Planescape: Center of All - IC

[kinem]

OOC thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?631206-Planescape-Center-of-All-OOC)

The diverse sights and sounds of the toroidal planar metropolis are much the same as ever, but people in Sigil seem a bit subdued lately, anticipating that a change may come soon. The mysterious dabus, servants of the mysterious ruler of the city known as the Lady of Pain, have given notice that a major announcement is coming tomorrow. Twenty years ago, the Factions were banned from the city by the Lady after a brief but bloody war among them, and speculation is rampant that they will now be allowed to return. Which Factions will be allowed, and in what capacity, are common topics of debate. There are also those who think the big announcement will be about something else entirely, although opinions vary wildly as to what else it could be.

Today, you have something else on your mind ...

OOC: I'll use spoilers for PC-specific information here. It's OK for other players to read these, as long as you keep player knowledge compartmentalized from PC knowledge. If there's something that really needs to be secret, I'll use PMs.

When you heard the knocks on your door, the cadence reminded you of a forgotten dream. From the looks of it, an elderly githzerai man with a whispy beard - tall thin, and of yellowish complexion as is typical of that race - stood outside; his left eye had been replaced by a magical glass one. You didn't need magic to know this was a disguise, as you've been in Sigil long enough to hear many tales of this famous half-fiend, said to know the dark of all that is evil.

"Thrice-damned Ash" Rule of Three told you "I know what you seek. You will never get it, unless you do as I ask. Help to obtain an item for me, prevent its abuse, keep it secret. Do these three things, and I can arrange the return of your soul. To start, be at the Black Sail Tavern at three hours before antipeak tonight."

With that, he vanished, by teleport.

You'd hoped to never see Rule of Three again, but the cambion came to you this time. Not that he'd exactly betrayed you; he'd told the truth, just not all of it. He looks much the same as when you first met him, an old githzerai man, except that he now sports a glass left eye.

"Eilyra, your blade, spells, knowledge are needed once again. Once, you helped prevent the rise of a tyrant. Now, you might help save all. Perhaps that would earn you much goodwill, if you seek it. Please, be at the Black Sail Tavern at three hours before antipeak tonight. Until then I should say no more."

Your old companions are no longer in the city. Verik is somewhere on the Material Plane, having become the ruler and protector of a small Drow city that rebelled against Lolth.

At first you weren't sure it meant anything. A few chalk marks on the side of your house, which could have been a child's flawed work. But one of your friends, a member of the Mind's Eye, happened to mention the same kind of graffiti on his house. And then you saw the marks on the pavement in front of a restaurant you like. A six-fingered hand ... the symbol of Graz'zt. Time to flee again ...

But then, the mysterious old githzerai with a glass left eye, who called himself Rule of Three, came to make you an offer. "I have been told that you have something that belongs to the Dark Prince. He has sent servants in the past to reclaim it, and that didn't end well either for his interests or for yours. This cycle can continue until, eventually, you will fall. But it is wasteful for you both - for him in servants, for you in friends. It need not be so. Do a job that I will direct you to, and he will consider the debt paid. I assure you, though he may benefit, it will come at the expense of worse fiends. Be at the Black Sail Tavern at three hours before antipeak tonight."

Though you've seen many strange beings up close during your time in Sigil, but rarely would a deva choose to approach you. At the market today, the movanic deva spoke quiety to several individuals. His face was handsome, with silvery hair and eyes, and his white wings feathered. Of course you knew exactly who he was: the one known as Unity-of-Rings, the dispenser of simple good deeds and cryptic advice.

He said "Around they go, the ones you owe. Balanced, you keep on toe. But strange events afoot; soon that could be kaput. To keep the balance you could take part. Black Sail Tavern, three 'till midnight, start."

Your old adventuring companion Joel Taverus is now the owner of the Black Sail Tavern. Since he retired from the adventuring life, you have grown more powerful, while he has instead grown older, fatter, and happier. You still keep in touch, but still, the note you recieved from him was a bit unusual:

Avakuss, once again I ask for your help. Rule of Three is putting together an adventuring party, and I have reasons to believe that it's no small matter. We might all be safer if one of your wisdom has a place at that table, and given the kind of talent he is seeking, I believe that he would choose to work with you, if you are willing. It'd be dangerous, mind you, so use your judgement. They are meeting at my place, tonight, three to antipeak. - Joel

The Lower Ward is the soot-filled section of the city that is mainly home to humans, tieflings, and most infamously, fiends. There are said to be many portals to the Lower Planes in that area from which the smoke emanates. Dark foundries and smithies belch forth grey smog and caustic steam. There the Black Sail stands in the shadow of the Armory, the former Doomguard headquarters, at the end of an alley between two armorworks.

Fused to the tavern is the hull of an ancient galleon. A soot-stained sail hangs above the ship's gargoyleish figurehead. Inside the well-kept establishment, beneath a ribcage of dark rafters, is a dim common room lined with curtained alcoves. The tavern's sundry patrons congregate at tables placed in the middle of the room, while muffled voices can be heard behind the thick curtains which enclose the alcoves.

[paradox26]

Taric heads for the Lower Ward, cautious about being seen too near fiends, who might be agents of Graz'zt. Although the demon lord would not come to Sigil himself, there is always a chance that he might have sent someone else after Taric once again. He moves with great care, and when he gets to the Black Sail, he slips inside. As a bariaur, he has no need of a seat. But he makes his way to an empty table, orders a drink, an Ysgardian Heartwine, and settles in to wait for some sign of his contact. He wonders if it will be the notorious Rule-Of-Three once again, or if it will be someone else this time. He is not sure which to hope for. Rule-Of-Three is a semi-known presence, being well known in Sigil. But his loyalties and intentions are also unknown, and he may be better off if the contact is a lesser known person. They might be totally unknown, but at least they will be unlikely to be as slippery as Rule-Of-Three.

[Archmage1]

Seeing Rule of Three once more brings back memories... and not terribly good ones for Rule. After what he did last time, he really expects me to do it again? His information is generally good, but... limited. If he does it again, he won't need to worry about another incident. The Black Sail has a decent reputation, but anyone can be brought, and it does offer private meeting rooms.

Her eyes narrow as she focuses her attention on Rule. "It had damn well better be more information than you offered last time. ALL you know about whatever it is, NOT just the bits that you think I need to know to accomplish your goals."

Afterwards
After the meeting with Rule, the fuming Eilyra finds a bit of privacy, takes a deep breath, and starts chanting, recasting the defensive spells she had let lapse after her last adventure.

Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

Having spent a few minutes preparing her defenses, and calming down(Rule didn't exactly betray her, after all. Just mostly.), she visits the markets, to restock on her rations, components, making sure she had the appropriate foci, picking up a longbow and some arrows, snagging a snazzy bag of holding, and otherwise preparing for a long journey to points unknown.

I realized I'd missed a couple of things she needed, and had gone slightly over budget. Dropping the horn of plenty, getting a type 2 bag of holding, some component pouches, and a longbow. Also, added in boots of elvenkind, from Ruathar, since I think the time for that delay to play out has probably come and gone, unless you have a different opinion, Kinem?

Afterwards, she visits a bath house, to enjoy a lovely bath(Possibly the last one she'll have in a while that wasn't prestidigitation), before heading towards The Black Sail in time for the meeting. As she approaches, she winces as she sees the soot coating the sail of the galleon, and sees the foundries burning nearby. Well, no time like the present to test if the stain resistance on my dress works.. After a momentary hesitation, she heads inside, pausing for a moment in the entrance, before heading to an empty table, and settling in to wait for events to proceed, sipping on the flute of elven wine she ordered.

[roll0] Spot or Listen for things of interest


Eilyra is a fairly beautiful elf, wearing a backless white dress(With the front and back split, to allow uninhibited movement), with a silver and gold decorated green overdress. A platinum chain loops around her neck, supporting a ruby pendant that rests above her breasts. Her golden eyes seem to burn with an inner light, and golden hair that almost looks like it's on fire. She also has pair of leathery wings folded at her back, and a long thin tail, which is currently sitting in her lap. A thin silver circlet, marked in ancient elven circles her head, with a pair of similarly marked armbands on her wrists. A white fingerless glove adorns her left hand, while a pair of rings, worn with age and use adorn her fingers(One on each hand), and a fairly large brown leather pouch sits on her right hip. To add a sense of whimsy to the otherwise fairly practical(If ornamental) outfit, an orange ioun stone whizzes around her head. Her eyes look around the room, taking in her surroundings, and her movements are almost bird-like in their speed and precision.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/34/26/dd3426211c4d2279af7b718b8ea9572a.png

[kinem]

At this point, after Eilyra sits, there are no more empty tables.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash sighs. Rule of Three always did like a dramatic flourish, even at the expense of clarity. That was going to get him killed some day. Or, more likely, people working for him.

She looked around her hidey-hole apartment, checking to make sure that everything was still in place before closing up shop, so to speak. Most of her protections were still in place from last night, but there were a few to refresh.

With her protections in place, she settled back on her cot to explore Rule of Three's request with some magic. Forewarned is, of course, forearmed. The old joke tugged at her brain for a moment, and she rubbed her left elbow, feeling the undead flesh there, slightly cooler to the touch than the rest of her, as usual. She had literally given away so much of herself that she sometimes wondered whether the leftovers could truly be said to be her. Or anyone, for that matter.

Climbing up the ladder to the thin sheet of steel covering her pit, Ash levered it open and slipped out. She slid the steel diagonally into its holder inside the pit, then folded up the space and slid the handkerchief sized fabric into an inside pocket of her shirt. Her accommodations didn't provide much of a view, but they were significantly safer than most in Sigil.

Glancing around, Ash shook out her wings, and strolled toward the Black Sail. She nods, seeing that it's so busy that there are no empty tables available. Suits her fine - she didn't like drinking at the start of a job. Sets a bad tone. Instead, she does what she usually does in social situations - finds a wall to lean against, and watches. Specifically, she looks for which folks have a blazing array of magic auras on them, or the ones with absolutely none at all, figuring them to be the most likely to be part of Rule of Three's merry escapade.

Thanks to whoever designed this class :smallwink:, Ash has an insane number of protections and unusual senses available to her.

Permanently, she has the following active:
Arcane Sight
100' Telepathy and Mindsight
Read Magic
See Invisibility
Tongues

Before bed, she casts the following, most of which last for 23 or 24 hours:
Anticipate Teleport (Greater) ~
Endure Elements *
Energy Immunity - Fire *
Hunter's Eye (+7d6 bonus)
Magic Weapon, Greater *
Magic Vestment *
Mind Blank
Moment of Prescience
Greater Magic Weapon *
Nondetection
Visions of the Future
Contingency (Heal*, triggered by Ash being affected by an injury that would render her unconscious or dead)
* Cast using her bead of karma to give a CL of 23.
~ Technically, this means that Rule of Three couldn't have teleported that close to her, but clearly he has a mcguffin device to override this. :smallbiggrin:

Because of Equipment, she also has the following effects active:
Ring of Spell-Battle - informs me when a spell is cast within 60', even if there's no obvious manifestation, and gives me a spellcraft check to identify the spell.
Earring (as Hat of Disguise) - normally, she chooses to adjust her appearance only slightly: she hides her skin, head and limb grafts; puts a bit of tan on her face; and makes her clothes look a little nicer than they are.

After Rule of Three's visit, Ash prepares spells for the day, and then casts Divination, asking the question: "Where am I going to have to go to get the thing that Rule of Three wants me to get?"

[kinem]

OOC: Anticipate Teleport delays teleportation into the area, but not out of it; it doesn't prevent escapes.
BTW, you know that RoT didn't cast a spell to teleport; it must have been a spell-like ability.

Luck did not favor your Divination spell (rolled 99), and it yields no answers.

Several people around the room have some magical auras. The ones that really stand out are: a bariaur drinking alone at a table, a winged woman that you recognize as Eilyra, and a human man seated at the bar who looks around as he drinks.

Looking at the latter, you notice that his left eye has a magic aura; most likely he is Rule of Three in another disguise.

[Cavir]

Avakuss the goliath psychic warrior. (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2447017)

Avakuss received the letter from Rule of Three as he ate his lunch at his dojo in the Guildhall Ward. There was a slight grimace on his lips as he read it. Joel and Rule at it again. So little information and on relatively short notice, as usual. At least he had the afternoon and some of the evening. He pondered the possibilities as he finished his meal.

He called class into session. All sat in a circle with legs crossed, if possible, since there were students of a variety of races. He spoke, asking the others to ponder the balance of defending or promoting Good while working with those of potentially evil or selfish intent. All were given the chance to speak their thoughts and critic each other's thoughts. After a sufficient time Avakuss rose and led the class in sparring practice, focusing on getting inside the opponent's defenses for a flurry of blows. As the sparring was going well he turned the class over to the senior student Shilenga with word that he would be traveling a bit, something that was normal for the dojo.

Avakuss gathered his gear and made sure all was in order. With a nod to the others he headed out and onward to the Great Gymnasium. He knew that action would be coming soon so now was the time for the mind. Mixing with the others he sought out what others thought of the news coming the next day and debated the rumors in a friendly manner. He didn't speak of his meeting for that evening but he wondered if the two were related. Afterwards he relaxed in the Sensory Deprivation chamber for quite longer than most. Coming out refreshed he headed to the Black Sail. Nearing his destination he prepared numerous psionic protections.

Entering the Joel's business and 2nd home, Avakuss headed for the bar and leaned his hip against it. He would have rested an elbow on the bar but with his height he would have had to hunch over. Avakuss glanced around the room, mostly looking for signs of Rule or Joel, but also for any that might be involved in the coming meeting. He ordered a drink and sipped on it as he waited.

Gather Info [roll0]

[kinem]

OOC: Seems like a Spot check would be more appropriate.

In any case, you don't see Rule or Joel just yet. A few unusual individuals catch your eye (the other PCs).

[Toliudar]

Ash

Seeing a familiar-ish face, Ash glances around the room one more time and then strolls over to Eilyra's table.

"May I join you?"

Her mental voice, soft as a feather, adds a rejoinder.

*Funny. I could have sworn you said you wouldn't work for ol' crazy-eye.*

[Archmage1]

Seeing the somewhat familiar grey-winged woman approaching, Eilyra gives her a look. Grey wings... Erinyes? No, graft. Ah, the Orb that Tim wanted. The other Diviner. Ash. Fairly professional, fairly skilled.. She doesn't offer any hints as to her rapid thought process, although she does incline her head, in a slight nod, in response to Ash's question, before she speaks.

"As you asked politely, yes. The ambiance here is quite... interesting, after all. It may have potential, or it may not be what it has been represented as. Time will tell." Her voice is the same cool, melodic thing it has always been, but there is a slight hint of distaste to it.

She gives no sign of having received the telepathic message.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash sits, wings ruffling out to the sides of the chair, as they do. She smiles faintly.

"Hmm. 'It may have potential, or may not be as represented.' I would argue that that's true of most of us."

[paradox26]

Taric sits back and watches for a while, but there is no evident sign of Rule-Of-Three. So eventually he figures the being must be coming in some sort of disguise. He figures he will not be the only one to be summoned, or else Rule could have given him the mission straight away, rather than meeting at the tavern. So he decides he should go and meet other beings of evident power, to see if they have also been summoned by him.

He looks around at the most powerful looking beings in the room. He has no ability to sense magical auras, so he is working largely by guesswork. He finally approaches a normal-looking woman who bears fiendish wings, figuring she may have had them grown or transplanted through powerful magic.

"Greetings. My name is Taric. I await someone. Would you mind if I wait with you, until my companion arrives? I feel somewhat conspicuous standing at my table all alone, and to stand out is to attract trouble."

[Archmage1]

Seeing the shadowy Bariaur approach, Eilyra carefully puts down her wine flute, before he arrives, but as he is addressing Ash, and not attacking, she watches silently.

[Toliudar]

Ash
The woman's wings instinctively fluttered up away from the floor - never fun to have them stepped on - and nods at Taric. She took half a second to process the variety of bright, buright auras swirling around the man and his equipment. Yup. Could definitely be one of theirs. Her smile widened and she pulled a chair away from a stretch of the table to facilitate him joining them.

"Good evening. I am Ash, and this is Eilyra. If your friend has one eye, he's ignoring us for the moment."

[paradox26]

Taric looks a little surprised at the reference to someone who was almost certainly Rule-Of-Three. Despite this, he realises that he must have come upon fellow people who have been summoned by him. So he might as well stay with them, to make it easier to gather them all. He glances around, hoping to see others who might have been summoned. "Well hello. Thank you for allowing me to join you, and it is a pleasure to meet you. I believe we are here to meet the same person, by the sound of it. I am sure he will be here soon, so we should have only a short wait. Unless he has many others coming, in any case. Of course, he may be here already, as you seem to suggest. Have you identified him here?" he says to Ash and Eilyra. He takes the offered position at the table, though as he is standing, he towers above the others who are seated already.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra's tail twitches slightly at the Bariaur's words. "The individual you're referring to tends to act as a middleman, a representative of someone else, rather than being the direct employer. A source of information, and thus, control. With a long history of playing both ends to the gain of the middle." After speaking, she takes another sip of her flute of wine, and as she puts it down, she looks directly at Taric, her golden eyes glowing with an inner flame. "Be wary. What it says is probably true, but also probably not the whole truth."

[Toliudar]

Ash sizes Taric up, noting the calluses that match the blades he carries. The atypical coloration and tone to his skin. The guarded manner that suggests that he has earned the long years he has been alive.

Eilyra's comments draw a wry smile from Ash.

"All of which is to say: I think he's at the bar."

She leans back, her wings lifting and adjusting once again.

"So...is it the carrot or the stick with you? Do you owe a favour, or are you here for payment?"

[Cavir]

Without staring Avakuss took notice of the table slowly filling with those that were confident in themselves but likely didn't know each other. Each approached the table, paused as if asking permission, sized each other up, then joined the table. The pattern repeated until there were four at the table. He grabbed the barkeep's attention as he walked by, who would recognize the goliath by sight at least. "Joel around?"

[paradox26]

Taric nods slightly in acknowledgement. "Thank you for the warning. I have been out on the Planes for too long, and know little of the personalities of Sigil. I will be wary of what he has to say. That is always a good policy, in any case, and especially in Sigil. Caution is not as necessary on Ysgard, though on the Shadow Plane it can be more called for," he says. He looks around to try to identify the man they are speaking of at the bar. But without a way to detect magical auras, it is almost impossible for him to ascertain exactly which person at the bar is the one he seeks. He then turns back, and answers the question, "I am a hired weapon. I do not owe the man anything, but he may be able to assist me in some troubles I have with a certain demon, so I suppose I am something of a supplicant." He finds it hard to admit that openly, even though he accepts it internally as being necessary.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra takes another sip of her flute, before she swallows, and quietly murmurs. "Demons do seem to have an unfortunate tendency to cause problems."

With that said, she leans back in her chair, leathery wings folded behind her, tail looped around on her lap, and horns on her head, and takes another sip.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash tilts her head, tasting the thought, and there is a fleeting smile.

"Well, I'd hardly think the less of you for wanting something from him. If you haven't made powerful enemies, odds are good that you're living too sedentary a life to be at this table, yes? I myself am involved in a complicated dance, of sorts." She seems less angry than saddened at the thought.

Without rising, Ash looks around the room again, checking for new arrivals. Ah! Another big one. Interesting.

"I confess that my travels haven't brought me to Ysgard yet. I've heard that it's rowdy in a back-slapping, beer-chugging way, but beautiful. How do you remember it?"

[kinem]

The barkeep is a stout red-bearded dwarf. Avakuss knows him as Mugsy, but isn't sure if that is actually his name, or a nickname that refers to his profession.

When Avakuss walks by he nods and tells Avakuss "He should be out here soon."

[paradox26]

Taric nods in agreement. "Some demons cause more trouble than others. The one I upset is one of the mightiest, and he has a long memory and really holds a grudge," he says.

"I spent so long in the Shadow Plane that my recollections of Ysgard are both vivid and slightly shadowed. It is my homeland, though I spent much of my time in Arborea, at the Mind's Eye headquarters. But Ysgard is beautiful, and very wild. Even demons tend to be reluctant to invade there. Though, as I found to my personal cost, they do occasionally raid the plane. Most of my family there were lost to a demon raid there. So now they should be part of the plane as petitioners," he says to Ash.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns for a brief moment at Taric's words, before she resumes her cool look around the room. Demons don't tend to just go raiding for blood and death. They tend to trap souls as well. They're used for trade, for crafting, for bribes, as trophies, or even to eat. But now's not the time to break that news. If he's been brought here, he's likely competent, and the time it would take to hunt down a bunch of souls taken in a specific raid an unknown amount of time ago... if they even still exist? No, not happening. If he realizes later, he's already provided the perfect excuse.

After a moment, she looks back to Taric, and offers a small smile. "The Shadow Plane can be interesting. I've always been fascinated by how it reflects other planes, and how it chooses which plane to reflect. Of course, the colour drain is annoying. As for Arborea, well... I wouldn't exactly be welcome there. For places I've been, well... the Hells are not a vacation spot. Too many demons. Also, the whole fire, ash, brimstone, acid rains, ever-shifting terrain, archdemons, gravity. I would not recommend a long visit. The Astral is beautiful, but you really need a goal there, something to do. Also, Gith."
She pauses, and shakes her head. "Why did you spend so long on the Shadow Plane?"

[kinem]

A well-dressed, greying gentleman enters the room from a door on the back wall next to the bar. To those who can see it, he sports quite a bit of magic.

He waves to Avakuss and heads over to the table where the group has gathered.

"Good evening. I'm Joel Taverus, owner of the place. While I hope you are enjoying your drinks, please come with me so we can discuss the business you came for.

Our mutual acquaintance will join us soon. There is one other who I hope will join us, but perhaps she was not interested in the offer she got. She can catch up if she shows."

(to the barkeep) "Mugsy, you know what to look for?" The dwarf nods in response.

Joel tells you "If you would" and indicates the door he came through.

[Cavir]

A tall, muscular, and barely dressed goliath with a large greatsword nods to Joel and confidently leads the way through the door. At the table he invites the others to sit with a hand gesture. Once the others have all claimed their seats Avakuss turns a remaining chair around so the back of the chair faces the table and sits, straddling it. "Hello. My name is Avakuss. I've known Joel... for a long time."

[Toliudar]

Ash

At Joel's invitation, Ash rises and follows silently to the back room. En route, she makes a brief detour to the bar, where she leaves a stack of five gold coins with Mugsy. She knows that no tavern is going rich off of her, and it seems only courteous to contribute to the wait staff's fine work.

Once Joel leads them into the room where the meeting is to take place, Ash begins a careful examination of the space, running a hand lightly across the walls and beginning a droning chant.

Her telepathic voice, an especially soft version of her speaking tone, slips into Avakuss and Taric's heads.

*Hello, Avakuss. You can call me Ash. I apologize, but am ensuring that our conversation here is not overheard.*

Ash starts by analyzing any dweomers active in the room but not associated with the four of us. She searches the room, taking ten if possible for 47.

If Mage's Private Sanctum is not already active on the area, she casts it.

[Archmage1]

Seeing the professional looking older gentleman enter the room, Eilyra gives him an analyzing look. Our would-be employer? If Ash has spotted RoT at the bar, that fellow clearly has some influence here, and he's collecting the goliath, so he's certainly something.

As he approaches the table, she carefully puts her flute down, and eyes him, calmly, waiting for events to unfold, even as she takes another look around the room, and listens to his agreement. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Joel." Mutual acquaintance? Bloody RoT. This is, however, the owner, so things are happening.

She follows the group into the presumably private section, her dress swishing as she walks, and her tail raising daintily off the ground. After the door shuts, and chairs are claimed, and the Goliath introduces himself as Avakuss, and Ash raises a shield against scrying and eavesdropping, Eilyra finally speaks. "I am known as Eilyra, and it is good to meet you, Avakuss. It is always good to make new allies."


Eilyra is a fairly beautiful elf, wearing a backless white dress(With the front and back split, to allow uninhibited movement), with a silver and gold decorated green overdress. A platinum chain loops around her neck, supporting a ruby pendant that rests above her breasts. Her golden eyes seem to burn with an inner light, and golden hair that almost looks like it's on fire. She also has pair of leathery wings folded at her back, and a long thin tail, which is currently sitting in her lap. A thin silver circlet, marked in ancient elven circles her head, with a pair of similarly marked armbands on her wrists. A white fingerless glove adorns her left hand, while a pair of rings, worn with age and use adorn her fingers(One on each hand), and a fairly large brown leather pouch sits on her right hip. To add a sense of whimsy to the otherwise fairly practical(If ornamental) outfit, an orange ioun stone whizzes around her head. Her eyes look around the room, taking in her surroundings, and her movements are almost bird-like in their speed and precision.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/34/26/dd3426211c4d2279af7b718b8ea9572a.png

[kinem]

There is a short hallway beyond the door (#1), then a second door (#2) after that. The second door is unusually heavy, and has a small window built into it that can be covered with a small shutter on the inside, so that one inside might see who's in the hall.

The room past that has several comfortable and sturdy chairs of various sizes around a large table. A couple are built to accommodate larger than human-sized guests. The room is lit by a Continual Flame attached to a chandelier on the ceiling.

There is another door (#3) to the right side of the room.

Other than on the people and their items and on the chandelier, you don't sense any magic in the room.

Joel says "Suit yourself, Ash, but I should mention that this room is shielded with lead, so no one should be able to scry us.

There is one other person who I will introduce in a moment, but I must first say, anything seen or said here is confidential. You are not obligated to take the job, but if you don't agree to that, please leave now. You will soon understand why."

There is a knock on the door (#2). Joel opens the shutter to see who it is, then opens the door. The newcomer proves to be Rule-of Three in his githzerai appearance; he may have changed in the hallway.

Rule says "Hello, good to see you, and good evening. Have you spilled the dark yet, Joel?" and takes a seat.

Joel says "Not yet." If everyone stays in the room he continues "Well then" and opens the inner door (#3).

Into the room comes a 10 ft. tall, athletic male humanoid with beatific features and metallic golden skin. His eyes are too bright to look at directly, and an aura of power and patience surrounds him. Though they are seldom seen, you recognize this an an aurumach rilmani, a powerful exemplar of Neutrality.

The rilmani says "Hello! I am Center-of-All. Pleased to meet you."

After a round of introductions, Center-of-All takes a seat and tells you

"For many years, until just recently, I lived near the base of the Spire. As you know, that is a complete dead zone for magic and kind of an enormous wasteland. I liked it fine there, but I was there because it's hard to find anyone there. I lived in a small rilmani village.

About a month ago, I was killed. The intruder was sneaky and got the jump on me, and was incredibly skilled with the dagger. Human sized, dark skin, dark robe, but no face besides a big mouth."

Sounds like a Gloom.

He continues "My friends put me on a cart and set off to resurrect me. Not an easy trip but here I am. But the thing I was guarding was stolen by the intruder. Rule-of-Three gave it to me to guard."

Rule cuts in "Not me! You understand? That was millennia ago. But there's always been a Rule-of-Three in Sigil. It's one of the three basic laws of the multiverse after all! I am just the current holder of the office, so to speak.

But in any case, it's well that Center came looking for Rule of Three, since he found me.

I believe the item Center was guarding was a Key. This Key was used to lock away the multiverse - threatening being known as Tharizdun."

Center says "Prophecy says it will be needed again; not so clear on why. But I must get it back."

Rule says "Well, we can talk about how to guard it safely when the time comes. For now, we must get it."

Joel says "Some years ago, I had a bit of an adventure, along with Avakuss and a couple of others. I almost accidently freed an ancient rakshasa lord known as the Mad Rajah. This fellow had some connection to the cult of Tharizdun. He's imprisoned in Baator, but until then the baatezu seemed to have forgotten about it. A trio of rakshasas tried to free him, though in retrospect, they could have tried harder. We slew them, but they mentioned working for a boss."

Rule says "I have connections throughout the Lower Planes. I believe that said boss was an outcast former Duke among the baatezu by the name of Vayyel. He's been spotted near the site of the prison. Vayyel is a powerful warrior, and was a leader of the cornugons, but I guess he lost a political game.

I think this was his plan all along. Not to free the Rajah, but to get information from him. Whatever Joel did to the prison must have helped with that somehow.

The Rajah must have known something about the Key, probably enough for Vayyel to guess who had it. He must have begun the search years ago. This is coming to a head now only because Center was so hard to find.

Ash, Gargauth is a bitter enemy of Vayyel's. He could not stand to see Vayyel regain a place in the hierarchy before he does. To see his rival brought low, he's willing to make a deal.

Taric, as for Graz'zt, he too has an interest in stopping the baatezu plot."

Joel says "What Vayyel wants with the Key we can only guess. Not to free Tharizdun, surely. More likely to use as a bargaining chip. To sell it, maybe. The risk is real that someone will use it. That requires a Gate to the plane where Thaizdun was sent.

Our first move should be to make the Key harder to use in that way. During our adventure, we found a door on Pandemonium, that leads to a stronghold of Tharizdun's cult. I have done research and it was an important library in ancient times. I believe it would contain the knowledge we need."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash leans forward, listening to the story and not trying to disguise her curiosity. Only once does she lean back, jaw clenched tight, when Gorgauth's name is mentioned. She tilts her head at Rule of Three with frank incredulity, but then is caught up again in the unfolding tale.

"Tharizdun is everything loathsome about gods, written in letters a mile high in blood. His release would cause incalculable suffering, and, arguably, the end of the universe. I'm in."

She pauses and turns with sombre, soft tones to Rule of Three.

"I do have a condition, however. It is insufficient to simply assume that Vayyal does not wish to use the key for its intended purpose. We do not use the key, even as a bluff, as a bargaining chip with him until we have certain knowledge of what his game is. Is that acceptable?"

Once she gets a response from Rule of Three, she takes out a thick notepad, overlaid with a delicate tracing of symbols. She turns to a fresh page and begins magically transcribing notes and questions.

Sense motive on both Rule and Centre, watching for any sign of deception or with-holding information from them: [roll0]

[kinem]

Rule replies "Hold on a moment. It may be to our advantage to make Vayyel think he's taken something that's too hot to handle. In fact that may be the only way to resolve the situation. He's no cultist. It does not seem wise to tie our hands in advance. Of course, we are not going to take any foolish risks."

Center seems to have been completely open and honest in his statements.

Rule, on the other hand, seems to care only about how to turn the situation to his own advantage.

[Archmage1]

Still mulling over what she knows about the various entities involved in this rather convoluted plot, Eilyra frowns, and speaks up. "It sounds rather like the creature you encountered, Center of All, was something called a Gloom." She shakes her head. "Not a weak creature. At all. As in, likely to be more powerful than Gargauth or Graz'zt. Especially as it is an assassin. Controlling one? Maybe. But not a simple thing."
She pauses, and after scanning the room, her attention turns back to Center of All. "I don't suppose you have any blood, or anything from the Gloom?"

After giving him a chance to respond, she continued. "Recovering the key, I think, would be the simplest approach, if we can find a way to do it. A retriever could, but getting one? That is not so simple. We're not likely to find the Gloom via magic, not based on just a description, so locating it does seem rather like a dead end. Probably literally, if the Gloom realizes someone is hunting it."
Letting that sink in for a moment, she continued. "Now, if all that's needed is a gate to Tharizdun's domain to use the key, preventing that seems to be rather... challenging. For us. However, that does seem like a problem alerting some of his opponents might fix. Of course, then the key's existence is known, but as it is already known, well..." She pauses, and smiles, a cold, cruel smile. "That isn't really a barrier."
Another brief pause, while Eilyra takes a breath, before she continues. "However, that does leave a few, rather important, questions. For example, what are we getting in return for this no doubt extremely challenging task? What are you looking to get out of this, Rule? Graz'zt's place? And why is the Gloom likely to be acting in Vayyel's interest?"

[kinem]

In reply to Eilyra, Center of all says "Sorry, no. It was over before I could even react."

Rule of Three says "What are you getting? Why, a chance for redemption! What else do you want?

As for myself, I aim only to stop those who endanger the interests of myself and others. Just like you, if I should be able to profit along the way, I should not spurn the opportunity.

As for the assassin, Gloom you say, it must have been acting on information from Vayyel. Beyond that I could only speculate.

I could probably arrange to get the services of a Retriever. It may be worth a try. They are big though, too big to pass through most gates in Sigil. And stupid, too stupid to really tell us much other than by leading us. It'll be a challenge, so let me think about it."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash enjoys the looping erudition of Eilyra. It so often lead the conversation into places both unexpected and fruitful.

"I think that it's fair to assess that if ordinary magics such as those of a Retriever can locate the key, we can do so. I rather assume, though, that anyone going to such lengths to obtain the key has already gone to great lengths to conceal it."

She turns to Rule of Three.

"You put too much faith in the reasonableness of a devil. And, frankly, I don't trust you to put the general good above your own self-interest. But if, as you say, we need to keep our options open, I will offer you one refinement. Swear me an oath that you won't do anything with this key without my explicit permission, and I'll help you find it. A real oath, mind. If that's acceptable, I'll get to work."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra gives Rule of Three a look. "Really? That's the best offer you can make? Redemption? It does not seem terribly likely to accomplish that. Working with demons and fiends to stop a demonic plan. Sure, it probably qualifies as a questionable deed, but that alone does not meet the requirements of redemption. How about a more... concrete reward?"

After Ash finishes speaking, Eilyra nods. "The Retriever, I think, would need to be under Center's command, as it inherits his familiarity with the key, which it would need to track it. And the Gloom is going to be a problem."

Then she frowns, before she continues, shifting topics once more, but still sounding rather confident. "But the plan of raiding the library... it seems reasonable, but... Tharzidun isn't known as the Mad God for nothing. Assuming a reasonable or logical organization system of the books of his followers... that's a big assumption. And that's not even mentioning the potential for traps, reflecting his own penchant for corruption and twisting. And even in the best case... In the time we spend reaching and searching the library, they can likely just use the key. If it's our only option, it's the only option, but..." She shrugs. "It is unlikely to suffice in isolation." Her voice trails off, thoughtfully, before she looks to Center of All. "You came to Rule of Three, because his predecessors had given it to you to guard. Would you know who else is involved? Is anyone guarding the lock? The other gods sealed Tharzidun away, and while they might not know the exact mechanism the key might use... they can probably make it harder to use it in secret... and make that secrecy critical to the success of the cult."

[Da'Shain]

Edigaria

The deva's words rattled around in her head all day as she went about her business. How could he know anything about ... well, it was Unity of Rings, and knowing (or acting like he knew) random bits of information to string together into a soothsayer's prediction was kind of his thing. No need to be suspicious he was in league with the yugoloths, no sir, no need ... and yet Edigaria of the Estervales dithered, indecisive. She'd been doing fine on her own so far, hadn't she? Well, okay at least. Sure, her immortal soul was being sought after by just about everything whose name started with the sound "de-", only her own increasingly hard to keep track of web of promises and lies kept her from having it ripped out of her at any moment, and she was half-convinced if she set foot outside Sigil she would be accosted by agents of one of the Powers, but ...

Well, no but. Just that this city sucked, and she was tired of slumming it here. (It's the most interesting place we've ever seen and you know it. Shut up, eyes should be seen and not heard ... thought ... whatever.) So why not take the nice angel's advice? (Deva, you moron. Did I not just say shut up?) She closed her milky eye spitefully. Best case, maybe she'd get a chance to put down one of the plates she'd been spinning for what felt like forever. Worst case, she learned nothing and whiled away another night in a tavern pretending to drink and laugh. Well, that wasn't the worst case, but she'd resolved to be at least a bit cheerier.

So she found herself at the Black Sail Tavern at three ... oh, crap, three after midnight. Well, let none say she did not know how to be fashionably late. That was somehow still a thing out in the vastness of the planes, causing her to muse, not for the first time, that existence was a bit more humanoid-centric than she might've guessed. (*Rumble.* Oh hush, it's true in the Wheel, anyway.) Brushing greasy hair back with fingers already stained from the Lower Ward's soot, she stepped inside, good eye glancing over the clientele in search of what she assumed would be some sort of adventuring party. When her gaze met that of the surprisingly mundane-looking dwarf behind the bar, he jerked his head towards a back room. It seemed she was expected by more than just a deva's ramblings. She nodded back to him gratefully (Ah, the legendary silver tongue of the Estervale line at work. I can just wear an eyepatch, you know.) and crossed the dimly lit common room to step through the door in the back.

Beyond that was another, heavier one, presumably for discussing weightier business behind. She knocked three times and spoke into the shutter, ""Edigaria to see ... someone, anyway. Pretty sure I'm expected."

[kinem]

At the knock on the door, Joel gets up and opens the shutter to see who's there. He lets the newcomer into the room.

"Hello, Edigaria. I'm Joel Taverus, the owner here. The situation here is a bit complicated ..."

[Insert introductions and recaps here. Moving on ...]

"And so, Center-of-All also got in touch with the deva Unity-of-Rings, who recruited you to this little party."

Rule of Three says "Back to business. Ash, your proposed oath is unfair. We could certainly use your help on this, but to promise that you will have final say over what we do with it? Would anyone else here agree to that? I doubt it.

I am here to help, just like the rest of you, though my skills are more in dealmaking than in fighting. So as for payment, if anyone should be offering it, it should be Center-of-All, not me. However, as far as I can tell, he doesn't have a copper to his name."

Center-of-All says "There is more that you should know.

The coalition that defeated Tharizdun included gods of every alignment, as well as worshippers and supporters that lent them power from every plane.

Afterwards, there was disagreement over what to do with the Key. Many wanted to destroy it, to make it less likely that the mad god could ever escape. Others believed the prophecy that the Key would be needed again, and wanted to keep it safe. The matter almost came to blows, and not along the usual lines of alignment.

Rule-of-Three was of the latter view, and made off with the Key. He gave it to me to hide it, as I agreed with him. While some searched for it, the general view became that it had been destroyed. I believe it would be dangerous to let too many people know it still exists. It would cause much conflict.

As Rule would have guessed, there was a third faction. They believed that Tharizdun could be controlled, his great power harnessed. They seem foolish to want to take such a risk, but it was not a pipe dream; in the fight against the mad god, possible ways to control him were found and studied. This faction was the foundation of what you know as the Cult of Tharizdun. I understand that the Cult has degraded into a mad group of worshippers, but in the old days, they were much more organized and sane. While I was in hiding, I know these things from friends who brought me news."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash jots notes furiously as Centre-of-All speaks. She reels off a first question, speaking quickly.

"Thank you for this. Forgive me - I've never been to the base of the spire. If no magic works there, then there's no way that magic was used in locating you or the key. Which means that someone told someone about the key. Could you make a list of all of the people who knew that you possessed the key?"

She whirled on Rule of Three, speaking dispassionately.

"Nice try, but I didn't ask everyone to let me control what happened to the key. Just you. If you don't ever take possession of it or try to dictate what happens with it, there's no problem. Since you haven't offered me any kind of payment whatsoever for this, I feel that that's an extremely reasonable 'fee'.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns, deeply at Rule's words, clearly having second, and third thoughts about participating in this adventure. Let's see... mission to acquire the Key that RoT wants for no pay, with the strong hint from Center of All that RoT is likely to seek to control Tharizidun, because of course he would. And his claim of his skills being deal-making? Really? His skills, in this case, seem to be recruiting the desperate, the lost, and singing a tale. But, since I am here, I can at least ask questions.

She looks back to Center of All. "You mention factions. Which gods were in which faction? If we're going to see about putting more obstacles in the key user's way, it seems like the faction for destruction, and the faction for safekeeping would be a good start."

[kinem]

Rule says "So you don't trust me, Ash? But you trust these others, many of whom don't exactly have spotless histories either? And you expect me to trust you completely? I don't trust anyone completely. I'm not seeing the logic here."

Center of All says "As far as I know, only Rule-of-Three - the one who gave it to me - knew that I had it.

My friends among the rilmani suspected it, of course, but I never confirmed it. In any case, I trust them completely. By now, they will be on the way back to the village near the Spire. I told them to go back, because they would be in danger if I am being hunted.

As for the Mad Rajah, I knew him as Rajah Manapora. Being Center-of-All in of Sigil, I met him briefly a few times. He could cast discern location, and if he tried it on me, it wouldn't have worked. That might be enough for him to guess the truth, if he assumed that the Key had not been destroyed.

The gods ... Listen. I do not want them involved. The gods today are not the same as the ones back then. They were known as the Great Powers. I do not know what happened to most of them.

One name you would recognize is that of Pelor. He wanted the Key destroyed, which I do not.

And ... I do not think the gods would forgive that I defied their will."

[Cavir]

Avakuss takes perfect mental notes of the knowledge being shared and apparent enemies already made. These details were not his area of specialty. The path of the discussions didn't seem to be going in a productive manner however so he finally speaks up.

"Do we know whether the key is access to the plane or to a prison on that plane? Pandemonium seems to be our best first stop, to gather information and maybe even hinder their plans. It has been a long time since I was there but we should be better at resisting the effects there this time."

"As I see it our goal is to get our hands on the key and get it back to Unity Center, not Rule. Ending the threat of whichever devils get in our way is bonus. I doubt Rule is coming with us. I don't think we should get hung up on Rule obtaining the key first. As expected he does seem to have enough of an angle to benefit from all this beyond the multiverse surviving, enough so to coordinate deals for some of you. Perhaps a favor owed for each of the rest of us would be fair. "

"Unity Center, safe to assume you are coming with us? What is the prophecy about the key?"

Stupid me, meant Center, not Unity. Corrected.

[kinem]

Center-of-All says "I know the laws of the multiverse can be confusing. I am Center-of-All, representing the law that any point is the center of everything. Unity-of Rings, representing the law that all is connected, is currently a deva. And of course Rule-of-Three is here.

Certainly, I will come. The prophecy came from the goddess Gamayun, one of the vanished ones. It states that the Key will be needed to save that which must be saved.

Details of how the Key works, I don't know."

Rule says "Center, doesn't your kind have the ability to cast Mind Blank?"

Center says "Yes, but that wouldn't stop the Rajah. He specialized in information. His magic would overcome that. Or so he boasted."

Joel nods at that.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash grimaced. The more that Rule of Three twisted out of her offer, the more it became clear that he wanted the key for himself, for his own purposes.

"Rule, you're terrific. I'm not asking you to trust me, nor am I asking anyone else to trust me. Just that you take an oath not to influence what happens to the key, or take it yourself. Not such a big price, yeah?"

Her brow furrows as Centre explains further.

"Centre, I'm confused. If magic doesn't work at the base of the spire, how would Discern Location find something that was hidden there? And if some magic DOES work there, then I'd like to suggest that our investigations include a trip to that murder scene.

Ash is trying to figure out whether divinations would reach the base of the spire, and what magic is and isn't possible there.
Knowledge (the planes): [roll0]
Spellcraft: [roll1]

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns once more, before looking back at Rule. "If Center's right, and no one knew he had it, with the exception of the Rilmani, who probably don't have the kind of contact with demons to sell the information, then what happened to the prior Rule of Three? Is it possible that his departure caused the information leakage?"

She also looks over at Center-of-All. "Have any of your friends either vanished, or came into an unusual amount of wealth recently?"

[Da'Shain]

Edigaria

Mulling over the issue, Edigaria wondered why she was here. From what she could gather, this Key sounded like a massive bargaining chip she might be able to use to buy her way out of almost any obligation ... and presumably Unity of Rings at least knew she'd be tempted by that, likely the others as well, and yet pushed her to get involved. Watching the open mistrust of Rule of Three being bandied about, she had the feeling others in the room would not take kindly to her own mercenary reputation, and she decided not to touch the issue of who could be trusted with a ten foot pole unless she had to. She was also not keen on going to visit the base of the Spire, where almost all of her own hard-bargained-for protections would wink out, leaving nothing but debts, especially not where a planar assassin had already proven able and willing to kill over this Key. Instead, seeking out further knowledge of the issue would at least let her figure out who the interested parties were, what they wanted, and whether it was worth risking her immortal skin over. (Our immortal skin. Excuse me? You don't even have your own eyelid, let alone skin!)

"Seems to me those with motive are either in Hell or can be learned about in the cult's library," she interjects after thinking a moment, purposely leaving out the idea of a trip to the base of the tower. "Of those two options, breaking into a library, insane cultist librarians or no, seems the simpler task than facing a cornugon lord down near a rakshasa rajah's prison that was already almost accidentally opened once. Bonus, it'll probably let us nail down what this Mad Rajah's connection to Tharizdun's cult is. If the Gloomy bastard decides to have a poke at us too, better we have some idea what its employers want, assuming it's not just out for stealing a key to multiversal destruction for its own giggles."

She shoots a look of sympathy to Center-of-All at his fear of gods' reprisals, understanding all too well the spectre of punishment he must live with every day. "Gotta agree there, I'm not too keen on having interested Powers with eyes on us at all times, here. Best we figure as much out ourselves first, before inviting something to butt its nose in and take over."


(Alright, now's the time to earn your keep. What do we know about this Mad Rajah, or a cornugon named Vayyel? We? Surely you mean your own august knowledge, and not the unearned arcane memory library you wheedled access to. Just do your job and check!)

Knowledge (Planes) about this Mad Rajah, Manapora: [roll0]
Knowledge (Planes) about Vayyel: [roll1]

Knowledge (Nature) about Glooms (checking what she knows herself, whether it's enough to be extra afraid): [roll2]

[Archmage1]

Eilyra sighs, and purses her lips thoughtfully at Edigaria's words. "I suppose that at a minimum, I can help with raiding the library. I think it is a dubious route, but..." She shrugs, and smiles, almost cheerfully. "Ancient libraries have a tendency to have interesting scrolls or books in them, and if we don't find anything about this Key, the use therein, or anything along those lines, well, accidents happen, I suppose."

And if this is a waste of time, killing Rule would be quite cathartic, and I'd have plenty of support. And if the Mad God escapes, well, it's a big Multiverse. Could even potentially be an excellent lever for restoring my name, although that wouldn't be trivial, but if it were easy, anyone could do it.

She looks over at Center of All once more, her tail flicking back and forth as she launches another rapidfire set of questions. "That said, if we are going to do this, best to solve as many problems as possible. Can you describe the Key? Does it have a name? What can you tell us about using it? Is there a specific location involved? Some sort of ritual work? Something else?"

Without missing a beat, she looks back to Rule of Three, before looking at Joel once more, her eyes burning with intensity as she continues. "The Mad Rajah is still sealed, to the best of your knowledge?" Looking back at Rule, she continues, her tone a bit firmer. "Either of your knowledge? And would you have any idea where Vayyel might be found? Or his objectives, and known allies?"

[Cavir]

Avakuss minutely shook his head. He spoke a little slower, trying to ease the tensions with Ash. "Joel and I, with Rule's help, resealed Rajah Manapora. Center-of-All successfully had the key for millennia. That dedication is remarkable. I greatly respect that. He's kept us safe that way all this time. Thank you Center-of-All."

"When such an admirable entity needed help, he turned to and trusted Rule of Three, who in turn turned to us. Rule was the one who started that safety, current holder of the office or not. We see how important keeping the key a secret has been. This whole meeting is Center and Rule trusting us not just with the mission, but moreso with the knowledge that the key even exists. I'm not saying to go sodding barmy with blindly trusting Rule on everything (Sorry Rule) but he's not going to let everything fall apart, even if it's only for his own best interest. Think about this too... anyone think The Lady will just stand by if they are putting Sigil at high risk?"

"In terms of how Center was found, also consider the time involved. Although there may be a leak, even the biggest fool looking for the key would have to eventually consider the base of the Spire, away from all magics and Powers. Those involved are not fools, yet Center's work kept it safe that long anyway."

"Leak or not the library seems the best start at this point unless Center has a better suggestion. Do we all have protections for going to Pandemonium?"

[Toliudar]

Ash

Avakuss both amuses and intrigues Ash.

"Streets in Sigil could and - and probably have been - paved with the bones of those who have relied on an understanding of what the Lady will or will not do. But if our next step is to traipse through some ancient library, well, I'm up for a lark."

[kinem]

Center-of-All says "Thank you, Avakuss.

No magic that I know of works at the base of the Spire. But if magic finds nothing, the one place that is hidden from it becomes a likely guess. That's an example of the law of Unity-of-Rings, I think. One extreme becomes the other.

The Rule-of-Three that I knew was a half-celestial human-elf mix. He must have passed away by now.

None of my friends have vanished or suddenly changed as far as I can tell. The village is fairly isolated, though we visit neighboring villages and about once a year a few rilmani will travel far to get news and trade goods. I am absolutely certain that none would betray me. I have known them many long years.

You here in this room ... I do not know so well. In the old days, the three of us who represented the laws were always friends and allies. I see that much has changed since then, but I say that without judgement.

I have not yet told anyone what the Key looks like. And I will not, unless each of you swear an oath, not just Rule. Swear that you will not take the Key for purposes other than those we agree on, and swear to not hinder my cause of fulfilling the prophecy. Will you do that?"

Rule says "I suppose that is fair enough, then. I will swear if the others do.

As for the Mad Rajah, yes, he's still sealed away last I heard, and I get a report daily. The baatezu control the prison, and could release him at any time, but I don't think that's in their interest.

Since we are all in this together, we should make some ground rules now. We each have our specialties. Some of us have powers of divination or healing. Some are renowned fighters and adventurers. Well, I have contacts and informers that took many years to cultivate, that may well prove vital. My information has already fingered Vayyel as the likely suspect, and I have made deals with fiends to bring some of you on board. Also, as a well known figure in Sigil, I could easily become a target of Center's foes.

In short, while I am not planning to be on the front lines, I am a full partner in this. We share equally any loot we may find, as well as information gained. Agreed?"

[Archmage1]

Eilyra leans back in her chair, clearly thinking, a small frown on her face, and the tip of her tail flicking back and forth. So, no hint of how the current RoT came to be known as RoT. Considering RoT's prior behavior... I'd say RoT probably offed him, which, again, means that if betrayal occurred, it came from his end. And considering his earlier refusal to swear a very similar oath that Ash asked for, and twisting it by his response... If I do this, great care will be needed. And I'll need to keep my options open. This "quest" is effectively impossible, without a description of the key, especially if RoT, who is the current sole source of information, is as involved as I suspect he is. And his request to share in the rewards, while bearing dramatically lower risks, and being in the perfect position to betray? A full share, I think, is excessive. Especially as he is overstating the risks he will be facing.

She shakes her head softly, as she finishes her thinking, and she leans forward as she starts to talk again, her tone cool, and calm as she looks to Center-of-All. "I'm afraid I can't swear such an oath without knowing what, exactly, the prophecy is, and where it came from. It would also be helpful to come to an agreement on what we want to use the key for. Destroying it..." She frowns, and shakes her head, before looking around the table, her attention flickering between those present as she addresses the group in a fairly dry tone.
"A older technique to strengthen wards involves focusing their weaknesses in one point, to magnify the strengths. It isn't often used today, because, well, for the most part, it was really only useful for sealing things away, and the weakness being a key. But the key was an integral part of the wards; The destruction of the key often led to a slow erosion of the strength of the wards, which, in this case, would be sub-optimal." She pauses for a moment to let that sink in, before continuing. "Equally so, attempting to use the key to gather power is foolishness, at best. Tharizdun is of Chaos, and thus, so is his power. Any ritual utilized to draw upon that power will put you under his power, and you will have little to no control over what you gain. What was that common saying..." A brief smile flickers on her face before she continues. "Right, don't try absorbing an energy field bigger than your head. For it will end badly." Once more, she shakes her head. "Which, really, only leaves one option: Concealing the key." A wry grin appears on her face, for a moment, before vanishing. "Or, I suppose, using it, and putting down Tharizdun, which isn't a reliable option. Not necessarily impossible, but not something to do without a lot of preparation."

Giving Center-Of-All a moment to consider, her attention turns to Rule-of-Three, and her expression is quite serious. "Now, as for your arrangement... I think you are overstating your risk, considerably. The Gloom retrieved the key. It did not cover the tracks. It did not exterminate the rest of Center-Of-All's village." She does frown, as she thinks of a hole in her argument. "Although, an entire village of Rilmani leaving their home, with a corpse, seeking resurrection is certainly unusual enough to potentially draw attention, I suppose." She shrugs, and continues, her tone slightly warmer, but still, matter of fact. "But we face the same risks, and more. All you need to do is keep off of the stage. We, on the other hand, are likely going to be attacking hostile strongholds, and drawing rather a lot of attention. How about a half share, with the other half held in ambiance, and used to compensate for resource expenditures and the like by any of us? Things like healing items, resurrections, hiring a golem, and so on." She looks to Center-Of-All. "That Wish or Miracle to restore your life probably wasn't cheap." Before she looks back to Rule-Of-Three. "Of course, if you are actually attacked, a full share after that point seems appropriate."

After delivering her rebuke, she looks back to the adventuring team. "As for Pandemonium... there are a few threats. The maddening, shrieking wind that can and will drive those who hear it insane, and deaf, along with driving rocks before it, which are harder to deal with. We are likely to encounter Slaadi, or other similar chaotic creatures. But it is manageable. Earplugs can handle the deafening, although, it sort of does prevent hearing, and make spellcasting more challenging. With the winds, ranged attacks will be harder to use, and it is of chaos; Expect lawful arguments to hold less sway. Mind Blank, or similar effects should prevent the insanity as well. Also, Sonic magic won't be as effective, as the power will be stripped from your spell, and added to the winds." She smiles for a moment. "Unless someone happens to have earplugs handy, I think a quick shopping trip is in order. I do know a reputable merchant."

After she finishes speaking, she leans back once more, and looks around the table, clearly waiting for a response.

[Toliudar]

Ash

The other winged woman nodded, taking copious notes. When Centre of All suggests a shared oath, Ash tilts her head, considering.

"While I understand Eilyra's desire to come to consensus on a final disposition of the key now, I have become bitterly aware that making predictions - such as 'what is the best thing to do with the key' before we actually understand the nature of the thing itself, the forces that are pursuing it, and what the implications will be for the security of the prison, may be premature. Therefore, I AM open to taking such an oath. Just as I am open to sharing with Rule of Three any information that we learn that is germane to the task of finding this key.

"Rule, what is the nature of the daily report on Mad Rajah you receive? You know better than most that, what magic creates, magic can deceive. And...the location that Eilyra is describing seems incompatible with the essential nature of a library. It's hard to imagine reading and finding books in gale force winds that drive you mad and then kill you with boulders. Do we have a way to reach the library directly?"

Ash sighs, and returns to a topic she had been putting off, turning to face Rule.

"Early in our conversation, you said -"

She flipped back several pages in her notes.

"You said 'Gargauth is a bitter enemy of Vayyel's. He could not stand to see Vayyel regain a place in the hierarchy before he does. To see his rival brought low, he's willing to make a deal.' For reasons that I hope are clear, I would like to know more about the nature of your interaction with Gargauth, and what kind of deal you discussed with him."

[kinem]

Center of All says "I'm trying to remember the exact words of the prophecy, and translate it properly. As I said, it came from the goddess Gamayun, a reliable prophetess, neutral in alignment. She said ... 'On the day of reflection, when bright bondage covers all, the Key will open the chain, and save that which must be saved.'

By the standards of prophecy it's actually clearer than most, but all I can make of it is that the Key will be needed. That's all I know, enough for me, but if it's not enough for you, I will not describe the Key."

Rule says "Full share. If the Gloom comes for me, I'll probably be too dead to demand my share. And to pull this off, you'll probably need my contacts.

There is an Erinyes who's my main contact with the baatezu. For reasons that should be clear, I won't name her. Her information has always been reliable. In return, I pass to her information about the tanar'ri, which I get from similar deals over there. Neither side gains a net advantage, but my contacts' reputation at home as impressive spies is ensured. And, they are in place when I need them.

She gives me the reports, and she was my go-between with Gargauth. I sent him an offer: to release you, Ash, in exchange for your help in stopping a scheme which could bring Vayyel great power. He agreed. Conditional on success, of course."

Joel says "I for one am willing to take that oath.

As for the library, I can answer that. The third layer of Pandemonium, Phlegethon, contains a variety of caverns, and some of them are nearly free of the winds and noises that occur naturally there even in some smaller, sealed-off spaces. There is even a humanoid town, Windglum, on that plane. Well, the library was built in such a place.

We know of a gate from Sigil to a tunnel next to a cavern adjacent to the library. The cavern was guarded by a monster, but surely you expected that much."

[Archmage1]

Listening to the prophecy, Eilyra frowns, as she considers what she knows of Gamayun, and the prophecy. Gamayun... She's been gone for eight hundred years or so, and made quite a few prophecies. But her following required that every day be a day of reflection. Perhaps the day of reflection is somewhat more...magical, in some way? A reflection of... something through time? Bright Bondage covering all... this could be anything. Light, generally good gods are associated with brighter colors, so could be a victory of the good gods, but there isn't anything specific there. Opening a chain, however, seems fairly clear: Releasing Tharizdun. But why would Tharizdun save something? Or is it the other way? Retrieving something from Tharizdun? This is getting into speculation. As for the oath... Center of All's oath seems to boil down to let it happen, which, well, who knows?

However, as Rule speaks up, Eilyra's attention turns back to him, with a bland look. Why yes, if the Gloom targets any of us, it will likely be able to kill it's target, unless we know it is coming. That is hardly a counteroffer, in fact, more of a bonus. More relevantly, that is a shared risk anyway, but while he operates from the shadows, we'll be making ourselves rather known, I suspect. An Erinyes agent? Shouldn't be too difficult to narrow down, and identify, especially with her relationship with Gargaunth, but without information, I doubt she'd deal with us. Of course, Ash being in debt to Garguath is the classic conundrum. Either an opportunity, or a weakness. I suppose only time will tell.

Once Rule's voice stills, Eilyra's coolly lyrical voice responds, to Center of All. "I can agree to that, with the condition that if you choose to rescind the oath, or if it seems probable that the risks grow... excessive, as freeing Tharizdun is probably not a great plan."
Granting the Rilmani a momentary reprieve, Eilyra's attention turns to Rule once more, this time, with a small frowns. "Yes, you would be. And as I said, if it seems that you are actually at risk, you would receive a full share. Otherwise, the remaining half share would be reserved to cover expenses, as needed, or, if you are, in fact, attacked, given to you. We will be taking the same risks, with the added bonus of being much more obvious, and a far clearer threat to whatever the Gloom's master is seeking."

[Toliudar]

Ash

When Rule speaks of Gargauth 'releasing' her, there is a delicate dance of emotions that flicker across Ash's face. Hope and relief make a concerted effort to take hold, but are held back by the combined efforts of defiance and disbelief, and eventually, her face hardens into a grimace again.

"I believe you, but not him. Nonetheless, I'm in."

She begins to refine and expand on her notes, glancing up at the three other recruits, realizing that she and Eilyra have done nearly all of the talking. She begins to play with the words of the prophesy, teasing them apart and using synonyms, ciphers, translations into other languages to try to tease meaning from what seems like an extremely unlikely sequence.

[Cavir]

Avakuss looks to Center. "I swear I will not take the Key for purposes other than those we agree on, and not to hinder your cause of fulfilling the prophecy."

He addresses the group as a whole. "Some of us are gaining apparently critical deals made by Rule for doing this. Should they receive a lesser share, or nothing further even, than those who didn't make such enemies? Should I get a larger share for probably being the one in front taking the hits? We could spend weeks debating this while the enemy continues onward. Let's simplify this. Everyone here gets a full share, with an extra share reserved for things such as healing and pulling any of us out of the Dead Book. Agreed?"

"Joel, of course there will be a monster in the cavern. I doubt it is some sickly young goblin with a rusty dagger. Any word on what it is? Once the creature is dealt with, is the library connected to the cavern directly? Any word who occupies the library?"

"The earplugs are a good idea. It's been a long time since I've been there. Anyone know of a supply this time of light?"

[Archmage1]

Eilyra gives Avakuss a flat look. "A fifty percent drop in expected returns? I certainly agree that reserving some of our expected findings for healing, resurrections, and other such communal benefits is an idea, but splitting things nine ways is excessive, at best. Fifteen percent to each of the combatants." She looks over Ash, Avakuss, Edigaria, and Taric, to make it clear who she was referring to. "Fifteen percent reserved for group beneficial expenditures, such as healing, scrolls, potentially components, or other required supporting items or services, and ten percent to Rule. If it turns out that Rule is attacked, it becomes fifteen percent to Rule, and ten percent reserved. If and when we reach a conclusion, whatever remains of the reserve is split between those of us here, including Joel and Center-of-All."

She pauses for a moment once more, for effect. "Of course, it is also quite possible that we won't find anything of value in the library, in which case we can all be very disappointed."

[Toliudar]

Ash

The black-winged woman glanced up from her notes.

"How about equal shares all around, after expenses such as healing, bribes, and the like?"

She pauses, considering going on with a further explanation of the proposal, but instead returned to her notes.

[kinem]

Center says "Eilyra, fair enough on the swear. I really don't think that Gamayun would want to release the mad god. 'Open the chain' ... that could mean a lot of things."

Joel says "I for one don't ask for an equal share of this hypothetical loot, since I don't see how I would earn it. My magic may be as strong as ever, but my body is not, and as an adventurer I'm not in the same league as some of you. I've already died twice in my life, and I'm in no hurry for the third.

All I ask is for two things: tip well whenever you drink here, and if I die as a result of all this, find a way to bring me back.

My contribution may be minimal, but since I knew where this might lead, I do have ear plugs for all.

Center, I swear I will not take the Key for purposes other than those we agree on, and not to hinder your cause of fulfilling the prophecy.

As for the monster, Avakuss, I mean the one we fought. Some kind of stronger chaos beast with magic and freaky powers."

Rule says "You're a good sport, Joel. Eilyra, I know you still hold a grudge for whatever you think I should have warned you about last time, but it's clear that you're outvoted on this. I will get a full share, and I will continue to ask my contacts for relevant information, which is not without risk to myself.

Center, I swear I will not take the Key for purposes other than those we agree on, and not to hinder your cause of fulfilling the prophecy."

[Cavir]

Avakuss tilted his head slightly thinking back to the beast he had fought with Joel and others. "It's the same portal and creature? We were that close to the library back then? Interesting."

"If it is the same monster, we stand a much better chance than back then. If I am assuming correctly that we here were selected for our power, the real danger from the beast is it turning us against each other through effects like Confusion and Insanity. Dispel magic should be used quickly if any of us succumbs. Granted it was long ago so the creature is probably more powerful. The wind from the tunnels is still a real threat for the same reason, even with ear plugs. My powers aren't impeded by being deaf but I don't have a good way to be deaf at will. "

"I do have Mind Blank in effect for myself which should be protection from the beast, but it won't help against the wind. The creature seemed to have greater invisibilty when we fought it but I can see through that when I am expecting it."

"Also, anyone not have darkvision? There is no light there. I have a magical light but using it would draw attention to ourselves. Joel, do you still have that restoration wand from back then?"

[Toliudar]

Ash

"I will also vow to follow Centre's wishes in the disposition of the key, and will assist with an equal share distribution of any proceeds from this enterprise.

"As to this creature...I have the knack of tracking creatures from telepathy, and speaking telepathically, but that won't do any good with those of you who blank your minds. If the creature is reliant on mind magic and invisibility, I will have some gifts for countering that, and for dispelling other magical protections as well."

She paused, considering Avakuss' other comments.

"I also have some healing talents, including the raising of the dead as needed. We will, of course, endeavour to ensure that such talents are not required."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra nods to Center-Of-All. "Then I believe we have an accord."

Listening to both Avakuss and Ash opposing a more rational split of any potential gains, Eilyra crosses her arms, and leans back, clearly disappointed by the group decision, and even more so by Rule's gloating. "So it would seem." Still, she seems to be fairly calm about it, but as the conversation shifts back to the "How to accomplish this." topic, she leans forwards, and engages in the conversation once more.
"I can dispel, or even cast mind blank, should you fall to madness. Outside of that, well, I believe the phrase is sword and wizardry. However, healing is not something I really do." Of course, while Eilyra does have a bow, she doesn't seem to be carrying a sword.
As she finishes, she looks to Joel. "The earplugs will be welcome, and while being deaf isn't ideal, I can cope. Probably." Looking around the table, she continues. "Now, are there any other last minute preparations that we need? If we want to wait until tomorrow, I can be better prepared for a planar trip, but I don't think we really have the time to spare for that."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash acknowledges Eilyra's frustration with a faint sympathetic smile. Frustration with Rule of Three was practically a hobby for Ash.

"I would appreciate a few minutes at the end of this conversation to better prepare to go through the gate, but I agree with Eilyra that the urgency is such that a longer delay is unwise. In order to better prepare, though, it would be useful for me to understand why we think that this particular library will be of use to us, and what we're hoping to find there."

[kinem]

Center-of-All says "I can Mind Blank two others, and have already done this on myself.

The original portal where the Key was used was destroyed soon after. The Cult must have believed they could build a new one. It would be extremely difficult to open it without the Key, and so far, they have not done it.

Their library, if still intact, may tell us a few things: Was there another portal? If so, where? Could we destroy it? What did the Rajah know? And what else did they think the Key might do?

So, it could give us a lead on where my enemies might take the Key or threaten to do so."

OOC: Looks like the party will agree to take Center's oath. If anyone declines, they will be asked to leave the room. Once all in the room have agreed, Center says the following:

"As for the Key itself, it looks like a sword. A big two-hander even for me. Etched into the adamantine blade are geometric patterns. Sharp, too."

[paradox26]

Taric has been standing silently at the back of the room, listening intently to those more intelligent and wise than himself, who knew more of magic. "I agree to a full division of the loot to be found. Sharing six ways makes as much sense as five, counting the share set aside for party use. As for the oath, I agree to swear to it as well. I can see beyond my personal needs, and can see that the Mad God's release would be catastrophic to everyone. And if Rule can smooth things out with Grazz't as a secondary reward, then I am all the more eager to begin the search for the Key."

"As for preparation, I am ready to go now. All I need is the earplugs. And I could do with one of those mind blanking spells, if no one else has need for them to be cast on themselves. I have no access to magical items that can protect my mind, beyond the natural hardiness of my people, which would be of little comfort against creatures such as we are sure to face."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra listens to Center's description of the Key with interest. A giant sized two handed adamantine blade? An... interesting choice for a key.

Anything about such an artifact, or anything similar?
[roll0] (Planes, Arcana, Local, or Religion)
[roll1] (Nature)
[roll2] Nobility and Royalty
[roll3] Anything else


After Taric speaks up, showing that he had been listening quite well, Eilyra stands. "I'll be fine, Center, although I appreciate the offer. And it sounds like we're good to go? And have an idea of what we are looking for."

[Cavir]

"As for the Key itself, it looks like a sword. A big two-hander even for me. Etched into the adamantine blade are geometric patterns. Sharp, too."

Avakuss smiles and looks upward at Center. "Sounds like something I could use if needed. When needed I can be nearly twice your height."

"I can get by on a couple hours of sleep, what of the rest of you? Do we want to wait until morning for the assault so that spells can be prepared and final items secured? If so perhaps a a brief foray through the gate now would aid in our preparations? Basically step through, look, then come right back. Doing so invisibly or through magic even better."

[Toliudar]

Ash


Ash shrugged, her wings rippling slightly behind her.

"I am content to go now. Since the point of the library is to direct us onwards in a new direction, it might be more fruitful to regroup and prepare after we learn what we can there.

"Once we are through the portal, there are several means for us to gather additional information about this invisible beast in the cavern, but there is very little I can do until I am in situ. With earplugs, I will be ready to proceed."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra, still standing, nods at Ash's words. "Could I be better prepared? Of course. There is always room for better preparation. Is a rest going to help?" She shrugs. "Not much. I say we proceed. Ash and I have a few spells to let us learn more about what we're walking into. Depending on what we discover, we may or may not proceed into the library. I can provide a safe place to rest, if required, even on Pandemonium."

She looks to Joel, her golden eyes glowing with an inner light. "Once we have the earplugs, and presuming we don't need anything complicated to utilize the gate you know of, of course."

[kinem]

Joel fishes earplugs from a bag he had in his pocket and hand out a pair of them to each of the others, except for Rule. He also produces a wand and hands it to whoever reaches for it. "Restoration wand, somewhat used. In case of chaos beasts."

-5 to Listen checks, +2 on saves against effects that require hearing

Rule pulls out a black metal triangle, three inches across, with an inverted "Y" inlaid in copper. "The Pandemonium portal key. It's a symbol used by the Cult. The portal opens whenever such a key is brought nearby, on either side. Center, a poor substitute for the Key you lost, but it'll do for now." He hands it to Center, who says "Thanks."

You have not come across anything about such an artifact, though that could be because it's been hidden with Center this whole time.

[Cavir]

Avakuss accepts the ear plugs. If no one takes the wand he suggests that Center holds onto it for now as long as he can activate it. The goliath recognizes the portal key from a previous trip. "At least last time, we had to travel upwind to get to a side tunnel where the creature was. If that seems to be the case there, stop short of the side tunnel and prepare." Once through the portal Avakuss marks the tunnel spot as he did last time.

Just before passing through the gate:
Use Cognizance Crystal (5PP) to power Vigor. 25 temp hp for 19 minutes
Energy Adaptation Extended. 6.5 hours 9PP Resist 30 acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic
Steadfast Perception Extended 9PP. 6.5 hours. immunity to all figments and glamers (such as invisibility). +6 enhancement Spot and Search checks
Put in ear plugs

Taking notice of the tunnel size once we are across to see how large I can Expand.

Spot: [roll0]


Yes, the Mind Blank would prevent it (Hostile Empathic Transfer] from working.
Ouch. At least regular Empathic Transfer isn't Mind-Affecting.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash looks at but does not reach for the wand.

"If no one else can use the wand, I'll take it, but it would be useful to have two of us able to offer the kind of relief that the wand offers.

She pockets a pair of earplugs, and sends telepathically to all in the group.

*In dangerous situations, I find it faster and easier to speak in this way. There are a few spells and effects that block telepathy. I need to understand who I can and can't reach in this way, if there is an emergency. If you can hear me, please let me know.*

When all are ready and they reach the portal, Ash weaves another pair of spells to expand her senses.

Before stepping through the portal, Ash casts True Seeing and Foresight.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra accepts the proffered earplugs, although she chants for a moment, and makes a brief gesture, casting prestidigitation to clean them, before tucking them away into her pouch. She notes the byplay between Rule and Center, but makes no comment.
She shakes her head at the proffered wand. "Unless that's an eternal, it is unlikely to function in my hands."

Eilyra offers a brief nod to Ash along the way, in response to her telepathic question.

Eilyra follows as the group heads towards the gate, and gives Avakuiss a nod of appreciation for the information as she slips her now clean earplugs into her ears as she follows through the portal.

[kinem]

In the meeting room ...

************************************************** *********************

Joel said "Around the time I had my brush with the Rajah, a temple of the Cult on the Prime was destroyed. It seems that the cultists there came close to being able to release their god, or perhaps just thought they were. Several of the cultists made it to Sigil, which is how we found out about the connection to Pandemonium. By now, all of those I know of have already met bad ends.

I've looked at the materials we captured from them, but to be honest, much of it seems to me like the rantings of addle-coves. However, I suspect that part of the reason for that is that the Cult uses their own codes and metaphors, with the other part being that they are in fact barmy.

Edigaria, I believe that you would be best suited to evaluate that stuff. Since we have no time to waste, while the others check out Pandemonium, would you see if you can make sense of those materials? If necessary, I know how we can get to the Prime world where the Cult's temple was, to investigate further. Or if it's a quick read, you can catch up with the others instead. Here's another of the portal keys."

Edigaria nods.

************************************************** *********************

Since Ash said she could use the wand, Joel handed it to her. "Best of luck to you all."

Center briefly concentrated on Taric and on Edigaria. "Mind Blank."

Center shrinks to human size and his appearance becomes human as well. He says "Best if I'm not recognized. In this guise call me Keskus." He still wears only a simple robe and carries no visible weapons.

Rule's appearance changed back into that of the human who had been seated at the bar. He said "Best if my involvement is concealed as well. Call me Tercero."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walk to where the gate is takes about half an hour. At this time, near antipeak, the light is dim and the smog make visibility somewhat poor. Here in the Lower Ward, this can be a dangerous time to roam the streets, but for the group of mostly armed adventurers, the trip proves uneventful. You pass a few pedestrians; mostly they are on the way home from drinking.

'Tercero' leads you to the blind alley where the portal is; Avakuss recognizes the place, which seems little changed. There are large rocks strewn around the entire alley, but it is otherwise empty.

"Should I wait for you?" 'Tercero' asks.

'Keskus' tells him "No need. We know where to find you, and this might take a while." He puts in the ear plugs and concentrates for a short while. It's easy to guess that this probably means he used a spell-like ability on himself.

The portal flares open when 'Keskus' approaches it, since he carries the portal key. Immediately you hear a howling wind and feel a gust.

Once the group (sans Rule) is through the portal, the wind is intense. Even with the earplugs, the howling of it is quite annoying, and makes it speech hard to hear. You find yourselves in a rough stone tunnel about 30' in diameter.

As you know from last time, the opening to the cavern is about 100' upwind from the portal.

Make a DC 22 Will save. The earplugs give +2 on the save, which is a bit moot :smallbiggrin:

[Toliudar]

Ash

At the tavern, since everyone was changing their appearances and assuming pseudonyms, Ash followed suit. She adjusted her appearance slightly, filling out her face and tinting her skin red, adding small horns and becoming a succubus. She shrugged.

"It will have to do. And might be more appropriate for a library in pandemonium anyway."

Ash tucked the wand away in her shoulder bag without comment, along with her notes.

--

At the other end of the portal, Ash immediately reaches out with her senses and winces at the mental impact of the wind.

One of her spells, I think it's Visions of the Future, gives her the ability to roll twice and take the better result on all saves. Will save: [roll0] [roll1].

Senses:
100' mindsight
60' darkvision
Foresight (so never surprised)
Arcane Sight (aside from the portal and us, she can see and automatically knows any magical auras within 120'

[Archmage1]

Once through the portal, Eilyra takes a look around, even as her golden hair seems to almost spark in the wind as it whips around, and sighs as she removes her bow and quiver, and puts them into her bag(Which doesn't seem big enough to fit them, but it clearly does).

[roll0] Spot
[roll1] Listen


With a shrug, she turns, and starts walking upwind, exposing rather more leg than usual as the wind blows her dress behind her.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Squinting against the swirl of grit and debris, Ash joins Eilyra in walking up the tunnel.

[Cavir]

Before entering the tunnel Avakuss responds verbally to Ash. "Yes, I can hear you, but you won't be able to hear me."

"We turn upwind, then in about 100' we'll come to the entrance of the cavern on the side. We'll pause just short of it. Thumbs up when ready. Anyone have a means to peak in without giving ourselves away? Once we engage I'll get in it's face extremely quickly. Knowing where it is beforehand would be nice. Watch out for rocks and boulders being carried by the heavy winds."

Once in the tunnel Avakuss turns upwind and leads the group. He stops just short of the entrance. He waits for the thumbs up from the others, hoping someone will provide more information.

Once everyone gives the signal that they are ready, I'll use Expansion just before going in (want to maximize rounds/lvl inside the cavern.

Spot- already done
Listen- [roll0]

[kinem]

Center resumes his normal appearance once inside the tunnel. The wind is strong but the party can make its way upwind.

OOC: The wind imposes a -2 penalty on ranged attacks and listen checks.

A 20' radius magical aura that is not from the party suddenly appears in the vicinity of the cave opening. It's of faint evocation.

Avakuss' plan soon runs into a problem: It sounds like the cave sports some new guardians, as the sounds of heavy stomps begin to emanate from the vicinity of the cave mouth.

OOC: PCs to act.



A = Avakuss, C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric


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[Archmage1]

Trudging through the tunnel, Eilyra reacts quickly as another sound makes it's way through the howl of the wind. Heavy stomping. Earth elementals? Giants? Something else? Regardless, trouble is here, and it might as well be unfriendly.
She speaks quickly, as her fingers dash to the component pouch at her waist. "Trouble. Something big." The terse words are barely audible through the howl of the wind, and they're soon followed by chanting, before she vanishes from sight.


Eilyra is using her swift action to cast Shield, granting +9 AC for 44 minutes.(Abjurant Champion auto-quicken/extends.). She conserves the spell slot with her circlet of the elven mage.
She takes a free action to cast Haste on everyone. Haste is EX for her.
She takes her first standard action to cast Improved Invisibility.
NOTE: She has one standard action remaining, courtesy of perpetual options.


Invisibly, she slips past Taric, heading towards the middle of the corridor, aiming to get a look at the interior of the cavern.


Eilyra will move 10 tiles to the right, and 4 tiles north. This should give her a look at the interior of the cavern. If not, she'll move a little more, to get such a look(70 feet movement)
[roll0] Spot



AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17
Invisible.
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[kinem]

Eilyra sees a pair of huge creatures of roughly humanoid shape just inside the large cave. Each is a bloated horror, with distended veins sprawling across its skin, and empty eyes. There's little doubt that they are particularly sizable specimens of the undead known as Bloodhulks.

The cave itself has a rough floor. (OOC: difficult terrain)

[Cavir]

The burst of speed from Eilyra was a nice surprise. His boots allowed him to do the same so he was used to the benefit. He directed his voice backwards to the party so that the wind would prevent the sound reaching the enemy. "Big, got it. Let them come out to us."

Avakuss takes a step forward to make room as he grows to four times his normal height.

5' step forward to make room.
Std: Expansion (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/expansion.htm): 7PP to grow to Huge for 19 rounds
Grow two size categories (med -> huge, +4 Str, -4 Dexterity -2 on attack rolls, -2 AC, 15' space/reach)

Swift: Strength of My Enemy (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/strengthofMyEnemy.htm) 9PP.

Hoping we get another round or two to buff but can handle otherwise.
Displacement cloak is active
Current speed=90!

[Toliudar]

Ash

With the wind howling down the tunnel, becoming airborne to reduce the danger is out of the question. Instead, Ash sends to her colleagues: *There's some kind of evocation magic around the corner ahead as well, but it and the creatures it represents are shielded from me.*

She steps back down the hallway a bit, trying to sense what's ahead.

To confirm some more assumptions:

If there were creatures where the numbers 1 and 2 are on the map, Ash would normally sense them with Mindsight? That is to say, is mindsight blocked by normal walls?
Greater Arcane Sight not only allows the seeing of schools of magic, but automatically detects specific spells and effects? So if Ash isn't getting a specific effect, the spell is somehow masked?
Mind Blank shields the subject, but not itself - in other words, I can't detect anything about the individual, but I can still sense the presence of mind blank on my colleagues, since Arcane Sight isn't targeting them in any way?

Move action: retreat 30' back down the tunnel.
Ready action: cast Hold Person, if a humanoid comes out of the side cavern.

[Archmage1]

Seeing and recognizing the creatures as Bloodhulks(And thus undead), Eilyra chants a third time, and points between the pair of Bloodhulks, and casts Glitterdust. And I was dumb enough to momentarily consider baleful polymorph. Undead are immune to most afflictions of the body; Get yourself together, Eilyra.

She's casting Glitterdust(After edits)
Will, DC 24. [roll0] SR, if needed.



AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17
Invisible.
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[paradox26]

Taric has his weapons drawn already, and has nothing in the way of special powers that can be used against undead monstrosities. So he keeps ready to fight on the frontline of the combat. He hopes to keep the creatures at a single file, so he would only have to fight one at a time.

[kinem]

OOC: See Post #73 above for retcon re: Edigaria.

Although he appears to bear no weapons or armor, Center fearlessly approaches the opening of the large cave, stopping just short of the glittering dust particles.

A huge golden halberd suddenly appears in his hands as he swings his arms, as he attempts to take a bloody slice out of Bloodhulk [roll0].

ooc: Attack [roll1], damage [roll2] vs AC 18 or 16

The two undead monsters suddenly begin to move faster, presumably as another monster hidden within the cave casts haste on them, though no such creature is visible.

The Bloodhulks attempt to strike Center and beat him to a pulp. When they do, a semi-translucent suit of golden full plate appears on his body just for a moment, warding off all but the final attack.

ooc:
#1 attack #1 [roll3], damage [roll4]+[roll5] cold
#1 attack #2 [roll6], damage [roll7]+[roll8] cold
#2 attack #1 [roll9], damage [roll10]+[roll11] cold
#2 attack #2 [roll12], damage [roll13]+[roll14] cold
#2 (blind) miss chance (miss <51) [roll15], [roll16]
vs Center AC 40, DR 15

PCs to act



A = Avakuss, C = Center,
H = Ash (20' off screen to the left, next to south wall of tunnel)
E = Eilyra, T = Taric


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[Cavir]

Avakuss darts at epic speed towards the action but circles wide until he reaches the cavern entrance then turns towards the entrance. He jumps and powerfully lands just within his own reach of the enemy. The impact creates a shock wave right through the entrance threatening to knock the enemy off their feet.

Current speed is 90'!
Moving northeast then due south to be next to Center but 5' back so I don't attract AoOs and they are in my 15' reach. Jump is at +63 after haste plus Mountain Mvmt so not an issue.

Greater Stomp (CPSi p99). 120' line due south to hit both bloodhulks. Reflex 24 or fall prone and take [roll0] damage. SR: No.

With Combat Reflexes and my Bracers, will be taking advantage of AoOs as they stand up with full power attack.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Since her colleagues seemed intent on getting into, or at least near, the side cave, Ash trots back in order to better assist. Rather than fight the roaring wind, she simply sends telepathically to the others.

*There's an outsider inside the cavern that just used the same haste effect as Eilyra. I'll see if I can hamper its actions.*

Deftly slipping in behind Centre, she steps a little further down the passage and orients on the spot where she senses the outsider. It is said by many in Pandemonium that chance controls the universe. If that's true, she tries to give it the worst luck possible.

Move action: Ash moves to a point directly north of Centre.
Free action: telepathic speech.
Standard action: Ash casts Unluck (https://dndtools.org/spells/spell-compendium--86/unluck--4655/) on the outsider she senses. Will DC 26 negates. Roll to beat possible SR: [roll0]

[Archmage1]

Invisibly, Eilyra darts towards the pair of bloodhulks as they stagger in the wake of Avakuss's stomp, flaring her wings as she jumps straight between the two, slashing out as she goes and heads deeper into the cavern, hoping to get a look at the outsider Ash mentioned.


Moving a bit, Bounding Assault(Targeting both bloodhulks, to prevent AoO's against her, despite only hitting one), and then flying past the pair of them, to look around(She should end up ~20 feet south of the hulks)

[roll0] Attack the first!(Vs #2) [roll1] Slashing + [roll2] Untyped + [roll3] Fire
[roll4] Attack the second!(Vs #2) [roll5] Slashing + [roll6] Untyped + [roll7] Fire

Her Swift and Perpetual Option actions remain available, and may be used depending on the outsider.
[roll8] Know: Planes, to identify and knowledge devotion the outsider



AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 256
Invisible.
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[kinem]

Both of the huge bloodhulks tumble down as Avakuss shakes the ground. Eilyra slashes them, and gushes of blood spurt out of their wounds.

Ash can sense that the outsider has a superior invisibility effect on it.

OOC: Blindsense, and thus Mindsight, is not sufficient to cast a targeted spell on a creature. To do so you must see or touch the creature. Blindsight would work, although that's a bit open to DM interpretation.

But your True Seeing allows you to see the creature ...


Although you should be now close enough to see the creature, you don't. Evidently it is invisible.

The wind in the cave is not as strong, but the whistling of the wind past the mouth of the cave produces a strange sound. However, it has no effect on you.

ooc: Eilyra and Taric to act.



A = Avakuss, C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric
Bloodhulk Crusher = 1(prone), 2(prone, blind)

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[Archmage1]

Not missing a beat after entering the cavern, and not seeing the creature, Eilyra casts see invisibility, trusting that Ash's assessment was accurate.


AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 256
Seeing Invisible
Invisible.
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[kinem]

Even with see invisibility, you don't see any monster there. Looks like either Ash lied or the monster has the rather impressive Superior form of invisibility.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra's invisible invisible seeing gaze quickly sweeps across the cavern, seeing nothing. Unfortunate. Either superior invisibility, or physical stealth. Either way, arcane sight might give enough of a location to dispel, which, if the Seldarine smile on me, might work. Of course, as it is an outsider, it can almost certainly find me. And the Seldarine haven't been smiling. With luck, Ash will realize the problem. If not, it may make a mistake. Until then, there are blood bags to empty. Although... She looks towards the mouth of the cave, with an unseen frown. I can see how that noise would be unnerving, if magic didn't shield my mind.

[paradox26]

EDIT: Missed how to roll the dice. Haven't used them on here for a while.

[paradox26]

Taric charges into combat, heading into the doorway from where he can reach the enemy. He starts swinging with a single dragonsplits, since he knows that the other is likely to offer the undead enemy additional strength and resilience if he hits it. He starts swinging with brutal strikes, trying to cut the one on his left to pieces.



attack 1
[roll]1d8+2d6+15 damage 1
attack 2
[roll]1d8+2d6+15 damage 2
attack 3
[roll]1d8+2d6+15 damage 3
attack 4
[roll]1d8+2d6+15 damage 4

He gets a full attack by using his Pounce ability, but is using only one weapon right now. Critical range won't really apply in this fight, so I won't bother with it.

[kinem]

Taric's attacks carve huge gashes into his target which spout with blood, but the huge monster is still very much undead and kicking.

Reaching around Taric with his golden halberd, Center tries to change that:
[roll0], damage [roll1]
[roll2], damage [roll3]
[roll4], damage [roll5]
[roll6], damage [roll7]
[roll8], damage [roll9]
[roll10], damage [roll11] (AOO; see below)

The bloodhulks clumsily climb to their feet, affording Center, Avakuss, and Taric an extra opportunity to strike.

They then attempt to pound Taric into a bloody heap:
#1 [roll12], damage [roll13] + [roll14] cold
#2 [roll15], damage [roll16] + [roll17] cold; 1-50 miss chance [roll18]

Inside the cave, the invisible creature shoots a black ray in the general direction of Eilyra.
#2 [roll19] ranged touch, damage [roll20] negative levels; 1-50 miss chance [roll21]

ooc: PCs to act



A = Avakuss, C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric
Bloodhulk Crusher = 1(prone), 2(prone, blind)

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[Archmage1]

Hit by the ray, Eilyra grimaces as the familiar sensation of energy drain shoots through her, but her grimace soon turns into a smile as she feels the counteracting energy from her armor, and doesn't see any signs of movement from the creature. Acting swiftly, she tosses a greater dispel magic at the general area the ray came from, making sure she wasn't in the area herself.

[roll0] Greater Dispel Magic(Against the highest level spell on the invisible creature)(If there are multiple spells, and that fails, I will need to roll more.)


A full turn awaits her.
AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 256
Seeing Invisible
Invisible.
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[Toliudar]

Ash

Realizing from the aura of spells around the creature that not all of her companions would be able to locate it, Ash sends a clarification telepathically: *The third creature is a constantly shifting mass of eyes and tentacles, protected by Superior Invisibility and located about 60' inside the cave, just a bit to our right of the middle.*

Lacking a huge array of options, Ash tries for another casting of her luck-depriving magic on the beast.

Did the outsider cast a spell? If so, was Ash able to identify the effect? Also, is she sensing any other magic auras on any of the three?

She casts Unluck on the outsider again. As before, will DC 26 negates.

[kinem]

Eilyra's spell dispels the monster's invisibility, allowing you to see that Ash's description was no exaggeration. The creature constantly melts and reforms, rapidly shifting into several horrifying forms, often with numerous eyes and tentacles. A skull as of a humanoid sits atop the monstrosity.

ooc: Ash vs SR 29 [roll0], monster Will save vs Unluck DC 26 [roll1]

[Archmage1]

Taking in the horrifying oozing form of the creature, Eilyra quickly identifies it. A black beast of bedlam? But with powerful spells? Either someone's been experimenting, or the creature's managed to subsume someone somehow. The original guardian of this place? It might explain why the golems are supporting it, rather than defending the library. Maybe it took them by surprise? Regardless, it needs to die. A pity skull helmets are rather gauche.

Quickly following up on the dispel, Eilyra jumps into the air before flying over towards the Beast and slashes at it's skull twice with her flaming sword before she finishes her turn back towards the center of the cavern, remaining in the air this time, despite the winds, not wanting to make it that easy for the creature to hit her.


Fly into the air to negate tremorsense.
Using Spring attack/Bounding assault to make two attacks, and negate any AoO's the beast might attempt.
[roll0] Attack 1(Including +2 from being invisible this time)
[roll1] Slashing + [roll2] Fire + [roll3] skirmish damage
[roll4] Attack 2(Including +2 from being invisible this time)
[roll5] Slashing + [roll6] Fire + [roll7] skirmish damage

If either attack hits, triggers Bloodstone: [roll8] SR for [roll9] Empowered vampiric touch(FAIL)



AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 256
Seeing Invisible
Invisible.
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead, vs Outsiders

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[Cavir]

Having seen the bloodhulks in action enough, Avakuss knew they were all offense and no defense in terms of avoiding attacks. He was ready for when they clumsily stood up. He struck at them with the full power of over 25' in height of solid muscle and years of martial training.

Combat Reflexes so I can hit both.
AoO on #1: [roll0] (+15 BAB, +12 STR, +4 Magic, +1 Focus, +1 Haste, +2 AoOs from Bracers, -2 Size, -15 power attack, )
Damage: [roll1] Bludgeon + [roll2] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good
(+12 STR, +4 magic, +15 power attack)

AoO on #2: [roll3] (+15 BAB, +12 STR, +4 Magic, +1 Focus, +1 Haste, +2 AoOs from Bracers, -2 Size, -15 power attack, )
Damage: [roll4] Bludgeon + [roll5] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good
(+12 STR, +4 magic, +15 power attack)

Going to split this into two posts. Normal turn on next post.

[Cavir]

The cavern entrance gets in the way of Avakuss hitting one of the bloodhulks to his dismay. He has a solution for that. The goliath's mind insists that he is actually on the other side of the Bloodhulks, and suddenly he is! Avakuss pummels the bloodhulk with lightning speed further enhanced by the Haste spell.

Not concerned with stealth anymore he calls out to the group loudly to be heard over the noise of Pandemonium. "Last time I dealt with one of these there was a control rod. The Beast may have one. Get it and we can control what's left! I'm going after it next!"

I forgot the blind and prone bonuses on the AoOs but the 1st was a Nat1 so it doesn't matter. Including +2 for Blind opp in my rolls.

Quicken Dimensional Slide (11PP) so that I am on the south side of the BHs with 10' between us (still in melee range) and 2/3rds of me south of #1 with 1 square south of #2. Should give flanking all around. Assuming Eilyra didn't end up in the same spot as where she started. That puts me within 60' to see the Beast.

And now for a lot of attacks. Just be glad I don't have Form of Doom going too (another 4 attacks!) Power attack 15. Targeting #2 until it is splatted. During the AoOs I forgot the +2 damage from the Armbands when using Power Attack. Yes this is sick and feeling guilty about it. Guess this is a martial's version of level 9 spells.

Flurry of Blows: Base: +15/+15/+15/+10/+5 + Haste

Attack #1: [roll0] (+15 BAB, +12 STR, +4 Magic, +1 Focus, +1 Haste, +2 Flank, +2 Blind Opp, -2 Size, -15 power attack)
Damage: [roll1] Bludgeon + [roll2] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good
(+12 STR, +4 magic, +15 power attack, +2 armbands)

Attack #2: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4] Bludgeon + [roll5] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good

Attack #3: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7] Bludgeon + [roll8] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good

Attack #4: [roll9]
Damage: [roll10] Bludgeon + [roll11] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good

Attack #5: [roll12]
Damage: [roll13] Bludgeon + [roll14] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good

Haste: [roll15]
Damage: [roll16] Bludgeon + [roll17] Electric. Specials: Adamantine, Good

Previously I'll always been against PA beyond a feat tax. Making an exception here I guess.

[paradox26]

Taric continues to attack as fast as he can using only a single blade. His dragonsplits flash as he uses one to defend himself and the other to attack the undead beast he was already attacking.



[roll0] attack 1, [roll1] damage + [roll2] holy damage
[roll3] attack 2, [roll4] damage + [roll5] holy damage
[roll6] attack 3, [roll7] damage + [roll8] holy damage
[roll9] attack 4, [roll10] damage + [roll11] holy damage
[roll12] haste attack, [roll13] damage + [roll14] holy damage

[kinem]

Eilyra's first attack shatters the skull on top of the creature; however it quickly becomes apparent that this was not part of the monster, but rather an item it was carrying.

Her second attack does damage the monster, but it seems to be more resilient than it looks, and doesn't get burned at all.

OOC: It has the blind-fight feat, which I forgot to include earlier, so no +2 for being invisible. It didn't take fire or skirmish damage, and its DR reduced the damage by 15. While the skull Eilyra sundered was not part of the monster, it can't make its sonic attack without a skull.

Avakuss' attack of opportunity on the bloodhulk severely injures but does not kill it.

OOC: You can only change or declare the amount of Power Attack you are using at the start of your turn and if you make attack rolls that turn; you can't decide to do it for an AOO.

Once he teleports into the cave, Avakuss notices that the wind is much less but the whistling of it past the cave mouth makes a strange sound; he is not affected by it.

When he attacks again, something happens that brings forth a painful memory for Avakuss: As the bloodhulk finally is put down for good, a wave of crackling energy bursts forth from it. This heals the other bloodhulk a bit while hurting Taric and Center a bit.

OOC: Destruction Retribution [roll0] negative energy, Reflex half DC 15
Center's Reflex [roll1]

Avakuss and Taric continue to pound and slash the remaining bloodhulk, almost finishing it off as well but not quite.

Center uses his golden halberd to finish the job, although this also triggers another wave of negative energy on his and Taric. "Sorry. Let me know if you need healing" Center tells Taric.

OOC: Destruction Retribution [roll2] negative energy, Reflex half DC 15
Center's Reflex [roll3]

Meanwhile, the Black Beast of Bedlam rolls a little (to the 'north-east' on the map) and surrounds itself with a thick cloud of fog 20' in diameter. It's just close enough to catch Avakuss in the effect.

OOC: The fog is poisonous ([roll4] Con damage, Fort half DC 23) and it's hard to see through: A creature within 5 feet has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker can’t use sight to locate the target). This was a Supernatural ability, not spell-like.

PCs to act.



A = Avakuss, C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric
Bloodhulk Crusher = 1(dead), 2(dead)

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[Archmage1]

Glancing towards the exploding Bloodhulks, Eilyra's attention is quickly drawn back towards the casting Black Beast as it ambles along, and conjures a cloud of acidic mist. Good thing I'm not fighting the Bloodhulks, but that cloud, at least, should be handled by my necklace. But only one way to find out.

Without visible hesitation, Eilyra darts into the cloud, to where the beast was, and slashes at it while circling it, her sword flaring with momentary arcane power as she goes.


She has a necklace of adaption, so the cloud shouldn't affect her. The miss chance, on the other hand...
Using Arcane Strike, burning a 5th level spell(Acid Sheath) for +5 to attack, and +5d4 damage per strike
Her skirmish damage isn't quite the same as the scout's: Specifically, it does work on everything, so it shouldn't be immune there.
Using Spring Attack/Bounding Assault twice, because, well... she can, in theory. If that is too cheesy, she can move up, and make a full attack instead(Apply a -10 modifier to her last two attacks)
[roll0] Attack 1
[roll1] (1-20 misses)
[roll2] + [roll3] untyped + [roll4] untyped

[roll5] Attack 2
[roll6] (1-20 misses)
[roll7] + [roll8] untyped + [roll9] untyped

[roll10] Attack 3
[roll11] (1-20 misses)
[roll12] + [roll13] untyped + [roll14] untyped

[roll15] Attack 4(Missed)
[roll16] (1-20 misses)
[roll17] + [roll18] untyped + [roll19] untyped



AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 256
Seeing Invisible
Invisible.
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead, vs Outsiders

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[Toliudar]

Ash

With a cloud of fog now encircling the Black Beast of Bedlam, Ash turns her attention back to the resilient bloodhulks. She sends to her colleagues. *I'll try to control one of the hulks. If one stops attacking, focus your attacks elsewhere.*

She didn't like doing this. It felt too much like worshipping something. But sometimes needs must. Ash raised both hands toward the bloodhulks.

"STOP. Bow before me."

It's a long shot, but what the heck? Ash will attempt to rebuke the bloodhulks.
Rebuke attempt: 1d20+5z
Hit dice controlled: [roll0]

[Toliudar]

Turn attempt trying again: [roll0]
So I think that allows her to affect undead with up to 19 hit dice.



Oh, and an updated buffstack:
PERMANENT SPELLS:
Arcane Sight
Read Magic
See Invisibility
Tongues

LONG TERM SPELLS USUALLY UP:
Anticipate Teleport (Greater)
Disguise Self
Endure Elements *
Energy Immunity - Fire
Foresight
Hunter's Eye (+7d6 bonus)
Magic Weapon, Greater *
Magic Vestment *
Moment of Prescience
Nondetection
Greater Magic Weapon *
Visions of the Future
Contingency (Heal, triggered by Ash being affected by an injury that would drop her below 50hp)
True Seeing

[Toliudar]

Ash

Slipping into the cavern over the exploded remains of the bloodhulks, Ash makes a mental note to clean her boots after they're finished at the library. Taking in the cloud surrounding the tentacled creature, Ash tries to make her companions' work easier by tearing away the fog altogether.

Move action: enter the cavern, stopping north of and about 30' away from the Black Beast of Bedlam (good name!)

Swift action: activate her dispelling cord.

Ash casts a targeted greater dispel magic on the fog effect. Caster level: 1d20+22[/roll

[Toliudar]

Sorry! dispel check: [roll0]

[kinem]

OOC: The glitterdust spell is still active; Ash can get around it though. I forgot to make Eilyra save against it when she came through, but that's water under the bridge.

OOC: I'll assume that Eilyra ended up where she started unless stated otherwise.

Eilyra managed to strike the monster thrice, but didn't slay it as yet.

Ash's Dispel does not remove the cloud of fog.

OOC: Avakuss and Taric to act



A = Avakuss, C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric
Bloodhulk Crusher = 1(dead), 2(dead)
0 = Black Beast of Bedlam
## = stone door

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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...............CC.............
...............CC.............
XXXXXXXXXXXXX.TXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX111222XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX.111222.XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX..H.111222....XXXXXXXXX
XXXXX.................XXXXXXXX
XXXX...................XXXXXXX
XXXX........AAA.........XXXXXX
XXXX........AAA.........XXXXXX
XXX.........AAA...........XXXX
XX......00.................XXX
X.......00...................X
X............................X
X.............E..............X
X..........................XXX
X.........................XXXX
XX........................XXXX
XXX.....................XXXXXX
XXXX.....................XXXXX
XXXX......................XXXX
XXXXX.......XXXXXX......XXXXXX
XXXXXXXX##XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Cavir]

Avakuss is able to withstand some of the poisonous cloud. He attacks where he last saw the the beast then steps back out of the cloud.

Full attack at 50% miss chance then 5' step NE. Power attack=5. Avakuss doesn't know but to save on rolls not rolling for Electric damage or crits.

6 attacks, miss on 1-50
1: [roll0]
2: [roll1]
3: [roll2]
4: [roll3]
5: [roll4]
H: [roll5]

Attack 1: [roll6] ] (+15 BAB, +12 STR, +4 Magic, +1 Focus, +1 Haste, -2 Size, -5 power attack)
damage: [roll7] Bludgeon. Specials: Adamantine, Good
(+12 STR, +4 magic, +5 power attack, +2 armbands)

Attack 2: [roll8]
damage: [roll9]

Attack 3: [roll10]
damage: [roll11]

Attack 4: [roll12]
damage: [roll13]

Attack 5: [roll14]
damage: [roll15]

Haste: [roll16]
damage: [roll17]

Damage sustained: 2 CON

[paradox26]

Taric manages to easily avoid all of the damage from the two blasts. He is still somewhat injured, but not too badly, and his naturally quickened healing starts to work immediately.

Taric avoids the cloud the remaining beast created, then charges into combat, slashing with both blades this time, since this creature doesn't appear to be undead.



[roll0] Attack 1, [roll1] damage + [roll2] Holy damage + [roll3] level drain
[roll4] Attack 2, [roll5] damage + [roll6] Holy damage + [roll7] level drain
[roll8] Attack Haste, [roll9] damage + [roll10] Holy damage + [roll11] level drain
[roll12] Attack 3, [roll13] damage + [roll14] Holy damage + [roll15] level drain
[roll16] Attack 4, [roll17] damage + [roll18] Holy damage + [roll19] level drain
[roll20] Attack 5, [roll21] damage + [roll22] Holy damage + [roll23] level drain
[roll24] Attack 6, [roll25] damage + [roll26] Holy damage + [roll27] level drain
[roll28] Attack 7, [roll29] damage + [roll30] Holy damage + [roll31] level drain

[kinem]

Taric’s lungs burn a bit.

OOC: Just flavor if he’s somehow immune to poison; otherwise [roll0] Con damage, Fort half DC 23

Inside the fog, he finds the monster, but it is no longer moving; apparently Avakuss’ blows killed it, though since Avakuss couldn’t see it, he didn’t know that.

Ash notices that inside the cave the wind is much less, but the wind whistling past the cave entrance makes a strange sound. In fact it sounds like voices are whispering something she can’t quite make out ...

OOC: Ash must make a DC 20 Will save or be Confused for 1 round. Earplugs give a +2 bonus on the save. This will be repeated every round that she’s inside the cave.

On the far side of the cave, those who are close enough notice a large stone door built into the cave wall.

Center enters the cave. His wound seems to be healing already.

OOC: PCs to act

[Archmage1]

Eilyra dashes back into the mist, only to find that the Black Beast wasn't moving after all, and takes a few moments to search it, for any keys, or anything of interest, carefully using her sword, rather than touching the corpse itself.

[roll0] Searching

[Cavir]

Avakuss stays clear of the fog, ready to react to what the beast would throw next. "I can't reach it anymore but I can blast it. What types of energy does it not like? Stand clear."

Even with the lowered wind in the cave, is it enough to dissipate the fog quicker?

[Archmage1]

Avakuss's words remind Eilyra of the rather important detail she hadn't mentioned. "It's dead. I think. I'm not sure, but it was probably resistant to sound, considering the surroundings. Like most outsiders, it is probably resistant to some forms of energy, but I don't know which ones. Fire, for sure. It is like a chaos beast, so polymorph effects, and similar effects wouldn't work well on it, and getting hit would be... bad." Her voice is cool, and clear, although somewhat distorted by the fog, and the surroundings.
However, her words cover an inwards curse. Damn it. I know it heals. I should have made sure it was dead before dissecting it for treasure.

[kinem]

Eilyra finds no items of any kind on the dead monster.

[Cavir]

Avakuss clears his throat trying to get rid of the poison from the cloud but the others probably don't hear it over the wind. "While you are in there make sure it is dead please. I know I gave it a beating." He circles around the cloud, still combat ready, while looking at the backside of the cavern.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash trusts the others to examine the creature's body, and instead takes advantage of the lower wind level to fly over to the stone door at the other side of the cave. She stops short of touching it, and instead peers intently at it from a short distance away.


Ash will save: [roll0]

Ash will fly to the door, trying to sense any creatures beyond using mindsight, while also examining the door for any magic auras. She will conduct a visual search of the door for traps or mechanical oddities: [roll1]

[Archmage1]

Alone in the deadly fog, Eilyra carefully stabs the Beast of Bedlam one last time, to make sure, before she heads out of the fog. (Well, ok, if you are looking, you might see a person-shaped hole in the fog as she exits). She chants quickly, recharging her sword's Vampiric touch, before noticing Ash's approach of the door, and waiting, to see what happens.

She is, of course, still invisible.

[kinem]

Ash sees that there is a Symbol of Weakness over the stone door, but it is not currently activated. She doesn't see any other traps on the door.

There is a large keyhole in the door, and numerous geometric carvings on the door itself, including the inverted Y on a triangle shape often used as a symbol by the Cult of Tharizdun.

Other than the party, she doesn't sense any minds within range.

OOC: Time for another Will save vs Confusion.

[Toliudar]

Ash

To protect herself from the maddening sounds in the cave, Ash pulls out a rod from her bag and casts a simple spell of protection on herself.

She flies back to confer with the others.

*Interesting. There's a symbol of weakness protecting the door. We could trigger it safely, but then we'll be stuck here for hours. I might be able to dispel it, but risk setting it off, with the same result. The easiest way around this might be through teleportation magic, but I'm no expert in this. What do you all think?*

Will save: [roll0]

Using her lesser rod of Metamagic Extend, Ash casts Protection from Chaos on herself. 40 minute duration.

[paradox26]

Taric feels the negative effects of the poisonous gas, but it isn't too bad, so he is prepared to endure it. But when he finds the creature is dead, he immediately steps out of the mist again. His wounds are healing already, but he isn't sure if they have time to allow them to heal completely right now.

He approaches the door and studies it. "I am no expert in magic, but would triggering it and then waiting not allow it to reset? I think dispelling it completely might be the better option. Teleportation would, of course, be the better option, but I know little of such magic either. I assume you could get us to the other side of this doorway safely?" he says.


[roll0] Fort save versus the poison. Unless I roll a 1, it will be a pass, and the damage would be half a point, which if I am not wrong, will round down to nothing.

[Cavir]

"Ash, could you use that wand from Joel on me please?"

"Need to know where we are teleporting to so we don't end up falling down a chasm or into lava. If your dispel doesn't work I can try the same. How far back is safe for the Symbol?" Avakuss moves back to safety.

[Archmage1]

Holding off on activating any pearls of power, pending a more clear need, Eilyra flicks her blade clean, before it vanishes, and she carefully approaches the door. "Assuming it is just the symbol protecting it, and no dimensional lock on the other side, I could teleport us past, and I could even use a spell to take a look at the other side, to see what's there, although there is probably a less powerful spell that could be used." Eilyra's voice continues to come from nowhere, and she pauses her speaking for a moment, before looking to Ash. "Ash, would you happen to have a clairvoyance spell available? I would cast Eye of Stone, but it's a bit more potent than what we really need." She pauses for another moment, as she realizes that she was getting ahead of herself. "That said, if we teleport through, that does leave it as a barrier should we need to make a quick retreat. A greater dispel might be safer. The symbol most likely has a range of sixty feet, although it could be larger, depending on the caster. If it is triggered, I can still teleport us through, after using my scouting spell. I'll move back now, because Symbol of Weakness is not an enjoyable effect."

With that said, she backs off, making sure that she is far enough away to be out of the 60 foot area, and hopes that the spell wasn't enlarged in some fashion.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Pulling out the wand, Ash taps Cavir as gently as she can.

*Let me know when you're feeling better.*

She repeats the tapping until Cavir signals to stop.

*Sadly, clairvoyance only reveals a very small area in the dark, and takes a long time for me to cast it. I'll try dispelling the symbol first.*

Making sure that everyone is well back and away from the door, Ash attempts to remove the magic of the symbol.

If I understand correctly, one tap of the wand should cure Cavir's con damage, but if he's still hurting, she'll give him a second charge.

Once everyone is well over 60' away from the door, Ash attempts a greater dispel magic on the symbol. [roll0]

[Cavir]

Avakuss chuckles as Ash tries to be gentle with a near 30 foot tall goliath warrior. After one tap he shifts his leg back to signal that was all he needed. "Thanks"

"If that dispel doesn't work I'll try it.

Just one charge will remove all damage

[kinem]

Ash's casting of Greater Dispel Magic removes the symbol above the door.

[paradox26]

Taric was well back when the symbol was being dispelled. With it now gone, he says, "I will go through the doorway first, since I am small enough to do so easily." He then carefully opens the door and looks through, staying on the original side of the doorway and not going through it until he can see what is on the other side.

[kinem]

Taric finds that the door is locked shut.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra watches with interest as the burst of anti-magic sweeps over the symbol, and the symbol vanishes. Well, either her dispel worked, and countered it, or... it failed, and triggered it. Either way, I'm not going to be going first. In the immediate aftermath, she remains still and quiet, and waits to see if someone was willing to find out.
After Taric approaches, and tries the door, to no ill effect, Eilyra's unseen form approaches. "Locked, I take it? And I didn't find a key on the Black Beast either. Perhaps a trigger mechanism, rather than a key? Or the Bloodhulks have a key?" Her voice drifts off thoughtfully as she starts to examine the door, carefully looking it over for any sort of unlocking mechanism, trying to draw upon her knowledge of Tharzidun's religious iconography to see if there were any clues in the carvings in the door.

[roll0] Search, [roll1] know: religion

[kinem]

Eilyra doesn’t find any clues on how to open the door, other than the large and obvious keyhole.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns as she fails to find any alternative ways to open the door, before she drifts over to the bloodhulks, and uses her sword to shift the behemoths around a bit, in search of a key.

[roll0] Search the third!

[kinem]

There is a large keyhole in the door, and numerous geometric carvings on the door itself, including the inverted Y on a triangle shape often used as a symbol by the Cult of Tharizdun.

The door would open away from the cave by the looks of it, and some of the carvings could be used as handles.

Other than a huge amount of foul-smelling blood, Eilyra finds nothing with the dead bloodhulks.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns as she heads back towards the group. "I'm not finding any keys on these fellows, which doesn't leave me with a lot of options for opening the door. Perhaps one of you might have more success? I could remove the door, but that may not be the best approach here."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Once the dispel is complete, Ash confirms what the others have surmised. *I believe that the symbol is gone now, probably for good. I'm afraid that I'm much better at finding these devices than in removing them - or opening them, in the case of tharizdun locks. If we're not able to batter our way through the door, then I can probably dislodge it from it's joist.*

Ash moves up closer to the door, behind Taric, and looks at the way the wooden door is set into the natural cave wall.

Search: [roll0]

[Archmage1]

Eilyra shakes her head at the suggestion of battering through the door, before she speaks up. "Battering through may be an excellent way to alert whomever is inside that someone is attacking. For all the fury, the fight with the guards wasn't very loud. If we're not finding a way though, I could teleport a couple of us" She looks to Ash as she speaks, "To the other side. The door's not likely to be more than five feet thick, and the passage should be about as wide as the door, so it should be fairly safe, and there may be a way to open the door from the inside without the key."

[Cavir]

Avakuss ponders the situation. "Center, the portal key. Try that on the door. I'll do it if you like."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash considers Eilyra's proposal to teleport, her brow furrowed. It was hard to think in this maddening noise.

*But if there's no way to unlock the door from the other side, then we're no further ahead by teleporting only two of us.*

She steps back to let Centre, or Avarkuss, try to portal key, and hopes that that opens the door. Failing that, Ash will lightly touch the wall where the hinges are most likely to be on the other side of the door.

*Please stand back.*

Once a possible drop zone in front of the door is clear Ash quietly shifts the entire section of wall out and to the side.

If the portal key works, great!

If not Ash will try using Stone Shape on the section of wall on the hinge side of the door. She has 30 cubic feet she can effect, and a person sized doors are generally 6.5 to 7 feet tall. So if she takes out a section of wall that's the same height as the door and about 18 inches wide and 18 inches deep, that should free the door from any hinges. The locking mechanism may still hold it in place, but worst case scenario, the medium sized among us should be able to squeeze through the missing section of wall and help jiggle the door free.

[Archmage1]

Taking advantage of her hasted state, Eilyra quickly backs away as the door is interacted with.

[kinem]

Center tries placing the gate key against the 10' tall stone door where the corresponding symbol is, but nothing happens. He then tries to insert it into the key hole, but it won't fit.

Ash's stone shape spell cause the stone to warp away. It opens a passage that a human could enter. The door itself doesn't fall but a metal hinge that was on the other side does, causing a loud clang.

Through the hole you can see a rough stone passage about 10' in diameter. There is a bit of light from up ahead but its source is beyond a bend in the tunnel.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra offers Ash a quick smile as she lithely slips through the gap, her wings folded behind her, and heads towards the far side of the door, taking a careful look down the passage, to see if anyone or anything noticed the hinge falling.

[roll0] Spot

[Cavir]

Supersized Avakuss grabs the 10' stone door and lays it against the wall to the side. He waits for the others to go through then squeezes through, propping the door back in place behind him to minimize the noise and wind. He can dismiss Expansion at will (which lasts about another 1.5 minutes) but keeps it for now in case the tunnel is short.

[paradox26]

Taric stepped back to allow the casters to work. Then when the doorway is open, he offers to be the first to go through to the other side, being smaller than the others. He steps through the doorway, then waits a moment, to see if anything bad happens to him. He then starts to proceed towards the bend in the corridor, from where he should be able to see the source of the light.

[Archmage1]

Unseen in the darkness of the corridor, Eilyra grins as Taric moves past her, to find out what was up ahead. Perfect. Another forty seconds of invisibility, and haste left. Should be enough to handle whatever he finds ahead. Moving quietly, she follows behind the Bariaur, but not too closely behind.

[roll0] Move Silently
[roll1] Hide(Including the +20 from being invisible)

[kinem]

The air inside the tunnel is a bit musty but not as bad as you might have expected. There is a slight breeze in the tunnel, as the air pressure was a bit different on each side of the door.

If there were ever any hope that anyone inside might not have heard the breach, it is certainly gone now, as Avakuss manhandles the stone door. Indeed, you can now hear some kind of heavy stomping noise from up ahead.

With Taric in the lead the party proceeds forward through the tunnel. After the bend, and another straight section, the tunnel opens up into a roughly triangular shaped room which must have been carved from an existing cavern.

The room is lit by continual flames at several points along the 15' high ceiling. It contains three large bookshelves and numerous tables with chairs meant for human-sized creatures.

Blocking the entrance are a pair of large wooden soldier constructs wearing plate mail armor and brandishing greatswords.

A bit further in and to your left is another wooden soldier with similar gear. That one has a Symbol on its armor much like the one that had been over the stone door.

Further in and to your right is a gaunt and skeletal humanoid with withered flesh stretched tight across horribly visible bones. Its eyes have long ago been lost to decay, but bright pinpoints of crimson light burn on in the empty sockets.

The lich says in Common "Who the hell are you?" He appears ready to cast a spell, but holds off for now.

There's also an invisible quasit in the room holding a magic rod.

The lich has False Life active on him, and numerous magical items.

The lich and the constructs have Mass Bull's Strength on them.

The construct in the back also has Owl's Wisdom, Listening Lorecall, Heart of Earth, and Antilife Shell on it. Most likely, it's the Avatar that a Wooden Avatarist (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?624875-Wooden-Avatarist-PEACH) is occupying.

OOC: PCs to act



A = Avakuss (squeezing), C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra (invisible), T = Taric

Wooden Soldier = 1, 2
W = Wooden Avatar
L = Lich, Q = ?

** = stone door (propped in place)
# = Table & chairs, B = bookshelf
& = bed, 0 = hole

XXXXXXXXX**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1122.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX........XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX....BB....XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX.....BB.....XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX#.....BB..WW.#XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX#......BB..WW..#XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX#.....L..........#XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX.....BB......BB.....XXXXXXX
XXXXXX.....BB...##.Q.BB.....XXXXXX
XXXXX.....BB....##....BB.....XXXXX
XXXX.....BB.....##.....BB.....XXXX
XXX.....BB..............BB.....XXX
XX.............................X0X
X&&&&&&&&&&&&&.#############.....X
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[Archmage1]

Coming around the corner, Eilyra's attention is immediately drawn to the lich, and the pair of wooden golems, instantly recognizing the Symbol of Weakness for what it was. If that triggers, we're not likely to win this. But it wants to talk, which gives us an opening. Who knows, maybe it will even help.
Returning to visibility, Eilyra sweeps into the room. "Good evening. I'm a scholar out of Myth Drannor, and I'd heard about this library, and given the obscurity, and the rather specialized knowledge contained within, it seemed like an interesting place to visit. Unfortunately, the Black Beast out front attacked immediately, and my guards had to take care of it. Given what such creatures are known for, I thought the library had fallen to the chaos of this dangerous place, and asked my guards to force the door. If I'd known you were here, I assure you, we would have knocked."
She gives it a quick, comforting smile as she attempts to negotiate with it.
"Would you be interested in allowing us access to the library? I'd be happy to exchange notes with you; I'm sure both of us could benefit greatly from our collaboration. Are you looking for anything specific here?"


[roll0] Diplomacy
[roll1] Bluff

[kinem]

The lich replies "Well you're not from the Cult, and neither are we. But I have no reason to work with you. Return in one week, and we'll have left, and you can have the place as far as I care. Right now though, you are not welcome here. Please leave immediately, and there'll be no need for conflict."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash surveyed the room with her senses and reports telepathically to her colleagues.

*The figure talking is a lich with some long-term protections laid onto him. An imp, probably his familiar is over there, holding a rod.*

She gives the approximately location of the probably-a-familiar.

*There's a symbol of weakness on the wooden guards - clever, since it won't affect any of them. The other statue is a Wooden Atavarist with several protections laid onto it, most notably a shell to keep the living at a distance of 10'. Although that shell will likely only work on Avarkuss.*

She does her best to augment Eilyra's sentiments.

"I'm afraid that our departure is not an option, but as my colleague has said, there's no reason for violence. We can both use the library at the same time without confict, surely! Is sharing the room with us truly worse than the possible dangers of battle, not to mention the cost of replacing those expensive symbols on your wooden figures? I'm confident that an arrangement can be reached."

She'll burn Moment of Prescience for a +22 on her Diplomacy check: [roll0]

[paradox26]

Taric pauses, weapons raised, at the sight of the inhabitants of the room. He doesn't move to attack, since the beings in the room are also not attacking immediately. He holds his position at the doorway, where he can protect the casters in the party from the wooden guards getting past. He uses his collar to shrink to small size, so the others can more easily cast or move past him, without allowing the possible enemies from doing the same. He has no skills or abilities that may allow him to do anything useful, so he continues to simply stand still and look mean, as useful as it likely is against wooden creatures and a lich.

[kinem]

The lich replies "Normally I'd be open to it. But your ally's story was none too plausible. Since you'd rather fight than delay your research, and given the timing of all this, I must assume that our purposes here directly conflict. Since you have been so polite, I give you a last chance to leave in peace, but the time for words is over."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra nods slowly, before turning to go. "Very well, if you are convinced that sharing is impossible, we'll depart. Please don't destroy or remove the tomes."
Putting action to words, she starts off down the corridor, until she's out of sight of the lich, and promptly casts haste, followed by Time stop.


[roll0] Bluff, burning the Moment of Prescience as well. I remembered it this time.
Maybe that's a surprise round? If it is a full initiative round, she'd pull out her ink, and tumble into the room.
[roll1] Time stop duration

[Archmage1]

As the world fades into the familiar grey of frozen time, Eilyra doesn't hesitate as she quickly reverses course, and dashes past the guards, into the room, reaching into her bag as she goes for the vial of ink she carried for writing. She doesn't hesitate for a moment as she throws it at the Symbol, seeking to cover it, and prevent it from going off.

Inside the chamber, she heads across the chamber, ending up just behind, and to the right of the quasit, and hovering just above it, before she starts chanting once more, casting Lord of the Sky, and finally, Maw of Chaos, placing it directly on the Lich.

Round 1
Movement(Move)(70 feet total)
Pull an item from her handy haversack(The ink vial)(Perpetual options)
Throw the ink vial(Action)
[roll0] Throw!(Edit: -5, because knowledge devotion probably doesn't apply here. Disregard if it does)

Round 2:
Move more(Between the two rounds, she moves around the antilife shell)
Cast Lord of the Sky
Cast Maw of Chaos


As the grey blur of frozen time vanishes, Eilyra mentally curses, before she reaches out, to touch the quasit, even as a blast of lightning lashes out towards it. She also calls out to her allies "NOW!"
Even as she shouts, a blue-green aura, almost mouth like, appears around the lich.


Swift: Using Lord of the Sky's bolt option:
[roll1] Ranged Touch attack. If hit, 20 lightning damage.
Action: Casting Night's Caress.
[roll2] Attack [roll3] Damage(+5, if knowledge devotion applies to spell damage) + [roll4](Knowledge devotion probably shouldn't apply here) CON damage. Fort save, DC 27 counters the CON damage. If it is undead, it doesn't take the damage, but instead needs to make a will saving through(DC 27), or flee as though panicked for [roll5] rounds.
Additionally, Maw of Chaos procs. The Lich takes [roll6] damage(+5 if knowledge devotion applies), and needs to make a will save(DC 31) or be dazed for one round. While within the area, anything that takes concentration(like casting a spell, or using a SLA) takes a concentration check(25+spell level) to succeed. If it has the chaotic subtype, it is unaffected.
[roll7] Initiative Edit: Of course it is a one.



AC 49(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 256
Seeing Invisible
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead

Expeditious dodge is NOT active(+2 ac)

Shield(44 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[kinem]

A vial of ink seems to appear as if from nowhere and smashes against the armor of the wooden construct, covering the symbol there in ink.

OOC:
NC vs Quasit's SR 26 [roll0]
Quasit Fort saves [roll1] vs massive damage DC 15; [roll2] vs Con damage DC 27

Maw of chaos placement wasn't quite clear so let me know if it's not right.

Lich Will save [roll3] vs daze DC 31

Initiative: Lich [roll4], Wooden Avatar [roll5]



A = Avakuss (squeezing), C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric

Wooden Soldier = 1, 2
W = Wooden Avatar
L = Lich, Q = Quasit (invisible)

** = stone door (propped in place)
# = Table & chairs, B = bookshelf
& = bed, 0 = hole

c = maw of chaos

XXXXXXXXX**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXCCXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXCCXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXHAAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXAAAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXAAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX.EXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.TXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1122XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1122.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX........XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX....BB....XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX.....BB.....XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX#...c.BB..WW.#XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX#..ccccBB..WW..#XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX#...ccLccc.......#XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX.....BBccc...BB.....XXXXXXX
XXXXXX.....BBccc##.Q.BB.....XXXXXX
XXXXX.....BB..c.##..E.BB.....XXXXX
XXXX.....BB.....##.....BB.....XXXX
XXX.....BB..............BB.....XXX
XX.............................X0X
X&&&&&&&&&&&&&.#############.....X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[paradox26]

Taric is a little confused by what happens, then realises one of his companions has activated some sorts of powerful magic. Assuming they have no alternative, he charges at the wooden guard on the left hand side. He uses both weapons to carve away at it at full power, after pouncing into battle.


[roll0] Attack 1, Damage [roll1] + [roll2] Holy damage
[roll3] Attack 2, Damage [roll4] + [roll5] Holy damage
[roll6] Attack 3, Damage [roll7] + [roll8] Holy damage
[roll9] Attack 4, Damage [roll10] + [roll11] Holy damage
[roll12] Attack 5, Damage [roll13] + [roll14] Holy damage
[roll15] Attack 6, Damage [roll16] + [roll17] Holy damage
[roll18] Attack 7, Damage [roll19] + [roll20] Holy damage

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash is slower to react than Eilyra, but feels the rush of her speeding-magic even as she stops time and reappears inside the library.

Taking to the air, Ash drifts over the heads of those on the ground, then attempts to strip away the magical protections and enhancements from their opponents. Then she flashed a ray of light in the lich's direction, and waited expectantly for a response.

Initiative: [roll0]

Move action: move along the ceiling to a point about 10' south of the wooden soldiers.

Standard action: Chain Dispel on the Wooden Avatarist, Lich and Quasit.
Caster Level Checks:

On the Wooden Avatarist:
[roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] [roll5] [roll6] [roll7] [roll8]

On the Lich:
[roll9] [roll10] [roll11] [roll12] [roll13] [roll14] [roll15] [roll16]

On the Quasit:
[roll17] [roll18] [roll19] [roll20] [roll21] [roll22] [roll23] [roll24]


Swift action:
Searing Light, augmented by DMM Quicken
Ranged touch attack: [roll25]
Damage: [roll26]
CL check to beat SR, if relevant: [roll27]

Ash will also prepare to use an immediate action to activate Greater Dispel Magic on the next offensive SLA the Wooden Avatarist might use. Caster Level check: [roll28]


Buffs etc:
PERMANENT SPELLS:
Arcane Sight
Read Magic
See Invisibility
Tongues

LONG TERM SPELLS USUALLY UP:
Anticipate Teleport (Greater)
Disguise Self
Endure Elements *
Energy Immunity - Fire
Foresight
Hunter's Eye (+7d6 bonus)
Magic Weapon, Greater *
Magic Vestment *
Nondetection
Greater Magic Weapon *
Visions of the Future
Protection from Chaos (40 minutes)
Contingency (Heal, triggered by Ash being affected by an injury that would drop her below 50hp)
True Seeing

NET EFFECTS:
7d6 sneak attack
+5 armour to AC
+2 saves
+2 dodge to AC
Any teleport within 60' of her delayed 3 rounds, and she knows the creature type arriving
Immune to fire
Automatically know presence, location of minds (including creature type and int category) within 100'
Automatically identify all spellcasting within 60'
Automatically know spells & magic effects active on any creature or object she sees
See invisible creatures
Read magical text
Speak all languages

[Toliudar]

Gently, Ash reaches out to touch Centre and Avarkuss. Activating one of the powers of her belt, she brings the two others with her into the library, past the guardians, and just behind the avatarist.

Initiative: 25

Standard action: activate teleport function of her Belt of the Wide Earth, sacrificing Righteous Wrath of the Faithful to power this. Ash is bringing Avarkuss and Centre with her. I'm not sure about the interaction of teleport with Anti-life Shell. Centre and Ash, as outsiders, can definitely start close to the avatarist. Avarkuss will start 10' away, but hopefully will be able to reach whoever he wants with his sword.
Rolling for on target: [roll0]

Move action: Ash flies up to the ceiling and to a point roughly 20' west of the Lich, avoiding the Maw of Chaos area as she goes.

swift action: Divine Metamagic Searing Light on the Lich.
Ranged touch attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

She'll prepare an immediate action to use her Sudden Insight ability use Greater Dispel Magic on the Lich, triggered by the first offensive spell or SLA that it tries to use. Caster level check: [roll3]

[Archmage1]

Not letting the sudden appearance of her allies distract her, Eilyra's sword flashes into her hand, before it turns into a seeming storm of blades around the Quasit, even as a lightning bolt blasts into it.


[roll0] Attack 1
[roll1] Slashing + [roll2] Fire Damage 1
[roll3](51) Empowered vampiric touch [roll4] Sr(Note that this applies to the first hit.)
Crit Confirm: 50. +29 Slashing and 1 Fire. 66 for Vampiric Touch(If it can crit)

[roll5] Attack 2
[roll6] Slashing + [roll7] Fire Damage 2
Crit Confirm: 38. +22 Slashing and 3 fire

[roll8] Attack 3
[roll9] Slashing + [roll10] Fire Damage 3

[roll11] Attack 4
[roll12] Slashing + [roll13] Fire Damage 4

Swift action: Lord of the Sky bolt again
[roll14] Attack
20 Electrical damage(+5 if knowledge devotion applies)


In a momentary pause in the onslaught, she points her free hand at the Lich, and fires a green beam towards it.


Casting Dimensional Anchor on the lich
[roll15] Attack
[roll16] SR


Additionally, the glowing maw around the lich bites down once more.
[roll17] damage, plus a DC 31 will save or be dazed

Finally, should the Quasit die, Eilyra catches the rod, and stores it into her glove of storing.


AC 49(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 256
Seeing Invisible
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead

Expeditious dodge is NOT active(+2 ac)
Haste(19 rounds)
See Invisible(218 minutes)
Shield(42 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[kinem]

As Ash teleports more of the group inside the library and blasts the lich, the invisible quasit doesn't stand a chance as Eilyra unleashes a blur of blade and lightning at the tiny monster. Its lifeless body drops to the stony ground that forms the floor of the library.

The wooden construct within the library is now able to react to all of this. It retreats towards the entrance and concentrates, attempting to fill the lungs of some of the treacherous invaders with water. It also attempts to swiftly fill the slayer of the quasit with bloody vines.

Meanwhile, the wooden constructs near the entrance lash out with their greatswords as Taric approaches. The one he carves into is damaged, but resists the blades and takes a bit less damage than he might have hoped. It doesn't seem to take extra damage from the holy aspect of the blades.

The lich remains trapped in the blue-green chaotic energy surrounding it.

OOC:
Mass Drown vs Avakuss, Center, & Eilyra; Fort DC 26 negates or drop to 0 hp and fall unconscious
[roll0] vs Center's SR 30; Center's Fort [roll1]

swift Blood Creepers vs Eilyra; Fort DC 22 negates or take 15 damage/round + immobilize/entangle

Wooden Soldiers x 2 AOO vs Taric AC 34, and x2 readied attacks vs Taric
[roll2], damage [roll3]
[roll4], damage [roll5]
[roll6], damage [roll7]
[roll8], damage [roll9]

OOC: Avakuss to act



A = Avakuss (squeezing), C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric

Wooden Soldier = 1, 2
W = Wooden Avatar
L = Lich, Q = Quasit (dead)

** = stone door (propped in place)
# = Table & chairs, B = bookshelf
& = bed, 0 = hole

c = maw of chaos

XXXXXXXXX**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.TXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1122XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1122.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX.....WW.XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX....BBWW..XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX.....BB.....XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX#...c.BB.....#XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX#..ccccBB....CC#XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX#.H.ccLccc....CC.#XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX.....BBccc...BB.AAA.XXXXXXX
XXXXXX.....BBccc##.Q.BBAAA..XXXXXX
XXXXX.....BB..c.##..E.BBAA...XXXXX
XXXX.....BB.....##.....BB.....XXXX
XXX.....BB..............BB.....XXX
XX.............................X0X
X&&&&&&&&&&&&&.#############.....X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Initiative:
Ash: 25
Eilyra: 24
Avatarist: 22
Taric: 21
Lich: 11
Avakuss: 11
Center 5

[Cavir]

Avakuss welcomed the free teleport to the other side of the enemy. He knew the anti-life shield was there but with his size growth and his equally enlarged greatsword he knew he could still strike even if slightly hampered. Water started to gag him. Avakuss resisted the spell and spat it out. "You'll have to do better than that. This is an unnecessary fight. You are surrounded and we have superior casting. Even if you could win you'll lose in other ways."

The giant goliath darted past Center while closing with the main toy soldier and drawing his deep crystal greatsword. Just outside the magic shell he began chopping down the oversized toy casting deadly spells.

Resisted Mass Drown in OOC.
Swift: Hustle (3PP) to gain an extra move action.
Free Move: Draw sword and move 15' NW then 15' W (have speed 90) so that I'll be next to the book shelf and only 5' between the toy and myself so I'll be in reach.
Free: Focus 2PP into sword. First hit within 1 min does +2d6 damage. No AoO for this.
Full attack plus Haste attack. No Power attack. -4 for Shell. Crit on 19+ but this is a construct.

Attack1: [roll0] (+15 BAB, +12 STR, +1 Magic, +1 Haste, -2 Size, -4 Shell)
damage: [roll1] Slashing. (+18 STR, +1 Weapon) Specials: Adamantine, Good

Attack2: [roll2]
damage: [roll3]

Attack3: [roll4]
damage: [roll5]

Haste: [roll6]
damage: [roll7]

First hit: + [roll8] damage (from psionic crystal)

[Archmage1]

As her lungs fill with water, Eilyra coughs and splutters for a moment, but doesn't seem to be adversely affected by the liquid, certainly not enough for her to fail to resist the magic seeking to turn her own flesh against her.

[kinem]

Avakuss' assault chips away at the wooden construct but not enough to bring it down as two of his four attacks are ineffective.

Center moves to join in the fight against it, arcing his huge golden halberd down towards the foe.

OOC: Center's Attack [roll0], damage [roll1] vs AC 30

Ash, Eilyra to act



A = Avakuss (squeezing), C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric

Wooden Soldier = 1, 2
W = Wooden Avatar
L = Lich, Q = Quasit (dead)

** = stone door (propped in place)
# = Table & chairs, B = bookshelf
& = bed, 0 = hole

c = maw of chaos

XXXXXXXXX**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.TXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1122XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1122.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX.....WW.XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX....BBWW..XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX.....BB...CCXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX#...c.BBAAACC#XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX#..ccccBBAAA...#XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX#.H.ccLcccAAA....#XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX.....BBccc...BB.....XXXXXXX
XXXXXX.....BBccc##.Q.BB.....XXXXXX
XXXXX.....BB..c.##..E.BB.....XXXXX
XXXX.....BB.....##.....BB.....XXXX
XXX.....BB..............BB.....XXX
XX.............................X0X
X&&&&&&&&&&&&&.#############.....X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Initiative:
Ash: 25
Eilyra: 24
Avatarist: 22
Taric: 21
Lich: 11
Avakuss: 11
Center 5

[Archmage1]

The glowing green-blue maw chomps down on the lich once more.
[roll0] Damage + DC 31 will save or be dazed.

Not missing beat as the Quasit falls, and finally managing to expel the water the drown spell had created, Eilyra sets her eyes on the opponent that could still turn the tide of this battle against her, and her allies.
The lich.
Without hesitation, she launches herself towards the creature, darting past it even as her flaming sword flares with arcane fire, and she slashes out against it, and then again, as she returns to hover over the corpse of the Quasit, and the rather curious rod.


Swift: Arcane Strike, burning Brilliant Blade(A 6th level spell)
Move: Moving just past the lich, and then back.(80 foot move speed. The important part is NOT ending her turn in the maw.)
Action: Bounding Assault vs the Lich.
Perpetual Options action: Bounding Assault vs the Lich.

[roll1] Bounding Assault 1 Attack 1
[roll2] Slashing + [roll3] Fire + [roll4] Untyped + [roll5] Untyped

[roll6] Bounding Assault 1 Attack 2
[roll7] + [roll8] Fire + [roll9] Untyped + [roll10] Untyped

[roll11] Bounding Assault 2 Attack 1
[roll12] + [roll13] Fire + [roll14] Untyped + [roll15] Untyped

[roll16] Bounding Assault 2 Attack 2
[roll17] + [roll18] Fire + [roll19] Untyped + [roll20] Untyped




AC 51(Touch 29) F 18/R 29/W 17 HP 307
Seeing Invisible
Hasted(+1 AC, attack, reflex saves)(Perpetual options grants an extra standard action, instead of an extra attack)
50% concealment(Non-magical, not countered by true-seeing.)(Blurred Alacrity)
50% miss chance vs single targeted spells.(Evasive Celerity)
Freedom of Movement(Diligent Rapidity)
Knowledge Devotion(+5 Attack/Damage) vs Undead, Constructs, Outsiders

Expeditious dodge is active(+2 ac)
Haste(18 rounds)
See Invisible(218 minutes)
Shield(42 minutes)
Extended Moment of Prescience(44 hours)(Burning Blackfire)
Extended Mind Blank(48 hours)
All four Heart spells(22 hours)
Extended Contingency(If health between 0 and 30, Pop Resilient Sphere around Eilyra, 5 foot area.)(44 days)
Extended Greater Magic Weapon(On her sword)(+5)(44 hours)

[kinem]

Eilyra’s rapid attacks cause the Lich to drop dead. As her blades strike, it becomes clear that the Lich was wearing chain shirt armor beneath its thin robe.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Seeing Eilyra become a whirling engine of doom, taking down the lich virtually single-handed, Ash takes heart. She turns her attention to the avatarist, sending to her colleagues.

*The wooden man will be able to bounce to another statue if we kill him. Unless one of you have a way to trap his soul in this form - and I don't - then the only way to stop him is to destroy all of the statues. In the meantime, I'll attempt to suppress his ability to exercise his control over these three.*

Ash weaves a spell that is intended to hedge out the Avatarist's influence. She then soars up over the swirly maw of chaos and into the midst of the three wooden statues.

My understanding is that the wooden avatarist's possession is based on Magic Jar. Which is explicitly suppressed by Protection from X.

So Ash will use a standard action to cast Magic Circle vs Chaos on herself, then flies around the Maw of chaos in order to slide into a space directly above the avatarist, adjacent to statues 1 and 2.

Which leads to an interesting effect. When she passes through the same space where she might be drawing attacks of opportunity from all three, she also cuts off the avatarist's ability to control them.

And if this doesn't work to shut them all down temporarily, Ash will prep an immediate action to counterspell the first SLA the avatarist might use. [roll0].

Currently AC 39 (41 vs chaotic opponent), HP 206.

Spells active:
PERMANENT SPELLS:
Arcane Sight
Read Magic
See Invisibility
Tongues
Anticipate Teleport (Greater)
Disguise Self
Endure Elements *
Energy Immunity - Fire
Foresight
Hunter's Eye (+7d6 bonus)
Magic Weapon, Greater *
Magic Vestment *
Nondetection
Greater Magic Weapon *
Visions of the Future
Magic Circle vs Chaos (40 minutes)
Contingency (Heal, triggered by Ash being affected by an injury that would drop her below 50hp)
True Seeing

[paradox26]

Taric takes three hits, and is pretty hurt by them, but he remains in the fight. He continues to hack away at the statue to his left hand side, blades chopping at them like logs instead of like wooden animated creatures.


[roll0] Attack 1, [roll1] Damage
[roll2] Attack 2, [roll3] Damage
[roll4] Attack Haste, [roll5] Damage
[roll6] Attack 3, [roll7] Damage
[roll8] Attack 4, [roll9] Damage
[roll10] Attack 5, [roll11] Damage
[roll12] Attack 6, [roll13] Damage
[roll14] Attack 7, [roll15] Damage

[kinem]

As Ash approaches the wooden constructs, her Magic Circle Against Chaos spell appears to have no noticeable effect on them. She comes adjacent to them but doesn't quite have room to pass above them.

The constructs take the opportunity to try to attack her. OOC: vs AC 39
attack [roll0], damage [roll1] #1
attack [roll2], damage [roll3] #2
attack [roll4], damage [roll5] WA

The wooden avatar targets her with a Blood Creepers spell-like ability. Because it's not a spell, she can't counterspell it.

OOC: Fort DC Fort DC 22 negates or take 15 damage/round + immobilize/entangle

The wooden avatar then uses another spell like ability, targeting not only the party but most of the library including the bookshelves, excepting only where the wooden constructs are, plunging everything into sudden cold and threatening to turn the party to ice! Snow appears in the air and all over the books.

OOC: Frostfell, Fort DC 25 or turn to ice as Flesh to Ice; on a successful save take [roll6] frostburn damage. This targets the area, not specific creatures, and affects living creatures.

Objects in the area, including those held by creatures, are instantly covered in a thin layer of frost, making them slippery. When a creature uses a frosted item (a weapon, lockpicks, a potion, and so on), it must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity check or it drops the item before it can be used. Cold spells cast within the area gain a +1 caster level.

The two other constructs continue to attack Taric. OOC vs AC 35:
attack [roll7], damage [roll8]
attack [roll9], damage [roll10]
attack [roll11], damage [roll12]
attack [roll13], damage [roll14]
attack [roll15], damage [roll16]
attack [roll17], damage [roll18]

OOC: I'll roll for Taric here since if he succeeds, he'll destroy construct #2 and damage #1:
Fort [roll19] vs DC 25; Dex check [roll20] vs DC 10



A = Avakuss (squeezing), C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric

Wooden Soldier = 1, 2
W = Wooden Avatar
L = Lich (dead), Q = Quasit (dead)

** = stone door (propped in place)
# = Table & chairs, B = bookshelf
& = bed, 0 = hole

c = maw of chaos

XXXXXXXXX**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.TXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1122XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1122.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX....HWW.XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX....BBWW..XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX.....BB...CCXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX#...c.BBAAACC#XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX#..ccccBBAAA...#XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX#...ccLcccAAA....#XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX.....BBccc...BB.....XXXXXXX
XXXXXX.....BBccc##.Q.BB.....XXXXXX
XXXXX.....BB..c.##..E.BB.....XXXXX
XXXX.....BB.....##.....BB.....XXXX
XXX.....BB..............BB.....XXX
XX.............................X0X
X&&&&&&&&&&&&&.#############.....X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Initiative:
Ash: 25
Eilyra: 24
Avatarist: 22
Taric: 21
Lich: 11
Avakuss: 11
Center 5

[kinem]

Taric made the Fort save but dropped one weapon. Check for the other: [roll0] vs DC 10

Edit: He made the check for the second weapon and hit construct #2 twice. All constructs are still standing.

Avakuss to act.

[Archmage1]

Focused on taking down the lich, Eilyra doesn't realize the danger the avatar poses until it is too late, forcing her to simply bear the brunt of the blast of cold.

As the sudden snowfall floats down to the ground, it reveals a frozen Eilyracicle.

[Cavir]

Avakuss's mental prowess not only allows him to resist turning into a giant ice statue but also squashes most of the devastating blast of sudden cold. Avakuss's own defenses then renders the cold shock into nothing for himself. He counters by driving his foot into the ground, creating a narrow shock wave trying to tumble all three constructs to the ground.

"This would go quicker if that shell would go away."

Fort save made in OOC.
Immediate: Use Augmented Damp Power to reduce the cold damage down to 20 for myself and allies. I have Resist Energy 30 so no damage taken. Taric looks to have Resist 15. Correct me if wrong but I don't think immediate powers grant AoO. If they do, Concentration is at +32 so auto-pass. 7PP used

Greater Stomp to hit all three constructs but avoid allies. Reflex DC 24 or fall prone and take [roll0] damage. Manifested defensively (+32 so auto-pass). 9PP.

Realized I'm covered by Center's Magic Circle against Evil too so AC 39 currently.

Ash/Taric and Ash/Avakuss are flanking. Might help with Taric's attacks rolled before Frostfell but taking effect after Frostfell.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Disappointed that she has failed to sever the Avatarist's link to the statue, Ash pays the price, and feels her blood begin to rise up against her. Her magical training helps her fight back the powerful magics.

And then the blizzard happens. Ash is grateful to Avarkuss for his quick thinking in protecting from the worst of the effects of the cold, but then glances over at Eilyra.

Her mind racing, Ash uses one of her most powerful magics to transform her back from ice to flesh.

I've lost track - what has Centre of All been doing?

Standard action: Defensively cast Limited Wish to emulate Ice to Flesh.

[kinem]

The magic-using construct and the construct that Taric has been carving into fall prone and get a bit more beaten up as Avakuss shakes the ground. The other one remains standing and unharmed.

Center's golden halberd is coated with frost now, but in an instant, it vanishes ... and reappears, without the frost. The rilmani arcs it down to try to finish off the magic-using construct.

OOC: vs AC 26 (prone construct)
attack [roll0], damage [roll1]
attack [roll2], damage [roll3]
attack [roll4], damage [roll5]
attack [roll6], damage [roll7]
attack [roll8], damage [roll9]

[kinem]

Center's rapid chops render the construct motionless.

OOC: Eilyra to act. Only the two wooden soldiers remain active; #2 is prone and badly damaged.

Frostfell is still in effect; all squares cost double movement to enter.

[Archmage1]

Her mind returning to existence at Ash's wish, Eilyra quickly takes in the changes to the battlefield, and offers Ash a quick smile of thanks, before she darts across the battlefield, her speed rejecting the slowing effects of Frostfell, even as she chants to quickly protect herself against the frost. Almost as soon as she finishes that, she reaches her target, the damaged soldier, and quickly swings twice, before falling back towards Center, casting a Ray of Enfeeblement at the remaining soldier as she retreats.


Eilyra is moving to hover over the corpse of the fallen construct, to slash out at 2, before shifting back towards Center, but making sure to not get in his way, should he wish to charge. She is also casting Ray of Enfeeblement, which does, in fact, work on constructs(It isn't ability damage, but a penalty. Go funky rules?)
She has a dex modifier of +10, so she can't fail a dc 10 dex check, as nat 1 is not an auto-fail
Freedom of Movement says nope to Frostfell's penalty.
Swift: Casting Resist Energy(Frost)
Move: Moving
Standard: Bounding Assault
Perpetual Options: Ray of Enfeeblement

[roll0] Attack 1
[roll1] + [roll2] Fire + [roll3] Untyped

[roll4] Attack 2
[roll5] + [roll6] Fire + [roll7] Untyped

[roll8] Ray of Enfeeblement
[roll9] Strength penalty

[kinem]

The wooden construct that had been using magic vanishes; its armor and sword remain.

Eilyra targets the one that remains standing, damaging it but not felling it.

Her Ray of Enfeeblement also strikes the construct, but because it's a Necromancy (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/rayOfEnfeeblement.htm) effect, it has no effect on the construct (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#constructType).

The constructs continue their attacks against Taric.

OOC: vs AC 35
Attack [roll0], damage [roll1]
Attack [roll2], damage [roll3]
Attack [roll4], damage [roll5]
Attack [roll6], damage [roll7]
Attack [roll8], damage [roll9]
Attack [roll10], damage [roll11]

Taric to act.

[paradox26]

Taric is badly hurt by the more recent attacks, and is currently without one of his weapons. So he decides to fight defensively, going totally from offence to defence, while waiting for his companions to attack the creature from behind, where hopefully they are already attacking.


Taric will go to fighting on total defence.

[kinem]

OOC: Avakuss to act

[Cavir]

Avakuss is impressed with Center's swordmanship dispatching the magical wooden soldier. As that "toy" disappears the giant goliath smiles as he sees in his head the end in sight. He follows that vision by leaping forward as he sheathes his greatsword, landing and pounding on the remaining enemy with his deadly fists, starting with the prone one.

Hustle (3PP) to gain an extra Move action.
Move: sheathe sword and leap 15' north getting me into reach of both. Goliath Mountain Mvmt means I don't need a running start. Jump +51 so auto success. Balance is +29 in case it matters.
The movement does give each soldier an AoO on me vs AC39 (and 25 temp hp).
Full: Furry of Blows full attack on #2 then #1 once the first is dead. No flanking with Taric since he is doing full defense. Not including defender prone.

Haste: [roll0] (+15 BAB, +12 STR, +4 Magic, +1 Focus, +1 Haste, -2 Size)
damage: [roll1] Bludgeon + [roll2] Electric. (+12 STR, +4 Weapon) Specials: Adamantine, Good

Att1: [roll3]
damage: [roll4] Bludgeon + [roll5] Electric.

Att2: [roll6]
damage: [roll7] Bludgeon + [roll8] Electric.

Att3: [roll9]
damage: [roll10] Bludgeon + [roll11] Electric.

Att4: [roll12]
damage: [roll13] Bludgeon + [roll14] Electric.

Att5: [roll15]
damage: [roll16] Bludgeon + [roll17] Electric.

[kinem]

Avakuss smashes the remaining wooden constructs, which fall inert, although they don't vanish like the other one did.

OOC: Combat is over

Center offers to Taric "I can heal you"; if Taric declines, he nods.

[Archmage1]

With the fall of the remaining pair of constructs, Eilyra pauses a moment, to take in the room. Her slow, even breath was frosting in the air, and the moisture was freezing, and falling into a mist of ice, which didn't help with visibility much, in the snow fall. The thin layer of ice that had formed over the ancient bookshelves groaning with the extra weight, the still glowing(And chomping) maw providing the only illumination in the darkened room.
The series of beds along the far wall, and a few tables scattered about, all covered in their own layer of ice, and the frozen over corpse of the lich, still centered in the glowing maw, and the scattered gear of the destroyed avatar completed the image.
Taking another breath, she looks to Ash. The glowing embers in her hair, and eyes seemed rather unearthly in the terribly cold air of the library "Thank you for the save. That cold... there just wasn't enough time for me to brace." She lets her breath out, forming another miniature snowfall, before she continues. "We need to search the place, see if we can find books of interest, but... this frost..." She gestures around, before she continues. "If you're not resistant to cold, it's going to get bad, quickly, and I'm out of resistance spells. And we need to clear this ice from the books pretty quickly after we dispel the frost, or it may damage them."
With that, she flies over to one of the bookshelves(Blowing up a storm of snow with every flap of her leathery wings), and takes a look at the books, trying to determine how much ice was on them, and what the chances were of it harming the books when it was melted.

[kinem]

The bookshelves contain a mix of paper books, scrolls, and loose sheets of paper or parchment. Some of them are quite yellowed and fragile already; the risk of damage from melting snow is rather high. Even before the snow, a thick coating of dust lay on everything.

Of possible interest, there are some books already open and spread out on the tables, particularly the tables near where the lich was.

[Archmage1]

Looks like I'll have to clear off the snow and ice here, or a lot of this is going to be useless. It might be useless anyway, but there isn't enough time to review it solidly. But I can take a look while I'm clearing this ice away. A pity, though. I only prepared two prestidigitations today, and I've already used one. That doesn't leave one for tonight, but with a bit of luck, I'll be able to have a bath instead.
With a brief, mournful look down at her somewhat windblown and dust stained dress, Eilyra quickly chants once more, casting prestidigitation, and starts to use it to clear the snow and dust away from the books, to prevent them from being damaged when the Frostfell was dispelled.
As she goes, she gives the books an intense once-over, to try to get an idea of their contents. If she doesn't speak the language, a quick casting of Comprehend Languages follows.


Using haste empowered prestidigitation(So 2 shots per turn for the next 18 rounds) to clear snow from the books, and making an attempt at reading the titles of the books in question, to get an idea of their contents.

She speaks and reads Common, Elven, Abyssal, Draconic, Infernal, Goblin, Orc, and Gnome. If the language isn't among those, then she'll cast comprehend languages, to read it.

[kinem]

The books are in a variety of languages, and in ancient dialects, though some languages have changed more than others over the years. Some books are in languages that Eilyra doesn't recognize, so she casts a spell to better read them. Most of them seem to deal with planar travel, religion, and magic. It would take a long time to get a full picture. One of the open books is entitled Gate Keys and written in Infernal.

[Cavir]

Avakuss turns to make sure there were no other enemies about. There were still the issues of the frost and Maw. Eilyra gets busy with the books. Rather than let the books accumulate more snow, he works to remove that issue. "Are any of the books showing signs of magic? Don't want to set off any traps. I can see about removing the snow and maw. Move away so I won't hit you with it." He moves to the southern part of the room. Once the others move out of the way and give the ok, Avakuss will manifest his power to cancel the spells.

Unless there are objections or Dispel Psionics won't touch spells, use Dispel Psionics 10PP targeting between where the lich was and where the avatar cast frostfell so that I can include the center points of both spells.
Frostfell: [roll0]
Maw: [roll1]
EDIT: That was a total waste of 10% of my remaining PP if used.

[kinem]

Center says “Good idea”. He tries dispelling the effects with his own spell-like ability. Since he can keep trying it, he succeeds soon enough.

None of the books appear magical.

[Cavir]

Avakuss was glad Center saved him the effort. Instead he took to searching the remains of the quasit then the beds in the back. Anything worthwhile? Any signs of who had been there? "That lich is NOT going to be happy when he reforms. Too bad we didn't learn anything about it first. Can one of its bones help with divination?" After about another minute he shrinks back down to his normal goliath stature.

[paradox26]

Taric returns himself to his normal size, from his shrunken state. He nods slightly in gratefulness at Center, and says, "I will heal soon enough, but it will take about ten minutes for me to return to full health, so if you can heal at will, then that will speed things along and I will be ready to continue."

He picks up his weapon that he dropped, and takes up a guard position over the room, just in case anything comes in or suddenly teleports into the room. He looks occasionally over to the others as they study the books, but such things aren't really his area of understanding, so he figures he would be better off continuing to guard rather than getting involved. He does listen tot he discussion, though, in case something occurs to him that passes by the others, unlikely as that may be.

[kinem]

Center tells Taric “I’ll let you heal yourself then. My healing of others is limited to thrice a day.”

When the cold spell ends, the snow remains but begins to melt ... which might actually be worse for the books.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra continues her rapid desnowing of the books, casting haste a 2nd time once her current haste expires.


She can clear 36 cubic feet of snow/dust over 18 rounds, then another 44 over 22 rounds, after she re-hastes. Is that sufficient to desnow the books?

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash drops to the floor as the combat ends. She starts a more careful assessment of the room, made all the easier when Centre manages to raise the temperature.

*Yes, having part of the lich's remains in our possession will help in tracking him down later, as needed. Please, before you start touching things, allow me to assess the threat.*

She stares at the remains of their opponents, and then takes to the air again to survey the floor, walls, shelves and eventually ceiling for sign of unpleasant surprises.

Once she is satisfied that the room is safe, she turns to her colleagues.

*All clear. Hmm. How's the book-drying going. I could make the room hot and dry, to help with evaporation, but it'll take twenty minutes.*

Greater Arcane Sight to identify any magic auras that aren't us. Then she makes a long series of search checks that she'll take 10 on if she can. Search is +37 for Ash.

[Cavir]

Avakuss sees the issue Eilyra is dealing with. He shrinks back to his normal size and begins aiding her. He pulls out two sacks from his pack and lays them out so that there is a dry spot for the dried books. As the stack begins to pile up he carefully moves them into his Handy Haversack. "Might as well take it all with us and sort through the books later."

[Toliudar]

Ash

As she continues her examination, Ash sends to her colleagues.

*Is it just me, or is the very idea of a library of the cult of Tharizdun bizarre? I mean, Tharizdun was an insane god bent on the destruction of all things. Libraries are, if nothing else, a way to organize thoughts, preserve knowledge.

*Plus, I see no symbols or signs here that actually link this place with Tharizdun.*

[Archmage1]

Looking up momentarily from her focus on preventing the books in the melting library from being damaged, Eilyra replies as she moves to the next bookshelf. "There was some on the door, but Tharizdun's cult... isn't necessarily Tharizdun's cult, if that makes sense. He tends to like unknowning followers. The titles so far in this place..." She pauses for a moment, as she focuses on drying off another shelf, before she resumes speaking. "Have been very focused on planar mechanics, which makes sense for someone trying to break into a planar prison." She looks to Avakuss. "You were with the group that identified this as a Tharizdun library, right? What made you reach that conclusion?"
While waiting for a response, she continues her rapid cleaning efforts, along with her analysis efforts.

[Cavir]

Avakuss kept his book work going while his disciplined mind searched for the details of when he had first encountered Rule of Three.

"We didn't determine that. We didn't get in here, nor even saw the door leading into here. We owed Rule a favor. He told us the tale he heard from a Tharizdun cultist who conveniently died shortly after. Supposedly the cultists were trying to escape from their plane to this place to rebuild but encountered the beast we just slew back in the cavern. The one cultist made it back to Sigil but others didn't. One of the dead was known to have a Deck of Many Things. Rule tasked us with getting it for him. Back then the main tunnel was deadly enough. When we faced the beast we barely grabbed the pack and made it back without killing each other. I handed the pack to Rule for him to pull out the deck, but then he kept the whole pack so I don't know what else was in there."

"He did mention the cultists knew the value of a long game like he did. That always stuck with me, but I haven't been involved with him enough to know what his long game might be."

" 'A library of the cult of Tharizdun'. That is a good point. Maybe that is a front for those trying to control or release Tharizdun?"

"There are many things to ponder about the situation we just walked into. How did the lich get in here? Seems like he hadn't been here very long, but long enough to make the trap outside. How did he get past the chaos beast? Charm monster? I didn't think that would work on the beast. Why didn't the beast bother the bloodhulks? With the Symbol on the door in the cavern I don't think it was a simple case of teleporting past all that. Who is that lich and his friend? What were they after? Apparently it is something worth coming for themselves. Is that 'friend' actually dead or did we just make two powerful enemies to watch out for?"

Once the books are cleaned and collected he'll take to collecting the heavy armors and any other items off the soldiers, leaving the others the lighter work of searching.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash glances up for only a moment to look at Avarkuss.

*Those are all interesting questions. If the lich knew about this place, he could come through the portal and teleport straight here - there are no magical barriers up around this place. And from what I understand of avatarists, the friend who did not speak is definitely not dead. Again, if we take the objects that he left behind, there's some chance that I'll be able to learn more from them later.*

[Archmage1]

Still cleaning away, Eilyra frowns. The Avatarist is still around, and what's the chance that it is near the lich's phylactery? And this library... it doesn't fit a cult, but it might have been coopted by one. This is pandemonium, which wouldn't be a bad place to study the effects of planar magics of various sorts.
Despite the direction of her thoughts, her cleaning continues to be swift, and certain, preserving the various books from the damage the thoughtless avatarist had caused. "It sounds rather like there is little reason to believe that this is a place of Tharizdun. It may be a research library of some long gone mage, or even that of the lich itself. If it is, however, there may be additional chambers above, or below us. Mages always do seem to build towers, not manors." She falls silent as she swiftly glides over to the next bookshelf, before resuming her cleaning. "As for getting past? Invisibility, plus a teleport would have sufficed. It could also have been a bound guardian. The Black Beast of Bedlam is a fairly good choice for a guardian, as it is quite loud, has excellent senses, and is difficult to disable via magic. The Bloodhulks seem like something a lich and an avatarist working together might well choose to employ."
She takes another breath, and looks over, towards Avakuss and Ash for a moment. "But what it sought? Now, that is a question. Based on the timeframe it gave us, it was here for something specific, something that will be done within a week. Either there's something unknown involved, or they are likely working with our enemies. They claimed to not be Tharzidun servants, but Tharizdun does love patsies. We can ask them, once the lich reforms. They might even not attempt to murder us." She smiles, grimly, before she turns back to the books, and resumes her preservation efforts.

[kinem]

The following items are found.

OOC: Since you'll ID them eventually, I'll just list what they are:

On the lich:
-Vest of resistance +5, cloak of charisma +6, chain shirt +5, ring of protection +5, +5 amulet of natural armor, Deadwalker's Ring, Scout's Headband, spell component pouch
-100 gp black sapphires (x10), 50 gp onyx, 5,000 gp powdered diamond and opal
- A nonmagical ceremonial robe with some kind of symbol on it worn over the chain shirt.
(Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) DC 30 to ID)
- A large iron key, which looks the right size for the door to to the library. The key's handle is a gate key like the one Rule gave Center: a black metal triangle, three inches across, with an inverted "Y" inlaid in copper.

https://db4sgowjqfwig.cloudfront.net/campaigns/106708/assets/411991/ElderElementalEye.bmp?1421294579
On the quasit: a Rod of Wonder.

On the constructs: Large Mwk greatsword (x3), Large full plate armor (x3).
These are nonmagical, except that the armor the vanished construct had been wearing still has the Symbol of Weakness under the ink. Perhaps the ink could be cleaned off in a way that wouldn't ruin the symbol.

Books: There are about 2000 books/scrolls/etc. overall. None are magical. Eilyra gets most of them free of snow, but some are ruined and many probably crumbled many years ago. Overall, they were surprisingly well-preserved. Some are weighty tomes, but many are short monographs. The total weight of books and scrolls is probably about 4000 lbs.

Ash finds the hole in a back corner of the cavern. A breeze blows into it. There are other small holes around the cavern from which air enters or leaves. As well as promoting air circulation the hole was probably used as a waste chute while the library was occupied; it was therefore crucial to making the cavern a viable place to live in.



A = Avakuss (squeezing), C = Center, H = Ash
E = Eilyra, T = Taric

Wooden Soldier = 1, 2 (both destroyed)
L = Lich (dead), Q = Quasit (dead)

** = stone door (propped in place)
# = Table & chairs, B = bookshelf
& = bed, 0 = hole

XXXXXXXXX**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.TXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1122XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1122.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX....H...XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX....BB....XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX.....BB...CCXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX#.....BBAAACC#XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX#......BBAAA...#XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX#.....L...AAA....#XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX.....BB.....BB.....XXXXXXX
XXXXXX.....BB...##.Q.BB.....XXXXXX
XXXXX.....BB....##..E.BB.....XXXXX
XXXX.....BB.....##.....BB.....XXXX
XXX.....BB..............BB.....XXX
XX.............................X0X
X&&&&&&&&&&&&&.#############.....X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Center says "Remember, the Cult changed over the years. It started as a group that didn't worship the mad god, but wanted to summon and control him."

[Archmage1]

As she finishes clearing the last of the shelves of their rapidly melting snow and ice, Eilyra looks around, at the busily searching group of adventurers, and around the library, doing some quick mental math, before she comments once more. "I think we're not going to have a lot of luck taking all of these books with us. There are simply too many to fit, unless we have a lot more storage space than I think, but I can use a few spells, and read a decent chunk of them in an hour or so. That might at least help limit what we need to consider carrying." Pausing briefly, she moves over the lich's remains, and scoops them up(Bones and all), using the armor to contain them, and places them on an empty table, before she takes a look inside some of the bags. "It'll take a few minutes to identify the equipment of the lich as well. From the gems here, I'd guess that he was a necromancer, and a skilled one. But that can wait, I think."
She looks over at Ash, near a hole, and walks over towards her.
"Do you think you could send an eye down there, see if there's anything to worry about there? If not, it's probably safer to read the books here. Less risk of us damaging them. These are old." She smiles for a brief, strained moment, almost freezing in pain at a memory, before she continues. "Some of them, even older than I am."

As she talks, and examines, she focuses on her pearls of power, as well as her vest, restoring some of her drained magical resources, and recharging her sword.


Using 3 Pearl of Power(3) to restore 2 haste, and 1 vampiric touch.
Casting a vampiric touch to recharge the bloodstone in her sword.
Using the Vest of the Archmagi to restore Time Stop.
Using a pearl of power(4) to restore dimensional anchor

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash drifts back to the rest of the group to report on her findings of the holes. She nods at Eilyra's suggestion.

*I was thinking of the same thing. And if we don't want to linger here, I don't feel all that sad about carting away books that were assembled to help in drawing on the power of a mad god.*

She slides a small square of fabric out of an inside pocket and spreads it out on the floor, where a pit of sorts is revealed. Inside is a complicated metal and wood frame with a series of ladders leading down to an office, laboratory and bedchamber.

*You're welcome to stack the books up on the lower level. We can take them with us.*

She drifts back to the holes and conjures a small glowing sphere, which she sends down the hole. She settles to the floor and closes her eyes, focusing inward.

Ash opens up an enveloping pit on the floor. It should be able to accommodate any books we need to take with us.

She starts off by sending an Arcane Eye down the hole to explore the other side.

[kinem]

It seems to just be a very long, dark tunnel that may go on for miles. It varies between 1-3' in diameter and there are some signs of trash and excrement.

[Toliudar]

Ash

After several minutes, Ash opens her eyes again.

*The hole just goes on and on. It seems to be ventilation and excrement elimination - which explains the smell.

*And now, let me see if I can learn something more about the pair who wouldn't share.*

She goes over to the remains of their opponents and settles cross-legged by the hacked-up remains of a wooden automaton. She begins another spell.

Ash will cast Discern Location (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/discernLocation.htm), using the broken automaton as a belonging of the avatarist.

[Cavir]

Avakuss looks at the enveloping pit. "Even easier. Would the construct bodies be of any value?" He'll help move the books, and the constructs if valuable.

As Ash works on her spell, Avakuss searches the bedding and desks, hoping for signs of who was there before the lich.

[Archmage1]

While Ash explores the tunnel, Eilyra turns her attention to the books, casting scholar's touch, and starting to read through the open books, and the books on the table, before starting with some of the more interesting titles she saw while removing snow.

[paradox26]

Taric looks over in curiosity at where the others are studying the books. "It sounds likely that Tharizdun may be somehow, maybe using his cultists, behind the lich's presence. I suspect that they duped the lich into coming here in an attempt to free him," Taric says.

"Incidentally, if no one else wants it, I will take that amulet that was left behind. You can argue over the rest of the stuff, as you like," he adds offhand.

[kinem]

The Discern Location spell reveals the following:
Place: Meeting Hall
Community: Aelcliff
Province: Dorburn
Country: Bavia
Continent: Arutlan
Plane: Prime Material

[kinem]

It seems that the lich had been researching the use of portals and portal keys.

There is a mention of the imprisonment of Tharizdun in the Gate Keys book in Infernal. The author is listed as Manapora, but if it was written by the Mad Rajah himself, this must be a copy made long after his imprisonment. The author offers some thoughts on how a Gate could be prepared so as open to the same plane as another whose Gate Key is present, and suggests that such a Gate must be located at a nexus of many kinds of energy. It states that three projects along such lines are underway.

Some of the other books mention planar Gates as well, but none come close to the same level of detail.

One book is apparently a work of the Cult. It mentions a Gate that was built in the Outlands, but slid into the Grey Waste and was overrun by Yugoloths. The cultist wasn't sure that such a Gate could still work, and states that the Cult's efforts would be better spend on one of the other projects.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash is still for several minutes, her irises flickering rapidly behind closed lids. Then her eyes snap open and she climbs to her feet.

*The avatarist is back on the material plane, in a meeting hall n a country called Bavia. I believe that, with some remnants of these statues, I can track him.

*I would recommend that, as soon as we are able, we travel to this Bavia and track the avatarist down. He will likely know more about what was being researched here, and perhaps where to find the lich's phylactery.*

[Archmage1]

Her scholar's touch having finished working, Eilyra frowns, thoughtfully, as she considers what she had learned. Planar gate, and gate keys. And preparations for such. And that three such projects were underway. No details on where, really. This gate in the Outlands, and then in the Grey Waste might be of interest, however, but the other two? Perhaps some mention of them might be in the other books?
"It looks like they were working on gate projects. Three of them, specifically, but the only one discussed in detail here was in the Grey Wastes when the book was written. It may still be there, but was noted as being potentially non-viable. I'll need more time to see if there are any more details on the other two projects, or any further updates. If we can actually find the lich, and the avatarist, it might be helpful to have a conversation with them."

With that, she starts going through the books on the shelves, using scholar's touch to read them, and to direct her reading towards other books, searching for more information on the locations of those other two projects, or further information on the gate in the Grey Wastes.

Or just planar knowledge she doesn't already know.


That seems like a bit of a long bet, but we have a library, and Eilyra can read through quite a few more books. So... time to do so. She can read another 396 books by burning her 1st and 2nd level slots, and her restoration techniques for them.

[kinem]

Eilyra comes across a few references to three Gates: One on the Outlands; one on the Prime Material Plane; and one on the Astral Plane. The Astral Plane Gate was built on the body of an ancient dead god known as Quilo.

[paradox26]

Taric takes note of what is being said, but has little meaningful to contribute to the discussion, so he continues to simply guard the room. He does note, however, "I would like to hunt this avatarist down, and if we can get the lich rebuilt then it will be much weaker without its familiar or magical items. I think we should finish them off before we continue onwards. Especially if they are seeking to do the same thing as us."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra continues to use scholar's touch to read books as she helps Avakuss and Ash to transfer books to the enveloping pit, looking thoughtful every now and then, but disappointed most of the time. After around forty minutes of this, she shakes her head. "At this point, most of these books aren't really containing anything new. Three potential locations: The Outlands, which, presumably, slid into the Grey wastes. On a prime, although, sadly, it doesn't have enough details to show which one, although the lich may be a hint, and the Astral Plane, on the corpse of Quilo."

As she continues to transfer books to Ash to be stored, she asks a question, as though she'd had a sudden thought. "What were the dimensions of the hole? Was it uniform in diameter, and smooth, or an adapted natural hole?"

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash considers.

*Hmm. Generally between a foot and two feet in diameter. Rough enough to allow deposits of waste to build up here and there. Probably not naturally occurring, if that even means anything on Pandemonium. It seemed to go on for miles. What did you have in mind?*

After anything that anyone wanted stored in her home was tucked away, Ash closed it up again and tucked it away for safekeeping.

*So. Back to Sigil to rest and check in with Rule of Three, give him some of this stuff to fence, then on to Bavia?*

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns as she takes in Ash's answer. Probably not fully artificially created then. A conjured burrower? Regardless, not helpful. She continues to transfer books into the hole, but once Ash voices a plan, Eilyra's frown returns. "Eventually, yes. But we should check for an ambush on the far side of the portal before we pass through, and I think we could all use a rest, and some time to fence these goods, and acquire new ones, before we proceed. I suspect Rule of Three may have information on where to go as well." She shakes her head in disgust. "Probably already had a pretty solid idea, even."

[Cavir]

"It is prudent to prepare for another fight against them, planned on our part or surprise by them, I agree with Eilyra in trying to have a conversation. They have information we want and we have the whole library they wanted to learn from. The challenge is how to make that happen. The lich did seem open to a discussion at first. Since we solidly defeated them and now still want to talk instead of just beating on them again perhaps the lich will listen a bit more. Perhaps a few Sendings first for negotiation. Sigil might a decent neutral ground for meeting in person."

"So yes, we have to prepare for another fight with them where they are more ready for us, probably in greater force. Death Ward protection. Ice to Flesh items. Protection from Evil to deal with summons. What more do they probably threaten with via spells? They'll probably be scrying for us as we are them. They can't just teleport to Sigil so we'll be safer there. At least we have a second portal key in case Rule demands the original back."

"We should deal with the Symbol on the armor. I could tie a rope to the armor and leave it behind us until we are far enough away to avoid its affect. Center can then Dispel it and I can use the rope to retrieve the armor. Safer to do it on this side of the gate."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra nods in agreement with Avakuss. "I'd need to pick up a scroll of sending, and scribe it, or find someone to copy it from, but casting it is simple enough. And preparation could be challenging." She breathes in, taking advantage of the momentary pause to think her points through, before she resumes talking. "The Lich is likely a necromancer, so we can expect undead, which, handily, have some vulnerabilities. Resistance to cold, and water breathing, to counter the drowning, and a counter to the symbol which is a little more reliable than a thrown bottle of ink. The Flesh to Ice, on the other hand, is more challenging. Frostfell is quite effective. Cold resistance, and maybe something to fortify physical forms might work. And I agree, dealing with the symbol is a plan, and we should have the room for it in the tunnels." She tosses a quick grin Avakuss's way. "As fun as it might be to deal with it in the streets, making that sort of disturbance draws notice."

With the last of the books loaded, and the magical gear safely stowed away, and a few of the lich's bones secured, Eilyra heads towards the entrance of the library, and takes a quiet look outside, through the gap made earlier, to see if there was anything unpleasant waiting outside.


[roll0] Spot
[roll1] Listen
[roll2] Hide
[roll3] Move Silently

[kinem]

Other than the strange whistling of the wind, Eilyra doesn’t sense anything unusual out there.

[Archmage1]

Not sensing any threats in the cavern, Eilyra looks back, to verify if her erstwhile companions were following, before stepping back into the entrance room, to wait for everyone to depart the library.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash follows back out of the library once all ready. She moves as quickly as possible through the cavern and out into the passage beyond, to avoid the unpleasantness in the chamber itself. She'll wait by the portal, since Eilyra seems to have a plan to check on the other side of the portal before passing through.

Will save in cavern - Ash fails on a 1: [roll0]

[Cavir]

As long as Center agrees, Avakuss takes the trapped armor (careful not to disturb the ink stain), ties a rope to it, and leaves it in the back of the library. Once all are clear of the library he asks Center to dispel it. Once that is done the goliath uses the rope to retrieve the armor. He carries it back while catching up with the others. Once the portal is open he is the first one through.

Who is actually carrying the 2nd portal key? I'd suggest different people carry them just in case.

[kinem]

Center agrees and dispels the Symbol.

The trip back to Sigil proves uneventful; no ambush waits on the other side of the portal, this time ...

[paradox26]

Taric looks at the others. "How long will you need to prepare yourself for the trip to the Prime? I am ready to go now, so it is up to you when we go. I will guard you while you rest," he says to the casters.

[Archmage1]

Returning from her very fast scouting run to the far side, Eilyra quickly relays the safety, before the group heads through.

At Taric's question, however, she frowns, thoughtfully. He thinks he's ready now? It would be nice, but no. Let me see... selling and buying goods, getting planar keys, talking with Rule, maybe scribing a new spell, taking a rest to actually prepare for planar travel... it is likely to be a day or so, before we're all done with that.
She then gives him a look. "Most likely a day, more or less. There is quite a bit to be done before we can travel safely, and we'll need to find out where we are going, as well as what we'll be doing in the meantime." She looks around once more, and sighs in disappointment. "We should probably talk to Rule of Three first, so he can set his contacts to work following up on what we found while we buy and sell, and rest until morning."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash heads back through the portal, a bit relieved to once again smell the been-through-a-billion-lungs-and-smells-like-it air of Sigil.

*Centre, where did you go to connect with Rule last time?*

I can't remember whether we set up a specific way to contact Rule.

[Cavir]

"If it comes to a fight, we're sure to face more exploding undead. Be good to get some protection against the explosion and some weapon crystals against undead. Protection from death magic will save lives. Woody has that Anti-Life shell that gets in the way."

"Scribing Sending, using several the next day as well as Divinations, then preparing spells again while Rule gathers information. Could be two to three days? We'll be divining for them and they will probably be doing the same for us."

"Yes, let's see what Rule can enlighten us with."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra nods. "That's the key. We need to pick between rushing, and trying to take our enemies before they can react, or preeparing, and maybe seeing if our enemies might become our allies, at the risk of giving our enemies the time to act, if they choose."
She then shrugs.
"Either way, checking with an information source first seems prudent. And considering that we started in the middle of the night, a rest would not go astray either."

[kinem]

Before returning to Sigil, Center once again takes the form of a robed human man.


*Centre, where did you go to connect with Rule last time?*

Center replies "I asked around about where to find Rule of Three, and was told to go to the Styx Oarsman. I think he spends most of his time there, and owns it."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra looks over, and smiles at Center. "I think we have a destination, then." Of course, that might link him to us, but I don't see a problem there. We could go to the Black Sail as well, but where's the fun in that?
With that, she heads out, clearly expecting to be followed as she heads towards the Styx Oarsman.

[kinem]

Most of you are familiar enough with the soot-filled Lower Ward of Sigil to make your way to the Styx Oarsman fairly easily. Along the way, you pass a trio of mezzoloths, but they don't try to start any trouble.

The two-story structure of the Styx Oarsman squats on the edge of Heward's Forks, a small square connecting the bend in Brandy Lane to the curving thoroughfare of Ironmonger Street. The dung covered statue that is set in the square gives the small court it's name and provides the local avians with a favorite perch and latrine.

The Styx Oarsman itself appears to be a roughly rectangular building with a boat on top of it, which serves as the upper floor.

Tonight, the bouncer at the door is a bladeling, a spiky metallic man with glowing ourple eyes and a chain shirt. He looks over the group, nods, and lets you.

Inside is a noisy menagerie of sorts, with a number of tanar'ri present - a vrock, the marilith bartender behind the bar, a few babau, and numerous quasits and mephits. There are also many githzerai, as well as humans, tielflings, dwarves, a few drow elves, a few fiendish minotaurs, and even a few yugoloths. Several of the patrons are playing cards or tossing dice; most have drinks. It does not appear that food is served here.

Drinking at his usual seat at the bar is Rule of Three, appearing as usual as an elderly githzerai with a glass left eye. He waves you over.

[Toliudar]

Ash

On the way to the Styx Oarsman, Ash refreshes some of her protections, and places spells over the equipment taken from the lich, to ensure that it can't be used to track them.

---

Ash nods to her colleagues, and makes her way over to Rule's table. Once all have gathered to sit, she looks around mentally to look for those who are paying more attention than they should. Some might be Rule's folk. They're good to know about too.

She nods, and shares telepathically with all of her companions, including Rule.

*We got into the library, and Eilyra learned some things that she can best explain. But there was a complication. A lich - probably a dread necromancer, coming from Sigil, and a Wooden Avatarist based on the material plane - were already at the library, seemingly researching the same topic, and were not inclined to share. There was a fight, we killed their forms, but of course that doesn't deal with them permanently.

*The Lich carried a Sigil key, so may have been based here. The Avatarist's corporeal form is currently in Aelcliff, in the country of Bavia, on the continent of Arutlan. We need to track him or her down before they're able to further their own research, or come after us. Rule, do you think that you can find a planar key for that world?*

En route to the Oarsmen, she'll cast Nondetection on each of the magic items we took from the lich. She'll also renew her Moment of Prescience.

Ash is checking the room for anyone paying more attention to them than they'd normally deserve: [roll0]

I think I forgot to check to see if I knew anything about Bavia or Arutlan. She'll use her Moment of Prescience, then check Know Geography: [roll1] or Know Planes: [roll2]. She'll then renew Moment of Prescience.

[Archmage1]

Having led the way through Sigil, deftly weaving through a few back alleys to save some time, Eilyra pauses momentarily at the entrance, giving Ash the chance to go in first, and, when Rule gestures, Eilyra hesitates just long enough to make it clear that she isn't coming over because he ordered her to. She also doesn't respond to Ash's explanation, waiting to see if Rule wanted greater privacy, if he was so concerned about his life, or if he had specific questions.

[kinem]

Ash recalls that Arutlan has often been a war-torn land.

Several of the patrons watch as the group approaches Rule, but he gestures dismissively with his hand and that's enough for them to go right back to what they were doing.

Rule replies telepathically (and he has his own telepathy, so those with Mind Blank up can still 'hear' it but can't reply in the same way)

Interesting. This isn't a place for private verbal conversation. Eilyra, I could stop by the Black Sail tomorrow morning, if that works best.

Did you take anything from there? I would think a lich had magical items.

I've never heard of those places, but I'll make some inquiries. Hmm ... If the lich went through that portal, they must have came into Sigil through another portal. That's not much to go on since there are so many portals and they might not have come directly from the Prime.

I'm a bit worried that the ones you fought now know about you. From now on, if you want to contact me here, it's best if you don't all come as a group. One person is enough to share information and will attract less attention.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash nods and glances at the others.

*Yes, we have some items we recovered from the Lich, and some wooden minions. I believe Avarkuss has a list. There are some that we're hoping that you'll be able to liquidate, and you'll be able to take your cut from the proceeds.

*It would be difficult but not impossible for the avatarist to track us back to Sigil tonight. It might be safest for us to stay close together for the rest of the night, unless any of you have pressing business for the next few hours. Rule, do you have rooms available in this place?*

[kinem]

Rule replies telepathically I can probably fence the items.

By this time of night, all rooms are spoken for. And though my usual business is not as pressing as this affair, since there is probably no real danger tonight, and to not attract attention, I prefer to stick to my routine.

[Archmage1]

As Ash and Rule think, Eilyra looks to the barkeep, and orders a drink.

(Something more sugary and winey.)

[kinem]

The Marilith bartender - some of you have heard her referred to as Mary - mixes up a cocktail for Eilyra, with each of her six hands pouring something into the mix. "Abyss Kiss. One jinx."

The cocktail is delicious ... and not even poisonous!

[Archmage1]

Eilyra passes over the coin, and takes the proffered drink, taking a sip, with a nod. As she does, she looks to Rule, and Ash, as well as at the awkwardly standing Avakuss and Taric, before taking another sip, clearly waiting for Ash and Rule's business to conclude.

[paradox26]

Taric remains silent, listening carefully but not interjecting into the discussion. He is not the smartest or wisest of the party, and he has nothing meaningful to contribute to the discussion, since he only knows about the lich's home secondhand. So he remains silently standing guard over the squishier members of the party as they talk to Rule.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash glances at her colleagues, but gets nothing more at this point. She sends back.

*Very well. I'll take a room at the Black Sails tonight. The rest of you are welcome to join me if you wish. We'll meet you there with the stuff to be unloaded - a ring, some armour, you can probably say better than we can what it'll fetch.
I'll arrange with Joel for a meeting room. An hour past midday?*

Barring further discussion, she'll rise and head out with the others, to book a room or suite at the Black Sails.

Moving this along, if no one objects.

At the Black Sails, Ash will pay for the largest not-absurdly-expensive room and open up her pit/house inside. Others are welcome to use the room - or to open up a Magnificent Mansion from inside the room, as desired - and to pull books out of the pit to read or dry out.

Once everyone is settled in, Ash will cast Hypercognition (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/hypercognition.htm), thinking back over the minute or so that they interacted with the lich to see what else she might have picked up about him. The way he move, spoke, reacted...what does she know, but doesn't know that she knows? Because this is simply a 'mind palace' exercise, not targeting anything outside of herself, I don't think that the barrier against divinations in and out of Sigil applies.

Then, to eliminate easy options, she'll cast Discern Location to find "the phylactery of the lich we fought recently".

Then Ash will refresh her active spells for tomorrow.

[kinem]

Rule replies telepathically That's fine.

The party is able to get to the Black Sail without incident. Renting a room there costs 2 gp a night for a small one bedroom, or 5 gp for a double, and there is one of each available.

Center already has his own room there, and wishes the others a good night.

Hypercognition: Thinking back carefully, you recall the Blood Hulks outside the library. Most likely, creations of the lich. But they'd likely draw attention in Sigil. The lich had no disguise either. Did he walk around like that in Sigil? He had the gate key. But the same key can sometimes work for more than one gate ...

Discern Location, as expected, gives no answer.

[paradox26]

Taric is content to share a room, so he can guard the others while they cast their spells and powers. He doesn't bother to rent the smaller room for himself. He moves to the spot right in front of the door, then the four legged bariaur crouches down into a position where he can relax and later sleep. He keeps his weapons inside his gauntlets, where he won't cut himself but where they are ready to hand, so to speak, for when they may be needed.

[Archmage1]

Finishing her drink before she leaves for the Black Sail, Eilyra wanders into Ash's room, before she moves near one of the walls, and looks at the party for a moment, before visibly sighing, and casting a spell.


Eilyra is casting Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion, which I think should work in Sigil, but I'm not totally sure.

[Archmage1]

A few moments later, the wall starts to shimmer, in that familiar, portal like fashion, and Eilyra steps through.


Inside, a magnificent marble foyer opens before you, the gold trimmings around the magnificent carvings of elven glory, the black and gold banners, displaying a dracophoenix in flight, the two doors to either side of the rectangular room, and the broad, wide stairs on both sides of the room, leading up to a balcony, with a third door, all closed. The ceiling was a fresco, an image of the Seldarine. The banisters on the stairs were carved to appear like flowing water, moving at the command of more wizardly statues at their ends.
All in all, the appearance is truly ridiculously decadent, but at the same time, almost like a museum. The incredibly fine carvings, the frescoes in the ceilings, the gold decorations, the fine marble... it all seemed... too perfect to be real. Like a monument to elven arrogance.

Eilyra, however, seems to be standing about ten feet from the entry door, looking almost sad.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash books the double room, finds out which room is Centre's, and arranges to meet him downstairs just before midday.

In the room, she sets up her pit in an open section of floor, and nods approvingly as Eilyra opens up a portal to her mansion.

Ash hauls the 'liberated armour and other unclaimed bits and pieces up out of her apartment, and looks pointedly at Avarkuss and Taric.

*I suspect that it's too soon for the lich or anyone else to be scoping out these things, but 'suspect' is not the same as 'sure,' and it might make sense to get these over to Rule, to make them his problem, as soon as possible. Would one or both of you be willing to return to the Oarsman with these castoffs?*

She settles to do a little spellcasting. After a few minutes, her eyes snap open, and she reports her findings to her colleagues.

*The bloodhulks we fought were likely servants of the lich, but he probably didn't bring them through Sigil. It may be of some use to explore further in Pandemonium, to see if there are any other gates that his key activates.*

Before turning in in her own bed, Ash can't help but be curious about Eilyra's domain. She steps through.

*Ah, may I join you for a moment? I don't mean to intrude.*

[Archmage1]

Eilyra is standing in the marble glory of the foyer to her Magnificent Mansion, on a rich carpet of red with gold dracophoenixes worked into it as Ash enters, and she doesn't respond immediately, instead choosing to look around for another moment.
When she speaks, her voice is in her usual cool, calm tone, but there is a slight echo of regret, and sadness to it. "An echo of glory, long since tarnished, the future destroying all that the past had built in the interest of greater power, only to find it all turned to ash in the moment of their victory." She sighs, and turns to face Ash, before she continues in a more normal tone. "It's acceptable. If you'd like more space, there are guest rooms, servants, and they can prepare whatever food you might like. It would certainly be more comfortable than the tiny room in the Black Sail."

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash offers a wry smile in response to Eilyra's ultra-bleak assessment. *Sure, but the neoclassical look is making a big comeback this year. It'll be the envy of magi everywhere.*

There is a momentary pause, as Ash accepts that there are layers of hurt beyond even the expressed bleakness. She nods in response to the kind offer.

*You're kind to offer, but I have a sentimental attachment to my own bed, and I'd like to be able to hear if Taric has to face down any trouble. If you want company, you might want to speak with Avarkuss.

*And get some rest. You unlocked the secrets of a library in pandemonium today, and came back from the dead. You've earned some down time.*

[Archmage1]

Eilyra shrugs as she turns back to the splendor of the foyer. "It's your choice."

[Cavir]

Avakuss follows Eilyra and Ash into the magical mansion. He is impressed by the layout even though his own style is more minimalist. "Yes, I can take them. I don't need much sleep so I'll make the delivery, grab a room in here, then be up for dawn." He thought Ash had some other intent with the loot otherwise why not just hand the stuff to Rule back at his place?

He collected the items from Ash's pit and put the items that would fit into his haversack. The rest of the items, primarily the chain mail, three sets of large plate mail, and three large greatswords, he tied into a large bundle with rope from his pack. It took a couple of tries to get it workable so he could sling it over his shoulder. The weight wasn't the issue. it was the bulk. It was a bit tight getting the load out of the Black Sail, but once done he moved easily enough with it. As much as he could carrying arms and armor for three small giants, he kept a low profile to and from the Styx Oarsman.

[paradox26]

Taric examines the armour, and says to Ash, "I will gladly take the armour to the Oarsman. But I cannot fit it into my saddlebags of holding. I will need to keep them within your apartment in order to transport them. Is that acceptable to you?"

[Archmage1]

Eilyra shrugs at Avakuss's explanation, not really seeing the need for such urgency, but rather than complain about someone doing work that benefits her, she settles down for a night of rest, in her chambers.

However, before she sleeps, she casts one last spell: Extended Elemental Body(Air)

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash helps Avarkuss in trussing up a parcel to take - possibly with Taric - back to the Oarsman. She offers a wry aside to Taric and Avarkuss.

"Rule declined to provide a private room, and I would prefer not to welcome all of the occupants of the tavern to stare into my home.

Avarkuss, you're welcome to take the bed in this room. I'd actually very much prefer to have you here, as protection both for Eilyra's home and mine."

[paradox26]

Taric accompanies Avakuss to carry the goods with him to the Oarsman. He lets Avakuss do the carrying, and himself settles for carrying his weapons in plain sight, in order to deter the people of Sigil from trying to come near the pair.