to vampires (like the ability to become gaseous or turn into swarms) and they lack some of their needs (like the need to rest at night and the weakness to sunlight and stakes) they are decidely a different species.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack moves forward, trying to get around the cloud he created, looking to get at the other vampire on the right side of the cave. As he does so, he takes the opportunity to try and skewer one of the varguilles. His familiar flies protectively next to him. Meanwhile, the Deva continues to brutalize the other vampire, slashing and stabbing with her fiery sword in a perfect example of divine wrath.

Does Jack remember if they need something in particular to stay dead? Like, a stake in the heart or having their head cut off? If so, he will communicate it to the others.

Jack attack: [roll0], [roll1] using inspiration, [roll2]

Deva's attack: [roll3], [roll4], [roll5]
[roll6], [roll7], [roll8]

[rypt]

Grunting in displeasure as the swam of vargouilles move to intercept her, Sidara digs her boots into the cavern floor, kicking up a shower of broken rock as she slides to a halt. Ducking nimbly beneath the first of the fiend's attacks and sidestepping the second, she leaps clear over the third, hurling her sword forward as she propels herself backward. A flick of her rest sets the blade spinning as it flies and a word of power guides it unerringly -- cutting through through two of the vargouilles on its way to the mind flayer behind them.

Move action: Sidara will move back to P12, automatically succeeding on the Tumble check to avoid provoking attacks of opportunity from the 3 vargouilles.

Standard action: From P12, Sidara will cast whirling blade along the line between rows 12 and 13. With a 60 foot range, the spell reaches column D. The vargouilles in M12 and L13 are affected as through struck normally in melee, as is VM3. Sidara will power attack for -4/+8 and will attempt a free Knockback bull rush attempt on VM3.

M12 Vargouille:

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]
Crit confirm 1: [roll2]
Crit damage 1: [roll3]

L13 Vargouille:

Attack 2: [roll4]
Damage 2: [roll5]
Crit confirm 2: [roll6]
Crit damage 2: [roll7]

VM3:

Attack 3 : [roll8]
Damage 3: [roll9]
Crit confirm 3: [roll10]
Crit damage 3: [roll11]
Bull rush: [roll12]
If it hits a wall, Dungeoncrasher damage: [roll13]

[CozJa]

Assaulted by the combined forces of Jack's Deva companion in Sidara arcane fury, the other vampiric mind flayer is tore down to pieces. The angelic creature is able to open multiple wounds, and its attack start to more overcome the high regenerative ability of the undead aberration; when Sidara casts her spell, however, everything happens in a moment: the two Vargouilles on the path of her whirling blade are cut into pieces, with their black, disgusting blood spraying around with screams of agony, while the Mind Flayer is hit on his left flank and smashed by the momentum of her spell into the cave's wall, part of his upper body almost vaporized by the impact.

Mahk'r goes to help Beren and attacks the Vargouille near him, putting it down; Beren crosses him and charges the other Vargouille, exposing himself in the hope of bringing it down immediately; luckily, his effort yelds the expected result, and the young Dark Lantern kills the flying bugbear head.

Meanwhile, Gheerla follows Jack, searching for the remaining vampire. As the Half-Giant and his familiar circle the magical fog and look into the direction the vampire was last seen they notice... nothing. The monster is not there, and there are not traces of him turning invisible or casting some spell. It simply disappeared


Mahk'r attack: [roll0]

Beren charge: [roll1] damage [roll2] , critical hit confirmed.

[iTookUrNick]

"Wrath!" curses Jack, disappointed at the disappearance of their remaining enemy. "Look around, people, there must be a way forward where the last vampire escaped! You in the back, check on your comrades."
He tries to stab one of the remaining Vargouilles, without too much ardor. The missing creature is bothering him.

On the other side of the room, the deva converges towards Jack and the missing vampire, stabbing another flying head on her path. Her ardor is undiminished, if not heightened, by the situation.

Jack (charge): [roll0], [roll1], [roll2]
Familiar: [roll3]
Deva's charge: [roll4], [roll5], [roll6]

Can we look around or something? Shall we finish the vargouilles first?

[rypt]

Sidara's whirling blade is yet to return to her hand as she shifts to her right and bounds towards the isolated vargouille to the north. Extending her arm as though she might strike the creature empty-handed, her sword arrives in her readied grip at the moment of her swing.

"Shadows and ash!" she mutters through gritted teeth as she considers the consequences of their missing vampire. "We need to find out where that thing went and we need to find out now!"

Sidara will use Spring Attack as a full round action. She will move to Q6 (30 feet) and attack the vargouille in R5. If it dies, she will then move to AH11 (remaining 100 feet). Can see she see any obvious escape route?


Attack (Power Attack -4/+8): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit confirm: [roll2]
Crit damage: [roll3]
Bull rush: [roll4]
If it hits the wall in row 1, dungeon crasher damage: [roll5]

[CozJa]

While Jack and the Deva dispatch two of the Vargouilles, Sidara attacks the remaining one with more than enough force to cut it in half, sending the two parts against the ceiling and one wall, where they splatter on them, leaving almost no tangible trace of the monster.

"I'd be happy if the Mind Flayer disappeared in the same way" says jokingly the Bugbear warrior, who is now approaching Sidara.
"Anyway, I think you are right: It doesn't feel safe to stay here without knowing where that creature went."

Meanwhile, Beren looks for his companions, that are still stunned by the other undead abomination mental attack. Gheerla joins him, commenting on their state. "Those creature's attack require a great force of will to resist, I'm surprised that you where able to stand against it, young fighter. Perhaps you humans are more resourceful than I thought."

[rypt]

Sidara has already begun to examine the cavern wall when Mahk'r approaches. "We're losing the advantage of surprise," she says cheerlessly. "That thing is going to warn its masters, and they're either going to fortify their defenses or flee this place through some other unseen passage." Far more concerned with the latter possibility than the former, she begins to tap the pommel of her sword against different areas of the stone, listening for any differences in the sounds of the impacts.

Sidara isn't particularly good at any of these, but she'll try nonetheless.

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

[CozJa]

Searching with all the attention she can muster, Sidara, who may still be angry for the creature escape, find it difficult to concentrate on what is in front of her: the continuos movement of the dispersing colored mist is distracting to her sight, the Hobgoblin's clanging armor and weapon cover everything of notice, and Gheerla insufferable voice is more annoying then ever...

Still, for a brief moment, the Cyran veteran catches something out the corner of her eye, a glimpse of something that is not where it ought to be; it may be something meaningful, or not, since the luminous aura of the deva sheds a strange light around, unnaturally distorting every shadow...

[iTookUrNick]

"Allright gentlemen, and women." goes Jack, as things are not actively trying to kill them anymore "we do this with method. Everyone takes a corner of the cave and start looking for hidden passageways, or illusions, or whatnot. Go in half circles and spread toward the center. And, most importantly... what's that?" he asks, pointing towards the swirling mist as something catches his eye.

Familiar: [roll0], [roll1], [roll2]
Deva: [roll3], [roll4], [roll5]
Jack: [roll6], [roll7], [roll8]

Oh, and the mist stays for 10 mins... :smallsigh:

[CozJa]

As you look through the room, you have difficult in finding relevant features, apart from rocks, remenants of sliced undeads, and the occasional broken weapon of would-be attackers.

Jack, using his keen senses, is able to notice two places where the natural rocky walls seem to disconnect, forming conveniently medium sized stone shapes, similar to secret doors. He spots one on the eastern side of the wall, and his familiar one on the northern side.
With the rumors of battle now died out, the Half-giant is able to hear a faint echo of steps coming from the eastern wall, right next to the mist. Apparently, the monster passed through this wall, but there are no traces of an opening mechanism.

The other think that chaught Jack attention, is a small, sharp piece of dark blue crystalline material lying on the floor under the mist; with all the prismatic colours it is difficult to understand what exactly it is.


Well, the mist is not going to be annoying. I hope...
Anyway, I'm assuming that all follow Jack advice of looking thoroughly around the room and walls, but if Sidara has another suggestion/idea, rypt, feel free to interact in a different way.

The possible secret passages are in purple.

[rypt]

Sidara exhales an irritable breath as she steps away from the eastern door to allow Jack and the others an opportunity to locate the means to open it.

Her patience is already strained, and if more than a minute or two passes without any meaningful progress, she begins to dig the toe of her boot into the cavern floor. She clears out one small divot and then another, the second spaced-apart and slightly staggered from the first.

"You're all going to want to take a step back," she says to those gathered near the door. Her tone offers little room for negotiation. Setting the front of her left foot into one of the divots, and the front of her right foot into the other, she draws a holy symbol from beneath her tunic -- a ring of woven flame -- and lowers herself into a sprinter's stance. She takes a deep breath, and speaks softly in the orcish tongue, "let the fire of Kalok Shash burn in my blood." With the final word, she launches herself toward the door with all the considerable strength she can muster.
Sidara's only going to try to break the door down if Jack and the others can't figure out a way to open it. It just seemed simpler to post this at all once while I've got the time to do it.

Her holy symbol is that of the Binding Flame, the spiritual force worshiped by the Ghaash'kalan orcs.

She'll cast kord's power surge using the Southern Magician feat. She gains a +10 enhancement bonus to Strength applicable only to skill and ability checks. The spell lasts for 1 minute, and she will be fatigued for [roll0] minutes thereafter. Those with knowledge of magic will undoubtedly notice the peculiar nature of the spell, as it appears to be a blend of both arcane and divine magic.

Dungeon crasher gives Sidara a +10 bonus to the Strength check and she will expend a charge of her Torc of the Titans for another +5. Her Armbands of Might grant +2 bonus as well. She'll also use an action point.

Strength check: [roll1] + [roll2] = [37]

[iTookUrNick]

"Go, fetch!" Jack points at the shiny blue crystal and gives orders to his familiar to retrieve it. He trusts his enchantments to protect it in the mist. Meanwhile, he warns the others about the passages. "I can hear the vampire getting away beyond this slab of rock. Uhm, it's quite solid, unfortunately. Now, we might be able to get past it through strength alone..." he continues, glancing at Sidara "... though if we could just find the latch, it would surely makes things easier.". He knocks and prods, looking for a switch or a similar mechanism.
Jack has trap finding. He will try to find the mechanism. He will use 1 IP to add a bonus to the check. [roll0]
Whether or not he succeeds, he will make space for Sidara to go through (one way or the other). The Deva and the goblinoids can follow, then Jack (invisible). Lanterns in the rear, I guess.

[CozJa]

Jack familiar is able to enter the mist and leave it with the stone without suffering any ill effect. At first glance, it looks like a normal dragonshard, without any magical abilities, but it has been worked to take the actual form.


The dragonshard is one of a pair composing the Shadow Eye, a special scrying implement used by the elven dragonmarked houses to spy on their enemies.


Finally, the other two Dark Lantern snap out of the stunning effect, and are able to reach the group; Alain seems quite annoyed by his poor performance in the fight, but is satisfied to see that Beren has been more helpful than expected. "Good work, rookie!" He tells him, while he starts to help Jack in searching for mechanisms.

After a while, as Sidara grows more and more restless, Jack and Alain notice the presence of two panels, one on the floor in front of the passage, the other one on the left side of the wall. Unfortunately, both of them seem blocked; Alain propose to try and press them alternatively, or to stand on them, but it is difficult to understand how the Mind Flayer was able to do it in such a brief time.

Gheerla, who is studying each one's actions, proposes to help: "I could use an inspiring song of the caveriders to help you, or we c..." Before she can complete her sentence, Sidara, who lost her patience, interrupts her telling everybody to take a step back, uses her magic abilities, and launch herself against the passage, cracking it in half.
The impact is more than enough to let part of the hidden door fall down and give way for a crooked passageway carved into the stone; it's large enough to let two medium persons walk side by side, but it's not very high on the ceiling.
Mahk'r decides to walk with Sidara on the front, looking for possible traps, and the other follow in Jack's suggested order. "Your way of dealing with secret doors is one of the most effectives I ever seen." the hobgoblin says jokingly to Sidara, "But a hidden passage should be dealt with more circumspection."

[iTookUrNick]

As the familiar brings Jack the piece he found within the mist, the half giant wonders "What did you bring me this time, Tail? Not a dead lizard, it seems..." For his part, the familiar examines the device just like his master, sniffing and licking all over it as he balances perched on one of the master's forearms.
The deva looks briefly at it as well, giving her own Expert opinion on the matter, before proceeding to follow Sidara into the breach. She seems pleased by the way things were handled here. Jack follows a bit more warily.

Jack [roll0]
Tail [roll1]
Deva [roll2]

[rypt]

"Circumspection?" Sidara scoffs, casting Mahk'r a sidelong glance. "You don't see me running down that mind flayer, do you? That's about as circumspect as it's gonna get for me."

Of course, it's evident to the hobgoblin's experienced eye that there's more than mere prudence keeping Sidara from sprinting after their vampiric foe. The effort required to break down the door has taken an obvious physical toll on the Cyran warrior, and she's doing a poor job of hiding it.

[CozJa]

While the Deva explains to Jack exactly what the object they found does, making it clear that whoever is hiding here was perfectly aware of the group presence even before the battle, Mahk'r advances warily into the tunnel with Sidara, while the other follow.

"If you'd prefer to stop for a moment to focus yourself, now It's the right time to do it." He says to her, still looking around for possible traps...

Advancing through the passage, you reach the end of it; this time there's a wooden door. It looks like a normal door, it probably is a normal door, it's worn out and half full of lichens, but you see no traps, nothing strange about it...

Still, the Deva stops, and without even noticing, he shivers, speaking with a worried tone: "I cannot enter that place, there are wards set there to block the passage to creatures as me... but I feel it! Somebody is working on a spell of tremendous power!" Looking at the door with his golden eyes, whoever stares at him can trace an expression of anguish on his beautiful face.
"Something terrible is happening, something that could bring desolation even in Shavarath's battlegrounds!"

Suddenly, Mahk'r bastard sword starts glowing red on his back, as if the entire blade was on fire, and Gheerla widen her eyes: "If the Tears have really some power from the Age of Dhakaan, somebody must want to u..."
Then, it happens: fast, powerful, a terrible feeling of hopelessness tries to get a hold on you, as if a voice shrouded in the deepest darkness wanted to remind that, whatever happens, you are all doomed.
Both of you are able to shake off that feeling of hopelessness but, immediately after it, you can feel a fouled creature's talons trying to pry your mind open, even if nothing is around you, apart from the darkness and the heavy air of the cave.

Sidara can see that Mahk'r has been able to resist to those mental attacks as much as her, while Jack notices that his familiar stands still by his side, and the Deva looks almost unaffected.
Gheerla screams with pain, as if something crushed her brain, and starts cursing in her native language, Wrogar the mage falls down senseless, while Alain, who is still standing, looks desperate and stares at his fallen friend, "We... are dead, we will all be dead!"

Once again, Beren, the youngest of them, seems to be the more reactive in the group of spies: He braces his shortsword, covers his friends and advances to join Sidara and Mahk'r in front of the door, and look at the Cyran warrior "If we have to attack, give us the order, the Lanterns do not escape!"


The group has been subject to two spells, but Sidara, Jack, the Deva, the Familiar, Mahk'r and Beren resisted all their effects; Gheerla and Alain failed a save, while Wrogar failed both.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack extends his hand towards the door and squints (for effect. He does not need to do that, but you never who's watching: it does good to muddle the waters about what you can do, just in case), then quickly warns the others: "The vampire we chased is inside. There's someone else in there, the leader perhaps, likely the spell caster who just tried to get us all. Plus any number of mindless undead; a lot of them, I wager. I can't know for sure, but this is the Emerald Claw after all. This is unhallowed ground, any undead we fight will have an advantage. Remember two things, no, three.

One: the leader is our primary target." he looks directly at Sidara as he says this "If we can get to him, we should. Trap him if we can.
Two, even if we are in a cave remember that I've give you the power to fly. Just hop up thinking 'up' and you'll feel the lift getting hold of you. This helps if we find ourselves in front of a land based obstacle, including ground troops. Being in the air is, after being underground, the best way not to get hit, and with the added protection against ranged attacks we've been given we should be a lot tougher for the enemy to handle.
Third, and this is a bit of an unknown, we will get hit by some sort of spell the moment we set foot inside; we'll roll with whatever happens.

Now, let's get our s...tuff together, 'cos when we kick this door and we go in we will give no quarter to the enemy. Failure is not an option."

To the Deva he adds: "I don't know if you can counter the harmful aura that was set upon this place: it's more of your aura of expertise, I wager. If you can't, grab a bow and try to support us as best as you can from here. I'm sure you can make a difference wherever you are." He considers for a brief moment, then adds: "Also, try to see if you can bring back up poor Wrogar. The spell must have hit him harder than the rest of us."

Jack will offer the potion of Hide from undead to the singer (or whoever thinks he needs it). If no one wants it, he uses it himself.
The deva will use cure serious wounds on Wrogar and bless weapon (spell not oil) on the bow. She will (i guess) stay behind and provide support, unless she can break the unhallow thing.

Ready to go in, I suggest either the Hobgoblin or Sidara take point.

[rypt]

Despite the protests of her aching muscles, Sidara scoffs at the notion that she needs to take a break. "Not a chance," she says stubbornly to Mahk'r, dismissing his suggestion with a wave of her hand. "We keep moving."

Moments later, when Alain offers her a potion to rid her of her fatigue, she's almost too proud to accept it. "I don't need -- ugh," It sounds at first as though she's going to turn him down, but she stops abruptly, exhaling a low, rumbling groan. "Fine." She snatches the vial from his hand, muttering her thanks only after she's consumed its contents.

Continuing down the stone-carved corridor, she winces in discomfort when the party is assailed by foul magic. "What in Khyber was that!?" Seeing Wrogar collapse, she rushes to his side to check for a pulse. Once she's found one, she stands up and turns to the demoralized Alain.

"Look at me," she says to the Brelish commander, grabbing him by his shoulders. "Look at me! Do you even hear what you're saying? These men look up to you. You are their leader. Act like it! He is alive," she points to Wrogar, "you are alive. We are all alive, and I'll be damned if it isn't going to stay that way!" The strength of her grip is matched only by the depth of the resolve in her voice. She may be speaking to Alain, but it's clear that her message is meant for everyone present. "The only people who are going to die here today are the people who are standing on the other side of that door. Do you understand?" His nod is not enough. "Say it!" If it sounds as though she's given this kind of talk before, it's because she has, to countless Cyran soldiers who fell into despair during the Messengers' siege of Eston.

Once Alain has calmed down, Sidara turns to Gheerla. "You're not going to lose it on us too, are you? Good, because whatever they're doing in there with that relic of yours, you might be only one who knows how to stop it."

As Beren draws his sword and steps closer, Sidara nods approvingly to the young soldier. She then turns to Jack. "Whatever preparations you need to make, make them quickly."

Sidara has a few spells of her own to cast before she squares herself with the door. Once everyone has signaled that they're ready, she rushes forward to kick it clean off its hinges.

Sidara will cast protection from evil and champion of Kord on herself. The latter requires a second expenditure of Southern Magician.

Sidara's goal isn't just to kick the door down, but to kick it out into the room. If it hits something or someone, great. If not, well, it still looks cool.

Strength check, expending another action point and another charge of her Torc of the Titans: [roll0]:smallfurious: + [roll1] = [29]

[CozJa]

Alain, after Sidara reassurement, seems to shake out of his desperation, at least outwardly and, as if to demonstrate his valour, prepares to enter right beside her.

As the Cyran warrior talks to Gheerla, the hobgoblin reacts with an 'Aaargh', then addresses Sidara with what must pass as a gentle remark between goblinoids.
"I am a Dirge Singer! I'm always ready to fight!"


When Gheerla answers, you catch a glimpse of red light burning briefly into her eyes.


Sidara kicks the door, with part of it simply falling from the hinges, and other pieces flying through the cave room; a large splinter slams onto a skeletal head, attached to a monstrous figure that happens to have two of them. It's right skull now dangles behind the ribcage. It would be an hilarious scene, if not for the imponence of the creature, who stands near another skeletal monster identical to it: they are both towering everything and everyone in the room, being at least 10 foot tall, both of them having two skulls and spotting a morningstar in each hand and a quiver full of javelins on their backs.
Right behind one of them, the Vampiric Mind Flayer you previously encountered stands near a broken stone filled with bones and humanoid remains, while on the opposite side of the room you can see six different images of the same person: a woman, wearing a black robe and a dark cloak, with a beautiful deathmask on her face; you can see from her neck and hands that her flesh is rotting, but it is difficult to understand exactly which one is the real image.
Another crude altar carved in stone, behind her, spots a scroll on a lectern, and a vial filled with liquid, apparently hovering on it. A strange light, a mix of red and turquoise colours, rise from the altar to the ceiling, almost 20 feet high; just looking at it renders each of you nervous, really nervous.
Alain stands right to Sidara, while Mahk'r is at her left, now wielding his sword, that is glowing even more brillantly, as if it reacts to something in the room.

Before everything happens, the woman speaks, with a gentle, but unnatural, voice:

"You were remarkable... I commend your will. Leave now, and I won't harm you."


Looking at the magical effects in place, and with the help of your Deva and Familiar, you can recognize a Desecrate effect active on the nearest altar (the one near the Vampiric Mind Flayer) and you can recognize that the Unhallow effect covering the room has been reinforced with a Dimensional Anchor. Whoever worked on this, wanted to be really sure to not get interrupted.



Map (Again) (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LqsyOFHSUbSyHAPvMWGTqyB-YYgAD0hMyh83QME-Dgo/edit?usp=sharing)

Initiative Order:
Jack&Deva: 31
Lady Necromancer: 27
Hobgoblins: 27
Evil Monsters: 17
Dark Lanterns: 11
Sidara: 10

I assumed your positioning based on the IC posts, if you want to swap with some other character I have no problems with it, just do it; when you are ready, Nick can post his action.

[iTookUrNick]

"Thank you!" answers Jack mockingly, who as usual is the first one to react. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid we can't extend you the same offer".
His hands are a blur: one quick incantation lets out five magic missiles that unerringly strike five of the six targets. With a slashing gesture of his hand he sends forth another one, targeting the real enemy and attempting to hamper her magical abilities.
The Deva is just as quick: she blast the creatures in the room, cursing her inability to properly enter the fray. Her bow in hand, she prepares to fire off at whoever is standing
Beside them, Tail zips forward towards the battle. It's unclear what a tiny creature like it could do to the giants there, but he seems to know what is required to him
Jack uses 3IP to get an extra action this turn. He casts Magic missile (5 missiles to 5 possible targets). If they all pop, then he targets the remaining one with arcane turmoil, that works as a targeted dispel and in addition the enemy loses one spell of the highest level he can cast (Will 20 to resist). Obviously, if one of the images does not pop, it does [roll0] and it is targeted by the second spell.
The familiar flies forward. If any AoO are warranted, his AC is 41.

i just realised I do not know if the deva can cast in the room due to the barrier. I also just realised this Deva does not have a bow. Did any of the Lanterns have one? I seem to recall they did, in which case it would have been gracious to lend it. If something does not work, I will alter the post.
Assuming she can cast, it's a Will DC 22. If she can't assuming a non magical, non masterwork bow, we have a full attack on the true necromancer or (if out of sight/ too much cover) the vampire:
[roll1], [roll2]. Damage depends on the kind of bow, really. I have no clue. Up to +5 composite, I guess.
If neither are available, she will cast Consecrate. She should have done so anyway, now that I think about it.

Edit: that's a lot of if...else... :smalleek:

[CozJa]

the Deva releases an arcane assault of sacred fire, trying to catch the monsters in his blast; he is succesful, and at least one of the two skeletons is badly burned by the attack!
As Jack works his powers against the necromancer, he notices (with some difficulty, due to the crowded place) that all the mirror images disappear. When he strikes her again, disrupting the very fabric of magic, the wizard wails, then reacts to the menace: She mutters an incantation and disappears from sight; after a brief moment, all the group feels a terrible weakness, as if all the weight of the long voyage to this dark cave suddenly caught you.


All the group is struck by Waves of Fatigue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wavesOfFatigue.htm)


Meanwhile, the Hobgoblins decide to act: Gheerla seems to think that the necromancer tactic is a sound one, and four images sprout out from her, all entering the room with the goal to confound their enemies as the Dirge Singer grasps her dagger.
Even if this new wave of tiredness renders him incapable to attack at full speed, with an effort of will Mahk'r moves against one of the horrible skeletons, dodging its clumsy blows and engaging it with his Implacable Blade. "You have an opening Sidara!" he shouts, "Let it count!"

On the other side, things are don't look the same: the other skeleton moves against Alain and attacks him with his oversized morningstar; the first hit is hard, almost crushing his left arm, and the Dark Lantern find it difficult to stand on his feets, which turns out as a fortunate thing, because his staggering movement let him dodge the second blow from the other morningstar; almost by reflex, the man tries to hit the monster with his sword, but the pain is still too much and he misses the blow.
At the same time, Beren extracts a little crossbow and shoots at the skeletal monster, but the only real result seems to be the rumor of the bolt cracking on the creature ribcage.
"I can barely scratch those bones! We need something else!" He laments.

In all this chaos, the horrendous Mind Flayer notices Jack's familiar wandering around, and tries to snatch it with his tentacles, but fails in the effort, blubbing with dissatisfaction.

[rypt]

Sidara utters a breathless curse as the necromancer's spell draws the air from her lungs and the strength from her muscles. The weakness that afflicts her now is frustratingly familiar, and absent another of Alain's potions, she is left with little choice but to fight through it. Squaring her jaw and tightening her grip on her sword, the Cyran warrior incants an arcane sibilant and the world around her seems to slow. Such is her speed in this heightened state that where once she stood between Alain and Beren, now she stands between the towering skeletons, a single mark in the dirt the only evidence of her having physically traversed the distance therebetween.

With a roar of exertion, she reaches back with her sword as arcane runes flare to life along the length of the blade. Cutting into the side of the undead monstrosity to her left, she leans fully into the blow in an attempt to drive the creature off its feet and through the altar behind it. Shifting her footing as she completes her follow through, she then draws her blade back across her body to strike at the skeleton to her right. A third and final blow is delivered with the same force and intent as the first, catching the skeleton at the hip in an attempt to knock it into the wall at its back.

Swift action: Sidara will cast haste, quickened through the Swiftblade's Sudden Casting class feature. Because it is quickened, it does not provoke an attack of opportunity. I believe she should be able to target everyone except Jack's familiar, though I'm unsure if Gheerla is a valid target due to her mirror images. It has a duration of 11 rounds, during which she has the benefit of concealment with a 30% miss chance.

Free action: As described in the OOC thread, Sidara will use Tumble to make a 10-foot step to AI6.

Full round action: Sidara will make three attacks -- the first against SE2, the second and third against SE1. She will Power Attack for -4/+8 and expend a 4th level spell slot via Arcane strike for +4 attack and +4d4 damage . The first attack and the third attack will be accompanied by Knockback bull rush attempts.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1] plus [roll2]
Crit confirm 1: [roll3]
Crit damage 1: [roll4]
Bull rush 1 (on hit only): [roll5]
If SE2 hits a wall or solid object, it takes [roll6] damage.

Attack 2: [roll7]
Damage 2: [roll8] plus [roll9]
Crit confirm 2: [roll10]
Crit damage 2: [roll11]

Attack 3: [roll12]
Damage 3: [roll13] plus [roll14]
Crit confirm 3: [roll15]
Crit damage 3: [roll16]
Bull rush 3 (on hit only): [roll17]
If SE1 hits a wall or solid object, it takes [roll18] damage.

[CozJa]

Sidara furious attack against the Skeleton on her left is succsessful: the monster loses its balance after the Cyran warrior powerful thrust, and is forced back, with Mahk'r taking advantage of its temporary weakness to crack one of its bones with the broadside of its sword; inelegant, but effective.

When she attacks the monster on her right, she is able to damage it, but the creature lift one of its morningstars and is able to force Sidara's hand out of its hip.
Both monsters seems quite damaged, with many broken bones (and the dangling skull of the leftmost one)


Ok, iTookUrNick, you're free to post!

[iTookUrNick]

The Deva continue to provide support, this time pitting her own power against the vile forces permeating the room and attempting to weaken the undead creatures inside.
Meanwhile, it becomes clear why Tail shot forward, leaving his master at the edge of the fight. As Jack finishes his arcane gestures, arcane energy flares in his hands, dssipate in the thin air and reappears around the familiar, who grows as large as the monstrous skeletons that there the room with them. His shape is that of a mix between a rock and an octopus. He shoots his appendages forward toward the necromancer, meaning to grab he r and drag her towards his wicked fangs.

The Deva casts consecrate as a SLA on the room to remove the undead advantage, if possible.
Jack casts Draconic Polymorph on his familiar, enlarged to 'close' thanks to the weave. He transforms it into a roper (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/roper.htm).
Tail (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1303034)
Roper polymorphic Familiar, Level 10, HP 62+24/62, Speed 10 ft, fly 60 ft (good) Size/reach: 10ft/10ft (50ft with strands)
AC 30 (+8 Armor, +3 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflect, +18 Natural, +3 Misc), Touch 14, Flat-footed 28; +4 AC vs melee
Fort 18, Ref 19, Will 18, Base Attack Bonus 6, Action Points 0
6 strands +10 (6 bab -1 size + 3 dex +2 morale) ranged touch (drag) and bite +17 (6 bab + 10 str -1 size +2 morale) melee (2d6+15)
Abilities Str 31, Dex 17, Con 23, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 14
Special attacks:
Drag (Ex): If a roper hits with a strand attack, the strand latches onto the opponent’s body. This deals no damage but drags the stuck opponent 10 feet closer each subsequent round (provoking no attack of opportunity) unless that creature breaks free, which requires a DC 29 Escape Artist check or a DC 25 Strength check. The check DCs are Strength-based, and the Escape Artist DC includes a +4 racial bonus. A roper can draw in a creature within 10 feet of itself and bite with a +4 attack bonus in the same round. A strand has 10 hit points and can be attacked by making a successful sunder attempt. However, attacking a roper’s strand does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the strand is currently attached to a target, the roper takes a -4 penalty on its opposed attack roll to resist the sunder attempt. Severing a strand deals no damage to a roper.
Weakness (Ex): A roper’s strands can sap an opponent’s strength. Anyone grabbed by a strand must succeed on a DC 21 Fortitude save or take 2d8 points of Strength damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Condition Long: Greater Luminous Armor, Greater Resistance, Anticipate teleportation, Heart of Water, Heart of Earth;
Medium: Heroism, Benediction, Guardian Spirit, Ironguts
Short: Cat's Grace, Fly, Reduce Person, Draconic Might
From the deva: Protection from Arrows, Death Ward
The familiar takes a 5ft movement then shoots out its strands, meaning to grab the necromancer and drag her close. These are the attacks:
[roll0], [roll1], [roll2], [roll3], [roll4], [roll5]. I'm not sure if the strands drag immediately or next turn. Whatever the case, if the necromancer gets in range of the bite she is attacked for [roll6], [roll7],[roll8], with an extra +4 to the attack because of the strands and possibly [roll9] if she fails the Fort 21 DC (ad is not immune to Str damage). If not, Tail will bite the vampire without the bonus.
EDIT: please reduce everything by 1 due to being fatigued.

[CozJa]

The calming effect provided by the Deva is enough to calm the overwhelming stench of death permeating the place. There is still a lingering sense of despair, but the air is, at least, a bit more cleaner.

"for the blood!" cries out the invisible mage, when four ropes grapple her even if she is invisible. When that happens, the woman cast another spell, and what was invisible now becomes immaterial, escaping the grapple of Jack's familiar while mocking the group: "Lady Vol won't be denied! I won't be denied!". Still, you can perceive some ill-disguised fear in her voice.

The two hobgoblins close on one of the skeletal creatures, hacking at it with their weapons, damagin it even more. "The thing is almost done for, we can..." Mahk'r interrupts himself in the middle of its sentence and howls like a beast, letting his sword fall down: it is now red hot and burning, and it looks like some of the fell energy coming from the back of the room is reacting to the weapon.
"What kind of witchcraft is this?" shouts Gheerla, as she uses her magical images to distract the skeleton and reach for her companion, healing him of his minor wound.
Answering her, is the now excited Deva: "I feel the influence of my home! The Rage of Shavarath dwells in that weapon!"

The horrendous Mind Flayer moves around the altar and, facing the group, extracts a scroll and starts reciting an arcane spell. As soon as he stops, the scroll itself disappears into his decadent hands, and a whirlwind of ice sprouts from his fingers, rapidly expanding in front of him to the end of the corridor. The Skeleton on his left is invested by this power, and pieces of his bones fall down, pulverizing into crystal pieces. Alain is caught is able to cover himself with his cloak, and part of the ice pass him over, mitigating the damage it could have done. Mahk'r tries to dodge the ice, but his right arm is caught in the blast, but the warrior seems to appreciate the unexpected cold after the fiery burst from his sword; meanwhile, young Beren, with the blessing of the Silver Flame, uses the rocky walls to jump over the incoming ice, and is unaffected by the attack. Sadly, Wrogar the wizard, who was still unconscious, is fully frozen by the attack, and stops breathing as his nostrils are coverd in thin, white, snowflakes.

The mindless skeletons, both heavily damaged and still losing parts of their bony structure whenever they move, press the attack against their adversaries: the first one tries to hit Sidara, but is unable to hit the seasoned war veteran, while the other one lashes out on Mahk'r, hitting him with one of his oversized weapons.
Alain, still under the effect of the despairing spell, attacks the skeletal monster near him, but is unable to damage more the creature, while Beren reaches for his belt, extracts a vial of holy water and throws it at the Skeleton attacking the hobgoblins. At the impact, the creature bones start to melt. the monster seems almost destroyed, one more hit and it will fall down into peaces.


So, many things happened during this turn: the necromancer used a stilled gaseous form to escape the familiar's grip. Now she cannot attack, and will probably try to escape. the Mind Flayer Vampire used a scroll of Cone of Cold against all the group apart from Tail and Gheerla: damage is 31 and the reflex DC to half it is 17 (I didn't roll for Jack, the Deva and Sidara, you can go for it).
Wrogar is dead, Alain made the save and took half damage that, added to the attack from the Skeletal Ettin of the previous turn, means he's way nearer his negatives than to half HP, but at least is still alive and conscious. Beren is unscathed (Yay for evasion!) Mahk'r took quite a beating but is still alive and well.
The skeletons are clearly waiting for you to destroy them :smallamused:

Now that I think about it, I never told you how high is the ceiling: at the entrance is no more than 7fts high, but it rise approaching the end of the room, where the magical reaction covers a highness of almost 15fts

Oh... and Mahk'r sword is now lying on the ground, burning, and whoever looks at it can see one red ray coming from the sword through the altar with the scroll and the vial. You don't know what is happening,
but whatever it is, it's not good.

[iTookUrNick]

[roll0], [roll1] but it is immune to cold so...

Deva: Holy Smite (again) on everyone in the cave. [roll2] to evil creatures and [roll3] to evil outsiders. Will DC 22 to avoid being blinded and halve the damage.

Tail grab and bite the vampire, if possible: [roll4], [roll5], [roll6], [roll7], [roll8], [roll9]. [roll10], [roll11]. Rope are touch attacks, bite is a regular one. I'm assuming the Vampire is immune to Str damage.

Jack: casts Wall of Stone on the Necromancer. Reflex DC 23 not to get trapped.

[roll12], [roll13]. What does that sword-altar thing look like? Anything more you can tell us? Any magic aura?

NOTE TO SELF: there's another passage to check out when we are done here.
As the wave of cold approaches rapidly, Jack tries not to get caught straight on, while the Deva does not even flinch: she shrugged the frost off her wings with a buffet as she strikes again with her magic against the creatures in the cave.

Inside the cave, Tail senses the futility of trying to keep hold of the fleeing necromancer, so he switches to a more tangible target: the vampire mind flayer. He shoots his transmuted ropes to try and disable it.

Jack senses the Necromancer trying to break away and tries to trap the gas cloud in a stone sphere. "Not so fast. Where do you think you're going?" he says.

Still, he keeps an eye on the sword, working about what might be happening. "What the..."

[rypt]

Sidara is quick to react to the mind flayer's spell, angling her body and dropping to one knee in order to minimize her exposure to the blast of glacial air. With her face turned away from the cold, she finds herself looking down the passageway through which they entered, and recognizing too late the vulnerability of their Brelish arcanist.

"No!" she cries out, reaching towards him with one hand in a reflexive but obviously futile attempt to warn him of the approaching magic. For all her speed, there is nothing she can do to save him. Nothing she can do but watch as the frost washes over him, encasing his body in a thin layer of ice. He shouldn't have come here. None of the Lanterns should have come here. These foes are beyond them. Had she fought harder to keep them in Sterngate, he'd still be alive.

"No," she mutters again, staring at Wrogar's frozen corpse. It has been many years since Sidara has felt what she's feeling now. For a fraction of a second, she is not in a cave, but on the ramparts of a great city. Beside her is not the body of a Brelish wizard, but a Cyran swordsman, one of many -- too many -- who died obeying her orders. For all the differences between the battles of the past and the battle of the present, the emotions are the same. The pain is the same. The guilt is the same. The anger is the same.

"No." She speaks lowly still, but louder than before. And this time, the word is punctuated by a tremor that ripples through the ground beneath her feet. Her muscles begin to writhe and spasm, pulling her limbs into tortuous positions. Whatever is happening, she seems to fight it at first, grinding her teeth and digging her fingers into the cavern floor. But the moment of resistance passes, and as she surrenders herself to this ruinous impulse, rage sets her blood afire.

"No!" she bellows as she rises to her feet. The word sounds different than it did before -- deep, discordant, as though spoken with two voices at once. With her rises her sword, its blade pulsing with magical energy, a mirror to the terrible strength that pulses through her veins. The mind flayer is tangled in the strands of Jack's familiar and the necromancer is sealed beneath a dome of stone, so Sidara sets her hate-filled gaze on the nearest skeletal ettin.

Amidst the storm of anger, she does not even notice the reaction of Mahk'r's sword.

Sidara passes her Relfex save and takes 16 damage from the cone of cold.

Free action: RAGE! Sidara gains +6 Strength, +6 Constitution, and a +3 morale bonus to Will saves (the morale bonus to Will overlaps with the morale bonus from heroism). She also suffers a -2 penalty to AC. Her rage lasts 10 rounds.

Standard action: Attack SE1. Power attack for -8/+16.


Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit confirm: [roll2]
Crit damage: [roll3]
Bull rush (on hit only): [roll4]
Dungeon crasher damage: [roll5]

Move action: If the attack kills SE1, she will move to AG7. If the attack doesn't kill SE1, she will move to follow it post-bull rush. If the attack misses, she'll make a full attack instead, which I'll roll in the OOC thread if necessary.

[CozJa]

Sidara unleashes her fury against one of the skeletons, destroying it and passing through its rest when they are still falling around; the poor wizard's death seems to have awakened a renewed resolve in the Cyran warrior.

Counting on Sidara and Gheerla covering him, Mahk'r, who recovered from the unexpected reaction of his sword, takes his spiked chain and attacks the other skeleton, destroying its second skull and sending it to the ground, where the body falls into pieces; meanwhile, the hobgoblin bard returns over the door, ready to provide cover to the other humans, and starts looking at the Mind Flayer, as if she's trying to understand what kind of incantations the foul beast may utter.

Left alone, the vampiric monster seems to be undecided on what to do against the group, who now circles him from everywhere; he extracts another scroll but before he can use it, things starts to become even stranger: the hobgoblin's sword starts circling around and spins madly, while the red light intensifies and the swords rise and flies as a projectile, directed toward the altar full of bones; the weapon, seemingly alive thrusts into the altar, and the noise of cracked bones and rocks covers everything. Then, for a while, everything seems to calm down: the red light disappears, and the scroll reacting with the vial containing Laegran's tears falls gently on the altar of death. There, the scroll emits the same sound of a heartbeat, while everything seems to stand still, friends and foes looking at each other ready to strike.


The Deva contacts you thelepatically
"That scroll... It is something ancient as Shavarath, a demonic creation! We must destroy it!"



Both Sidara (if she can get past the strong feelings of her rage) and Jack 'feel' something unnatural and different, stronger, as if the quieteness that fell upon the room is the prelude to something terrible.

The Mind Flayer is still holding a scroll, but didn't use it in this round. You can now act. If we want to follow initiative order, it should be Sidara, then Jack, but I think it's the same.

@Nick: did Jack actually imprisoned the gaseous necromancer in a form large enough for her to take humanoid form again, or is she going to be horribly crushed by the rocks trapping her? :smalleek:

[iTookUrNick]

@Nick: did Jack actually imprisoned the gaseous necromancer in a form large enough for her to take humanoid form again, or is she going to be horribly crushed by the rocks trapping her? :smalleek:
I had not imagined that was a possibility. I mean, a gaseous form should be as big as the original caster, if not slightly bigger. Right? :smallconfused:
I now have this image of keeping the stone in place forevers, with a written warning on it saying "do not open: monster inside". Geez... :smalleek:

Whatever the case, use your best judgment on that. If you decide the crushing thing is possible, Jack would definitely go with that. Just know that when things are all over Jack will probably make a hole to let her out, capture & interrogate her, so it might be in her best interest not to dismiss the spell early.
"The scroll! We must destroy it!" warns Jack. He moves towards it, with the intent of sundering while it still has not finished whatever it is meant to do. He strikes it with his weapon, hoping to shred it, and shouts "Help me with it! Now!"
For his part, Tail decides to act on the other scroll in the room: he drags the vampire towards him with his strands and plucks it from the vampire's hands with his mouth.
Ouside the room, the deva watches impotently as the events unfold. She turns toward one of the others and heals them, shouting "Go do something"
Jack: move to the altar and Sunder the scroll. I do not know what I need to roll, but I will use IP on the damage (extra +9) roll as appropriate. Assuming regular [roll0].
Deva: see if anyone needs a Cure Serious Wounds.[roll1]
Tail: free drag action. Disarm (?) action opposed roll: [roll2]. Tail should get an extra +4 for being larger, and the vampire should get an extra -4 because it is not actually holding a weapon. I think.

[CozJa]

As Jack tries to destroy the scroll, the red light resonates and condenses, as if forming a shield, and blocks his attack. The arcanists takes a brief time to look at the scroll and, with the help of his magical sight and his extensive knowledge of spells and of Flamekeep's archives, he tries to recognize it.

The patterns and runes on the scroll, written in a dialect of Abyssal, are somewhat strange and seem to refer to magical techniques that look both familiar and ancient, as if the spell was written for casters from a different age, where the arcane ways followed different rules. Still, its magic can be harnessed with enough competence; the presence of the vial of tears, now clearly identifiable as an Artifact of some sort, reminds Jack of a group of spells he read about, exalted creations of arcane and divine magic, generally requiring a sacrifice from their heroic spellcaster. This function in a similar way, but the effect is not good or heroic in whatever sense of the terms: the conjurations patterns are filled with acid-dripping letters, and the effect of the spell materializes clearly into Jack's mind: utter and complete disaster, for every living thing across the distance from Zolanberg to New Cyre!


The spell is Apocalypse from the sky from Book of Bwahahaha we're bad PEGI 18

[iTookUrNick]

One thing I can think of trying next is getting the scroll to the Deva, which then casts Ethereal Jaunt and gets it away from the material plane. It would make a lot of ghosts quite angry I guess, but it should not spill over. Plane shift would also work, if you have a good plane candidate in mind.

[rypt]

Sidara's mind is consumed by rage. She can hear Jack's warning, but his words are indistinct, as though spoken underwater. She can sense the power that concerns him, building atop the altar beside her, but the anger burning in her blood commands her attention elsewhere.

"You!" she bellows at the aberration responsible for Wrogar's death. Cracks spread through the rock beneath her feet as the Cyran soldier launches herself towards the mind flayer. Without breaking stride, she reaches out to take hold of its tentacled head, carrying the creature with her in a most undignified manner as she sprints towards the far end of the room. As she draws near the wall, she reaches back and slams the mind flayer's skull into the stone.

Hulk Sidara smash!

Move action: Sidara will move to AG7.

Swift action: Sidara will expend the last charge of her Torc of the Titans for a +5 bonus on Strength checks.

Standard action: Sidara will bull rush the mind flayer towards AG1, moving with it as far as she can. She needs to win the opposed Strength check by 20 in order to slam it into the wall and trigger dungeon crasher.

Bull rush: [roll0]
Dungeon crasher damage: [roll1]

[CozJa]

Sidara launches herself against the disoriented Illithid Vampire; the creature tries to resist her momentum, but the Cyran's warrior fury is unstoppable, and the monster is crushed on the wall, with parts of the ceiling falling over its carcass.

After the creature dies, the situation still looks dire: the catastrophic spell is still active, but you all can see that the tears have not been consumed, meaning there's still time to stop it.
Mahk'r blade still pulses faintly, but is no more reacting with the spellcasting, and the Deva's magic gives some pause to the overpowering feeling of hopelessness of this place.

Mere moments after the Mind Flayer's death, you hear a voice coming from Jack's rock trap:
"In the name of Vol, what... what is happening here?"

[iTookUrNick]

[roll0]

If things seem quiet enough with the lady and all, Jack will be casting Mage Hand (not) to handle things.
"Oh my... Claiming to have been mind controlled the whole time is the oldest trick in the book" says Jack, mockingly. It might or might not be true: Jack is keeping an open mind, trying to get a gut feeling off her response. "Besides, you're still under arrest. Are you surrendering to the authority of the Dragonmarked Elites?"
It occurs to Jack that he does not know if there's an official protocol he's meant to follow when dealing with captives.

As he speaks, his attention is still mostly focused on the powerful magic coming from the scroll. Making sure he's not in the way of Sidara (who probably will have a better chance of stopping this with brute Force), he tries to move the tears away from the scroll, hoping to break the connection and stop the casing.

[rypt]

Sidara turns from the crumpled mass that is the illithid's corpse to finally take measure of the arcane disturbance unfolding at the center of the room. She cannot begin to comprehend what such magic might accomplish, particularly in her current state, but knowing who began the spell and how is enough to know that it must be stopped. Moving to stand beside the profane altar, she takes hold of the hilt of Mahk'r's sword with one hand while raising her own blade with the other. In the same moment that she attempts to pull the hobgoblin's weapon free from the pillar of bone, she strikes at the scroll floating above it.

Strength check to remove Mahk'r sword: [roll0]

Attack vs. scroll (Power Attack for -5/+5): [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[CozJa]

The trapped wizard answers to Jack with an irritated tone: "My blood is only mine to command, half-breed! My mind may have been hazed but my powe..." Before she can finish her phrase, Sidara acts with extreme quickness: with an impressive feat of strength, she takes Mahk'r blade and pulls it out from the altar, then tries to strike at the scroll.

The sword reacts again and a blast of arcane energy explodes into the room, while the blade and the hilt resume heating in Sidara's hand.
While the scroll is still untouched, Jack notices that the protective aura surrounding it is sensibly weakened, making it possible to touch the floating thing.


The blast is a normal 2d6 [roll0] force damage to all people present in the room. Reflex save DC 15 for half damage.
The Blade may provoke 3 fire damage to Sidara.

[iTookUrNick]

"Keep pounding at it, sister!" says Jack, his spirits lifted by the weakening of the protective aura of the scroll.

Jack flicks a finger and at his familiar, who wastes no time in helping tearing down said protection.

To the Necromancer: "Halfbreed? My, I should be offended, if not for the fact that half my breed is better than all of your own." Inside himself, he wonders: 'am I actually goading? That's a perilous thing to do, defying the hand of destiny as a mere mortal.'

From his place outside the chamber, the Deva realises she can do little else to help those inside for the moment. Thus, she decides to tend to the fallen warrior. Despite the great perils, he joined the fight with valor. If he feels in his soul that his fight here on the prime material is not over yet, he should be be given the chance to return to it, she reasons.

[roll0], [roll1] with Impr. Evasion
[roll2], [roll3]
Deva: raise dead on the poor lantern?

[rypt]

The hilt of Mahk'r's blade begins to burn Sidara's palm, but pain does not deter her. Tightening her grip as if to answer the weapon's challenge, she turns her own sword towards the ground beside her and plunges the point of the blade into the dirt. Now able to grip the hobgoblin's blade with both hands, she raises it over her head before cutting downwards toward the scroll.

Sidara takes a total of 8 damage from both the magical blast and Mahkr's sword.

Sidara will attack the scroll again, this time with Mahk'r's sword. I don't know the exact stats on his weapon, so I'll make my rolls using only the attack and damage modifiers which I know. Feel free to add any enhancement bonuses, alignment penalties, etc. afterwards. I don't know if it's a longsword, a bastard sword or a greatsword, so I'll just roll all three. Sidara will power attack for -5/+10.

Attack (BAB +10, Strength +7, Swift Surge +1, haste +1, heroism +2): [roll0]
Longsword damage (Strength +10, Power Attack +10, Armbands of Might +2): [roll1]
Bastard sword damage: [roll2]
Greatsword damage: [roll3]

[CozJa]

Sidara's choice of action happens to be the right one, if not the wisest for her health: ignoring the pain from the heating sword, she cuts toward the scroll and the blade passes through the barrier effortlessly, striking the scroll.
As it happens, a gem nestled into the hilt cracks slightly, while the scroll is cut in half and vaporizes before it touches the ground. The arcane residual energy from the reaction discharges in an explosion of light, and all those in the room feel like a part of their magic defences has been stripped away.
Even Jack trap disappeared, but the necromancer seems free, but in a bad shape, and not willing to resume the fight. "By the blood!" she says, "this place was not supposed to become a dark sanctuary!"

The air in the room becomes more easier to breath, as part of the necromantic energy disperses. Everybody feels... more peaceful, now, as it is clear that a terrible threat has been defeated. Gheerla steps up and looks at the necromancer.
"You are under the jurisdiction of the Lhesh Haruuc Shaarat'kor, surrender, or resume your hostility, and die!"

Mahk'r approaches Sidara, "Are you fine? That stunt was crazier than a bugbear's charge!"

The Deva tries to call the fallen Dark Lantern from the afterlife, but is unable to do it. It seems like something is interfering with his ability, and it may not be the fallen's will...
"Something is wrong here, but I can't understand what... at least now I can step into the room."



destroying the scroll released a Greater Dispel Magic effect, meaning that the most powerful active spell on every character is now over (Nick can you remind me which spell was the more powerful? :smallbiggrin: ). At least the evil spells protecting the area are gone, too.

[iTookUrNick]

It's probably Draconic Might for everyone.
Jack: [roll0] with inspiration.
Tail: [roll1] will do what he can to help
Deva: discern lies on the necromancer.

"Well done, Sister" Jack tells Sidara, still reeling from the fatigue of spell casting and the loss of his arcane support. Nothing like preventing a small Apocalypse to bring people together.
To the Lanterns, he says "Compose your friend's body and prepare it for transport. We might yet be able to do something for him, somewhere more... appropriate."

Looking at the necromancer and the shattered ball of stone, he muses mostly for himself: "The Abjuration effect we just experienced must have been the most powerful I've ever seen. It probably reacted with the lingering traces of Conjuration magic still within the stone, shattering it into pieces. Very interesting..."
He leaves the binding and initial questioning of the necromancer to the others, sure they will subdue her without trouble, but keeping an eye out in case the do not. Instead, together with Tail, he looks around the room to make sure nothing of value or importance has been missed. He also remembers there's another room they did not explore: when the others are don, he will ask the necromancer about it.
From her place outside the room, the Deva moves towards the necromancer, ready to spot any deception in her words.

[rypt]

Leaving Mahk'r's sword embedded in the top of the altar, Sidara's takes hold of her own. The battle may be over, but fury still burns in her blood. Se has but one focus for her anger now, and she pays little mind to the words of Mahk'r and Jack. Stepping around the bodies of her fallen foes, she shoulders past Gheerla and grabs the necromancer by the throat. She does not immediately choke the mage, but the threat is implicit in the ease with which she lifts her off the ground.

"Why did you come here?" Her voice seethes with rage. "What have you done to this place?"

Indimidate: [roll0]

[CozJa]

As Sidara touches the necromancer's neck, she can see that the woman, of elven heritage, disguise herself as an undead, but is clearly alive, as her difficulty in speaking when the poweful fighter holds her by the throat.

"I... I came here months ago, to study that scroll you destroyed. It was... *hack* a relic of ages past. But something went wrong. *coff*.. I remember discovering an interaction between its conjuration properties and the quality of some undead aberrations and requested specimens for my experiments... then everything is hazy. This place was supposed to stay secret *coff*. Look, I mean you no harm! I've been played by those creatures!"
The woman widen her eyes, and it looks like she is frightened enough from Sidara to try to fool her, an impression swiftly confirmed by the Deva.

Looking around, Tail takes the scroll from the destroyed rests of the aberrant vampire; with a bit of attention, he notices a ring still attached to one of the now deader than dead claws.

Jack, looking over the table between the now dormant altar and the necromaner, finds some spell components and a couple of pouches, a journal, one flask filled with a black-violet liquid, the other part of the scrying system they found in the cave, and a pair of gloves, each sporting a flat, dark red gem on the back.

"Fine, kill her if you feel like it, you earned the right to do it."
says Gheerla to Sidara; then, with a lot of attention, she takes the vial of the legendary tears; even the cynical hobgoblin can't help but show some respectful hesitation in handling such a thing that, after what happened, demonstrates that the tales about it's magical properties were more than tales.
"Finally, they can come back to where they belong."

In the distance, the two alive Dark Lanterns, after the unfruitful attempt by the Deva, prepare a makeshift litter to bring their fallen companion back to home. Thanks to Sidara entrance, there's a lot of wood aviable for the work.

[iTookUrNick]

Arcane sight: Spellcraft checks for everything Jack found (just in case). See the notes in Jack's sheet for order/details.
[roll0], [roll1], [roll2], [roll3], [roll4], [roll5], [roll6], [roll7]
Adding an estimated value (even simply "few gold pieces" or " a lot" would also be helpful.
As the others question the Necromancer, Jack gauges any notable magical properties of what they found, catalogues the items in his head and stores them for later evaluation. He gets to the journal and starts skimming to see who is the author and what is the main subject discussed.
He only pops his head out of the pages as Gheerla suggests killing the necromancer. "I'd rather bring her in for questioning. That's why we came here, after all. When you have a live subject, you can ask all sort of useful questions and get feedback on their answers. For example: what dragonmarked house are you affiliated with? Or another one: what's in the other secret room?" He then goes back to his reading without apparently waiting for an answer.

[rypt]

As Sidara listens to the necromancer's excuses, Gheerla's words begin to echo in her mind.

Kill her if you like... Kill her if you like... Kill her if you like... Kill her.

The echoes grow louder with every passing moment until Sidara can hear nothing else. Her heartbeat quickens, her anger stirs, and before the necromancer can finish speaking, Sidara tightens her grip around the necromancer's neck, squeezing her airway shut and choking her words in her throat. The necromancer struggles, clawing at Sidara's hand, but hers is a futile effort to overcome the Cyran warrior's inhuman strength.

Just when it seems that Sidara might strangle the life from her captive, or simply snap her neck like a twig, she opens her hand and lets the necromancer fall to the ground. As the elf struggles to catch her breath, Sidara struggles to remain standing. Whatever fire had ignited in her blood has burned itself out, and as she takes a single, listless step back, she nearly topples over. Taking hold of the skeletal altar to steady herself, she slowly makes her way to the wall of the cave.

"Do with her what you will," she says to Gheerla as much as to Jack, her voice now low and weary.

Sidara's rage ends, and she becomes fatigued. She was already fatigued due to the spell that was cast earlier, and as a result, is now exhausted.

[CozJa]

All the present are disconcerted by Sidara stunt, but when the proud warrior let the necromancer fall, tensions are eased in the room.

The elven woman gasps for a while, than, after taking a long breath, answers Jack's indirect questions.
"What secret room? Ah, the passage... it is just a secondary corridor through the cave entrance. I tried to reach for it while in gaseous form. And I have nothing to do with your petty houses. I'm a Karrnathian patriot, and our land is more important than every arcane mark scribbled on skin."

Gheerla takes the tears and put them away in a bag, while looking at the now destroyed scroll "A pity, for such a powerful weapon..."

"Not so much," answers Mahk'r, approaching his sword, that now seems again dormant and fixed into the altar. The hobgoblin stops to look at it for a moment, pondering something, than calls out for Jack, asking his opinion.
"This sword is an ancient relic of our lost empires. When I received it years ago, I was told it was forged to destroy the horrendous spawn of Xoriat, and that effects of planar binding involving spirits from other planes powered it.
Thing is, in seven years of adventuring with it, I never seen it acting this strange. Do you have any opinion on it?"


Jack can recognize some of the things he found: the scrying system, composed of a payr of stones, releases an illusion-like aura, and seems to resonate with dragonshards related power; if they are those commonly used by shadow marked elves, they are more useful then valuable.
The gloves are clearly meant to canalize the power of Fernia, both offensively and defensively. They look finely crafted and should have a high value in a specialized market.
The flask stores some kind of necromantic energy, but is unclear what type.


Reading the journal, Jack notices that the writings start as an orderly set of descriptions and notes on experiments conducted with the scroll; skimming through the pages, it is possible to see that the writing becomes less and less regular and the notes slowly give places to incoherent writing about "the endless forces in the abyss".

[iTookUrNick]

"A Karrnathian patriot you say... and not a devout to the Blood of Vol, or sympathiser of the Order of the Emerald Claw, which your own monarchs branded as a terrorist organisation?" asks Jack, with a tone that transpires skepticism. "Whatever, it does not matter right now. You will be brought in for questioning, and you'd better behave if you want to have any chance to tell your side of the story. Bind her" Jack winches, ever so slightly, when he says those words, though it would be hard to notice "and gag her too, when she's had a moment to catch her breath." He says these last words with a little amusement instead, as if to cover his previous uneasiness.

He turns to Gheerla, admonishing her: "Not a pity, but a triumph, to rid the world of such an Evil thing. For even if it is true that it is the wielder's acts, not his weapon, that truly matter, this spell would have had no other purpose than to scotch the earth and bring forth pain and suffering upon its inhabitants. Such a thing should not be used, even in times of war, least all Khorvaire be turned into Mournland."

He appreciates Mahk'r agreeing on the subject. The Hobgoblin is not as bad his brethren usually are, it seems. He approaches him, looking at his sword. A powerful weapon, to be sure, though the lates display was something else entirely. He wonders if he's ever read or heard of something similar.

I, as a player, do not know what to tell the hobgoblin. Perhaps Jack does? He had the chance to see it in action, and his knowledge is.... [roll0], inspired.

Also, I take it the ring is non-magical? How about the unused scroll?

[rypt]

Sidara grimaces, her back pressed against the wall of the cave as she slowly lowers herself to the floor. Her breathing is labored, her arms hang heavy at her sides, her eyes seem somehow dimmer than they were before. She has no serious injuries to speak of, yet there isn't an inch of her body that doesn't hurt. Only moments ago, she was indomitable. Now, she seems, in a word, feeble. Listening to Gheerla and Jack, she keeps a wary eye on the necromancer. She knows little of ancient artifacts or forgotten magics, and she has little to add to their discussion beyond a tired sigh upon learning that the relic she struck with a sword possessed such ruinous power.

[CozJa]

The woman looks at Jack with a angry expression "A patriot is still a patriot, even if his nation betrays what we belie...mmf" her words are stopped mid sentence as the younger Dark Lantern happily follows Jack's suggestion.

Alain Smythe joins the group, his expression burdened by the loss of one of their companions: “Covert operations or not, I have to admit that this was way out of our league. Good thing you were around, and our losses were minimal. Our chiefs will be really interested in interrogating that 'patriot' here.”

Gheerla ponders Jack words "I understand... still, a weapon like this could give a tremendous political power to its possessor, even more than its arcane might. Well, if you have nothing more to do here, I think it better to prepare for departure: the less you stay in our territory, the better for everyone involved."

Even the Deva, who can now walk freely in the room, seems to concur with the dirge singer.
"I'll stay by your side until you are back in the place you first summoned me. But I ask you to release me when we are there. The presence of such an ancient magic weapon is a worrying development, and my superiors on Shavarath must be informed that relics like this are around in Eberron!"


Jack knows that some ancient forging techniques of the Dhakaani empire involved binding demons to a blade, to improve its effectiveness. Maybe this is one of those blades, and that would explain why the deva perceived an evil aura around almost all of the group members.
Also, I'm pretty sure I forgot to mention the scroll your familiar took from the dead undead. it's a scroll of Cloudkill. Jack can recognize it with his super high checks.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack notices Alaine's euphemistic use of 'minimal' to refer to their dead brethren and he is reminded one more of wartime, where such choice of words was commonplace. He is also reminded of his previous mission, where losses were anything but minimal. He sighs inwardly at the thought. To the Lantern he says: "I agree. We will be interested in what she says, too. Our superiors seem to think this was more than an isolated unit. I hope you will keep us informed."

To Gheerla: "And who would you trust to keep such weapon at hand? I would trust Her Sterling Holiness with anything and everything, but I know for a fact that others would feel so threatened by such a thing as to strike 'prehemptively', with disastrous consequences for all... No, this was for the best, I assure you."

To the Deva: "Of course. I thank you for the assistance and protection you provide us. Indeed, we should tarry no longer: we all have places to be, people to meet and reports to give."

With that said, he motions for everyone to move out. He expect the Lanterns to carry their fallen comrade, and one of his companions to keep a strong grip on the prisoner.
He looks at Sidara and asks: "Are you fit for travelling?" He's feeling a little fatigue himself, but not at the level the woman is showing.


Looking around, Tail takes the scroll from the destroyed rests of the aberrant vampire; with a bit of attention, he notices a ring still attached to one of the now deader than dead claws.
Anything on this?

[rypt]

"Finally." Sidara exhales her relief after Beren silences the necromancer. "Thanks for shutting her up."

Her voice takes on a decidedly somber tone as she addresses the Lantern commander. "We've still got another day at least in the company of one of Shavarath's shining swords. Wrogar's not lost to us yet."

At Jack's inquiry, she struggles to shift herself into a more upright position. "Give me an hour. No one wants to leave this place more than I do, but we're traveling with a prisoner, the body of one of our own, and some damned goblin relic. Banner or no banner, I need to be able to hold my own out there if things go south."

[CozJa]

All the group waits for Sidara to compose herself, while the Lanterns pack up any evidence they can find (aside from what Jack already seen), and Mahk'r sits on the ground to perform a quick meditation, before sheathing his sword again.

Alain reassures Jack that they will send a full report to their... employers, and asks the wizard if he wants to copy something from the necromancer's journal, since they'll have to keep it as evidence in the upcoming trial against her.
The group reaches outside the cave without problems, and a bright sun welcomes them back into the world of livings. The Deva basks with pleasure in the lightrays, while even the hobgoblins, as much as they are used to darkness, appreciate the change of scenery.

The group starts their march back to Sterngate, walking with ease considering their baggage: a tied necromancer, a wooden litter with a dead man on, and the knowledge that they did something important, but more events are waiting for them.


Oh yes, the ring, I'm going senile! Jack recognize that it is magical in nature, some kind of minor illusion effect, that seems to emit a faint shadow when looked at directly.

As for the rest, if you have some more questions to ask to the necromancer/hobgoblin/Dark Lanterns, you are free to do so, else your travel back to Sterngate will be without worries.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack is overall satisfied with the results o the operation. He's still hoping that the Deva will be able to resurrect the poor Lantern, bringing their total losses from 'minimal' to a much better sounding 'none'.
He will take the opportunity to copy the diary onto fresh parchment (magically, of course. Who has the time otherwise...). He has no questions left for the necromancer, and he believes that if anything were to come up they would not have too much trouble to arrange a meeting in prison. In his pockets there are a few new and interesting magical items; he wishes he could take the time to study them with care, as if it were a research project, but he knows he'll cast identify instead and cut to the chase. Again, who has the time these days?Not him, to be sure. There are a thousand and one other project that he's got on hold. Heck, he almost forgot he got a letter from Kaldor Ravalek himself before leaving, offering a meeting. He decides that should be one of his priorities when he gets back.

The only other business at hand is warning Mahk'r of what he suspect about his blade. jack knows that some ancient forging techniques of the Dhakaani empire involved binding demons to a blade, to improve its effectiveness. Maybe this is one of those blades, and that would explain why the deva perceived an evil aura around almost all of the group members. He says so to the hobgoblin. He does not think it should matter too much in everyday use, but then it would be best not to be blindsided like today in the future, and the only way to do so is to know your weapon.

[rypt]

As they make their way back through the mountain pass, Sidara cannot seem to shake the notion that something about this operation isn't adding up. A few hours into their march, she calls out to Jack, waving him to the back of their procession. She slows her pace to put some distance between the two of them and the rest of the party.

"Lemme ask you something. Is she what you expected to find in that cave? A witless necromancer experimenting with some ancient relic? You think she has even the faintest clue what the Claw are up to in Breland?"

Once she's heard the sergeant's answer, she walks up alongside Alain. "Can I take a look at the records you recovered from the cave?" She's not the fastest reader, but she's got time to spare.

Sidara wants to see if any of the papers they found match Eluvan's description -- documents detailing the Emerald Claw's operations in Breland.

[iTookUrNick]

Jack had indeed wondered about the significance of their finding. Being a strong believer in hierarchies, he had simply meant to see what their superiors had to say before remarking on it. However, being asked directly, he does speak his mind on the subject.

"A single, mind-addled necromancer can be a menace with enough time and resources, and it is a good thing that we managed to get her out of the way. However, as you correctly pointed out, it hardly connects to the series of arcane mysteries that were reported in Sharn. Furthermore, the whole affair is hardly consistent with the usual emerald claw modus operandi.

I do not think we have enough information to make deductions just yet, but my educated guess is that someone went to a lot of trouble and used a lot of powerful spells to acquire and deploy the scroll we destroyed. This someone, is well versed in mind control and has used this ability on other powerful spell casters to further his schemes from behind the scenes. As for who, or what, they are and what do they want... well, right now your guess is as good as mine."

[CozJa]

The group travels back to Sterngate without interruptions or problems of any sort. The necromancer stays quite and doesn't seem interested in trying to escape, sometimes looking even more puzzled than everybody else. Even the Bugbear tribe seems to be uninterested in them, with Gheerla explaining that they had probably kept an eye on the cave during the fight, and knewing who won was more than enough.

Mahk'r is surprised by Jack warning about his sword, since he was anaware that the binding techniques could be so advanced to trap even malevolent spirits in an item. He confirms his intention to guard the blade with even more attention from now on, and thanks the Flamist for his assistance in this matter of knowledge.

During the day, the Deva tries twice to bring back the deceased wizard, but is always unable to do it. "Now that we are away from that accursed cave, I suspect that the effect doesn't work since the recipient is unwilling." then he adds another consideration "Since I'm away from my plane, it may be possible that not all my abilities can work fully, for what I remember, you need some physical implementations to complete many incantations, while I do not, that may be a difference that is more important in this world than we first thought, I never had to use my restorative power to such an extent." Alain takes the news without showing too much emotion, and commenting that if the afterlife is not as bad as it's described, maybe the poor sod found something better to do than to hang around with war scarred veterans.

Jack, instead, expends part of his time in looking at the glove and at the ring, using his divine powers to get a better idea on what they are: once for day, he drinks an infusion of his prepation, entering a trance-like state, where he is free to roam into the Great Library of Flamekeep, all written words and descriptions showing up in his mind as spiritual images. In that way, he recognize the two objects:

-The gloves are called Gauntlets of Heartfelt Blows, and the first pair of them was found on a dead Drow in Xen'drik. A gnome artificer was able to reverse-engineer their project, and now more copies of them can be found in the world, especially used by Zil strike forces (not that the good and gentle gnomes of Zilargo would ever use strike forces, they are kept around "just in case").

-The ring is an object called "Ring of the Darkhidden" specifically, the name is already branded and copyrighted according to the international Korth-Sivis Property Laws. It was created in 789 YK by Raknal Doldarun, a Mror Holds forger, who wanted to create an item capable of helping his clan in escaping the attention of the horrendous monsters stalking Khyber, during a time when the dwarves considered to start more expeditions in search of lost relics of their subterranean ancestors. Unfortunately, the ring proved to be equally successful in hiding the wearer from view of the Daelkyrs and the other dwarves in every group, provoking a lot of occupational accidents.
Raknal was able to avert bankrupt by selling his last stock of rings to House Phiarlan, who was interested in its uses for "more spectacular performances in Shadow shows around the nation".


Sidara reads through the journal, especially in the saner parts of it, and finds that there are indeed some generic informations on the Emerald Claw: every group works privately, and it is rare that they share informations with each other, but for what she can collect from the wizard writings, some of the group have been dispatched in search for different relics of ancient Karrnath (and the scroll destroyed by the group clearly was way more ancient than Karrnath) that are supposed to help in cleansing the group reputation in their home nation. curiously, a couple of places in the Eldeen Reaches and one in Q'barra are mentioned, but nothing regarding Breland, or another of the major nations.


As the group approaches Sterngate, the Deva reminds to Jack his demand for release, stating that he really doesn't want to prolong the stay on Eberron.

[iTookUrNick]

Against all odds, the way back is uneventful. Jack uses divine inspiration, opportunely channeled, to shed some light on what items they found in the cave. He resolve to find a buyer for them at the next opportunity and share the proceeds.

The only negative note of the whole thing is their inability to restore their companion to life. As the group approaches Sterngate and the Deva demands her release, Jack cannot do anything but comply. He bows to her and speaks formally: "Of course. I undestand you have urgent business of your own, and I thank you for the assistance and protection you provided us with . May your arm be ever strong and your wits sharp as you wage war for the Good of the Multiverse. May the soul of the faithful of good conscience join you in victory. I deem your service here completed." The last words are the one that unseal the way for the celestial to return to her own affairs.

[3SecondCultist]

Thy Brother’s Keeper

Blue stalks across the frozen, twilit landscape, to kill a brother.

It is not as easy as it might appear to an onlooker, although he is sure aside from his support team scrying on him back in Sterngate, there is nobody else around for miles. Tattered banners fly in a non-existent breeze, tents and munitions of soldiers who will no longer need them. A distant watchtower creaks suddenly, as though to collapse from its foundations and tumble into the crevasse near its feet. All around him, the shattered plateau waits to exhale, but Blue is unconcerned about the possibility of that ever happening.

After all, the Mournland has been holding its breath for a long time.

The Field of Ruins is aptly named, it seems. The bodies of the dead are preserved perfectly here, many thousands on the eve of battle. Blue takes the time to look at the face of each one that he passes, thoughts of prayers to different powers in different languages running through his mind. The Sovereign Host. The Silver Flame. Even the Blood of Vol. He does not speak them, for risk of offending the dead.

It is the living that he is here for. The attacks on Sterngate's perimeter were very telling. A merc rush north to cover flanking maneuvers with explosive payloads from the east and west: only Rook would use sappers in that kind of style. The fortress withstood the attack, of course, but then again Rook had never meant it as anything serious.

It had been a calling card. A summons. And now he's here to answer it.

Standing at the edge of the Field, Blue follows the tracks laid by the retreating mercenaries. His massive adamantine frame makes the ground shudder at his feet. There will be no stealth here, no sneaking in. Rook knows that he's coming, and he knows that Rook knows this. No sense in delaying the inevitable.

"Rook!", the warforged paladin cries out. "Come on out! I know you're here somewhere! I don't know what it is you're planning, but I'm here, just like you wanted."


Sterngate

The sun is high in the sky by the time the group returns to Sterngate. Blue watches the column come up the road, noting the absence of the angelic being and one the soldiers in the squad's make up. Casualties of war; to be expected, of course. The battle the others were sent into was hardly a sure thing, he remembers from the operation, so he is not surprised at the outcome. Perhaps if he had been there, things might have turned out differently.

The warforged stands at the edge of the fort's walls, looking down on the other Elites as they make their way into the courtyard. His adamantine plating is actually damaged, here and there, a bit corroded and scorched in places. He too has 'seen blood' in the past few days, although his conflict was of a different nature.

Descending to meet them, Blue slows his pace down to stop a few feet away. He has learned that smaller people do not often appreciate being placed in his shadow. This is a strangeness, as it is often one of the safest places to be.

"Your mission was a success, then?" he asks Jack and Sidara without any preamble. "I... have been told to apologize for my absence. I was handling a different matter. You captured someone?"

[CozJa]

Thy Brother's Keeper

Blue metallic voice echoes in the Mournland, as his words resonate on the icy rocks, where everything seems eager to shatter, but nothing ever changes.
Then an answer, a howl in the wind, "You are so predictable... I knew you would come, I knew you would recognize my hand. Come to me 'brother'"
the mist slowly fades as a point of sarcasm embellish Rook's words, something unexpected from a construct, living or not.
"But before this, wouldn't you like to see how good of a leader I've become? My 'new' mercenaries are absolutely loyal... even beyond death..."

Suddenly, the whispers of despair Blue imagined take form, as the air grows colder, and hoar frost coalesces into dark waves of cold air, seemingly entering the lungs of the long dead.
After what looks like an endless amount of time, but is nothing more than the blink of a human eye, a dozen of soldiers is standing, their uniforms showing the sings of battle, but looking as they were freshly tailored; they advance toward Blue from all sides, bracing their weapons with clumsy movements and void eyes.
They are nothing for the powerful warforged, nothing but a test.

Sterngate Outskirts

"Thank you, honorable warrior" the Deva speaks with a... relieved tone, as if the unbounding of his contract freed something more of him. "You acted rashly in calling me, but with respect; may the Flame always whisper true into your heart and know that if the very fires of Khyber would rise up to devour you, the might of Shavarath will be at your side." As the Deva disappears, Jack feels a strange sensation in his stomach, and for a brief moment he find it difficult to breath. He doesn't know why, but realizes that if he'd find himself and his friend in mortal trouble, maybe the Deva could come back to aid him. Maybe.

[iTookUrNick]

Sterngate

"It is good to see you as well, armored friend. No need to apologise, but it is good that you did anyway. I am certain you had good reason to leave when you did. " says Jack to Blue without any note of sarcasm. He's gotten to know a few warforged during but especially after the war, and he knows that patience is a virtue when dealing with them, even more than usual.

"As for our mission, well... We did manage to clear out an Emeral Claw hideout and capture this necromancer. If this constitutes or not a success is yet to be determined."

[BelGareth]

Sterngate Station

Belter was at odds. Which seemed to be his new status quo, as if his personal tectonic plates had shifted into a natural state of change. It felt odd, wrong, and his stomach tied itself into knots like a snake gone mad. The taste of honor, and respect still faint on the tip of his tongue from talking to Collas, he frowned thinking about, it was odd. He was proud, this was an honor, yet the empty feeling that he had, carried with him, and grew as he moved through the shadow marches. It reeked of something else, he was never one to self loathe, one did not have time for such an indulgence, it was the sin, and pain of the civilized man, not an ash bound druid.

But then the words of Gharull echoed around his skull like an empty cave. His words rang true, perhaps more so than Collas'. Though Bel knew Gharull for what he was, and if it was not for the markings and his own obvious lineage, he would be a contender to him. But, instead, he is to be his ultimate tool.

Perhaps not? Perhaps he could find a middle road between the two venerated leaders?

Bel Chuckled out loud, such thinking was funny to him, he had accepted his lot a long time ago, this was just another cairn-stone along the path of his lifecycle, may it be long and uneventful. His smile faded as he thought of the last words, this was going to be far from uneventful.

He had arrived swiftly at the location indicated, and found a nice tree to cozy up to while he waited, calling some shrubbery to grow around him, causing him to vanish from view. He needed some time to fully think about everything, how would he behave? He was not allowed to destroy those things he found as abominations, it would be the biggest task he had ever under taken, and the majority of his willpower to do so.

Meeting the halfling's, he nodded in thanks as he accepted the reigns to his glidewing hesitantly, the creature was...different than he had encountered. This was his first lesson, and he had to take it head on, stomaching the protests, he stepped up and sat down on the strange animal, it seemed to be....waiting...as if it knew...as if it knew what to do. It's wild instincts gone, replaced with the sharp rap of the training stick, it made Bel sick, but he swallowed his pride, he had to do this.

During the flight, he ended up talking to the domesticated glidewing, it was...enlightening, and only increased Bel's fervor and hatred towards the domestication of animals. The creatures soul was...lessened, he yearned to let it free, to teach it the ways of the wind, to fly with it, to let it loos upon the currents, and show it the way of it's ancestors. He could have even kept up with a spell or two, the thought made him smile, even if for a moment.

They flew long and hard, and eventually, the landscape changed, Bel saw something that raised an eyebrow, and he realized, that sitting on a domesticated glidewing would be one of the easier things to do today. The strange landmark stretched across the land, he had no idea, but he saw a large house moving along it with speed, how strange.

They landed, and he made special note of the trees here, in case he needed to withdraw to a safe place. Turning, he nodded in thanks to the animal handlers, and whispered a small prayer for the estranged animals as they took off, lingering upon them a little too long. He was here for a reason, he had been instructed to look for a warforged. He had only met a few of them in his life, strange beings of wood and metal, the Ashbound were split in their think about them, but no one spoke up too much, they took all who shunned the licentious civilized people.

Scanning the area, he trudged along looking around for a warforged, hoping to all hope that he would not have to approach more than one.

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce bent himself to the job at hand. This is about as close as he'd come to feeling peaceful since he left Baron Esravash d'Lyrandar's presence days ago.

With his orders left open aside from 'wait for another new agent', Zvyce has been administering much needed maintenance to this railway station. The stairs have been cleaned, repaired and reinforced. The landing as well. Native vines that had caused structural damage to the small building were moved and pruned; the now covered two walls, giving coolness in the summer while gaining better access to the sun and proper support for future growth.

The iron and steel detritus is no longer hampering the health of the local trees. It has been reworked into a water pump powering windmill. The old hand pump now pours clean water into a small pond.

His current task is a simple one, and continues to adjust the bricks he is fashioning into seating area as he hails what can only be the other new agent.

"HELLO! Welcome to Sterngate Station!"

[BelGareth]

Sterngate Station

Bel graimces as he witness the only other being in the location, actively building things. His stomach tightened.

You said yourself, more trials were to come. He thought reminding himself of the coming times, and the bigger trials...like that strange moving house he had seen from above, he was hoping, again, that he would not be forced to ride it.

Bel stepped forward, acknowledging the welcome with a wave of his hand, moving closer he gives his best smile, canines protruding from his lips as he did so. "You must be the warforged?" he asks in earnest, all manner of appropriate comments flooded away in a torrent of thoughts and emotions, so that was all he was getting at the current moment in time.

[LairdMaon]

"Indeed I must. And that makes you the druid, yes?"
Zvyce sets aside the bricks and steps into the grass, "Please come rest. I'm sure you are tired from your travels. As such I have prepared several locations you might find to your liking."

Sure enough, two trees have had their surroundings tidied up and the pond has some grass and shrubbery lined shores.

"You may call me Zvyce, if you don't mind. How shall I call you?"

[BelGareth]

Sterngate Station

Belter grimaced as the pleasant warforged directed him to a 'nicer' place for him. It reeked of civilization, he reeked of it, it stank, and he felt himself becoming queesy. But no, he could not, would not, he was soulless, and he had a job to do.

Frowning slightly, he nodded in thanks, but did not move closer, "I...am thankful for the thought Swiss" he said, simply standing where he was, happy to be able to stretch his legs, for he did yearn to fly the breeze, lope through the woods, and learn it's secrets, standing would have to do. "I am, Belter, you can call me Bel."

He looked around, and wandered, not for the last time, how they were going to be traveling to Sterngate.

"Do you know how we are to travel the rest of the way?", you can tell he is uncomfortable, as if his own skin crawled, there was something else going on behind those eyes of his, but what, you have no clue.

[LairdMaon]

"I believe that from here we walk." Zvyce turns to look at the fort less than a mile away. His hand reaches into his haversack as he says, "We can move out at your convenience."

[BelGareth]

Sterngate Station

Looking at the same thing, Bel saw the fort.

oh no

He suddenly became anxious, nervous, he would have to go into that thing.

He nodded numbly, "Sure, let's go then." he mumbled.

[LairdMaon]

"As you say, my new friend." the metal man begins walking. As he does he pulls his left hand out of the haversack and holds his right arm out ahead of himself. A small hatch opens in his forearm and he places a small object, about half the size of a dagger's handle, inside.

"May I suggest we engage in some small talk? My experience has taught me that your kind takes well to such things. You are a druid. I have spent time with druids. What order do you come from?"

[BelGareth]

Sterngate Station to Sterngate

Bel regards the mechanical not-man as he places something from his magical bag into his arm.

It was bewildering to him, how these people so used magic in a fashion that showed such lack of respect, and demonstrated how cavalier they were all at once. He couldn't hide his disgust, but he thought the warforged wouldn't care, or know either way.

Listening, he frowned, he hadn't thought about this, well, he was technically a warden of the forrest, not a lie, but a twist, the same, but wrong.

"Would you know if I told you?" he answered as they walked along, towards the thing very thing he was dreading.

[rypt]

Sidara hands the journal back to Alain once she's finished reading it. With a rumbling sight, she relays to Jack her conclusion that it's a dud. "Seems someone's feeding Eluvan spotty intel. They were right about the cave, but there's not a word in here about the Claw's operations in Breland."

At camp, she does a poor job of hiding her anxiety over Wrogar's resurrection. Whether a fair assessment or not, she believes herself to be responsible for the wizard's death, both in allowing the Brelish contingent along in the first place, and for leaving their arcanist so exposed during the battle. Had she charged the mind flayer instead of the skeletons, might she have saved him? Would she have doomed others in the process?

Pacing, hand-wringing and frequent glances in the Deva's direction are book-ended by her being the first to rise each morning and the last to sleep each night. When the Deva finally declares his inability to return Wrogar to life, Sidara mutters angrily in orcish before walking off into the night. Anyone making an effort to follow her is soon reminded of her speed.

She returns to camp nearly 2 hours later having found some measure of peace in the wizard's willful refusal of the Deva's magic. She cannot entirely shake the notion that death is so terrible an experience that he cannot bear to suffer it again, but in reflecting on how many friends and loved-ones she's lost over the years, she wonders, given the chance to see them again, would she wish to leave? Having devoted herself to the Kalok Shash, she knows that this won't be the case, but she cannot deny the fantasy's appeal.

She has little to say during the remainder of their journey back to the fortress. Any inquiry about her brief excursion the night before is dismissed with a glare. When it comes time for Jack to release the Deva, she addresses the angel in the celestial tongue, expressing gratitude for for its assistance during the battle, and for its diligent effort in reviving Wrogar.

Upon their return to Sterngate, Sidara is mindful of how the other soldiers will react to the loss of one of their own. She watches Alain and Beren carry their fallen comrade further into the yard before walking over to Blue. She does not hesitate to close the distance that the warforged will not. "I wouldn't go that far," she says lowly to his first question. "We did," she answers the second, "but I don't expect to learn much from her." She glances passed him for a moment, before remarking, distantly, "we could have used you out there."

[LairdMaon]

"l might. But then, I might not.
Is there harm in telling me? We are working for the same organization, you need not worry that I well bloody you if I don't like your answer."

[BelGareth]

In route to Sterngate

With that, Bel lets out a mighty laugh, looks to the warforged and grins, fangs pointing out all the way, such was the mirth of his smile. "Ahaha, you make me laugh man-not-man-but-machine. You do not think I can handle myself?" he shrugs as if the answer was self evident "you know little about druids I can tell, one thing about druids, we like our secrets, maybe I will tell you another time." he pauses, then looks back to the warforged "the second thing, you must never underestimate a druid for how they look." he winks with one eye "we always have tricks up our sleeves." and claps the mechanoid on the back, with more strength than you thought him capable.

For a moment, Bel had forgotten.

"Tell me, what of you, where do you come from?"

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce stumbles a step at that clap on his back, but rights himself fast enough.

"Tricks up your sleeve? Wonderful!
I've been counting on that, Bel! Although... I feel like you may have misunderstood my intentions. I in no way meant to imply that I might defeat you in any way, merely I meant to say that our allegiances to different druidic orders was no reason to bare arms against each other." He once more reaches into his haversack, this time pulling out an arrow carved from a straight piece of
ash and fletched with feathers from a preda-
tory bird. Its head is curved at the tip, like a
raptors beak.

"It is in an effort to foster opened and camaraderie that I will tell you the the druids of Sela's Path have embraced me. With Arawai's blessing I am nearly considered one of them. I do hope you and I might come to an understanding." Zvyce bites the head off the plainly magical arrow, grinds it between what pass for teeth, and swallows.

[3SecondCultist]

Thy Brother's Keeper

I'm not the only one who's predictable. Cutting through the swath of onrushing soldiers, Blue does not even sustain a scratch on his plates. His outer shell remains unblemished as he raises the massive porphyry-blue crystal blade and brings it down on the last of the risen dead. Blue knows better than to waste any of his energy reserves fighting these particular abominations. Rook knows his capabilities well enough to be aware of his invulnerability. The other warforged can't have even hoped these undead would leave a scratch on him.

And yet, I still must waste my time fighting them. There is his problem, summed up in a single thought. Blue couldn't leave these poor souls alone even if he tried. No matter who they fought for, they are soldiers, fallen in the line of duty. It is up to him to make sure their bodies are put to rest.

As the last one collapses at his feet, the warforged stands tall over the field of battle and begins to advance on the source of the voice. "Am I supposed to be impressed? That's not loyalty, Rook. You should've stayed scarce. It was a mistake to call me out here."

With a flash, Blue steps out onto a rocky outcropping, approximately 45 feet to the northeast. The jump was more or less instantaneous, and he can already feel his crystal core recharging the first half of his concentration matrix. "I have the high ground! It's only a matter of time before I get a lock on your signature, and then it's all over. Come out and save us both the time."


Sterngate

Blue nods his head slightly, a grinding noise emanating from somewhere beneath his neck plates as he completes the movement. "It is good, at least. Mission objectives were met. That is satisfying." It's a simple truth, but one no less profound for it. Obeying orders, fulfilling the commands of his superiors has ever been the end of the warforged people. Blue knows that Aaren wanted more for him, more for his kindred. Project Cobalt was supposed to herald a generation of warforged that had the right to choose.

And after all that, he's still chosen to serve. How is that any different than the alternative?

"I imagine so, yes," the paladin gravels to Sidara's last remark as he watches the two Dark Lanterns carry their companion back into Sterngate proper. The bright lights behind his visor narrow, as though the warforged were focusing on something just beyond his line of sight. "Less losses, I expect. But we do not give up, when we lose people. To do that is to dishonor their memory."

[BelGareth]

In route to Sterngate

Bel looks surprised, he had not thought such a creature could be a member of such a group. Additionally, he almost recoiled in horror as he ate, what was so obviously a magical arrow of some kind. He knew very little of these things, and so he must learn more...if he could stomach it.

"I..I believe you are correct comrade." he has a raised eyebrow at the eating, but once again, thinks the warforged does not know the nuances of human interaction, such as they are. "This is good. Maybe I can accept you...for what you are? eh, I think that might happen, we shall see. I...er...Why did you eat that?"

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce waits to answer until the fletching has been consumed in its entirety. "That was an duplicate of a relic, identical in every way to the original. I created it based on an hour's study of the original. Since then, I create more commonly to 'eat'. By doing this I harvest the magical energies which I then use in the creation of magic items. I see it as proof of Arawai's approval of my actions. Everything I have has been made uh this fashion. From my haversack to my Moon Blade shells." He pulls out another arrow and repeats the process of eating it.

[BelGareth]

In route to Sterngate

Bel couldn't take it anymore, his look of abject horror and disgust was too much to bear, and the thought of creating a magical item to EAT? He was not a machine, no, and he had no idea about how they worked, why would such a soulless abomination want to create and devour blasphemous trinkets in a cycle of macabre irreverence, and then CLAIM it was the approval of Arawai?

Bel made a mental note to go see these 'druid's that accepted this walking obscenity to nature, and why exactly they accepted it with so wide a arms.

His recent burst of joy was subsumed by a smoldering anger at having to endure this...whatever he could call it.

He walked on in silence, not trusting himself to say anything...not that the machine would know any better.

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce watches the emotions dance chaoticly across Bel's face. "My friend, you look unwell. Is it something you ate?"

CRUNCH
grind
grind
grind

[BelGareth]

Hungry?

His stomach audibly growled.

No.

Not this.

He winced, visibly even, and for the first time began to feel angry about the whole ordeal, before were lies to placate his mind, reasoning that what he was doing was for the good of the cause, the words of his mentors rang empty in his mind, and his stomach began to growl in earnest.

He looked to the ring on his finger, the ring that would damn his soul, damn him from hunting, and killing, and eating the flesh of his hunt, he no longer....he couldn't think about it, no, he could not eat...not until the ring sated his hunger...how long was it? How long did he have to fast for?

He shook his head and steeled his resolve.

"I...I am not used to any of this, I...apologize." he said, through clenched teeth. In a way, it was a blessing that the first person he met on this journey was a man-not-man-machine, for if it were a person, with a soul, they would have surely responded differently, and knew his heart much easier.

"I am curious, how old are you? Who made you and why?"

He realized the questions were slightly blunt, but he felt he could get away with them.

[LairdMaon]

If Zvyce could look surprised, he would appear so now. "An apology? No, Bel! It is too soon in our friendship for such things! As for when I was brought to life and where, I'm a afraid I don't have those answers. I left the life of soldiering behind me. And at some point many of those memories behind as well. Now I choose to fight on the side of what is right and good. That is the difference. I choose. And is that not what matters in the end?"

[BelGareth]

In route to Sterngate

Bel frowned. Was the not-man-machine having a stroke?

No. It was something else.

He almost took a moment to marvel this thing before him, but then realized what it was, and revulsion, the appropriate reaction, took over. He hid it well, stuffing it down with all his other demons that he refused to meet.

Friendship?

He frowned thinking about the connotations that implied.

"Yes, yes...that definitely is important." He says absentmindedly.


More than happy to move onward, don't want to hog the game from the others.

[CozJa]

Thy Brother's Keeper

A repeated metallic noise resounds in the place, as if Rook tried to laugh as organic creatures do, but without any success "I see, I see... you are powerful indeed, and you try to respect those warriors even in their death... but wouldn't you like to feel the pain they felt?"

Blue can feel the air changing slightly. A thin mist rise up from cracks in the terrain, and his sensorial receptors capture a pungent smell, probably coming from an acidic source. Suddenly, moving is a bit more difficult, and the warforged hero feels a sensation similar to sand pouring in his joints

"I see that you made some... upgrade, well, you were not the only one!"
as he hears those last words, a figure comes out from the mist in front of Blue: if not for his voice, Rook would be impossible to recognize: stitched parts of living tissue are put on his body, and every other part is painted in coal black. Only his two 'eyes', now glowing in an ember red, give him a resemblance of life; he wields a pointed knife in his right hand, while the other arm ends with an oversized modified battlefist.
The monstrous creature who once was a friend advances toward Blue...

"I don't want your time, I want your essence!"

Sterngate

As the Dark Lanterns are helped to find a good resting place for their fallen companion, many eyes look at the returning group. Most of them are filled with awe and respect for the results they obtained. Some of the soldiers whisper to each other, asking if the bright creature that departed and never came back was part of the holy man spirit, or a manifestation of the fierce Cyran warrior. Others look at the scarred hobgoblins, wondering if they are really friends or foes, while other look with apprehension at the bound necromancer, fearing that she will stay prisoner in the fort.

After a while Mahk'r walks slowly beside Sidara, looking at an unidentified point on the distant wall in front of them.
"You know, I used to work as a guide during the last years of the war. I helped many expeditions crossing the Thunder Sea. Researchers and tourists at first, but as the war was reaching its conclusion, refugees were my commonest clients.
When I came back to Khorvaire I helped a lot of people from your country to cross the border, trying to keep them away from harm. Sometimes I succeded, sometimes I failed." The hobgoblin puts an hand into one pocket, and extracts a coin, an old Cyran coin, filled with marks on both sides.
"Whenever I'm tired of this life, I take a look at this coin: on this side, I cut a sign for every person who travelled with me onto a new hope, while on this other side, one mark for every person I lost. For a warrior, It's a good thing to mourn our losses, but it's more important to place them in the right context, that of the lives you saved."
He stops for a moment, placing the coin back in his pocket.
"But maybe I'm just getting old and preachy, and you'll prefer to be left alone."

Sterngate captain, with a visibly altered face, finally greets you, speaking with a calm and educated voice, that is in contrast with his body language:
"Glad to see you are back. I'll need a full report on all threats to Sterngate you discovered and... well, I've just received notice that a pair of your... colleagues are on their way to meet you here at the fort."
The man whistles, and a couple of soldiers come out from a secondary door, taking in custody the necromancer. As they go away, the captain signals the group to follow him.
"Join me in the meeting room, We have some matters to discuss... No, you stay there." He says to Mahk'r and Gheerla, who moved to follow.

Sterngate Entrance

As you move to the fortress, you see the two guards at the gate looking at you: both seem war veterans, bracing their glaives with experience and wearing well crafted and polished armors. One of them, clearly older, bears on his face the scars of numerous fights, while the other have a look on his eyes that tells tales of many battlefields.
The older one speak first, looking directly at Zvyce:
"Hey! I've seen more warforged in ths week than in the last year!"
The younger ignores his words, look at a paper he has on hand, than knocks twice on the wooden door, which subesquently opens
"You may enter. Central room of the keep." He says in an almost warforgedly emotionless voice.

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce marvels at their greeting, "Oh my! We are expected! Well that's quite good. You coming?"
With that, he walks into the enters and makes his way to the center room of the keep.

[iTookUrNick]

"That is True" agrees Jack, somewhat surprised of sharing such a profound belief with the warforged.
After hearing Mahkr's words along the same lines, he comments: "The Last War is supposed to have forged a generation of warriors, but it seems it produced one of philosophers too".

As the captain approaches, Jack's attention turns to him. "Of course. We dealt with the threat already, but we will be sure to loop you in on the details.

Reinforcements are always a welcome addition. I wonder what the next mission will entail: I would be hard-pressed to guess based on the scant evidence we uncovered during this one."

He bows in farewell to the two hobgoblins, in particular the warrior, to whom he feels he has connected more: "Should our paths diverge here, may the light of the silver flame guide you upon your own."

[BelGareth]

Bel frowns, but this was to be expected, swiss expected, as did the halfling slavers. So, it would make sense that these blasphemers would as well. He nodded silently to Swiss, "I will be right behind you my friend."

[3SecondCultist]

Thy Brother's Keeper

Grumbling as he feels the strange magic tear through his inner systems, Blue cries out to the storm of flesh. "What have you done to yourself, brother? This... what you have become... it is not what he would have wanted for us."

Even as he speaks, deep down the warforged knows that he won’t get through to the being formerly known as Rook. The extent of the self-modifications, let alone, the grafts and the necromancy, are proof. He is too far gone.

Baring his sword, Blue begins to tap into the second of the concentrated matrices, even as the first replenishes itself from deep within his core. This time, he pushes his internal musculature, trying to force them past their normal limits.

It is a strength he knows well.

The false flesh is his target, and Blue closes the distance quickly. The great crystal is raised, and the soldier brings it down in a wide arc, aiming for the center of the bio-mechanical mass that used to be a friend.


Sterngate

Instead of replying to Jack’s comment, Blue just nods. There is simply nothing left to be said on the topic. At least, not out loud. He is not willing to talk about Aaren d’Cannith here, in any case. Silence is easier than finding perfunctory words.

Following the others into the central room, Blue notes the presence of two newcomers. The first is unfamiliar, a tall and rugged man with a darker complexion. A Reacher, by the look of his dress. Blue bows his head in a sign of respect, the movement creating a sound like slowly shattering glass as the sand caught in his joints gets caught in the adamantine valves.

And the second...

"Zvyce? What are you doing here?"

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce jerks up at his name used in such a familiar tone. "Yes? I am Zvyce. And who might you be?" He turns to see the adamantine behemoth addressing him, "Oh my! And how do you know my name, giant?"

[rypt]

Sidara's expression sours slightly at Blue's comments on loss. "No, no we do not." She glances east, towards the curtain of mist that surrounds the ruin of her homeland. Though she appreciates the warforged's intent, he is about three-and-a-half years late on this one.

Moments later, she is plainly shocked to hear Mahk'r tell of the Cyrans he guided to safety. Surely his coin records fewer lives saved than those lost to Haruuc's rebellion, but it is the actions of his king that make Mahk'r's so surprising. Open conflict between Darguun and Cyre continued right up until the Day of Mourning, and Sidara recognizes that the hobgoblin likely had to protect her people from his own. It is clear that she misjudged this one, and she dips her head to allow her hair to hide the flush of self-reproach that rises through her cheeks. The amber-eyed warrior is silent for a time. She has never been good at apologies, and is unsure of how to respond until he starts to step away. "You and that banner you carry -- you're cut from different cloth. You must know that, right?" She draws a deep breath and exhales a regretful sigh. "Just ... take care of yourself, will you?" At that, she nods and turns to join Jack and Blue in the keep.

[BelGareth]

Bel sighed as he sighted the building they would most likely have to enter. He'd seen building's like this, but never not when on a raid, or actively asking the spirits stuck in it's aberrant form to crumble and break, loosing themselves free. No, this would be the first time he would willingly enter one.

He frowned as they went deeper, directed by the guard who seemed to reply like a warforged himself, perhaps being hits close to something like this affects a person, perhaps this man is what they are all like, and that putting them all out of their misery would be blessing.

He stopped short as they were greeted.

"Another one?" he blurted out as he saw the huge warforged, a distinct difference from the one he was traveling with.

[3SecondCultist]

Sterngate

If it is possible for a warforged to show surprise, Blue's face is living up to that ideal. The pinpricks of sapphire light behind his visor widen suddenly, and his shoulders move backwards in an unmistakable recoil of shock. While he quickly composes himself, it is obvious to everyone in the room that Blue was hardly expecting such an answer.

"It is... Blue. I am Blue. How do you, then... you do not remember me?" The living construct takes a single stride closer to his former companion, closing the gap significantly but leaving some space between them. The movement is at least in part to conceal the storm of question that has erupted inside Blue's head. Two faces from the past, over the course of one day. This is no coincidence. But how did Zvyce get here?

"We fought together," he continues when it becomes apparent that the other warforged clearly is not playing some sort of prank on him. The next words come out short and clipped and just a little bit affronted. "In the War. Side by side. For years."

[iTookUrNick]

"I don't... Oh, you mean him!" says Jack, looking at Zvyce, then Blue. He has yet to fully adjust to his reduced size, and the war forged clearly is as surprised as he is. Jack waits patiently for the two construct to finish their greetings, then bows his head slightly in salute: "Anyway, glad to make your acquaintance.. Mr. Zvyce? I am Sgt. Jack Hammer, hailing from Flamekeep. You can call me Jack if you wish."
He adresses the other arrival: "Do you find it remarkable that creatures built for fighting would be found among a unit of elite fighters?" he comments with a light tone. With another quick bow, Jack introduces himself again. He's cordial and does not fail to smile an eager smile, yet he feels a tingle in the back of his head at the feral poise of the new arrival; he had not seen the equal since Xen'drik. Could it be... uneasiness?

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce takes a tour of Blue, walking around him, studying him for anything that might be familiar...

He pauses when his path has him facing Sgt. Hammer, "It's a pleasure to meet you and I'll be greatly interested in better getting to know you before long. Forgive me, but I'm quite curious as to your friend's recollection of me."

Turning back to continue his tour, Zvyce explains, "The War, eh? I know I fought in it, yet I have few memories of that time. I left behind fighting because I was made to. Was... Was I kind to you? We're we friends?"

[3SecondCultist]

Sterngate

"... yes." Blue does not say any more in response to that, not at first. The current non-expression of his adamantine face is filled with the quiet untruth of solemnity. "Yes, we were friends. Even if I expected no kindness from you. But friendship was not why we fought. We were part of a squad. That meant something more. It still does."

For a long moment, Blue wants to ask Zvyce more. He was made to stop fighting? By who? And for what purpose? Did he give up his memories voluntarily? And more to the point, Blue is suddenly struck by the urge to divulge more of his own past, in the hopes that it might trigger something. But the words are not meant for other ears, and so he turns back to while he ponders this development.

"We should get onto the briefing. Captain?" Blue makes sure to address the officer by rank, so as to offer him the proper respect and get his attention. He does not want to dwell on personal matters longer than is necessary.

After all, he's had enough of surprise reunions.

[BelGareth]

Creatures? I do not see creatures, I see...something else entirely, abominations, aberrations against the natural order, obscenities that undermine the cycle of living, monstrosities that corrupt with their every step, I see...anathema.

Bel merely nods to the new people, his mind was numb, and he could barely make out an awkward event between the two warforged, perhaps he could use that to his advantage, and avoid some more questions.

How in the this side of Dolurrh am I going to avoid questions....he mused to himself...

[rypt]

Having lingered in the yard with Mahk'r, Sidara is the last to enter the room. She does not move far from the door, taking only a few steps along the wall before stopping to lean against the edge of a table. The expression she wears on her face suggests that she's ready to leave the moment she arrives, though the unusual color of her eyes and intensity of her gaze makes it difficult to determine whether she's simply in a bad mood or if this is always how she looks. In Sidara's case, it happens to be a little bit of both. The Cyran veteran says nothing while she waits for the briefing to begin, taking measure of the two newcomers as they exchange greetings and introductions. Mindful of her previous conversation, she makes an effort not to judge them on appearance alone, though that effort is only marginally successful.

[CozJa]

Thy Brother's Keeper

With much more swiftness than it could be expected by its massive body, Blue storms in front of Rook and hit it with his sword. as the blade cut trhough the artificial flesh, a noise of broken wood and grinding gears resonates in the air surrounding the two combatants.

Black fumes of necrotic tissues burst out from Rook's body, and his artificial face contorts in a grimace betraying pain and... satisfaction?

"I see you have become more ruthless, 'brother', ready to strike an old friend. Very well! You will taste better!"
As he speaks, the horrendously mutilated warforged twists it limbs in a move that looks unnatural even for a construct, its battlefist swinging in and out and finally hitting Blue chest. The blow is powerful, but is nothing that can penetrate the warforged upgraded plating, nor its built-in regenerative matrix.

As it turns out, Rook is well aware of it: while its battlefist is still vibrating for the blow on Blue armored body, his other artifical hand moves faster than thought, leaving a trail of red brilliant energy as he strikes on Blue left arm with the knife in his hand.
Again, the powerful warforged warrior absorbs the attack, but a strange sensation distracts him for an istant: the point of impact with the blade burned briefly, as if an extraplanar force was trying to extract Blue very essence from his body; it is a strange sensation, as if in the blinking of an eye some part of Blue were on the verge of disappearing: his memory, his integrity, or his identity? Nothing, in the end, but Rook takes advantage of the brief opening, and twists again, jumping away from Blue's grip.

His eyes glow again in ember, and in the time it takes for Blue to close the gap again, Rook raise another group of five dead bodies.
"I *will* have you! I *will* collect the first batch!"

Sterngate Courtyard

Mahk'r bows to Jack, and salutes Sidara with a friendly smile (as much as a hobgoblin face can offer a smile that doesn't look like a sneer) "We walk all the same path, as it brings us all to the same end."
Gheerla bows to both Sidara and Jack, her face visibly more relaxed since the tears were taken back.
After the commander's harsh remark, the two hobgoblin look at each other, then turn their backs at the group.
"Our work here is over, and the laws of the tribes call us back. Farewell, warriors"

As they walk to Sterngate exit leading to the Darguun side of Marguul pass, you can hear them bickering in a friendly tone, unfortunately, none of you can understand their goblinoid language.

Sterngate Main Hall

As the group is finally together, the captain let you speak, using his time to readjust some sheets on the table; when everybody falls silent in the room, he stops reading and turns to the group;
"First of all, let me thank you on behalf of the Brelish crown for your service, both of you saved a lot lives, I'm sure about it." He says, looking at Sidara and Jack.
"That said, I've been tasked to brief you on your next set of goals." The captain stops briefly, and the more observants between you can notice a hint of discomfort on his face. "So, according to this paper, you are expected to wait at Sterngate Lightning Rail Station tomorrow at 5:00 A.M. where you will meet with a... wagon? yes... it says wagon here, that will bring you to your next destination. Until then, you are free to take advantage of our Ghallanda safe house. Resting and dinner payments have already been taken care of for the five of you."

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce acknowledges the new instructions with a nod and turns back to Blue. "Will you be resting and eating with the others? I would be very interested to hear about our past. Perhaps I can tell you more of who I am now and we can become a more powerful force through familiarity, yes?"

[iTookUrNick]

Jack's are pick up the two hobgoblins' words of banter; their sound is eery familiar, yet quite alien at the same time. He is reminded of his time in Darguun as forced labor. He had managed to pick up more than a smattering of the language but none of the words he ever heard were friendly, and so he never learned the meaning of those. He decides not to dwell on those memories.

He turns his attention on the captain's words instead. He knowledge the compliments for a job well done, despite the remaining unknowns. He does not hide his surprise at the idea of travelling by wagon. He asks: "Are you.... uhm.... reading our orders in translation perhaps? I do not mean to question but, well, as means of transportation go this sounds a bit odd for this group. "

Still, the thought of getting a good night's sleep is appealing. He is still a bit tired from the last mission, and he can't wait to get another opportunity to enjoy Ghallanda's famous hospitality. Hopefully there will be no interruptions. And before that they will hopefully have a little time to know each other better. He glances briefly at the other members of the group, then sighs inwardly at such a gruelling task. The way half of them brood and stay silent, it might take a while. He is tempted to cast Detect Thoughts on the whole lot, but grudgingly resigns himself to respecting their privacy and speak with them instead.

You mentioning languages led me to notice that I forgot to pick all of my starting ones. Goblinoid is an obvious choice given my backstory. I hope it's not an issue if I add it from now on.

Also, I forgot to roll for my precious sleep! As a reminder, I took the flaw 'Insomniac (http://eberronunlimited.wikidot.com/flaw:insomniac)' that gives me a chance of starting each day as fatigued after a fitful night of sleep plagued by visions. DC 15: [roll0], [roll1], [roll2]

[BelGareth]

Bel grunted.

A wagon? he thought to himself, what in Khyber was going on

Either way, his frown deepened at the mention of food. It was going to happen, might as well get it out of the way.

"Where is this food you speak of." he says, as if he doesn't want any part of it, even though the question seems at odds with his tone.

[CozJa]

The captain looks Jack in the eyes with a perplexed gaze, than stares again at the letter. "No, it's... it's not a translation... it really says 'wagon'. But I have no clue what does it means. I remember that a Karrn warlord employed war wagons toward the end of the war, but I doubt that's the meaning intended here."

Then he turns to Bel, answering his question: "He can show you the way" he says, pointing at Jack "I have more pressing matters than being your guide."


I mentioned languages exactly because I noticed that nobody got goblinoid.
Anyway, if Jack has it (and it would make sense) He understands that Gheerla is reminding Mahk'r that speaking about his past as a friend of refugees can be dangerous.

[3SecondCultist]

Thy Brother's Keeper

"I have always done what is necessary, brother," Blue fires back as he shrugs off whatever effect the other warforged was trying to have on him. The cold iron tracery around the edges of the dark adamantine plates are aglow with absorbed magic, so they have done their job well.

If his maker were still alive, the soldier would thank him for his foresight. But the Mourning saw to it that they have had their final conversation.

"But today," Blue continues as he ignores the second onrush of undead bodies, thrusting the sword upwards as he spends some of his internal reserves to increase the mass right at the point of contact for additional stopping power, "today I am doing what is right. You have allowed yourself to be twisted. Transformed into a monster. So I am going to put you down. Here, now."

The sword thrust is a prelude to the final act, as it punctures Rook's body. Pulling it out, Blue brings the blade across his foe's body in a horizontal sweep. With any luck, what remains of Rook's form will fall apart in a few more attacks.


Sterngate

Blue says nothing as he receives his orders, but questions inwardly the structural integrity of a wagon that might not be designed for something of his weight. Not to mention all of the others combined. The same noises emerge from his neck as he looks across the room, taking in the sight of the assembled group of Elites.

As before, his gaze lingers on Zvyce. There are still too many unanswered questions there for Blue not to be curious. Or maybe worried. Neither of those are feelings he has much in the way of experience with, but he is fairly certain that he can identify the specific impacts they leave within him.

"I will not need to eat or sleep. I do need to refill my inner reserves, and repair my outer frame." Blue pauses, remembering well one of Zvyce's main talents.

"You could do it. Fix me up. If you want to talk."

[LairdMaon]

"You will find that I am both willing and able to repair any damage you might have."
Turning to the captain, Zvyce asks, "Is there a forge we can use with some measure of privacy?"

[rypt]

As if Argonth hadn't been slow enough, now they wanted her to travel by wagon? Sidara is less than optimistic when Jack inquires about the possibility of a mistranslation, and when the captain proves her expectations to be appropriately low, she exhales a heavy sigh. Seems the Brelish are intent on showcasing the slowest modes of transportation available in this age of elemental airships and railways.

When the man wearing a necklace made of severed animal parts asks about food, Sidara widens her eyes and casts a sidelong glance towards Jack. The glance is meant to say 'good luck,' but the wild man reminds her Kharrig, and against her better judgement, she stops herself from leaving him alone with the Flamite priest.

"When was the last time you made it south of Silver Lake?" she asks as though she thinks she knows the answer, referencing the southernmost extent of the Eldeen Reaches.

[CozJa]

Thy Brother's Keeper

As Blue concentrates his attack on the other warforged, his tactic proves to be even more appropriate than expected: the powerful trust of Blue sword is enough to almost cut in half Rook's body, who falls down.

As the raised soldiers press on their distracting attacks on Blue, obtaining only the meager result of scratching its external plating, Rook lays down almost broken in two pieces, the grafted flesh visibly decaying as the ember light in the eyes fades.

"Your u-upgrades are... better than expected... well done 'brother'..." various noises of malfunctioning circuitry and rasping gears prelude the inevitable result.
"But do not doubt... my shell may deactivate, but the Keeper's sting is unend... unending... unyelding... He will... free us...."
With his last energies, Rook raises his arm and uses the knife he's wielding to cut himself in the neck. As he does it, a red light discharges from him, and the knife disappears, as if it was eaten by the Mourning nothingness. The twisted warforged eyes lose their light, becoming as black as the rest of its body, while the skin graft turn into dust, leaving only an empty shell. At the same time, the raised warriors fall, rejoining their friends and foes in the eternal rest of Dolurrh.

In the end, nothing but Blue stands, the powerful warforged, alone, in the stillness of this place, dead but not decaying, as if frozen in an eternal moment of loss. the knife stuck true, and the wound still stings of... something, as if a warforged could feel pain.

Sterngate Main Hall

As the captain turns to his desk and waits for the group to leave the room, he answers Zvyce, maybe hoping to get rid of him, and the others, as soon as possible: "Go out, on the opposite side of the courtyard, second door behind the Stables."

[3SecondCultist]

Thy Brother's Keeper

Blue stands amidst the carnage.

Unusually for him, the wound beneath his armor aches. It is not something that he is very accustomed to. He does not speak as he sifts the wreckage that used to be Rook with the tip of his sword, to make sure that it is not another trick.

Blue does not ask the question 'why' aloud, and yet it rings out on the field all the clearer for it. Rook was never malicious, not a cruel combatant. The thing he just faced, that monster with the memories of a friend... somebody else sent it here, to test him. He mentioned the Keeper, at the end. While the construct is not an expert on religious matters, the Keeper of the Dead is common enough knowledge.

And the warforged knows that he has not seen the last of 'Rook'. His enemy more or less spelled out that he will return to collect Blue's 'essence': the secrets of Project Cobalt, his inner workings. Whatever evil warped Rook is not the first to be interested in unlocking that particular door, and it will not be the last.

But none of them have gone so far as to find and turn one of his squadmates.

Inwardly, Blue makes a vow: he will find out whoever is behind this, and bring them to justice. The oath feels substantial, a bedrock of determination that puts his adamantine plating to shame. He lets it settle in his bones, where it finds purchase among the ineffable energies that make up his core. It suits him.

He walks the rest of the way back to Sterngate in silence.


Sterngate Forge

"Out," Blue says quietly but firmly as he steps into the forge with a thudding boom. He waits for any craftsmen to put away their tools and leave the room before taking a seat on an empty weapons bench. The structure groans under his weight, but holds all the same. Metal is metal.

"So," the living bulwark says in Zvyce's direction as he considers the bright chrome fixer. "I have no supernatural way of telling if you're lying. But I would appreciate the truth. Are you like Rook? Were you turned to get to me?"

The possibility has been nagging at him ever since he saw the other warforged in the briefing room. Although he does not reach for his deep crystal sword, the weapon is never too far from his hand.

[BelGareth]

Bel was somewhere else, this stone, this room, it was full of things that grated against him, against his very soul. The tools, the table, the door....the floor, it was all so....crafted, made, pulled from the earths womb, and hammered or cut into shape, he could almost see the earths blood seeping from it all, and invisible pain that the civilized ignored.

It began to hammer down upon him, he was beginning to panic, but then he heard a voice, one of them was talking to him.

Bel turned to the one talking to him.

"Leave the Elden Reaches? I have not gone south of the Silver Lake before, this is my first time." He answered in earnest.

He didn't want to speak, he didn't want to do anything except run out of this forsaken place and back to the wild of the eldeen, but he could not, perhaps, though...it quieted the angry voices....he spoke.

"Where are you from?"

[LairdMaon]

"Rook... Rook..." Zvyce pulls out another arrow and gnaws on it as he thinks.
"Is he a sibling to Bishop and Pawn? No, in all seriousness, I have never known nor heard of anyone by that name."

"He does not trust me. I suppose it's too soon to conduct a thorough examination of him just yet..." thinks the smaller warforged. So, he visits himself organizing the tools in the forge to better suit his needs. "Was this Rook fellow a friend of yours?"

[3SecondCultist]

Sterngate Forge

Blue tilts his large, helmed head to the side slightly, in a gesture that he has learned approximates confusion. By the way that Zvyce asked the question, he can only assume it was a joke. Humor has never been his strong suit, even with other warforged who are more... sociable. It could be a deflection.

"We were members of a unit, back in the Last War," Blue begins, ignoring the question for now. "A series of experimental warforged, built by Baron d'Cannith. By Aaren. He was the creator of the warforged race. Aaren saw us as being better than what we are now. We were Project Cobalt, named after its first member unit. He built us to think, to question our orders. You and Rook were members as well."

"Now, Rook is a friend estranged, just like you." He pauses very deliberately. "I killed him earlier today, and did not hesitate. I hope you are not like him. For your sake." He has little else to say on this matter. If Zvyce betrays him down the line, he can be fairly certain that he is involved with whatever force corrupted Rook.

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce finishes the first arrow and starts on a second. "Would you be so kind as to tell me about him? I'd like to know what 'like him' entails. I don't want you to have to kill me."

[3SecondCultist]

Very slowly, Blue turns his head to follow Zvyce. The twin points in the shadow of the metal glimmer, but do not gleam.

"Not yet. Maybe in time, but not here or now. Do not worry. If I do end up killing you, you will see me coming." He looks down at his armor, at the wounds that he's accrued. The demand to be fixed is implicit. "If you ask me other questions about yourself, I will answer them."

[iTookUrNick]

Wit the two warforged away doing 'repairs', the three humanoid companions are left to make their own conversation on the way to the mess hall. After the initial uneasiness, the new arrival seems to be gradually getting used to their presence. Jack, eager to weave the group together in spirit before doing it with magic, is quick to answer: "I am currently based in Flamekeep, though I am originally from Xen'drik. I've travelled quite a bit, though never as far as the Reaches. I hear it has quite the sights of unspoiled natural beauty.
If you've never been abroad, you must be quite bewildered right now. IF there's anything we can do to help you out, just let us know. Fortunately, druids are quite good at quickly adapting to the situation at hand, right?"

[LairdMaon]

"Very well, what was I like back then?
Has my physical appearance changed at all?"

Zvyce approached the damaged metal with care, looking for abnormalities in construction. With one hand he reaches out to more closely know the severity. His other hand pulls two objects out of the bag on his side.

Without looking up at Blue, he thrusts the arrow he withdrew in front of the metal monster, "Hold this."
As soon as Blue has takes the arrow from him, Zvyce takes the second object in both hands and cracks the outer shell. The object instantly becomes more putty-like and, lacking any fanfare, shoves the lump into the torn steel.

"I'll take that arrow back. I'm sure you'll find you've returned to full functionality momentarily. Just don't touch it while it works. That mass is a self-adhering substance designed, purpose built I suppose, to match the material damaged in both substance and style. In short, it's magic repair putty."

[rypt]

"Eston." Sidara answers the druid's question matter-of-factly and without hesitation, speaking of her home almost as though she might return to it when her work here is done. She cannot, of course, and her awareness of that truth is written plainly on her face. She holds in her eyes the emotion absent from her voice, though Belter can glance them only briefly before she turns and steps out into the courtyard. "Food's this way."

[3SecondCultist]

Sterngate Forge

Blue ponders on his answer as he watches the tinker work. He finds that the watching comes to inform the next words he chooses. "You do look different. You are also the same. It is hard to explain; your appearance has changed. Upgrades."

As Zvyce manipulates his ball of artificial magical clay, the larger of the two constructs pauses to consider it. The ramifications of putting an unknown substance beneath his outer shell - closer to his relatively vulnerable core mechanism - are not lost on him. It is a matter of trust. Do I trust him?

It takes Blue but a few moments to decide that he does. Maybe it is naive of him, but even though the events of the day have shaken him, he wants to believe that whatever is going on with Rook is unrelated.

"You sound like before," Blue murmurs when he has received the signal that he is free to move. Blue rises to his feet, his boots echoing like the singular sound that precedes a seismic shock. "You were always a smart one, knew your tools. We chose different Sovereigns. In the end though, it is the same pantheon."

[BelGareth]

He snarls at the word 'unspoiled', "I have heard of these places, though, only through travelers and those who join us in the Reaches. Bewildered is a word I would use, yes, you have my thanks comrade, I may need your help with the food selection." he turns to Sidara "I have not heard of this place, where is it?"

[rypt]

Sidara exhales a cold, mirthless chuckle at the druid's question. "What's left of it is about 700 hundred miles north of here, on the other side of a wall of clinging gray mist that robs you of your mind and memories."

[BelGareth]

"This does not sound like a good place" and then the sudden realization dawns on Bel, he had heard of the mourning, met a few people who had fled the disaster, but little from that. "...ah, I am sorry, my condolences." The last part was more of a 'I'm sorry, I do not know what else to say' comment, even if he did not feel it, he had some peculiar views on the mourning, that were probably not welcome here.

[LairdMaon]

"The Sovereigns? To whom did we each hail? By the time I was introduced to Arawai, I was without a faith to call my own."
As he speaks, Zvyce takes up a small piece of chalk or charcoal and begins jotting down notes.

Another arrow makes it's way into his jaws.

[3SecondCultist]

Sterngate Forge

"You followed Onatar. When I knew you, at least." Blue observes Zvyce making notes, but does not comment. Neither does he mention his own beliefs. If the artificer wishes to ask him, he will, but until then his faith is his own. "I do not know if it brought you succor. Why Arawai, now?"

[LairdMaon]

"Onatar, eh? I have no recollection of that. That time was during the War, yes?" He settles back with his calculations complete.

"As for Arawai, well, the druids never did swear me to secrecy. My earliest memories have me discarding a life of naught but combat. I desired a greater purpose. I found myself at the far side of the world looking for a hearth to call my own. Arawai promised that.
And for a long while, she produced such a thing for me. I roamed the groves of Sela's Path alongside the druids.
They taught me more about her. I listened and my faith grew. Now I fight for good rather than just for orders.
And you?"

[3SecondCultist]

Sterngate Forge

Blue just nods at Zvyce's first question. He listens to the other warforged tell his story, showing a genuine interest by not moving so as to minimize any interrupting noise. When Zvyce mentions doing good for others, the juggernaut nods his head in agreement.

"My path led me to Dol Arrah. Protecting others, living a life of good - she teaches this. I am glad you found somebody to answer your calls, Zvyce. We should be more than war."

When it is clear that the job has been done, Blue rises to his feet. "Thank you for all your help." It is clear that he means the words, but he turns abruptly and strides out of the room. The prospect of a protracted conversation about Dol Arrah now does not excite him; far from it, in fact. Everything he's seen today has shaken his beliefs.

I think this convo is more or less over, and I don't see Blue sticking around for a longer conversation. I'm good to move on to the next scene. :smallsmile:

[iTookUrNick]

"We all are." says Jack, sincerely, as they walk toward the dining area. "We might never know exactly what happened that day, but for me it is clear it was an artificial disaster. Such a harsh reminder for all of us of the inherent dangers of magic." He contemplates the tought for a moment, as a sign of respect for all who are lost to magical mishaps. Then his nose picks up a familiar scent, and his thoughts are diverted: "Bit as we remember what is lost, let's not forget to give thanks for what we have. You're in luck: they made my favorite pie tonight. It's a gnomish delicacy, an alchemy of flavour. I think they call it... pizza? Anyway, you should definitely geve it a try. You'll not be disappointed, I guarantee it."

[CozJa]

Ghallanda's House

You pass through a wooden door in the stone, and find yourself in a comfortable environment, that looks larger and more illuminated than what you expect from the outside; Jack already has some familiarity with the place, since he took some time to stop by before the group departure days ago. There are three tables for people to sit drinking and at least five rooms for hosts: one of the tables is reserved for you, while the other two have different soldiers of the keep relaxing and drinking a lot. Leaning on the counter you see Alain, with a large glass full of a dark beer, probably a product of Karrnathi brewmasters. As you enter, you are greeted by an Halfling who shows you to your table and register your ordinations. He reminds you that apart from the dinner, offered by house Ghallanda to "reward you for your efforts" the room 2,4 and 5 have been already paid for you to use freely.

[LairdMaon]

Finding himself alone in the smithy, Zvyce turns to the take he'd arranged tools across. He studies his notes once more. And then he gets to work.

Starting with a small iron ingot, he shapes a heart muscle. Rather than polish it completely, he polishes several symbols into it's surface. Throughout the process he keeps in mind the essence of life he is creating within the talisman. After several hours of work he examines his product with pleasure.

He replaces all the tools he used and leaves a small sum of gold to cover his use of the forge before departing for the archery practice grounds where he spends the rest of the night in prayer, during arrows reverently into targets.

[rypt]

Sidara's furrowed brow and slack jaw register her bewilderment at Belter's initial failure to recognize a description of the Mournland. Even in light of the his subsequent apology, it is an expression that is far slower to to fade from her face than it was to appear. Whatever similarities she thought might have existed between the druid and Kharrig, it seems now that there might be few, if any, beyond the superficial. Where the orc is singularly obsessed with the cataclysm that destroyed Cyre, this man hardly seem aware of its existence.

Were she not so hungry, she might have parted ways with him right then and there. She says little else on the way to the tavern. Once they're seated, she orders a bowl of stewed pork, grilled apple, and a heel of hard-crusted bread, along with a mug of ale to wash it all town. While waiting for the food to arrive, she is reminded of the necromancer's notes, and a mention of the order's activities in the Eldeen Reaches.

"What do you know about the Emerald Claw?" she asks Belter without any lead-in or segue. "Seems they've been active in your forest lately." Her expectations here are low. She half expects him to have no idea who she's even talking about.

[BelGareth]

Belter sits and awaits the order of this 'pizza'. He was not holding high hopes for it, for if you did not hunt, kill and prepare the food, how could it taste and provide those important nutrients you need?

He moved over, to the table, a worked wood, one that reeked off civilization, he grimaced, but stomached it, he would have to suffer this quietly.

Listening to the little angry woman, he thought he saw something, listening, he shook his head. "I have heard of this group, but never put much effort into understanding, or learning them, my attention was on protecting the Eldeen Reach район...is like...Area in your tongue."

As he talks, you notice he seems to blend very well into the shadows of the room, as if he was fading from view, but he seems to stay on the edge of visibility, as if, if he wanted to, he could merely vanish before your very eyes.

[iTookUrNick]

As the three find their seats, Jack takes the initiative and orders a huge pizza topped with cured meats to split, as well as a couple of tankards of strong, honest ale.
As the discussion veers (abruptly) towards the Emerald Claw, he is eager to contribute: "You might not have needed to worry about them too much before, and you might still think they do not affect you personally or the reaches in general, but in this day and age many threats are becoming global, and it more and more frequent to find enemies, and allies, in unexpected places." He pauses for effect, letting the sentence sink in, before continuing. He looks straight in the eyes of the newest member, hardly bothered by the shade. "This is one of the reasons that this group exists in the first place: to address new challenges and old threats on equal footing. We're doing good work here, holy work even, and we should all strive to give no less than our very best, and may the light of the flame guide us all on the path of righteousness." That's when the waiter shows up, food and drink in hand. With a much more jovial tone, Jack adds: "Oh, finally. I really worked up an appetite tonight".

[BelGareth]

Bel nods "Yes, you are correct comrade, this is a fine group, and we shall fight new threats together!" he looks at the pie that is delivered with a raised eyebrow, but says nothing. "Is why I joined, is why I am here, yes?"

He then cuts some of the pie as best he can, serving himself, looking quizzically at it, he takes a bite and a mixture of emotion washes over him. He is pleasantly surprised, the food tastes amazing, but with it, shame and regret. This was not food he should be eating, but he was, and it was good. If he was going to have to do these things, at least some of them tasted good.

[iTookUrNick]

"Yes indeed." answers Jack, as he takes his own slice. "Sorry about that, I know I come off as a little intense some times. I'll try and behave going forward".

However, as Bel takes his first bite of pizza, he cannot help but laugh heartily. "Oh man, you should see your face. It's like... I don't know, I can't put it in words. Here, let me show you". With a quick flick of his fingers and a few arcane utterances, he conjures a silent image of Bel's face as he ate that bite. Still chuckling, he adds "I promise, we'll get you to relax a bit. Eventually.".

Casting Silent image, obviously.
I think we're good to go. Anything else can be done in a new scene.

[CozJa]

After a relaxing evening, you enter your rooms and spend the rest of the night resting and reflecting upon recent events.


As you consider the last days, you find many things to ponder: how the war left its scars on everyone, even you; how a lot of people keeps fighting no matter the cost; how those you are used to see as enemy can be different from what you expected and... something more, new threats waiting over an horizon you still have to set your eyes upon.
3375 xp gained


As you dedicate your meditations to the Flame, you reflect on recent events, trying to bring all that is darkened under the holy Silver light. During your years of training, Tzandra often repeated that the life of a priest and that of a detective share the same deep desire of bringing light out of darkness. It may be that this time, you stumbled upon a darkness deeper than ever.
3375 xp gained


Those last days shed light on parts of your past you probably never expected to see again; especially considering how dark this kind of light turned out to be, in the case of your old friends. One lost forever in the depths of a perverted madness, the other forgetful of anything regarding your shared 'life'. Perhaps this is a sign of something new happening? Warforged don't sleep, but you wouldn't be able to,
even if they could.
1500 xp gained


Your new mission under Lyrandar's protection seems to have started better than expected: you found a new group of adventurers and even a piece of your missing past. As you work in the forge through the night, you consider the possibility to iron out your memory's roughness.
500 xp gained


You spend your first night in this unsettling place, with strange noises and strangest smells, your first head on contact with the so called 'civilized life' gave you many things to think about. Possibly with contempt.
500 xp gained

As morning comes, you eat something else offered by Ghallanda, and are ready to depart for Sterngate Railstation. As you leave, many soldiers look at you from the walls, some with pride, some with fear, and some with gratitude; The captain is clearly relieved to see you depart, but does his best to express satisfaction for your work in 'protecting the Brelish border from foreign aggression'.

As you reach the station, you have to wait no more than ten minutes, and you hear a distant noise, coming from the rails. For those in the group used to Lighting rail travel, the usual crackling from the elemental engine is replaced by a clicking and whirling of gears.
As the noise becomes louder you see an unexpected vehicle appear: a large clockwork lighting railcar, apparently moving over the railroad with limited lighting power, but a lot of different gears moving. It front is shaped in the form of a gorgon's head, with steam sprouting from the 'mouth' and two windows where the 'eyes' are supposed to be. As it stops, a door on its left side opens, and a little bridge opens; a clockwork creature, looking like a little gnome comes out and invites you to enter in the "Lightload Wagon".

[3SecondCultist]

Blue arrives at the station early. Waiting is one of his stronger suits, right behind his outer plating. He has had time to think, to reflect on the events of yesterday: his thoughts are a dark lake with a murky under-bed. The warforged stands in the sunlight, casting a tall and static shadow. He did not actually say goodbye to the captain when it came time to leave Sterngate, opting for a sharp salute that signified his deference to rank. Blue knows the Brelish armed forces well enough to be certain that it was just as effective a gesture.

Now he stands, waiting in the long quiet. From beneath the adamantine plating near the visor comes a tune, toneless and without much in the way of feeling. "The Bones of Valin", as it is called by all the soldiers and bards who visited that cursed place, is perhaps an infamous song. Yet Blue hums the melody all the same.

[BelGareth]

The night had been hell. Not only did he have to partake of the food that was cooked, and refined beyond normal means, the fact that is tasted good only slightly reducing the horror at actually eating it, he was then forced to sleep inside. He had a fitful night, he could not see the stars, everything was so quiet, and he felt as if the ceiling was going to fall in on him any moment.

Eventually, he fell asleep from exhaustion, managing a few hours of sleep, and got up in a sour mood, accepting even more abhorrent tasty food, accepting it in a fugue of anger and sleep deprivation. He walked with the rest to the station, wondering what in the nine they were going there for, angry, and silent.

As the 'train' came down the track, with the click clacking, and gear whirring sounds, Belter panicked.

"What is going on! What is this monstrous beast!" He nearly shapeshifted into a hound and bound off, hiding from this mechanical monster that advanced on them. Why where the others just standing there, what was going on!

He took several steps back, alert, and wary of an ambush, hands raised, ready to summon help.

[LairdMaon]

Zvyce packs up his kit of equipment and meets the party for the walk to the rail station. He trusts his mithral face to mask his excitement at their new task as he grinds down another arrow.

After listening to Blue humming his song, Zvyce approaches him and offers an open hand. In it lies two small objects, one shaped like a human heart made of iron, the other is a simple lozenge. "Please accept these in honor of the time we have spent in our past, as friends. They will heal you should I not be available. I suggest you find a relatively safe place for your first time. And use the lozenge second. Crush the first, then crush the second and place it in the worst of your wounds. It will do the rest."

When the train car arrives Zvyce is very obviously enchanted with it. He examines it and it's conductor with his eyes only and with unconcealed fascination.

"Bel, may I suggest that the roof might be most comfortable for you?" he calls over his shoulder as he climbs aboard.

[iTookUrNick]

Having throughly enjoyed the comforts of the inn, Jack says his farewells to the members of their expedition that are staying behind, promising to get in touch should he ever make his way back to Breland.
He notices the surliness and the lack of sleep of the druid immediately, but dismiss it as a non-issue: sleep does not come easy to Jack, he's had many a fitful night and their companion might have a similar problem. Still, it's imperative that he be integrated asap in their unit.
When he gets to the platform, he finds both the warforged standing there. He gives the two a silent greeting as he makes himself comfortable to wait. Not long after, their ride approaches: looking at it, he cannot help but remarking that subtlety is not a common trait among artificers. Still, the whole contraption is intriguing, and he does not hesitate to board the wagon when invited, taking only a moment to reassure their feral friend.

[3SecondCultist]

At Zvyce's insistence, Blue takes both of the tokens, placing them directly into the pouch at his belt. "Thank you for this... old friend. I will keep your instructions in mind." He says nothing else, but makes a note to study the two objects when he has time alone and is not waiting for a lightning rail.

When the transport does come, the others react in different ways. The warforged paragon observes the Reacher's panic, and slowly places a hand on the man's shoulder. "It is a lightning rail. Elementally powered machinery. I suggest you ignore Zvyce and come inside. Certainly warmer, and it will be easier to hear us." Blue's eyes stare down at Bel's patiently, without judgment. When it is clear that the druid has calmed down some, he will remove his hand and escort him to the door.

[BelGareth]

Bel mutters something, as he nods to Blue, the gigantic hand dwarfing his head and shoulders easily. The size wasn't much a concern to him, he had been larger himself, in several different forms. It was the cold touch of blasphemous wood and steel upon his skin that intimidated him, pushed his fear down and succored his panic, replacing it with the cold hatred.

He moved towards the contraption....just another thing he had to suffer.

Just another thing.

[rypt]

Looking characteristically grumpy, Sidara arrives at the station almost precisely at the appointed time. She hates waiting, especially so early in the morning, and even more so when what she thinks she's waiting for is little more than a horse-drawn buggy to Sovereigns-know-where. She'd hoped she might find the wagon waiting for her when she arrived, but it is nowhere to be seen, and so she spends the next few minutes pacing around the platform.

At the sight of the mechanized railcar, Sidara's frown begins to fade. She smirks when it stops beside her, and when a clockwork gnome invites her to step aboard, she laughs at the absurdity of it all. Only the Cannith would give such a mundane name to such a ridiculous-looking machine. She boards it eagerly, leaving the panicked druid in Blue's capable and enormous hands.

[CozJa]

As you enter the 'wagon' the bridge re-enters while the door closes behind you with a loud ticking noise.
Indoor, the 'train' is quite well crafted, presenting twelve seats and four windows (that you weren't able to notice while outside. There are some tables between the seats, all with different bottles and glasses; the walls are coverd with motives recalling gears and wheels, and they almost seem to move, due to the incessant ticking noise coming from outside. Strangely, the noise almost disappears into the comfortable atmosphere.
The clockwork gnome moves its left arm to point you at the northernmost seats and, as you move toward them, disassembles into a swarm of tiny gears that disappear into the floor.

A muscular man approaches you; his fine lineaments and the elegant beard that covers a Cannith dragonmark on his mandible and neck are present a nobiliar look, further increased by the simple but elegant jewel he wears around his neck. He wears a simple black dress, as is customary for some Cyrans after the day of Mourning, with long trousers and a sleevless shirt.
His right arm is made of a golden metalloid substance that seem to perfectly insert into the shoulder, as if it was actually a real arm. On the end of it, in place of the hand, there’s a warforged fist that is attached into the golden arm in a way that looks a lot less elegant than how the arm is connected to the shoulder.

He reads from a sheet on his hand and looks at you, maybe trying to recognize your faces.

“So... Sidara Kell, Sgt. Jackhammer and... three more?” He looks at the Warforged "Oh yes! Blue! I read about you! And you must be that Lyrandar project! The one with that...name.
And you are... ehm..." He looks at Belter clearly uncomortable figure "A... beggar? Maybe? No? I suppose you're a westerner... Central command should really start to get their dossiers right. Anyway, I'm Stannix d'Cannith, and I'm here to brief you on your next mission. Oh, yes, and cogratulating for your service to the crown of Breland, the Elites, and a couple of other groups I don't care to remember about."


You remember some things about Stannix: he was a Cannith scion especially gifted in Artificer sciences. who worked in Easton during his youth. He disappeared for some year, coming back in 990 YK with an artificial arm. Rumors say he was involved in the creation of Elemental Airships and lost his arm in an accident, while other believe he fought against Thrane.
After the war, he made a name for himself as a philantropist and sponsor of the Gliding Race Championship.


The man sits and the 'Lightload Wagon' starts moving, while he brings out other sheets from one of the tables and spread them on it.

"So, according to one of our agents, there are some problems with a community of Cyran Mercenaries and refugees allocated near Flamekeep; there have been some skirmish between them and Thrane militias, and it seems that those problem could be tied to some of the Sharn's accident we are investigating upon. You will have to officially present yourself as representative of Thronehold Tribunal and try to discover what is happening there."

[3SecondCultist]

Blue's reaction to the collapsing gnome and the moving gears on the walls is to spare another glance at Bel. The man seems uncomfortable with all of this, so the warforged stays fairly close to restrain him if he starts to panic. With three foot long arms, it isn't too hard to manage. He does not move for his sword, or even consider drawing it in this enclosed space: such an obvious show of force would probably not help with a frightened response.

When the man arrives, Blue takes a second to look at him closer. To hear confirmation that there are still notes about him being published among the scions of House Cannith is... not pleasing. For a moment, he considers pressing the issue, to ask this 'Stannix' what he's read, and where he got the information. But it's clear that this is a mission briefing, so Blue holds his tongue for the time being.

I could always interrogate him later.

Not having room to sit down in one of the chairs, the juggernaut peers down at the sheets of paper as they're spread out on the paper. "The fires in Sharn, you mean," Blue says as much for the benefit of everyone else there as for himself. He is not quite sure of the connection, but perhaps one of the others does? "Have there been any deaths between the two groups? That would make it harder to keep the peace." Picking up the parchment carefully between his adamantine fingers, the warforged holds it up in front of his face to read. The sight would be comical, if not for the earnestness of the gesture.

[LairdMaon]

"Sounds like a simple peacekeeping mission on the face of it. I assume we should expect it to be less simple when we get there. What do we know about the locals in charge of both sides of this conflict?" Zvyce has managed to divorce himself from the spectacle of the train and it's crew. He remains seated as he watches the rest of the party and their informant.

[iTookUrNick]

Put the new gloves on your sheet. I assume you are exchanging your old gloves for them, right?
Jack is even more impressed by the inner workings of the wagon than by the outside. Arcanists and Artificers might harness magic in different ways, but that does nt mean they can not appreciate each other's work. he sits in one of the seats in front of Stannix, extending a hand to shake during the introductions. He's never heard of the man before, but both the family name and the artificial arm point toward the fact that is is no ordinary tinker. The half-giant accepts the brief he is given and dives into it, keeping his attention divided between reading it and listening to the man's words.

As Stannix mentions Flamekeep, though, his train of thought gets momentarily derailed. Apparently, trouble is much closer to home this time. He steals a glance at Sidara, trying to gauge the reaction of the temperamental warrior. He has no trouble believing that the two groups mentioned might be finding it hard to coexist: Thane is a fine place to be, as long as you are one of the Faithful. What he finds harder to see is any connection with their main mission, so he wastes little time before bringing it up: "Keeping the peace is panamount: that's why we are all here in the first place, after all. However, I might be missing the connection between this issue and what is happening in Sharn. I was lead to believe the Emerald Claw was to blame somehow: is that still the case, in the light of what we uncovered?" He keeps listening as his friends make more direct questions on the subject at hand.

[rypt]

Sidara recognizes the arm, the name and the black attire. "Stannix," she says with a hint of relief in her voice. She extends a hand, offering a handshake that can withstand the artificer's battlefist grip. Though she'd never met the man before, she knows his reputation, and she is well aware of -- and indeed, grateful for -- the assistance he provided in Eston's defense.

She glances around the interior of the car. "You've been busier than news would suggest. Last I'd heard you were running glide races." She claps him on the shoulder as she moves to take a seat. "Good to see you're still fighting the good fight."

When Stannix mentions their destination, Sidara grips the arm of her chair so tightly that the wood splinters and cracks. Were it not for the sound of the damage, it's unlikely she would have noticed it at all. She exhales a deep, volatile breath before muttering an apology. She then crosses her arms to make sure she doesn't accidentally damage anything else. To say nothing of her own personal enmity towards Thrane, it infuriates her to know how desperate her fellow Cyrans must have been to seek refuge within the theocratic nation's borders.

"I don't get it either," she says after taking a moment to think -- or perhaps just to calm down. "What does this have to do with the Emerald Claw?"

[CozJa]

As Sidara damages the seat, a little insect-like mechanical creature sprouts from one of the walls and flies gently over the chair's arm, placing a honey-like substance into the cracks.

Stannix listens to the various questions and tries to answer as best as he can, while looking through other sheets.

"For as much as I know of whatever Eluvan sent you to investigate on, the Emerald Claw was only one of the possible power behind the attacks and, after the informations you two uncovered, I'm led to believe that things may be more... complicated."

The man listen to the two warforged questions, and tries to explain the situation.
"As of now, there haven't been any casualties among the citizens of Flamekeep or the refugees, else I fear we would be called to act in a more direct way. Let me explain you: one year after the war, a group of Thranish nobles guided by Merek ir'Wyrnan, one of the many minor Wyrnan who are not really happy with Cardinal Krozen work, concluded a contract with one of the best Cyran mercenary bands, 'The Black Roses', for those of you who don't know them as well as me and Sidara, they were part of the Cyran Border Guard during the sixties, and their fights against Karrnathian soldiers first, and the Red Gauntlets later, are stuff of legend;"
Stannix stops, looks around, then touches his chin with his left hand "Mh... what was I saying? Oh yes, Thranish nobles! So, after New Cyre and the effect it has on King Boranel's popularity within the upper classes, those nobles tried to leverage on it, and when the Black Roses showed up with all their families, they were able to colse a deal: the mercenaries were to work for Thrane (in fact, for the part of Thrane loyal to Merek ir'Wyrnan) for a total of 10 years and, in exchange, they got to settle on a big chunk of territory property of the ir'Wyrnan. During the first months all went well, apart from some minor protest by overzealous citizens. Lately, there have been a rising in tension, coupled with some strike against Thrane and Cyrans farmers. The authorities of the Silver Flame forbid anybody to investigate, but we were able to obtain some information anyway, and there are rumors of summonings and conjuration magics at work there. the link is tenuous, but not enough for the Dragonmarks Elite to ignore it."

Stannix stops for a moment, as if recollecting his thoughts on the matter, then looks directly into Sidara'a eyes "We want you there, because we hope your influence can be enough to instill reason into the Cyrans there. And our Flameist friend will have even more work to do, I fear."

[3SecondCultist]

"So we are a preventative measure." Blue nods in obvious acceptance. His duty is to the Elite, and after sitting out the last mission, he feels a sense of... duty? Obligation? He will not let the others down this time. Besides, a peacekeeping errand with the official mandate of Thronehold is something that the soldier can feel quite comfortable seeing through to the end.

Although... Blue takes a look at Sidara, noting the ruined chair and the crossed arms. Then his expressionless eyes look over at Jack, taking in the mage’s body language and posture. This is perhaps not the best group for such a mission. There are internal struggles that might rise to the surface if the Elite are not careful. The living construct says nothing for the time being, but makes a note to keep an eye on the two of them for signs of impending violence.

If Sidara and Jack do end up coming to blows, Blue trusts that he will be able to help mitigate any lasting damage to either of them. Then there are the other two Elites to consider. Bel is still something of an unknown quantity to the warforged, and Zvyce... Blue wants to believe in the best of him. For now, the artificer has earned a measure of trust. Best to keep things focused. It is wise to think of possible difficulties, but a soldier should always keep a foot in the here and now.

"These skirmishes, the Black Rose farmers. Any known ringleaders?" Blue has heard the name of the company before of course, but it was before his time.