The Fatal Syzygy - Saints

[KingRexII]

...

"Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, I was telling you about how the Five would bring about the end of this world..."

A beak underneath a hood caws out, "No wait -- who in the Nine Hells are you?"

"Like the announcer said -- I am Professor Irook Dimble Inglebert Oppenheimer Turen," he says proudly. After the unimpressed silence, he mutters, "Like any of these louts would recognize a true scholar..."

"I mean where's Beedle? We can here to see The Immortal Bard himself!"

"Oh... him... Well, I just saw him before coming on here -- I think he had a previous engagement..." he sees the disappointment in the crowd and cleverly segues, "...and he wanted me to tell you this very story." The unwashed (literally) masses grumble slightly before turning their attention back to the Professor.

With the bravest voice he could muster, he starts again, "You see this prophecy tells of five emprisoned souls, taken by some unknown force. They were collecting these people, these sinners and saints, for their own terrible goals --"

"And what terrible thing was that?" the kenku interrupts.

The Professor stumbles a little, "Well... that's interesting that you should ask. Y-you see... um... we don't really know." The fickle crowd groans in disapproval. He tries to recover, "Prophecies are tricky that way -- they-they never tell the whole story. On purpose, I think. It's up to those telling and to those listening to-to fill in the gaps." He nods to himself thinking that his explanation is quite sufficient. He wipes beads of sweat on his face.

The bird-man sighs. "Then fill in the gaps already! I'm already halfway through my meal."

"Right! Right! Um... So these uh... dark, cloaked beings were... uh... using these people for uh... um... experiments. Yes -- awful painful experiments to -- uh, make them super strong. Yes, they were making an army of super strong warriors." The bargoers look mildly interested. "So from whatever prisons they were in before, the uh... Dark Cloaks -- yes that's a good name -- the Dark Cloaks gathered them together into a stark, white cell and dressed them all in simple clothing. Dresses for the women; shirt and slacks for the men. Each one was one solid color -- like they were dressed up for one big... uh... evil ritual. Although there were five present, a sixth was missing, and uh... all six were needed for this ritual. They were drugged in their sleep -- or, y'know, for those elves and whatnot out there, in their meditative state -- and taken away surreptitiously so that no one would know where they were. They were just rousing and were still groggy when there was this great rumbling noise and a subsequent explosion not far from their room. There was screaming and fighting and a wailing siren. Just then, the door magically opens..."

Two constructs sit at the bar, next to the silenced man who continues to swear wordlessly. One turns to the other and exasperatedly says "I hate Open Mike Night."


The five of you wake in a stupor in a room that you weren't in before. You lie on bedrolls all lined in a row. The room itself is just four featureless white walls, an equally featureless ceiling (~15' tall), and a flat white floor. The room is 30' x 15' and holds nothing else. You see no door, but you hear the explosion and commotion from the side where your feet were pointing.

((OOC: All right folks, just a fair warning as time is supposed to move fairly quickly here. You've got one post to give a general description of your character and maybe do or say something witty before fate starts throwing crap at you. Just so it's clear -- we're right before the 'door magically opens' part (though your characters don't know that). Once everyone has checked in, we'll get this party going.))

[Toliudar]

Bala

Waking up in a strange place, Bala instinctively rolls out of bed - and ends up at the same level, tangled in her bedroll. Her head is fuzzy with pain and a strange sense of deja vu. She glances around at the other four people lying nearby.

Let's see. Two women, a man and...oh, he's a big one. Well, deal with that soon enough.

The auburn-furred Hadozee rolls nimbly to her feet, ignoring another burst of fireworks at the base of her skull. Last thing she remembered had been a night out on the town with a few old friends from the Surfdrinker. And she certainly wasn't wearing this hideous green dress.

Seeing nothing else she could do immediately in this bare cell, Bala tore the bottom foot or so of her dress' hems, binding the front and back together into a one-piece garment more comfortable for her. And sat down to think.

Hey! Bala winced and modulated down. Hey, wake up.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd Gram

"The... hells...?" The half giant slowly rises to his feet, cradling his head and wincing. The man is but a few inches shy of eight feet tall, with massive shoulders and a clunky, muscular build. His blond hair is cropped close to his head, trimmed and styled neatly (though in need of a comb at the moment). He is also in need of a shave, his stubble beginning to show on his squared jaw. His blue eyes are bleary and confused at first, but as he becomes aware of his situation, they squint into an angry glare. There is a nasty, dark scar over his left eye--a dark, striking marring of otherwise light skin. Overall, one might consider him ruggedly ha

He scans the room for a door, and growls upon finding none. "By the pits, what is this!?" he yells, gritting his teeth against his pounding headache. He scans around--a monkey and three humans. His gaze hovers on the human women for a few moments longer than the rest, but that passes quickly. He turns back to the wall where the sounds of explosions are coming from and approaches the wall. "No door, huh? I'd've stayed put in jail... but this is beyond weird."

<<Entering Punishing Stance: +1d6 damage, -2 AC>>

[Dreamshifter]

Armina Amyril

The woman in the yellow dress moans, then sits. She grasps her head in both hands. "What... Where... Ugh, why does my head hurt so?" She runs her finders through her close cropped red hair, then realizes she isn't in her clothes any more. Scrambling to her feet, she looks at the bright yellow dress and then around the room.

"Ok, who put me in this?" It occurs to her as she speaks that the others are apparently in the same boat. Realizing that she has been out for a while, she focuses for a moment, then says "So, does anyone have any idea just what exactly is going on here?"

((OOC: Activating Inertial Armor, for 1 PP.))

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd looks down to the woman who'd just woke up with a sneer. His tone carries with it deep anger. "The hell kind of stupid question is that? We were knocked out, stripped, and thrown into a room with no door! You think you're gonna get any more information than that?" He spits into a corner and paces around, staring intently at the wall, apparently looking for an opening.

<<Taking 10 on a concentration check to get psionic focus.>>

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Armina returns half-giant's look without emotion."Well, no, not if no one was awake, but since I was out, how can I be sure everyone else was?" She looks around the room once more, then shrugs.

((OOC: If there is time before the door opens, Armina will also take 10 to become psionically focused.))

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

A muscular, but thin man slowly stirs from one of the bedrolls. He has long greasy black hair and stubble that has not been shaved for several days, in fact, it almost borders on a beard. He rubs his blue eyes that are placed on either side of a large pointed nose that has obviously been broken once or twice. He sits there for a few seconds as if in a daze before finally standing. His movements are fluid, if still a bit unsteady.

"Well, I certainly was out cold, for one," he replies to the woman's question. "Though this seems very odd, how did we get in here with no door? There's always the magic explanation, but there's not much I can do if that's the case." He moves over to a corner and begins moving around the room, slowly examining each of the walls, the floor and ceiling in turn for any signs of a secret exit. "I don't really expect to find anything, but might as well look."

[Toliudar]

Bala

The simian woman raises her head.

Now that's good thinking. Hey, shorty.

She points at Sigurd as she rises.

While genius here checks the walls for some way in, what say you help me check the ceiling. Mind if I climb onto your shoulders?

She extends her long arms as she ambles over to him.

Might just be able to reach.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary winched whenever the distant voices tried to invade into her dreams. The intrusive words ebbed and flowed in equal parts, going loud and then quiet, slowly washing away her the dreamy visage of her tall husband and bright-eyed children. She was awake now but listless and listening. No one was speaking now and the only voice she could hear was the one of disappointment that said she that the family of her dreams didn't exist yet. She sighed.

Pushing her svelte frame up feebly to a sitting position, the brunette with eyes shut still groaned lightly. Her head was spinning slightly but she managed to keep her oval, gentle face unmoving. The sleeveless shirt she wore went with the the brown trousers that only peeked out from under the sheets she was still wrapped in.

“Children please,” she said slowly. Her sleepy, hazel eyes opened slightly. They revealed a soft, steely strength, as though the windows to her soul used simple birdsong to express an inner sonata. “Couldn't you be quiet this early in the morning?”

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon grins and nods to the simian as he continues to search.

I realized I forgot to roll the search check. Doubt he'll find anything before something else happens, but here's the roll just in case.

[roll0]

[KingRexII]

A second, even larger explosion rattles your world. Almost simultaneously, a body comes barreling through the door to your cell. The charred flesh splinters open the door and parts of the frame with it, spraying the cell with projectile debris1. Bala and Armina are hit hard by chunks of stone and shards of wood. They fall over from the force of the impact. Sigurd is lucky and is just out of the spray zone. Mary also goes unscathed, but just barely as a severed arm flies right above her head. It is fortunate that she is sitting down. Jaxon is not so fortunate as the explosion happens just as he finds the door. In that moment, his body instinctively tries to get out of the way2.

Outside the cell, you can see two or three other body parts and one whole body trying to get up despite being engulfed in flames. The air is smokey and full of airborne debris, which is quickly filling up your room3. It smells like a mixture of earth, fire and a tinge of something else4.


1I treated this like a trap doing 1d10 damage at a +5 AB versus everyone. Damage and attack rolls were made. Bala takes 9 damage; Armina takes 10. Both are prone.
2Jaxon's special as he's just found the door. He gets 10 damage with a Reflex save, DC 20, for half. dariathalon -- please roll a Reflex save for your next post.
3Any senses that depend on sight, smell or taste have a -4 penalty to checks.
4Know(Dungeon) DC 15 to identify the smell:

The smell is a gas (Suspension of belief moment -- yes, I know natural gas is odorless. Let's just say that fantasy gas smells worse.) and is extremely explosive when there is a spark and highly flammable.

[Proven_Paradox]

"****!" Sigurd raises his arms to deflect the worst of the shrapnel; most of it doesn't even pierce his thick, tough skin. Once the dust settles, his gaze quickly goes to the body. He kneels down beside it and begins looking for a melee weapon as well as any other equipment he might be able to use.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Ow.

Tumbled to the ground and with her ears ringing, Bala rises slowly and painfully. She squints into the haze to try to make out what's happening beyond the doorway. She makes out the body parts on the ground, grimaces, and goes to examine them.

Looking for a bit of leather clothing on any of the bits of person that just blew in. She needs it as a focus for a spell.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Caught off guard, Armina is battered by the debris, and finds herself on the floor. Dripping blood from a cut on her cheek, she scrambles to her feet. She swears briefly, then wipes her cheek. "Well, I guess that's the door. Not much point in staying, I think." She moves to the doorway, watching for more explosives.

[KingRexII]

Sigurd goes through the body that was flung through the door.

'Sigil'? :smalltongue:

Sigurd's search comes up very fruitful.
Healing Belt (Bala)
Silvered Dagger (Jaxon)
Masterwork Warhammer (Jaxon)
Mithral Chain shirt (Jaxon)(though it'll take a little bit of time to take it off the corpse)
As he touches the items, his brain somehow knows what their magical properties are.


Bala can find bits of leather that used to be part of a cloak. On one of the hands, she finds...

a Ring of Protection +1 (Sigurd)
the bit of leather she's looking for
As she touches the items, her brain somehow knows what their magical properties are.


Armina goes outside of the cell. The burning man screams at her, "Help me!" Looking around, this is what she can see:

Some of the walls and parts of the ceiling are on fire. To her left, she sees some fires being extinguished by some magical forces. The hallway goes about 40' before bending to the right. To her right, there aren't any fires, but the walls are charred, dented, or destroyed. The ground is covered in wood and stone chunks. This side of the hallway goes for about another 40' before bending left. Besides the other chunks of flesh, she sees nothing else interesting through the smoke and debris.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala doesn't have time to figure out why or how things are happening the way they are. Enough to process what's happening. She slips the ring on and hastily completes a protective spell.

Still clutching the scorched bit of leather in her hand - the leather blending with the colour of her fur - she shambles towards the door.

Casting Mage Armour. Out in the hallway, trying to figure out what spells are being activated to fight the fires: spellcraft [roll0]

[KingRexII]

For Toliudar:



Out in the hallway, trying to figure out what spells are being activated to fight the fires: spellcraft [roll0]
Quench & Create Water

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd proceeds to strip the man of what he can, holding up the dagger and shouting, "Up for grabs if you want it!" He then proceeds to take the war hammer and begins crunching the corpse's limbs to make the stripping process go faster--a mithral shirt would be valuable even if it doesn't fit him. He'll spend as much time as he needs to get the shirt.

Dammit! That was another name I was considering for the character. Hopefully that won't happen again, but oh well if it does.

Also, can Sigurd wear the belt, or is it too small for him?

[KingRexII]

The body that Sigurd is stripping and mutilating is 'medium' sized. Its items should fit a medium sized creature just fine.


Sigil is also my character's name in Aleval -- a game we're in together.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Having nothing on hand to extinguish the burning man, she tries to herd him down the hall to her left, where the fires are being put out. "This way, friend. The magic will put the flames out, I'm sure." She will grab him if he hesitates, though.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon's dodge is too slow, and he gets slammed with the full force of several pieces of debris flying toward him. "Uhff," the air escapes his lungs. He takes a moment to recompose himself, standing hunched over with his hands on his knees. Then he steps into the hall. He sniffs at the air for a moment, catching a whiff of something vaguely familiar, but shakes his head as he is unable to place it.

Seeing Sigurd has already stripped much of the body, he walks over and takes the dagger from him. "A dagger is better than no weapon at all," he says. He tucks it into his belt and moves over to help Arminia. He tries to grab the burning man in whatever means seems safe, and help pull him the way she directs.

Failed Knowledge check and Reflex save in roll thread. Guess the evasion wouldn't have mattered anyway.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd finishes undoing the corpse's chain armor and flings it to the side, along with the belt. "Healing belt and a nice set a' chain. Too small for me." If no one moves to take them, Sigurd will scoop them up and carry them for now.

He moves out into the hallway, hardly flinching at the heat of the flames--another advantage of his giant blood. Seeing the others carrying one man to the extinguishing magic, Sigurd decides to pitch in, scooping up the other two figures (presumably corpses by now?) and lugs them none-too-gently towards the said shelter from the flames.
...
*Checks Aleval*
*Comes back and compares names*

Heeey, you -are- the same dude! I -thought- that avatar looked familiar. Yet somehow, the connection never clicked. *Headdesk*


And I realize that as a technically medium sized creature, by the rules he's able to wear those. But they're obviously from someone else's wish list and they aren't essential to Sigurd working right (a weapon is, though, so he's keeping the hammer). Plus, the idea of a character that's so big he's almost large sized being able to wear some non-magical armor from some normal-medium sized character is just wonky.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Seeing Armina trying to help the burning man down the hallway, Bala nods approvingly as Sigurd scoops the other two.

Down the hall. Something's generating water automatically. Might help.

She decides to take an advance peek down the left-side hallway - at the very least, to get free of this infernal smoke.

As needed, spot [roll0] and listen [roll1], -4 if she remains in the smoke/fog/gas.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon glances at the chain shirt. "I might try the chain on in a bit, got my hands full at the moment though," he says as he continues to help the burning man away.

I think it's a good idea to try IC to make sure that things eventually get to their wishlist owners. It seems only right. Can we agree to this?

In that line of thinking, I'll state that the warhammer, dagger and possibly the chain shirt were all on mine. The warhammer and a silvered dagger certainly were, and there was a Mithral Chain Shirt +1 on my list. Is that what you meant, KingRex? Or did someone else request a non-magic mithral chain shirt?

That said, I have no problem with leaving the warhammer in the heavy fighter's hands at least until he gets a better weapon. Jaxon is more of an archer anyway.

[Toliudar]

Sounds good to me. Bala's just found a +1 ring of protection, and it wasn't on her wish list, so once we all get introduced, she'd be happy to turn it over to the "rightful owner.

[Dreamshifter]

Makes sense. Armina's list, such as it is, is at the end of her possessions list. Really, she only needs two things, and one of those is mostly for appearances sake (that'd be the scimitar, though the deep crystal factor helps with her damage).

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Wide eyed, ears ringing and mind more turbulent than everything and everyone around here it hit her hard somewhere between bodies flying and strangers rushing all around her that she wasn't at the orphanage. There would be no rounds today or preparing foods or talking out problems. She began to shake at that terrifying realization. When the smoke started barrelling into the room she started taking short panicked breathes. Three people that had been blasted off their feet were back on them as though this was all well within their ordinary lives. They were discussing wearing accessories wrenched from a charred corpse that had tried to give her a flaming slap earlier. A talking fur coat then said something about water.

It dimly occurred to the terrified Mary that the explosions and smoke meant fire. Fire she could prevent, put out, get out. She stood on shaky knees and immediately coughed, and squinted hazel eyes against the happily stinging smoke clouds. It was hard to see. Shaking her head in disbelief she then saw a burning corpse being escorted towards water amidst all the madness. Some woman was helping. Mary hesitated, shook all over, and then realized how agonizing every step must have felt for that poor person. She hurriedly went over to them, held her hands as high and close over the man as she could, and then cast create water to try and make a fountain effect.

[KingRexII]

The burning man takes all the help he can get, and it becomes apparent that he can't walk under his own power. Armina, Jaxon help him over to the source of the magics while Sigurd works on the ones that are no longer alive. Moving the burning man is difficult, but the two manage not to get too badly hurt1. Bala bounds ahead of them and looks around the corner2.

Mary finally shakes herself from her stupor and rushes to the burning man's aid before Armina and Jaxon are able to drag him to the corner. The Create Water spells works perfectly and snuffs out the flame (and dampens Armina and Jaxon as well). The once-burning man slumps to the ground into the small pool of water created by the spell. He groans as he curls himself into a ball.

Down the hallway towards the area Bala is looking, you all hear a booming voice, "Where's Argos?!" You cannot hear the answers to his question nor anything else above the commotion.


1Armina and Jaxon each take 3 nonlethal damage. Hmmm... Jaxon's not looking so good. :smalleek:
2

You see two metal beetles casting the spells, try to get rid of all the fires. Knowledge: Arcana DC 11:

The beetles look like 'Clockwork Horrors', which you know to be intelligent constructs who want all the world's metal in order to replicate themselves. They can be found in metal mines where they methodically, efficiently, and unwaveringly strip everything for raw materials.

Knowledge: Arcana DC 16 (use the same roll):

They communicate in their own language of mechanical sounds. They have a linked mind that allows for instant communication with all others within 10 miles of each other. They will ignore nonmechanical creatures unless those beings pose a threat or possess metal.

Knowledge: Arcana DC 21 (use the same roll):

Clockwork Horrors have gems that sit on top of their heads, and their base metal shell is overlaid with a thin patina of precious or semiprecious metal. That's how you know that these aren't Clockwork Horrors -- the gem looks more like a crystal of some sort, and their chassis isn't adorned with anything. They also are acting strangely, casting spells from their maws instead of the usual buzz saw or knife that resides where their mouths ought to be. More than likely, these are modified versions of Clockwork Horrors.




After you hear the man asking a question about Argos, you also see figures off in the distance -- about 80' to 100' feet away. Maybe fighting.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd drops the two corpses unceremoniously when they reach the point where the fires have been quenched. Looking to the other man, he mutters, "Yeah, you look like the sort who'd do okay with some light chain..." He passes the armor to the man when he empties his hands, then goes to stripping the corpses of any valuables or equipment that might be useful. He gives an occasional glance to the approaching figures and says, "Heads up, company approaching and they look unfriendly."

Yeah, items from wishlists need to go to the people who asked for them when we can manage it. As soon as we get ahold of a better melee weapon (preferably a large one) Sigurd would be willing to pass that back to Jaxon. But until then, Sigurd's at a major disadvantage without a weapon. I guess I could go for disarms or grapples, but that'd still involve AoOs. His AC is currently PHALE.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

After setting the man down, Jaxon receives the chain shirt from Sigurd. "Uh... Thanks," he says, not quite certain how to thank him for such a precious offering.

He puts the armor on as quickly as he can, but he is obviously moving more slowly from the numerous bruises and burns that he's already suffered. "Need to be more careful..." he mutters to himself. The armor seems to be a fairly good fit. He pulls the dagger from his belt at Sigurd's warning.

He looks around from face to face, pausing for a moment on each of the other prisoners and the man curled at their feet. "So, anybody here named Argos?" he asks.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina focuses for a moment, and a shimmering shield appears briefly in front of her. "Not I, clearly. I am Armina, since we haven't shared names, which could be helpful. Hopefully the formerly flaming one is Argos, but I fear that he may turn out to be the poor soul who use to own that chain shirt..."


Armina spends 1 PP for Force Screen, 2 minutes duration

[Proven_Paradox]

Still rummaging through the corpses' things, the half-giant mutters, "Sigurd. An' I don't think they'd be terribly friendly even if we were all named Argos, somehow."

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon nods to each person as they introduce themselves. "I'm Jaxon," he says in response.

[Toliudar]

The simian woman lopes back towards the others.

And I'm Bala. If it helps, I had a cat names Argos once.

Spellcraft [roll0]

She points back down the hallway.

So, there's these two beetle-like constructs. Fascinating, under other circumstances. Modified Clockwork Horrors, if you're familiar, only helping to put out fires instead of carving up every bit of metal in sight. Which suggests that our captors or hosts as you see fit are either highly magically sophisticated, or a society of constructs. In any case, I wouldn't get too close, unless you're on fire, in which case what the heck.

She pauses.

Oh, and there are also people fighting in that direction. A good direction not to go in, if you ask me.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary seemingly collapses to her knees to the left of the man, edging away the man that introduced himself as Jaxon. She didn't introduce herself, too concerned with the charred man. There was little she could do by herself that would surely stabilize his deteriorating health. Not without medical supplies. Her head shook in bewilderment; this was so much worst than any scrape of the knee or elbow she was used to putting plasters and kisses over.

“You're going to be fine,” she assured him softly, and with a certainty that wasn't surprising to herself. The issue was out of her league but well within the one she had faith for. Grasping the burnt, blooded limb that was to be his hand with her right, she then also clasped her left hand over it and shut her eyes as though in prayer.

Estanna, my goddess, please ease this unknown son's suffering.

From her near-pale skin to his blackened features, a cure light wound spell flowed, a river of magical mercy to wash away his injuries.


Cure Light Wounds
[roll0] +4 (caster level) +5 (Charisma bonus only Healer's get) = 14

[KingRexII]

The metallic beetles skitter and click there way to the corner and begin dealing with the flames down the corridor all of you are in. They seem to ignore you.

Sigurd continues to search the different body parts for anything he can scrounge up:

One of them looks like it used to be a head. He finds:
Amulet of Natural Armor +1(Sigurd)
Headband of Intellect +2 (Bala)
5 pp


Mary's spell does wonders for the man's complexion. He uncurls slightly, looks up and says, "You-you're beautiful... Am I dead? Are you an angel?" You can see on his forehead a tattoo, or perhaps a brand -- it is difficult to tell as patches of his face are still crispy. You can make out a circle with a dot in the middle of it.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

She smiled in surprise, his compliment bringing the lightest blush. Then she saw the odd mark on his head, and somehow it only added to the sheer weight of confusing thoughts about the entire situation. Her smile vanished.

“Not exactly,” she said in the gentle disposition befitting bedside manner. “I'm Mary. You're alive, but none of us are safe here.”

It immediately occurred that she should have mentioned those that had actually saved him. The benevolence of her goddess, the quick-thinking of Armina, the sheer selflessness of her and Jaxon to guide a burning man towards relieve. If Mary hadn't seen them acting she might never have reacted. She wanted to mention them, but at the turbulent time and in the smoky air, saving breathe for important issues seemed best. The man had only then recovered and she didn't want to upset or overwhelm him. Somehow, just taking care of others always made her feel more centred.

“Tell me, what is your name? Are you able to stand?”

Mary stayed nearby to help ease him unto his feet, but also to act as a walking crutch should he need it. She looked up towards the others, but she found her gaze lingering most on the woman-creature called Bala. Quietly she was asking where they should go next.

[KingRexII]

"My name is A--" The last syllable turns into a strained groan as the mark on his forehead glows yellow. He scrambles to get the next words out as if he knows that something is happening to him. "Back that way" -- he points to your right away from the beetles and sounds of fighting -- "there is a hole in the back of one of the cells. It will lead--" His teeth clench, and his hand grabs his chest as if he were trying to keep something in. The mark on his forehead glows brighter.

He takes one of Mary's hands and places a small marble-like object into her palm. It is warm and soothing to the touch. It is mostly blue with small swirls of white constantly moving through the medium. His eyes grow wide, "Don't let them get it!" The circle and dot burn brighter than the fires around you. The man makes one more muffled scream before slumping back into the small pool of water with a splash.

An arrow clangs against one of the beetles. Both of them suddenly stop dealing with the fires and pause for a second. Then, they turn back around and head down the hallway. Thankfully, they have put out most of the fires.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala makes eye contact with Mary as the man slumps to the ground. The Hadozee woman shrugs, displaying a range of motion that on a more human physique would involve dislocating both arms. As best she can in the smoke, she makes eye contact with the others.

Sounds like excellent advice. Hole in the cell. Don't let them get it. Let's get the hell out of here!

She bounds down the hallway to the right of the initial entrance, away from the clanging of arrow fire.

[Proven_Paradox]

"Sounds about right to me..." Sigurd mutters as he throws the amulet over his neck, breathing something about it being better than nothing. He grabs the headband, figuring he'd distribute it later, and pockets the coins. On his way past the corpse of the man they'd saved just so he could die, he will look him over and take anything potentially valuable that he can get quickly--weapons, rings, amulets, and other such loose articles. That done, he'll wave for the others to move ahead of him and put himself between any oncoming arrows and the smaller, weaker people he's with.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

"Well, who am I to argue with getting out of here?" She also does a quick inspection of A--, before setting off down the hall at her full speed. "I wonder if he was about to say he was Argos? No matter, I suppose. The most important thing now is to get out of here."

She can't help but wonder which them exactly they are supposed to not give the object to, and quickly reaches the conclusion that the best course is to give it to no one, ever.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon looks at Mary, a pained expression on his face. "Is he...?" he asks, not wanting to complete the thought.

If Mary informs him that the burnt man has passed away, he'll hurry down the hallway as well. He moves, quickly, probably faster than anyone else so he soon finds his way to the point position. Once there, he slows so that the others can keep up with him. He keeps his eyes open and listens carefully for further signs of trouble as they proceed.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary stared in listless horror. In the final moments she had been present, for all the healing she had been taught, none of it had kept him from a painful passing. When Jaxon spoke, it was clear he had as much enthusiasm to finish the thought as she did to answer it. Amid all the pillaging of corpses, she found that small seed of empathy especially comforting. A solemn nod answered him. The sapphire marble in her hand pulsed, a gentle heartbeat of urgency, compelling her to leave. She stood and went towards the hopeful exit, a reluctant glance and a quiet thanks to the man that may have just saved them from an equally cruel fate.

The last person to leave the scene, and so closest to the fighting, she quickly picked up the belt that apparently had healing potential inside of it. Mary suppressed the thought about where the item had come from. Instead, she focused on Bala, Jaxon, and Armina, the three she knew to be injured. The healer touched each of them in an unalarming a manner as she could while drawing on the belt's power. She noticed as she moved between them that the belt seemed to all but fizzle out on the final casting.



Healing results

Bala: [roll0]
Jaxon: [roll1]
Armina: [roll2]

[Toliudar]

Bala

The hadozee turns, startled at Mary's touch, but breathes deeply as her pain recedes completely. Her smile is huge.

An odd one, this Mary. So gentle, but quick witted.

"Thanks kindly, miss. That's much better.

She gestures at the corridor ahead, suggesting they walk together.

Um. I don't suppose anybody else remembers how they got here? Or, um, where 'here' might be?

[Proven_Paradox]

"We can talk about that when we have fewer arrows flying at our asses! Just move! Go!" Sigurd barks, throwing occasional glances behind him, trying to keep an eye on the guys fighting.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

At the far corner, Armina glances up the new hall as she waits for the others to catch up, before letting the speedy Jaxon take point. She bows her head to Mary as the healing kicks in, happy to see at least some of her wounds seal up. "Ah, thank-you for that. So, I guess we check the cells. I don't suppose the one with the way out would be open, I'd hate to have to check them all."

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon pauses momentarily to recieve Mary's healing touch. "Thanks. Was beginning to get a little scuffed up. That feels much better. We'd better keep moving though." He moves down the hallway, keeping his perceptions on full alert for the exit that is supposed to be down here somewhere.

I don't know what's appropriate here, so here are a few rolls.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
Heck, if possible, he'll even attempt to track.
[roll3]

[KingRexII]

Armina's worries of having to search every cell seems to be a moot point. As Jaxon turns the corner, he sees the source of one of the explosions. There is a large gaping hole in the wall on his right hand side. In the hallway directly outside of the hole is a large pile of rubble consisting of wood, metal and stone. He can see a few limbs sticking out from under the pile -- all charred. The pile is waist high for the scout and looking inside, he sees a small room completely blackened. Its walls are concave from the blast, and there is a lot of debris everywhere. At the back end of the room, a part of the wall has been blown away revealing a small tunnel1 whose end you cannot see. At the end of the hallway through the smoke and debris, he sees that there are more signs of people fighting about 70' away. They seem oblivious to your presence.

Sigurd keeps an eye out for anyone turning the corner behind them, but so far, it is clear.


1A small creature can walk through it just fine, but a medium creature will more than likely need to crawl through.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon turns to the group behind him. "Looks like we're going to have to go through a fight this way too. Let's take a second to search through this pile. Maybe there's a little more armor or another weapon or two we can use. I'm betting at least one side in that fight ahead will want to keep us from getting out of here."

He turns and begins searching through the pile in front of him, quickly but thoroughly.

[roll0]

[Toliudar]

Bala

The Hadozee woman scampers after Jaxon. She nods at his advice.

Good idea. And I like the idea of using our abductors' accountrements against them.

Joining in the search, which can either be an aid another or a separate check, as KingRex sees fit. Search: [roll0]

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary didn't add her efforts to rummaging through the pile. She saw the wisdom in arming themselves, but there was heavy doubt in her mind anything would come from the scrap-heap treasure hunt. Instead the brunette tentatively stepped into the blackened room and saw a small tunnel. This is the cell that unfortunate man spoke of, she realized. She crouched down, peering inside the long tunnel, and then hesitated. This makeshift exit would accompany her just fine, but there was a problem obvious to her own mind. She returned to the group, asking urgently but quietly, low enough that the vigilant but distanced warrior wouldn't hear her. There was little point in worrying him with potentially poor news yet.

“Can anyone here use magic?

“Arcane magic,” the afterthought immediately occurred because she had yet to hear of any divine spell that could accomplish what she was hoping for. “There's a tunnel we can use inside that blackened room, but I don't think Sigurd can fit through it. I know there's a spell that can be used to make surfaces slippery. If it's necessary, are any of you able to cast it on him?”

If chainmail isn't going to fit on our token half-giant, then I'm assuming that tunnel is going to be an issue for him too.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Looking at Mary, Armina shakes her head. "My power is drawn from my mind, not from arcane knowledge. And while I seen similar feats done with such powers, I believe that it can only be used to affect one's self, not others. Besides, I think he might squeeze through." She stares at the half giant for a moment, then back to the hole. "Well, maybe."




If chainmail isn't going to fit on our token half-giant, then I'm assuming that tunnel is going to be an issue for him too.
I believe it would have, but the player decided it didn't make much sense. So, while it'll be a really tight fit, he should be able to make it. Even if he has to crawl...

[Paramour Pink]

Yup, it was because PP mentioned the chain-mail issue that I brought up this would-be problem in the game itself (I'm trying to build on what he imagined/mentioned). For all I know, he'll have no problem whatsoever (that's of course down to what PP says).

As a complete magic dunce (on top of other areas) myself, I don't completely get what Armina's saying though. What I (the player, not exactly Mary) had in mind was the "grease (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/grease.htm)" spell. It can trip up a bunch of people by making the floor extra, extra slippery. So I was thinking, "hey, why not slather our sexy half-giant up with grease to make him squeak through?"

I'm almost shocked you would try to take away this key excuse for my master plan. :smalltongue:

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala glances up from her searching of remains. She peers at the small tunnel.

I have such capability, but it would last for only a very short time. I'd say Big Boy here should try squirming through under his own power, and I can apply the grease if he gets stuck.

I love the IDEA of the plan, Paramour Pink, but since the spell will only last 5 rounds, there are obvious dangers. Also, until she recovers a (her) spell book, Bala will be a bit more miserly than she might otherwise be with her spells.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd peers at the tiny tunnel, quietly muttering curses under his breath. As the others discuss how he'll get through, he says, "I think I can get through that. You'd be amazed the tight spaces you can get into with enough brute force. Gonna scrape up my shoulders, but I've had far worse. This is gonna get snagged in there though..." With that, he takes off his shirt--revealing a torso abolutely riddled with scars from dozens of sword, spear, and arrow wounds. He balls the shirt up and says, "I need to be last in there; it'd be bad if I got stuck and everyone else wasn't already through."

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Looking over the Half-Giant's body, Armina grins. "And here I always thought that the secret to winning fights was to not get hit! Clearly, I've been using the wrong strategy. Though, I suppose I'm making up for it today." She runs a hand over the partly healed cut on her face.

"Still, you've got a point on the going last part. And on that note, lets get ourselves out of here." She makes for the entrance, ready to lead the way, or follow, as needed.


Yup, it was because PP mentioned the chain-mail issue that I brought up this would-be problem in the game itself (I'm trying to build on what he imagined/mentioned). For all I know, he'll have no problem whatsoever (that's of course down to what PP says).

As a complete magic dunce (on top of other areas) myself, I don't completely get what Armina's saying though. What I (the player, not exactly Mary) had in mind was the "grease (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/grease.htm)" spell. It can trip up a bunch of people by making the floor extra, extra slippery. So I was thinking, "hey, why not slather our sexy half-giant up with grease to make him squeak through?"

I'm almost shocked you would try to take away this key excuse for my master plan. :smalltongue:
Oh. Oh, yeah. That spell could work, too. I was thinking the size changing one, which PsyWars get at level one. I know there's an arcane version, and thought it was level one as well. But I don't recall, and didn't bother to look it up (which I probably should have). Still, Grease could work, too!

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd sneers at the woman and says, "You try dodging 10 blows at a time at my size and see how you like it."



Oh. Oh, yeah. That spell could work, too. I was thinking the size changing one, which PsyWars get at level one. I know there's an arcane version, and thought it was level one as well. But I don't recall, and didn't bother to look it up (which I probably should have). Still, Grease could work, too!

You're thinking Reduce/Enlarge person. And, seeing as Sigurd's type is giant rather than humanoid, those spells would do jack squat to him. Next level will by psychic warrior, and the first power he's taking is expansion. It looks like reduction might be a good idea to throw in there somewhere too, though. I think that'll be psywar 3.

[KingRexII]

As Bala and Jaxon search through the pile, they realize that one of the explosions must have been around here. They find nothing they could salvage, though they can recognize three platinum pieces... that have melted and re-solidified together.

The five intrepid souls crawl through the tunnel for about 50'. The tunnel is smooth, but a little sooty. The smell from before is strongest in the middle, but then fades away as you reach the dimly lit end of it. As you crawl out of the hole, you find yourselves in a modest room. The explosion seems to have come out here as well as there are smoldering hunks of wood that look like they used to be closets and beds. The door seems to have been blown off its hinges. Searching around, you don't find anything of anything of particular value. As you step outside the door, you find yourselves in a grand hall -- about 100' long and nearly just as wide. The pillars which hold up the ~30' ceilings are in bad repair. Despite missing bits and pieces of stone here and there, though, they seem to be doing their job properly. The walls are lined with portrait paintings, and all of these look old. Some of them are in pieces. The ground is littered with bones and rusting weapons and armor. It is clear that a great battle once took place in this hall. All of this is barely lit with luminescent mushrooms scattered around the floor.

But that isn't the most interest part -- that is reserved for the campfire in the center of hall where it has been cleared of debris. There are too figures, currently obscured by the roaring fire. One is standing upright brandishing a sword while another is nearly completely blocked by the flames. You can hear them talking in the echoing silence of the cavern even before you all finish exiting the tunnel.

A hissing and gruff voice says, "Now, I'll give you one more chance since we were interrupted. What are you doing here?"

A husky male voice answers, "Please don't kill me! I- I- I know nothing! My team was ambushed by... by... well... kobolds. I ran. I- I- I don't know what happened to the others. I thought I'd be safe here. I'm so sorry." You hear a pleading whimper.


Sorry to push it along, but truthfully, I didn't have anything interesting for you guys until here. Here's the map. You guys entered from the top left, and I'm presuming that you all are within E2 - G4 right now, looking out into the Great Hall. You can see the fire around P12-ish with the two figures on the other side of the fire.

The double lines are doors (or where doors used to be). The Os are pillars.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q219/KingRexII/cavern1.jpg

[Toliudar]

Bala

I'm good with the fast forward - way to go!

Hide check [roll0]

Back before entering the tunnel, Bala glances quickly at the half-melted coins, hoping that they would at least give some indication of what country they were currently in.

Looking in at the great hall:

Bala tries to stay low and draw no attention to herself. She knew so little about what was going on, it was difficult to guage what side to help in the current circumstances - if at all.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary chewed on her thumb's fingernail. Her eyes were creased in concern, thoughts grappling with what she wanted to do, escape or assist, and she earnestly hoped someone else might suggest the right thing they should all do. But then she was unsure what was the right. This situation was completely outside of her demi-goddesses of family, home and hearth's teachings. She didn't have the tactical brilliance of her father, had been too afraid to fully learn the talents of her mother, and had none of their resources, except that she was their daughter.

Estanna willing, that's all I need to stop this.

The brunette heard from what was said and how it was said that there wasn't time for deliberation. She could see glimpses and glimmers of multiple exits, and knew in one unsettling moment it would have been selfish to ask any of them to help her intercede. It would put their potential, personal freedoms at risk.

“Here,” she handed the sapphire marble over to Jaxon, thinking it was safest with him. Mary muttered as quietly as she could in the echoing hall, “If you want to stay hidden, don't follow me.”

She then snuck uneasily away from the group, her every step unsure as she picked a path between the debris about the floor in an attempt to be quiet, but also stay obscured from the campsite through use of the damaged pillars. She didn't want to drag attention towards the other escaping prisoners while she was nearby them. When some distance away from them, and closer to the campfire, she drew upon divine energy to set a sanctuary of unseen energy that dissuaded others from directly attacking her.

Revealing herself plainly to the two near the camp, the healer said earnestly, “Please, there's no need to harm him. He clearly doesn't want to earn your ire, sir, so I doubt he would lie about his purpose here.”

The woman took a unsure step nearer to them, feeling as though she was slowly coming closer to the point of this interruption, despite not knowing how to resolve this.

“He's...like me. Just trying to make our way peaceably out of this place – it's so chaotic. This is probably just a misunderstanding between the two of you. One that can end without any bloodshed. Neither he nor myself would have any problems leaving you untroubled here and now.”

She paused, trying to spot anything particular about the armed figure, anything that might better identify him or inform her about what he would want. She hesitated, then said, “Is there anything you wanted to know from him? I might be able to help.”


Mary is roughly around N11 right now.

[roll0] +0 Hide result.
[roll1] +0 Move Silently result.
[roll2] +21 = Diplomacy result.
[roll3] +2 = Spot result.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

As the healer heads out and starts talking, Armina's face assumes a particularly quizzical expression. She speaks just louder than a whisper, trying to remain unseen and unheard. "Well, so much for stealth. Still, you have to admire her courage, if not necessarily her intelligence." Keeping herself out of view, Armina waits to see if this attempt at non-violence works, before she charges in. I do wish she weren't quite so far away, though. I don't think I can reach her in time to protect her, should things go wrong...

[Proven_Paradox]

"What is she...?" Sigurd stares after the healer as she walks away, and quietly puts his hand over his face as she reveals herself, giving a low growl. "There's a difference between courage and stupidity. This is definitely the latter. She deserves whatever she gets."

The half-giant peeks into the room a bit and points towards one of the doors ((L4)). "If she's gonna throw her life away, we might as well make use of it. She'll take their attention. Let's move to that door." With that, he begins moving, hugging the walls on his way. ((Taking ten on hide/move silently, result of 10 for both.))

[Toliudar]

Bala

Shrugging expansively, Bala nods at Sigurd's suggestion, and begins to follow him towards the door as quietly as she can.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Watching the others (try to) sneak off, Armina screws up her face even more, then it fades back to a neutral expression. She turns to the only other person still waiting. "Jaxon, guard that crystal with your life, and make sure it gets out of here. I'll keep an eye on the healer. Despite being stuck in this dress, I don't need weapons or armor to fight, so I'm not bothered much by it's lack. If she" Armina gestures toward Mary "needs help, I can provide it better than anyone else right now. But someone needs to keep that crystal safe, and since Mary has chosen you, I'm not going to second guess her. Go catch the others, and try to get out of here."

With that said, she zips across the room, to stand behind Mary, saying nothing.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon accepts the small, blue orb and holds it tightly in his left hand. He nods his understanding. "It is possible she'll be okay. We don't even know what exactly is going on here," he whispers. When Sigurd begins leading toward one of the other exits, Jaxon follows as quietly as he can. However, he also tries to watch what is happening over by the fire.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[KingRexII]

Mary's bold words are met with a hiss. "Where is the Nine Hells did you come from?" he bellows incredulously. "And who are you people?" He keeps a steady sword pointed at his previous quarry. It seems her kind words are enough to stave off the questioner's fury, at least toward Mary. The man lying on the floor stammers out, "I- I- I've never seen her in my entire life. Maybe she's the one responsible for the explosion. I was just here..."

Other than Armina who stays behind, the others can now see the two figures well enough1. They don't seem to acknowledge your presence.

Sigurd tries the closest door, and he finds that it opens easily. Cracking the door open, he sees more glowing mushrooms lighting up a modest room like the one they first entered. Except the closets and beds are in tact. And you don't see an entrance to a tunnel.


1
The threatener is a tall lizard creature. He is well armored and is holding up a curved sword. The threatened is a fat elf with surprisingly beady little eyes almost lost among the disheveled hair and high check bones. *rolled some dice* Using the 'Assess Opponent' option for Sense Motive -- the lizard's somewhere between 'Challenge' and 'Dire Threat', meaning that it's CR is at least 1 higher than any of your level, but it could be more. None of you spot anything of particular interest on him.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

People?

Mary felt her inners coil in joy. She was so sure then that the inherent, selfless goodness of the others had finally kicked in and – a glance backwards found only the taller Armina taking single, silent vigil some slight distance away. That was three or so less than Mary might have wished for, but certainly one that she loved more than all in that moment. She unconsciously sighed in some relief and gave a slight smile of thanks.

“I'm Mary Sitorian. A healer. I awoke nearby this place, amidst all the explosions, and have been trying to find an untroubled path since. My friend here found herself much the same.”

Wait. Did that elf just try to blame the explosions on me?

Mary tried to suppress a look of disbelief at the elf, failed, and took a moment to swallow her then swelling doubt. She reminded herself that Armina was near, that there was no reason hostilities had to go any further, and that there was always a better way than violence. Situations often only needed someone to say so. Even with her face managing to catch composition then, this line of thinking wasn't able to do much to prevent a light shaking of the hands. The scaly, armed warrior was easily as intimidating as Sigurd was. A part of her mind tried to recall what she had heard, if anything, of lizard creatures.

“I don't mean to cause any offence through disruption,” she explained honestly. “I mean only to understand and reconcile. These misgivings can surely be overcome without bloodshed. May I know what he has done to earn your anger, sir?”



[roll0] +6 Knowledge: (Nature) result

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd winces as the room fails to provide a way out. He turns back to those following him, shakes his head, and runs a finger over his throat. He then points to the next door and begins moving towards it, intent on opening it and peeking inside once he gets there. ((Take 10 on hide/move silent, result = 10 on both))

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala nods her understanding to Sigurd, and follows as quietly as she can. She tries to keep an ear on the debacle conversation taking place in the centre of the room.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon also follows, quietly and carefully. His eyes dart back and forth between where he walks and the scene going on next to the fire.

[KingRexII]

The lizard man1 scoffs angrily. "I've done all the work to get into this place and you jokers just waltz right in here!" His sword gets dangerously close to the fat elf's neck. He composes himself before saying in a huff, "I don't care what other treasures there are in this place. If you have the crown -- the Crown of Amarra, give it to me, and we can all leave in peace rather than in pieces." He punctuates the last word by letting his blade press against the fat elf's neck. He elicits no blood -- just a tiny squeal.

His eyes are so concentrated on Mary and the fat elf, that the group of three skulking in the shadows elude his sight and hearing. They make it to the next door, and Sigurd peeks in2.


1Hmmm... technically it's a Knowledge(local) check, but I always found that skill to be suspect at best for use with humanoids. It's a Lizardfolk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lizardfolk.htm), which you may or may not have seen before. Go with your gut on this one.
2Same as before. No exit sign.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

“I can help you,” she stammered out quickly, as though the sword had been pressed closer to her own neck.

Mary paused to look at the man and affirmed in the campfire light that there was no blood. She vaguely recognised the scaly warrior as apart of the lizardfolk race. Thinking the elf man lucky for not yet being impaled, she quickly went on, “I can bring light to dark corners, detect magical auras most can't, be an extra pair of eyes in your hunt! I don't have your crown, but I could be invaluable in helping you find it quicker than you might alone.”

Her hazel eyes were alight with sudden hope. She smiled, knowing then the prayer that needed to be said to bring them out of the Abyss much swifter.

“The more people you have helping you, the sooner the Crown could be yours. If you would just let that man stand, I would gladly help you search this place. And he would surely help you as well.”



[roll0] +21 Diplomacy result = 27

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd suppresses a curse as this room also fails to deliver. He points to the next door ((V4)) and begins creeping towards it--expectations low, but what else can one do? As he slowly moves towards the door, he idly listens to Mary, rolling his eyes at her madness--if she wants to sell herself into slavery over the life of a stranger, that's her business.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon breathes a small sigh of relief when he hears the lizardman's demands for a crown. "At least it doesn't sound like he's looking for this," he thinks. He finally tucks the small blue pearl into his pocket.

His eyes momentarily bulge as Mary mentions bringing light to dark corners. "No, not yet!" he thinks, hoping she can at the very least buy some more time.

He continues following Sigurd around to the next door.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

After a moment, a quizzical expression crosses Armina's face. "Wait, you broke in? See, that works well, because we are mostly interested in breaking out of this place. Apparently, someone thought locking us up would be fun. This crown you want, though, I've not heard of. Still, the whole treasure thing sounds good."

[Toliudar]

Bala

Hadozee don't sweat. Doesn't work well with the shaggy fur thing. But if Bala could sweat, she'd be doing it now. None of these doors seemed to be leading anywhere useful, and her fabulous, wonderful book was god knows where!

She stayed close with Sigurd and worked hard to keep her big mouth shut.

[KingRexII]

The three sneaks sneak some more, only to find that the next room is more of the same. The large lizardman -- who still hasn't noticed their movement -- considers for a moment before scoffing and leaving the fat elf. He sheathes his weapon and approaches Mary and Armina. "You seem trustworthy enough. Help me find my crown, and I will help you escape. If I know anything about your captors, I think we have a common enemy."

From the room that the five originally came, there is an ethereal voice, like light personified. "Yes. I think you do." There are five figures. Three look like the ugliest guards you've ever seen, the other two are a bit more interesting. One is completely covered in a gray cloak -- not even his or her or its face is uncovered. The other is in a jet cloak, and this person is quite striking. It looks like its body is made completely of light, and its head floats above its cloaked shoulders1. Beams of light try to escape the slivered gaps of his black robes.


1Knowledge: The Planes - DC 13

It is a Lumi, literal warriors of Light from the Positive Energy Plane. Their numbers are few, but they constantly fight the creatures of the Negative Energy Plane.
Knowledge: The Planes - DC 18 (use same roll)

They hate people who lie and deceive and will usually kill them on sight. They would invade the Material Plane to purge it of every single liar if only they had the proper numbers. They put their own code of honesty and truth ahead of the well-being of others.
Knowledge: The Planes - DC 23 (use same roll)

You know what their society is like and their battle tactics. Check out MM3, page 99 for details. Otherwise, they're available by request.

[Proven_Paradox]

Upon hearing a new voice enter the room, Sigurd turns to look the new arrivals over, still trying to stay out of sight. If they don't notice him, he'll continue forwards to the next door. ((Z5))

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

“Uhmm,” she drawled in the common tongue before realizing she was gawking at an angel.

Diplomacy with one of the lizardfolk had been an experience teetering into the unknown. Talking to a being of light so divine that it's body shone was nothing short of miraculous to her. It was so far beyond her sphere of knowledge that she knew no other option than to fall back unto her ungainly training of all things domestic. She certainly didn't know what else to do.

In Celestial she nervously announced, “Hello and welcome, noble guests, to my – our, home. Continent. Plane of existence.”

Mary plucked the edges of her shirt at each side, and did a curtsy that could only have looked awkward outside of a dress. She realized she probably appeared more like she was stupidly picking lint than offering a greeting. Armina was endlessly envied in that moment for her clothes, but the would-be hostess pressed on regardless.

“I'm Mary, and this is my friend Armina, and, and I'm afraid I can't offer you a meal or shelter or...and...but, how can we help you? H..have I done something to offend my goddess?”

She outwardly cringed at the thought.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Unimpressed by the unknown creature's light show, Armina sizes it up, and doesn't like what she sees. "So, should I believe that you are our captors? Because I am definitely getting that impression. Perhaps I am mistaken." The way she says it, she clearly has few doubts as to whether she is right or now.

She maintains a mostly neutral stance, but is clearly ready to act, whether it be striking, or running. The nervous energy is starting to show. Too many unknowns. Have to trust someone, but who? The people from the cell? The Lizard? This new shiny person? No, not him. Wait, is it even a him? Bah, no matter. I'll take my chances with the others, even if they are running away.

[KingRexII]

In a voice that is less than reassuring, the en-lightened one says, "I assure you, Mary -- I am not an agent of Estanna. And I have never been your captor, Armina. In fact, you are free to go after I complete my test. I daresay that you will be seeking me out once I finish." He nods towards his fully cloaked associate, who begins to chant something in a rough voice.

The lizardfolk hisses deeply and once again brandishes his sword. "Do not listen to a word this thing says! He spouts sweet sayings that leave nothing but a bitter taste in your mouth." The fat elf begins to crawl and then stumble toward the large opening opposite of the others ((around the Z-column)). He doesn't seem to take notice of Sigurd and the others sneaking about.

Sigurd opens another door, and this seems to lead into a narrow hallway -- if only a rock slide had not filled in the path1.


My apologies, Proven_Paradox, for being rockblocked! You'll find a good exit yet!

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Something about the phrasing, and the word test, leaves Armina far less than reassured, she says softly to the lizard "Fight, or run?"

To the glowing being, she asks "And just what test would this be, pray tell?"


Bluff check, since she is not exactly really interested in the answer to the question, [roll0]. Oh, for a better Cha right about now... Though that roll works well!

[Toliudar]

Bala

Carefully observing the light-being and its companions, Bala presses back against the wall.

Knowledge (the planes) [roll0]

Quietly, she tries to work things out in her head. She mutters quietly, "What in blazes would a Lumi be doing here?"

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

"A what?" Jaxon thinks without speaking. He gives Bala a puzzled look, but continues moving around the perimeter of the room as stealthily as he can. He moves to a hiding position near the exit that the elf took.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary wasn't comfortable with the odd chanting from the cloaked creature, but still found herself mystified by the being of light. She stared at it with open wonder, both awe-like and curious. She was not sure what to think about the angel not being sent by Estanna. There was no reason she would attract angel attention of another god. It must be the marble. Or the other prisoners, she decided. She stayed quiet then, apprehensive but more inclined to listen to a celestial being over the lizard man.



I'm bet this is some kind of spell that forces us to do a quest. But I feel sorry for Paradox; all those rooms and no exit. But the elf is running to the one that's next in line, so it must be a way out. :smallsmile:

[Proven_Paradox]

Don't feel sorry for me--I'm just along for the ride. Sigurd is the one who's getting pissed off.

Sigurd's frown deepens as he reveals the hallway, and his eyes drift once again to the group. Noting the fat elf trying to get away, he smirks grimly. He waves to the others and points to the door that the elf had gone through before he begins creeping towards it.

[KingRexII]

"The test has already begun, Armina." The light being smiles as he signals his guard friends. They look like they are about to engage you in combat1.

His cloaked friend continues to chant. There is no sense of magic, arcane or otherwise, in its words. "Let's see now -- do you... feel anything?" The five of you feel an inkling of power coming from your core, like something uncorked an inert, and innate, part of your being2. You are sure it isn't immediately harmful, but it also is unlike anything you've felt before.


1Please roll initiative and choose a start-of-combat location:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q219/KingRexII/cavernSnt1.jpg
Hold off on combat actions until I've stated the consequences of the Will save below, though free actions like speaking are fine.
2You may choose to roll a Will save to resist whatever the effects are. Please note that choosing not to roll the save is a viable option as it leads to consequences different than failing the roll.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Choosing to trust the angelic creature - and figuring that her situation couldn't get much worse, Bala tries to relax and let the feeling move through her. She hisses back to Jaxon.

It's a...an angel of sorts. Whatever else, you can trust what it says is true.

Choosing not to save. If we've been sneaking along the north wall, and gotten to the third door, Bala would be roughly at U4, give or take 5' at your discretion.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

"Feel anything? No, I can't say that I do."


Will save [roll0]
Bluff check [roll1], in case the will save is unsuccessful.

Starting location N10

[Proven_Paradox]

"Bullsh*t." Sigurd hisses at Bala's words, as quietly as he can manage. Power welling up from nowhere and a creature made of light--that knew their names even! The whole thing stinks. ((Initiating Moment of Perfect Mind to replace a will save with a concentration check. Expending psionic focus to take 15 on concentration; resulting check is 25.))

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon swallows hard at the odd sensations that are rushing through his body. Given that whatever this is doesn't feel harmful, and Bala's reassurances, he does not choose to resist them. He does however, remain hidden.


Will save - choosing not to accept one. Jaxon's will save isn't great anyway.
Initiative - [roll0]
Starting Position - Hiding behind pillar in Y6

[Toliudar]

Initiative for Bala: [roll0]

[Proven_Paradox]

Initiative: (1d20=20) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1826100/)

Sigurd will be moving to follow the elf while still remaining hidden. As soon as blows start being exchanged, he'll dispense with stealth and start running. He has no intention of fighting anyone here.

[Dreamshifter]

D'oh!
[roll0] Initiative.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

“I do,” Mary said, looking at Armina, instead of the celestial being. She smiled blissfully, eyes closed to further focus on the sensation. “Something innate; like a gift from my parents.”

She opened her eyes only to see the grisly guards advance on the pair. Mystification turned to a dismay turned to anger. Her gaze shifted from Armina, glaring squarely at the blinding creature, hoping it could see her beyond its own radiance. This was clearly no friend she should welcome, or guest she should accede to. She pooled every fibre of her being then to fight the effect, and with calm defiance said, “But if fighting is the only test a backwards being like yourself can think to set us against, then I can unlock my potential without you.”

Mary regarded the guards, held up her hands slowly to show no weapon was at the ready, seeing this as the only time for a ditch attempt to turn the others away from violence, “None of us need to fight! We aren't your enemies, and we've never had any reason to be. Put your weapons away, and together, we can try to understand why that thing is turning us against each other!”



Mary is at O9. She will likely to stay to help if Armina decides to stay and fight.

[roll0] Will Save to resist whatever is happening.

[roll1] diplomacy to turn the guards away from violence.

[roll2] Initiative for battle.

[KingRexII]

The guards suddenly stop their reach for their weapons. They turn to the light-creature and say in a Cockney accent, "Y'know, Amil, th' pretty lady," he nods to Mary with a smile, "could be right. Mebbe just a written test or sumthing, eh?" Amil gives him a droll look before addressing you two again. "I am not like my brethren, Mary -- I am a bit more clever than they. We have found, though, that violence is a wonderful catalyst that speeds up the process and the simplest way to demonstrate the effects." He takes out a greatsword. "And since Armina doesn't seem to be feeling anything, and my time is running short -- I'll have no choice but to speed up the process myself. I need to know if you are the ones from the prophecy." He waves the other guards out of the way.

"See? Nothing but treachery from this... this... thing." The lizard continues to make its case. The fat elf reaches the door and sees the half-giant to his left. Nothing but a quiet eek comes out of his mouth.


The results:
For Sigurd:

You press down hard against the surge and successfully suppress the feeling, taking the first step to understanding and controlling whatever this is. You get a permanent +2 bonus to saves against similar effects. (I'll tell you when the bonus applies.)


For Armina and Mary:

Despite your best efforts of controlling what's happening, the feeling seeps into your being. You gain 1dX HP where X is the highest HD you've taken so far. For example, a bard/barbarian would roll a 1d12 and gain that much HP. Your will is still your own, though, and you can continue to fight the effects if you would like. Each round, you can roll a Will save to suppress it, or you can relent.


For Bala and Jaxon:

You allow the full effects of the feelings to fill your entire being. You gain 2dX HP where X is the highest HD you've taken so far. For example, a bard/barbarian would roll a 2d12 and gain that much HP. In addition, it fortifies you, temporary boosting your innate being. Gain +2 to each primary stat (STR, CON, DEX, INT, WIS, CHA). Finally, you've gotten a feeling of great connection to each other and to Armina, Mary and the Gray Cloak. You know their positions, and you have a feeling that there is more to come.

You have relented to whatever this is, however, and you can feel that part of your will is no longer yours. You can no longer resist the effects for the rest of the encounter, and you have a permanent -2 penalty to saves against these kinds of effects. (I'll tell you when the penalty applies.)


The updated map:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q219/KingRexII/cavernSnt1revised.jpg

Initiative:
Sigurd - 20
Mary - 17
Armina - 15
Bala - 12
Jaxon - 7
Amil
Fat elf/Lizardfolk

The guards have stopped attacking you, but Amil still seems pretty determined. Mary's words have earned you a much less dangerous battle. First round actions, please, if you are going to engage in combat. Proven_Paradox -- I'll hold onto your action of running through the door following the fat elf unless you'd like a different action.

[Toliudar]

Bala

HP: [roll0]

She's delaying action until she sees what the lizardfolk is doing.

Bala struggles to make sense of the exuberance swelling up inside her. She continues to peer around the pillar at the drama unfolding.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd takes a quick step towards the elf, points to him, and growls, "Stay." He twirls the warhammer in his hand between his fingers lightly--an unusually dexterous maneuver from him--as he refocuses his mind so that he will be able to resist the effects of whatever that was again quickly.

Five foot step to the south, then <swift> and <standard> action to recover warblade maneuvers.

If the elf tries to get away, he will use the attack of opportunity to initiate a grapple. "I said STAY." Touch attack/Grapple check: (1d20+12=31, 1d20+16=23) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1826647/)

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon glances to Bala, trying to determine if she felt the same strange connection he did. He then looks over to the grey cloaked figure, "Hopefully this doesn't mean he knows where we are too," he thinks without moving a muscle.

His blood was pumping, and somehow he felt more able to do anything, but he still wasn't eager to get involved in the combat with the orb in his pocket. "Maybe it's best to at least be ready," he thinks. He slips the silvered dagger out of its sheath.

Since Jaxon is already slow to react, he will stay hidden this round and watch what transpires.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

On seeing the guards stand down, Armina lets out a soft sigh, and says softly "Thank-you Mary. This fight might just be winnable now."

Then, with a smile, Armina dashes forward, jumping at the last moment and yelling "Psychic Fist of Disruption!", as her fist closes in on the glowing being.


[roll0] HP
Armina will charge the Lumi, using Stunning Fist (1/3 for the day).
[roll1] to hit.
([roll2] possible crit confirmation)

[roll3] damage.
([roll4] extra damage from possible crit)

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary grinned in response until Armina mentioned winning the fight. There was a hint of disappointment in her eyes as she blessed the other woman with an invisible veil of divine intervention. Mary wanted to keep her friend safe, but she never expected her would-be guardian to have a zeal for combat. It seemed like both sides – Armina and Amil – assumed she didn't have any genuine want to end hostilities. They sounded like she had said all she had in a vindictive plot to gain a tactical advantage.

“I'm not trying to trick anyone,” her exasperation expressed itself in a low mutter. Mary used that same anger to try and suppress the change the chanting was commanding happen. Although her earlier inability to stop it had oddly resulted in her feeling a little invigorated, she wanted nothing of a change that would best express itself when violence feed it. The very essence of it sounded sinister.

Mary glanced around, trying to take everyone into account, especially those that were out of combat. She felt like there was a peaceful answer to this ever-evolving problem yet.



Mary casts Sanctuary on Armina.

[roll0] Will save

[KingRexII]

Sigurd maneuvers himself for a better view, and he and Jaxon get a decent show. Mary waits for a moment1, allowing Armina to charge and miss. Mary steps in to provide her with some Sanctuary, but Amil's blade easily breaks the protection spell. He strikes her once2 and says, "Do you feel anything now?"

The other guards and the gray cloak step back, giving Amil room to work. None of them look worried about his safety even after your lizardfolk ally shoot him with a well placed arrow. The solid thunk barely fazes any of them.

The fat elf moves to leave through the doors as Sigurd steps in closer. He doesn't even make it one step before being grabbed by the big man. In a strained tone, he pleads with the half-giant, "Please... I'll give you anything if you help me. I-I-I- I have a money."


1Pink, Dreamshifter -- In order for you actions to make sense together, I delayed Mary's action until after Armina's action. Otherwise, Mary would have cast Sanctuary on Armina, and she would prompty break the spell herself by attacking. It does mean that Mary needed to move with the charging Armina to cast the spell. Does this sound OK with you guys?
2Armina takes 13 damage.

More surging:
For Sigurd:

You feel the Surge around you, but it doesn't affect you directly. You do, however, begin to see the other four people in your group begin to glow slightly. Bala and Jaxon look brighter than Armina and Mary. The Gray Cloak also glows, and his is the brightest with an ever changing shifting color that ranges through the rainbow's colors.

For Armina:

You fail to fight the feeling again. It begins to pervade your being even more. You gain 2dX HP where X is the highest HD you've taken so far. In addition, it fortifies you, temporarily boosting your body, mind and soul. Gain +2 to each primary stat (STR, CON, DEX, INT, WIS, CHA). Finally, you've gotten a feeling of great connection to the other five people and the Gray Cloak. You know their positions, and you have a feeling that there is more to come.

You can continue rolling Will saves to fight it, or you may relent.

For Mary:

You have successfully suppressed the surge, but you still feel its lingering effects. Gain +1dX HP where X is the highest HD you've taken so far.

For Bala and Jaxon:

The Surge continues to flow from and through you, making you feel exceeding powerful. You continue to gain 2dX HP where X is the highest HD you've taken so far. You gain an additional +2 to each primary stat for a total 'Surge' bonus of +4.

Your connection with the other three members of your team (excluding Sigurd) and the Gray Cloak becomes stronger still. By concentrating as in the Detect Thoughts spell, you can read 'surface' thoughts of any of the other three people or the Gray Cloak. This takes a standard action. Finally, you get the somewhat uneasy feeling that if any of the other three die, then you die.


:paM ehT

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q219/KingRexII/cavernSnt2.jpg

Initiative:
Bala
====== end of Round 1
Sigurd - 20
Armina - 15
Mary - 15
Jaxon - 5
Amil
Fat elf/Lizardfolk
Bala -- please provide your Round 1 action. Sigurd, Armina, Mary, and Jaxon -- please provide Round 2 actions.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala fixates on the cloaked figure, guessing that he/she might be the source of information about their predicament.

Round 1 action will be to focus in on the cloaked figure's thoughts. Unless someone decides to attack her, that'll be her second round action as well.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd lifts the elf bodily so that his legs dangle uselessly off the ground. He looks down to the elf with a disgusted glare and growls, "Money. Yeah, that's absolutely gonna get me on your side right now. I got no idea where I'm going right now, and you look like you do. You lead us out, we'll protect you. We'll talk about further payment after." As he speaks, he attempts to regain his mental focus, and keeps an eye on the battle, vaguely curious what the others outside of the battle were going to do.

Full round action: attempt to regain psionic focus.
Psionic focus concentration check: (1d20+10=23) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1828129/) (Success!)

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

As the blade slices her flesh, Armina grunts. "I feel... pain. Naturally. That is what happens when you slice people open." She doesn't notice that the wound heals almost instantly.

Then she flails her fists at the being, and yells "Tears of One Hundred Weeping Widows!"


HP regain: [roll0]
Bluff check (if necessary) [roll1]

Flurry of Blows attack rolls: [roll2], [roll3]
Damage: [roll4], [roll5]

Possible crits:

Confirm crits: [roll6], [roll7]
Crit damage: [roll8], [roll9]
Will roll (for next round): [roll10]

And yes, her yelling out attack names is somewhat random. Apparently, that is how she was taught. Confuses the enemy or such...

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon feels the lifeblood freeze in his veins, even as his heart is pounding harder with even more new-felt power. "If they die, I might die too. I can't just sit here and do nothing," he thinks. "Though perhaps if I..." He pauses to concentrate, then moves forward.

Standard: Concentrate on Grey Cloak's thoughts.
Move: to R4.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary winched when the protective spell proved futile. She wondered what had compelled Armina to fight this battle when it might sped up the effects of whatever was happening. Unfortunately, Mary had little insight into the taller woman's thinking, as otherwise the healer might have had an idea how to help prevent this. Amil equally seemed too determined to stop by her words alone, so the healer tried once again to get through to the guards that had been sensible enough not to seek out confrontation.

Stepping forward a few feet so that at least one of the guards could see her. Mary tried to speak quickly, being eager to end the problem, and also anxiously aware that an aggressive, greatsword-wielding angel was now also closer to her.

“Please, we need to stop this. Your friend wants this change to happen, and I'm resisting it because of the fighting. And Armina doesn't feel anything! She's either stopping it for the same reason, or she's not apart of your prophecy. This fight is doing nothing but slowing down your own plans, and putting our friends in danger.”



Mary is now at L8.

[roll0] will

[roll1] diplomacy

[KingRexII]

With his cheeks getting redder and redder, the fat elf says, "Y-yes, of course. Protect me and I-I'll lead you out." He doesn't try to struggle from Sigurd's arms -- he probably finds it safer than anything out there.

On the battle front, Armina futilely attacks Amil with clever puns. Amil ignores Mary's please and responds, "I assure, my dear Mary, that you and your friends are much more dangerous than any of us could ever be. And I beg to differ -- I believe she does feel something. She just won't tell." He continues to attack Armina, but misses with both strikes1. Realizing that he might be attacking the wrong person, he sidles up closer to Mary. Realizing that his questions won't be properly answered, he directs it this time toward the Gray Cloak: "What do you sense? Is it them? It answers with stillness and silence.

All the while, Bala and Jaxon both look like they are meditating on something2, and the lizardfolk feebly sends another arrow flying. It comes closer to hitting Armina than Amil.


1Armina dodges both attacks. She takes 0 damage.
2for Toliudar and dariathalon:

The monkey and the man hear the sounds of a group of people talking, arguing about something. They are able to hear snippets jumbled all together: "They are!" "No, we must be sure." "Help me!" "Shut up, you idiot!" "... too powerful..." "...save us..." "...prophecy..." "...glory..." "... destruction..." "...peace..." "...end..."

In an instant the voices stop and pause. It feels as if those voices are all of a sudden listening to you, staring at you.


More Surge:
For Sigurd:

The glowing gets a little stronger for Bala and Jaxon. You see a faint line that connects the other four. There is one that leads to you too, but it almost feels like a palpable rope that you can freely pull and cast off, which is unlike the others which look like it entangles them. There are two lines that lead off through the cavern walls out.

For Armina:

You have successfully suppressed the surge, but you still feel its lingering effects. Gain +2dX HP where X is the highest HD you've taken so far. You no longer need to roll Will saves.

For Mary:

You continue to gain +1dX HP where X is the highest HD you've taken so far.

For Bala and Jaxon:

The Surge wells up even more, perhaps even more than you can handle. You gain an additional +2 to each primary stat for a total 'Surge' bonus of +6. You gain an initial feeling of well-being (gain HP), but it instantly goes away (lose HP) as the Surge is starting to tax your body and mind. (I'll say the next gain is zero.)

Additionally, the two of you have completely opened your minds to each other. Bala and Jaxon may now communicate with each telepathically. They cannot turn off the connection nor can they block any thoughts from each other.


More mapage:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q219/KingRexII/cavernSnt3.jpg


Initiative:
Bala
====== end of Round 2
Sigurd - 20
Armina - 15
Mary - 15
Jaxon - 5
Amil
Fat elf/Lizardfolk
Bala -- please provide your Round 2 action. Sigurd, Armina, Mary, and Jaxon -- please provide Round 3 actions.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd glares at the elf. "I'm going to drop you now. When I get done here, if you're not exactly where I left you, when I next see you, you will beg for death before I'm through with you." With that, he bodily tosses the elf further into the room, making sure the throw doesn't take him near a wall or pillar so-as not to harm the elf beyond roughing him up a bit. Once that's done, he'll begin moving towards the fight.

Standard action: tossing the elf. I'm not sure how you'd like to do this Rex, but Sigurd's aiming around Y8. If I need to make any checks or rolls, just let me know.

Move action: Move NW, NW, NW, NW, ending at V7.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon continues his forward movement, and finally enters the fray. He stabs at the man of light with his dagger. Feeling the power race through his body, he hopes a few quick stabs could end this all before... before what? "Bala, can you hear me? Do you know what the hell is going on here?" he asks in his mind with an edge of desperation in his mental voice, only half certain the monkey woman can hear him.


I think you forgot to update the map with Jaxon's movement from last round to R4. This rounds actions are to
Move: to K6.
Standard: Attack [roll0], Damage [roll1] + [roll2]

Currently: AC 21, HP 39/39

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

With the surging finally apparently under control, Armina relaxes slightly. "Feel? I feel a multitude of emotions and sensations, none of which are any of your concern. But of what you speak? I'm certain I'd know if I was feeling that, and I'm not."

She calmly swings a couple more blows towards the annoying being, fairly confidant in her ability to remain undamaged, at the least.


Bluff: [roll0], and she really needs to put some ranks in that next level, if she is going to try anything like this again.

Flurry of Blows: [roll1], [roll2]
Damage: [roll3], [roll4]

Possible crit rolls:
To Hit: [roll5], [roll6]
Damage: [roll7], [roll8]

If this doesn't work, she is very seriously considering going after the gloaked fellow. Up the Walls, no less...:smallsmile:

[Toliudar]

Bala

Jaxon:

"I...can! I can hear everything. But...why are you fighting Amil? Wasn't it the lizard-guy who was threatening and hostile? Wait. I'm going to try to communicate with the voices contained in the cloaked figure."

Bala holds onto the pillar for stability, and continues to stare at the cloaked figure.

Inside her thoughts, she tries to focus a stream of language back towards the voices/people that are "watching" her and Jaxon.

"Hello! Hi there. Unless there's some point to having all of us try to kill each other, maybe all of you could take a moment to explain what the hell's going on...and then maybe I could help. You know, actually communicate? That might be fun."

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

She could only look confused at the answer. Armina clearly knew how to fight well, but she didn't appear to be volatile. Mary knew she had personally never tried to endanger anyone either.

“You're the only danger around here,” she retorted. Heeding her own words, she tried stepping back, behind the safety of Armina. Despite this, she tried to judge if what the angel said was actually true. A heavenly creature attacking for little reason seemed unlikely.


Mary tries to move to M7. I think that means the Lumi gets an Attack of Opportunity against me? Not sure.

Will Save +8 [roll0] (Not sure if I need to keep trying but here I go)
HP Roll [roll1]
Sense Motive check (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5390620&postcount=15)

[KingRexII]

While Bala continues to look like she's still concentrating on something1, Jaxon converges on Amil, striking him with a dagger as one of Armina's punches lands. Amil wonders what that effective move is called so that he could avoid it in the future. While Mary hides behind Armina, Sigurd comes out farther into the room, tossing the fat elf onto his haunches in the process. Other than a squeal of pain, he doesn't seem to say anything nor does he move.

Amil responds to Armina's words with doubt in his eyes -- his light dims slightly as a sad thought passes his mind. The light changes quickly to red, though when Jaxon bounded out of from behind the pillar to stab him. His ire, though, is not from those that hurt him physically, but those that he feels have deceived him. "You may have fooled my guards, but you cannot fool me. Your blindness is a sickness that covers your mind from the truth." He moves around Armina, casts a spell and briefly touches Mary's arm2, and in that touch she realizes just how deadly serious Amil has spoken3

He asks again: "What now, Gray? You must know something by now." The only thing that answers, though, is the earth. The cavern begins to shake.


1For Toliudar:
An answer that sounds like a choir speaking says, "You are the prophesied. The signs are aligning, and the words of the Unseen Seer are coming true. You are destined to be our savior."

2Mary starts to feel sick. Make a Fort save, DC 16 or take 4 Strength damage. If you fail that save, make a Fort save, DC 16 or be permanently blinded.
3Mary senses that Amil speaks nothing but the truth.

The possibly penultimate Surge:
For Sigurd:

The glowing becomes more intense, but you sense nothing more.

For Armina:

You continue to gain +2dX HP.

For Mary:

You continue to gain +1dX HP. If you took Strength damage, heal one point of Strength damage.

For Bala and Jaxon:

The Surge takes on painful consequences, and it taxes you both beyond your capabilities. You gain an additional +2 to each primary stat for a total 'Surge' bonus of +8. It deals 2dX damage, where X is the highest HD you've taken so far.


You've been mapped:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q219/KingRexII/cavernSnt4.jpg

Initiative:
Bala
====== end of Round 3
Sigurd - 20
Armina - 15
Mary - 15
Jaxon - 5
Amil
Fat elf/Lizardfolk
All -- Make a Balance check, DC 12 or fall prone at the beginning of your turn.
Bala -- please provide your Round 3 action. Sigurd, Armina, Mary, and Jaxon -- please provide Round 4 actions.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala begins walking slowly towards the grey-cloaked figure, struggling to maintain her footing as the cavern begins to shake. The pain and disorientation from the surge are nearly overwhelming. She holds her hands out, palms exposed, to show the guards that she means no harm.


KingRex and Dariathlon:
Balance check [roll0]

Double move to J4. Stopping short if she's getting the vibe (Sense Motive [roll1] if necessary) from the guards that they're taking her advance as aggression. Her thoughts are clear to Jaxon and, she hopes, the grey-cloaked figure.

"Hey, buddy, I'd like to be your saviour. I'll get right on that. Thing is, the whatever-it-was you did to us hurts like hell, and the cavern seems to be caving in, and I have this weird sense that if your Lumi friend here kills Armina, we're all dead, and therefore probably out of the saviour-ing business. If you take my meaning.

Now, we saw the five of you just pop in a minute ago. What say you pop us all out to a place that isn't collapsing, where a crazy lizard isn't shooting at us, and we can carry on this business of saving you. Sound good?"

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary strained to swallow back a wave of sickness, feeling so nauseated that the world seemed to shake as she dropped to the floor heavily to her left side. She winched as she felt a rusted sword cut her knee, but held her left hand over her closed mouth with her right keep her propped up. Her mind dwelled on what curse she had been given as a darkness tries to set into her sight. Then the sickness and darkness passed uneasily, and she oddly remembered her mother's saying, Never give into a man after only one touch. She hadn't understood when she was younger, but it seemed appropriate now.

Looking the quaking cavern, hoping no debris would fall on anyone, and she was surprised to see Sigurd and the fat elf across the room. Mary realized then that with Jaxon also nearby, Bala probably was too. If this place falls apart, we're all going to die because of him. She starred angrily into the two pitiful torch lights that passed for his eyes.

“I don't care what you think of me,” she snapped. “But you need to stop thinking about yourself, and start thinking about your friends! They're going to linger here if you're stupid enough to stay while the whole place falls apart on top of us. Leave now and get them to safety. If this is so important, you can return to annoy us when you aren't endangering everyone around you!”



Mary is still flat on her behind/prone at M7.

Will Save to resist chanting. [roll0]
HP Roll. [roll1]
Diplomacy attempt to get Amil to leave. [roll2]
Balance check only got a 5. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5396207&postcount=141)
The dice didn't fail me now, for the fortitude saves (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5396174&postcount=17).


On a minor note, I'm loving the intentional irony of picking me as the liar. :smallbiggrin: Looks like I need to take a few lessons of looking innocent from Armina. :smallamused:

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

The floor shakes, but Armina has trained for years on less stable surfaces, and she weathers the shaking without conscious thought. Which is just as well, since her mind is busy with other thoughts. Finally seeing that Amil was making sense, at least in changing targets, she makes a decision, and runs off, full speed, toward the wall. "You know, Amil, the lady right about one thing. Us sparring like this is rather futile. On the other hand..."

At this point, it seems that she is about to run into the wall, but instead, she seems to defy gravity, and takes off up the wall. "...perhaps I can have better luck sparring with another target!" Straight up the wall, to the ceiling, she dashes, then, just when it would almost be expected for her to run along the ceiling, she turns to her right, hopping on the pillar. She zips around the pillar, then with a smile, lets go of the wall, and falls toward the cloaked figure, yelling "Blatantly Obvious Distraction Technique!"

[spoiler]Since she is moving in straight lines, she should provoke AoOs from the Lumi, and the southern guard (if he decides to attack). 30 foot fall, aiming for GC, and clearly, trying to disrupt his (its?) concentration.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon seems to barely even notice the ground trembling beneath his feet, his mind is so preoccupied with a sudden sensation of pain. He grunts loudly as the powers flowing through him feel as if they are too much for his body to hold. He manages to shake the pain off for a moment, and he continues to press his attack.

His eyes lock on Bala for a moment before he suddenly drops and rolls away from her. Near the end of his roll, one arm lashes out, dagger in hand for another slice at Amil.

Toli:
"You said to trust the glowy-guy and I did. But whatever his buddy over there did to us, I think we die if Armina or Mary dies. What does our brilliant friend do, but start attacking her and Mary. I didn't see I had much choice in the matter."

OOC:

Damage rolls and balance check in Die Roller thread.

Surge Damage (2d8)[9]
Balance (1d20+10)[27]

Move: Tumble to L9. Should make the roll automatically, but here's a roll in case there's a penalty for the earthquake or something. [roll0]
Standard: Attack [roll1], Damage [roll2] + [roll3]

Crit Verification, rolls made in die roller thread since I couldn't add them in here

Crit verification: (1d20+10)[21]
If successful, extra damage: (1d4+5)[7]

AC 21, HP 35/44

[Toliudar]

Dariathlon:
Bala grits her teeth, and sends her thoughts back.

"Actually, kid, Armina attacked the angel. I guess I just don't like the feeling that our life cords are tangled up with Miss Charge In First Ask Questions Later - AND with the guy she's punching.

[Proven_Paradox]

"I'm not sure whose the stupidest one here. The girl who's trying to talk her way out of things AFTER weapons have been drawn, the one shouting out as she attacks like a damned fool, the monkey and the man for just standing there for so long..." At this, he begins running full tilt towards the light-person, seeming to pay the shaking ground little head. He raises his hammer above his head in both hands and shouts, "Or me for not leaving every last one of you to die! We're all just a buncha' damn fools, huh?!"

Balance: (1d20+5=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1833651/)

I've been forgetting to roll for crusader maneuvers--sorry about that. However, without using any, by round four all of them would be granted.

<Swift> Switching to Leading the Charge stance.
<Full round> Charge attack. +2 AB, -2 AC. Total AC is a rather terrifying 9 at the moment. Wielding the hammer with both hands. Damage is 1d8 <weapon> + 3 <stance> + 6 <strength>.

Using Stone Bones crusader strike; if I hit, I get DR 5/adamantine for the rest of the round.

Charge attack/damage: (1d20+11=19, 1d8+11=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1833664/) ((Erm, I messed up the damage roll; should be +9, so the total is 11. Dox fails at basic math apparently.))

At the end of this round, since Stone Bones is the only maneuver not granted, there's no need to roll; it's granted again.

[KingRexII]

Amil watches in disappointment that his spell doesn't work while Bala moves towards the Gray Cloak. Her cautious and non-threatening stance is interpreted correctly. The northernmost guard says, "Why doncha jus' answer da bosses question?"

Sigurd bounds toward the light creature, but his hammer misses its mark. Jaxon's dagger, on the other hand, does not. His graceful tumbling is topped only by Armina's theatrics who dodges on big swipe, walks along the thick columns and then falls deftly onto her prey. The fall damages both her and the Gray Cloak, and they both end up splayed on the ground1. Mary also falls, but it is because of the ground shaking underneath her feet. Her pleas are answered, not by Amil, but by the previously aloof Gray Cloak. Like the sound of an unpracticed choir, it says, "It begins."

Amil's eyes light up brightly, a slight look of surprise on his face. "Well, Mary -- you have your wish. I have what I need." He carefully withdraws from Sigurd and Jaxon, limping out of combat toward the guards who are still reeling from Armina's moves. With a couple of spells, the three guards, Amil and the Gray Cloak disappear from sight.

During all this, the fat elf tries and fails to get up. He crawls quickly through the hallway on the right. The lizardfolk lowers his weapons and calls out to him, "No, don't go out there!"

The cavern continues to shake, but now the ceilings and columns begin to rain down chunks of earth2.


End of combat unless someone's planning on putting the smack down on the lizardfolk.

1Armina takes 8 nonlethal damage and is prone. Also, any temporary penalties and benefits due to the Surge ends immediately.
2Roll a Reflex save, DC 12, or take 5 blunt damage.

For Toliudar:

A singular voice whispers into Bala's mind before disappearing: "Find Orin's artifacts. They will guide you."


No map any more; the most important part is that the fat elf has left the main room through the doors on the right.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala shakes her head. Experimentally, she glances at Jaxon and thinks really hard.

Dariathlon:
"So, can you still hear me?"

She turns to the others with a grimace.

"Right-o. Whatever Cloaky did, has bound us together. For our own safety, might be best to stick together. After the elf, shall we?

She lopes off towards the exit that the elf has taken.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

With a deft back flip, Armina regains her feet, only to be knocked back down when a chunk of the pillar next to her crashes down on her. She rubs her now sore shoulder. "Ouch, traitorous pillar! Still, at least it lasted that long." Getting up again, somewhat less gracefully this time, she watches Bala run off, then turns to the lizard.

"I suppose getting out of the collapsing building would be a good thing. You have a better path for us, by any chance? And will we need to fetch or save the elf?"

She will run off after him, if the lizard thinks it necessary, and if everyone takes off after the elf, will follow that path regardless.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary had looked more surprised than the warmongering angel had when he said she had her wish. She watched with an anxious smile as the being and his fellows finally left, but didn't sigh in relieve, so much as yelp in pain as a piece of falling debris struck her. A groan came as she grasped her head with her hands and rose to her feet. She squinted at seeing the arcane-taught woman following after the portly, pointy-eared man.

“The elf got here by accident,” Mary called out to Bala, the healer still holding her head as a spell to stem minor wounds was cast. “The lizardfolk worked his way here. He must know more about this place.”

With the pain in her head receding, but the fear of getting squished rising, Mary stumbled uneasily towards the warrior that had held the elf prisoner little less than ten minutes ago.

“Which way is safest?”



I want to know what I roll without having to split it into two posts so...I'll get my reflex save here and then edit this post.

Using Cure Minor Wounds. So that's 1 healing from the spell +5 from my charisma modifier. So that should take care of all the blunt damage.

Reflex save [roll0]

[Toliudar]

Ah, right, the reflex save: [roll0]

[KingRexII]

Your questionable ally says, "I think it might be too late for him. There's a squatting warband of kobolds out there that'll probably kill anything that comes out of this cave that isn't me. They're waiting for me to bring them the crown."

"Help me find the crown or find a different exit." he requests urgently. "It's our only way out of this death trap." He disappears into the leftmost room as the rumbling continues at a steady pace.

For dariathalon and Toliudar:

Nope -- no more telepathic connection.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon attempts to send an experimental thought, "Bala?" After waiting for only a moment for a response, he shrugs and calls after her verbally, "Did you hear what that lizard said? Don't know if he's lying, but if we continue this way, I'd say there's at least a reasonable chance of having to face a whole lot of kobolds. I don't know about you, but I don't want to do that without a bow in my hands. Might be best to go the other way for now."

Shoot, and I was looking forward to sending Bala back a sarcastic "No, can't hear you at all." :smallamused:

Reflex Save [roll0]

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala nods grimly at Jaxon's assessment. Checking her movement, Bala seems to weigh options only for a second.

"Right. Off we go, then."

She changes course to follow the lizard creature.

[Proven_Paradox]

"Hmph. Kobolds. Of all the damned luck, it had to be gods-damned kobolds. Hate those little sh*ts..." He follows the lizard man, mumbling curses the whole way.

Out of combat now, I assume? In which case I lose all crusader maneuvers granted.

If Mary shows concern for the elf, Sigurd will grab her and drag her along behind him, shouting something about it being too late for the cowardly elf.


Do we get XP for the fight?

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

"Well, that's good enough for me." She also follows the lizard, silently pondering about the events of the day.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

The frowning Mary felt like an errant child. There were few other ways to feel when being dragged along behind a towering man by her hand while he chided those she tried to acquaint herself with. Mary went with the group through the leftmost exit.

Sigurd is great at guessing.

[KingRexII]

Going through this left side leads to a short, but wide hallway. This looks like a small vestibule to wherever the next set of double doors lead to. There are painting lining the walls, just as in the great hall. These are worn, but not destroyed. They look like portraits of royalty, under which there are small plaques. There are also some comfortable and intricately patterns couches along the walls. They look old, but are intact. The double door, again, look old, but quite grand. There seems to be lots of very worn runes carves into it, but most of them are indistinguishable at a glance. There is a symbol spanning the both doors, though, whose simple geometric pattern is still recognizable. It is a circle enclosed in a square enclosed in a triangle enclosed in a large circle. The lizardfolk yells at you, "The crown is probably in here." Trying the door, he finds it immovable.

Whatever battle had raged on in the great hall had only trickled into here. While there are countless, dispersed remains out there, there are three whole remains here. There is no longer any flesh, but much of their items have not succumbed to time. The cavern stops shaking, but not before a large chunk from the ceiling begins to plummet onto one of the remains.


Yes! XP is most important --
Bala: +1000 XP
Jaxon: +1000 XP
Mary: +1000 XP +100 XP (for dealing with the guards singlehandedly and exceptional RP)
Armina: +1000 XP +50 XP (for landing on the Gray Cloak)
Sigurd: +1060 XP +50 XP (for being a bastard)

[Toliudar]

Bala

Loping forward after the lizard, Bala gazes around the room.

Check the names on the portraits! See if any of them are named Orin.

Seeing the rubble heading towards one of the remains, Bala puts on a burst of speed, her arm flaps billowing, and she drags the desiccated form clear of the dropping stone.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Even when in the safety of the leftmost, wide hallway, Mary stayed quiet, even unconsciously holding her breathe. Only when she was sure the shaking had left did she breath out in relieve, as though playing an impromptu game of hide and seek with the quaking cavern.

In the calm of the hallway, all the questions she had about the explosions and clockwork cockroaches and aggressive angels and all the ceaseless, senseless fighting strode throughout her mind. But when she surveyed the other five, Mary saw only other prisoners probably as confused as her, and one other person that might have understood these circumstances.

But he's so preoccupied with finding Amara's crown...

Mary walked towards the three deceased bodies. At a glance it was impossible to tell what had killed them or why, yet she tried anyway. Carefully she took off each article and item she guessed the others might want. She had no immediate want for any of the objects. Instead, there was only a hope not to disgrace the immense respect Bala had just shown for the deceased by saving one of their remains. Taking the items off delicately was the only way she could think to avoid a reminder of Sigurd's earlier bone-snapping and body stripping. It occurred to the brunette while doing this that there was a certain pointlessness, a trait that bordered even on the puerile, in personally having more materials than one would ever need. Looking up from the bones, she regarded the lizardfolk intently.

“Sir, why is this crown so important to you and those koblods?”



It would be a bad idea for me to search the walls/paintings. I don't have any ranks in search.

“Take 10” on searching the bodies. If that's allowed it would result in 13.
“Take 10” also on Heal, trying to determine the cause of death to get a result of 22.
“Take 10” again on a Gather Information check to see why our lizardy friend is so eager for this crown. Result of 15.
And, yet again, “Take 10” on Sense Motive (for a result of 20).

...

Is there a limit to Take 10s?



Count of Spells Used, Reminder to Myself:

Because I'm never going to remember off the top of my head, these are the spells I've used so far for today in-game.

One Cure Light Wounds 1st level spell from healing the burnt prison man, possible named Argos.
One Sanctuary 1st level spell when first meeting the lizardfolk holding the hostage elf.
One Sanctuary 1st level spell to help Armina against Amil.
One Cure Minor Wounds 0 level spell from the falling piece of rock.

I have to check everything for sure, but I think that means I have four 0 level spells, two 1st level spells, and five 2nd level spells remaining. If this is all true then I haven't used as many as I thought I have.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Having entered the hallway last, Armina watches the others saving the old corpses, and striping their things without comment. Better that we use them, then they sit here, I suppose. After a moment of contemplation of her new friends, she starts to look around for some means of opening the door. Mostly, she looks for any sign of similar geometric shapes, like the ones over the doors.


Search: [roll0], likely useless.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Seeing the others are already looking over the bodies, Jaxon searches the rest of the hallway to see if there is anything useful that turns up. As he checks out each of the portraits, he does as Bala suggested, looking at the name plates. After finishing his examination of the pictures, he continues on to the rest of the area and says, "So, who is this Orin and why did you think he might be in one of these pictures?"

Just to confirm my suspicion, the portraits show humans, correct? Here are search checks a-plenty. Use as many as you need.

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

[KingRexII]

Bala's efforts aren't quite fast enough1 as she doesn't get to the corpse in time. The rock crunches the bones and then breaks apart on top of it. The remaining pile will probably take a little bit of time to clear up. Later, she and Jaxon examine the portraits to find that the dusty and faded paintings are of shorter folk -- gnomes. The plaque underneath each one holds the subject's name. Each one is actually a series of plaques tacked onto the end of the last one, resulting it extremely long names. None of them have the name 'Orin', though. None of the paintings have anything extraordinary about them.

Even before she gets a chance to look at the bones proper, Mary notices that these people have been dead for much too long for her to determine a specific cause of death. She, Armina and Jaxon find a plethora of items2.

The lizardfolk turns from his work at the doors when Mary uses the word 'sir'. With a harrumph, he says, "I don't care about the crown -- my people have no use for it, but the kobolds outside do. I hate helping those sniveling turds, but they stole something of ours. We need the crown to trade for it back." He takes a shoulder to the door one more time to try to break it down, but his attempts fails. He looks at the half-giant, "Hey, you look like you could get through this door. Mind helping me?"



1Rolled some rolls for Ms. Bala
2Once again, those touching the items somehow know their magical properties.
One body is large -- covered under its cloak are:
Large Guisarme +1 (Sigurd)
Heavy Plate +1 w? MWK Spikes (Sigurd)
Cloak of Protection +1 (Sigurd) (this is what covered the other things)
Handy Haversack containing the items dariathalon requested be in the HHH (Jaxon) -- the bag is initialed with 'JW', and the items inside are 'medium' sized
Wand of CLW (40 charges) (Jaxon)
Headband of Intellect +2 (Bala)
A medium sized, brown book that somehow survived however long these corpses had been here

One body is medium sized -- covered mostly with rocks:
Handy Haversack containing the items Toliudar requested be in the HHH (Bala)
Wand of Protection from Evil (45 charges) (Bala)
MWK Might (+2 STR bonus) Composite Longbow (Jaxon)
Ehlonna's Quiver w/ 50 arrows, 18 javelins, 4 spears (Jaxon)
Deep Crystal scimitar (Armina)
Someone else's psicrystal, inert, but still exuding a faint psionic pulse

[Proven_Paradox]

As the lizard looks to Sigurd for help, the half-giant snorts and says, "Innaminute." He looks over the items retrieved and claims those he likes--he's especially interested in finding any heavy armor either sized to fit him, or magically enchanted to adjust to the wearer.

Once that's done, he strides over to the lizardman. "The hell're you takin' orders from little craps like kobolds for? How many 're out there anyway? An' it's awfully trusting of ya to just assume we'll help you out without even askin' or givin' names..."

In spite of his voiced objections, the half giant seems up to helping the man open the door, lending his strength as best as he can.

I'm guessing a strength check on the doors? I'll take 10, then 20 if needed on it.

Also, the XP is enough to get Siggy to level 5. How do you want me to handle leveling up? Immediate, or wait until we get a break? Also, I forget; are we rolling HP?

[Toliudar]

Bala

Having narrowly avoided squishing herself when she grabbed for the remains, Bala is content to join the brigade searching amongst, and looting through, the remains. She pokes her head up, though, at the mention of the door.

Let me know if you two big strong men can't handle the door.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

When the reptilian warrior stopped speaking, Mary stayed quiet, and was almost comforted by the fact that Sigurd had responded instead. She wasn't immediately sure what to say. Theft was only remotely justified when done out of desperate need but was distasteful to her. But the fact the kobolds and lizardfolk were attempting to settle the dispute by trading items instead of blows showed that there was still space for civility.

Mary folded the arms of the skeletons over their bodies, still thinking how best to resolve the situation, feeling that leaving the issue to be resolved as it was would likely be leaving them to inevitable hostility. To suggest another answer would require more information. Only the comment Bala made roused Mary from her thoughts. At first, she arched a brow in confusion, wondering on what the lady-creature had said. Then her confused eased and the follower of Estanna realized with a suppressed giggle that the two burly men were going to attempt to budge the door open.

Bala knows how to open the door! Or that it can't be opened that way.

Mary tsked softly to the arcane-taught ape-woman, but the healer failed to hide her smile, whispering. “Don't be mean. At least give them a hint.”

Despite her words, she looked expectantly to them, not in any particular hurry to dissuade them.

I could have suggested that the names on the plaques might be one long arcane incantation to open the door. I could have used this post to ask more questions or try and persuade the lizardfolk to help us out more in exchange for a better deal. I could even have done a Knowledge: Religion attempt in an unlikely hope to help the situation. But instead I added nothing but childishness. I blame it on the fact its 3am. :smallsigh:

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon, having picked through the belongings of the corpses laying on the ground, stands in respectful silence watching as Mary crosses the arms of the bodies. When she is done with that, he moves up behind Sigurd and the lizardman. He has one hand on his weapon, and watches to see what might be behind the doors.

[KingRexII]

The lizard-man and the giant-man pound against the doors in tandem. In between hits, the lizard answers Sigurd's questions. "The shaman says that it's the only way we can safely get back all of our Scrolls back intact. We do anything to upset them, and those runts light them up like swamp gas. The shaman tells me to get their stupid crown, so I go get them their crown." His words are exaggerated every so often as he smashes into half of the odd symbol. "As for names, I was bit too busy fighting to give you a proper bow and curtsy --" He is interrupted by the sound of cracking and the doors giving way.

A dank, stale smell seeps from the wide opening before them. The sides of the smaller room are also lined with similar portraits, though some of the canvases look a little warped. Near the back of the room, there is a raise platform on which there are two golden, sumptuously designed chairs. They are clearly thrones. On the right one (from your perspective), there is a smallish skeleton balled up on its seat. Its feet rest on the degrading cushion, and its arms hug its raised legs. On its skull, which is laying on its knees, is a bejeweled crown, and around what used to be its neck is an amulet on a gold chain. There is no sign of life other than the moss growing along one of the walls.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala is relieved to discover gear that either was her's, or is indistinguishable from it, and does her best to see that the salvage is meted out to those who might make best use of it.

Recognizing that the brown-covered book might be significant, Bala quickly glances inside. She glances up when she hears the door give way.

"Good work, boys. What's inside?"

I'm suggesting for the sake of expediency that we all just assume that the designated items find their way to their owners through a few seconds of judicious comparing and trading. Sound okay?

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Watching the two big bruisers break down the door was amusing, Armina waited ready for combat, half expecting something to charge out of the broken doorway. When nothing did, she still refused to relax. "Somehow I expect that skeleton to animate when someone takes the crown. Quick, someone smash it to dust. Hmm, pretty necklace. Wonder what it does?" She moves into the room, graceful as ever.

[Proven_Paradox]

"Baah!" Sigurd waves his hand in front of his face as the smell hits him. "Just an empty room an' a skeleton, but it smells of ass... Let's get done here."

Reiterating my question from before you left; the XP from the last fight was enough for Sigurd to level; shall I do that now or wait until we get a chance to rest?

Also, welcome back.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

After picking out of the stack several things that were of use to him, Jaxon looks them over. "Heh. This haversack has my initials on it and everything," he chuckles at the coincidence. "Hey, Sigurd, this here guisarme looks like it might be more your style than the warhammer. Mind trading?"

Once all that is taken care of he moves closer to the doors. "Perhaps I ought to go in first. Something about this whole situation seems a little odd. Might be traps." His eyes meet's Sigurd's look of impatience; he flinches almost impreceptibly. "Won't take long, promise." He moves in carefully, checking the floors, walls, and ceiling between the doors and the throne for anything out of the ordinary. If he finds nothing on his way up to the thrones, he will examine them as well.

Here's a whole mess of Search checks. Beginning looking for traps, but also other things like secret doors or other hidden or obscured objects. Don't know how many you want, so just start at the top of the list and take as many as you need.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]

[KingRexII]

Bala's quick look at the book shows that it's written in a language she's never seen before. The characters look familiar, though -- very much like the elven characters she's seen in Elven and Aquan.

In the meanwhile, Jaxon scopes out the room and finds a few traps, or what is left of their trigger mechanisms. All of them have been sprung, and he finds none that could currently harm them, even around the skeleton and the crown. Behind the thrones, he does find a secret door, though. The humidity that fills the room seems to emanate from behind it.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

"Huh? Well that's odd... Somebody's already sprung all of these traps, but they left the crown and necklace where they were. You'd think that any thieves that mighta come through would have seen them and grabbed them up. Mebbe they know somethin' we don't. 'less there's something else springing all of these." His eyes dart to the darker corners of the room, scanning them for anything that might still be hidden there. Once he's satisfied himself that they are alone, he says, "Hey...uh you," he says looking at the lizardman, "You seem to know more 'bout this crown than the rest of us. Any insights?" He walks over to the wall behind the throne, while waiting for an answer. "On the plus side, I did find another exit, if we need it." He indicates the section of wall where the door is located.

I'm assuming that Jaxon had checked over the door for traps as well, if not he'd obviously do that before considering opening the door.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala takes a moment to affectionately hug the spellbook that she found in one of the knapsacks, then slipped it back in the pack, and the pack onto her shoulders.

Hey, any of you know anything about brain magic? I've only heard about this kind of stuff. And anybody here good with languages - we got a book here I can't read.

She holds up the crystal scimitar and vaguely-alive rock.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

At the sight of the scimitar, Armina hurries over. "I can't help with the book much, but I recognize the scimitar. Deep Crystal, I had one like it briefly. Hmm, the other looks like a Psi-Crystal. Doubt it'd be much good to anyone but it's owner, but I'd like to take a look at it anyway. Never know when it might prove useful."

She does a couple simple flourishes with it to familiarize herself with the new weapon.

Armina glances at the room. "Perhaps it was the kobold that triggered the traps, and one of them locked the door on him? Would explain why we couldn't get it open. And it'd be hard to tell now, since the big boys broke the door. I like my theory, if only because it means we can grab the stuff and git. Though, I wonder where the passage leads. Perhaps our friendly lizard-y type person can take the crown he needs, and we explore the secret passage? No offense to you," she looks squarely at the lizardman, "but I don't trust kobolds as far as I can throw them. Which, while it isn't as far as friend Sigurd can throw them, is still a fair distance. Heck, I'd not trust them as far as Mary could throw them, if she could be talked into actually throwing one."

This incredibly long speech comes whipping out at high speed, and is nearly as much as she's said the whole time she has been here. It doesn't take a Sense Motive check to figure out that she's excited about the scimitar. Oh, and a [roll0] diplomacy check to avoid insulting said unnamed lizardman. :smallsmile:

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala happily turns the scimitar and brain-stone-thingy over to Armina, and rises, dusting herself off.

Right. Let's have a closer look at those skeletons.

Bala follows Jaxon into the throne room.

Specifically, she's wondering if the skeletons look like gnomes, kobolds, or something else entirely. Are the skeletons whole, or do they show evidence of a violent death?

[Proven_Paradox]

After strapping on his new armor (with help from someone, of course), he shoulders the gigantic glaive found with the others and moves forward with a cocky grin--if he'd been self-sure before, now that he's armed and armored it's even more obvious that the gigantic man has a high opinion of himself. He strolls into the room, staying out of the way of those who're more familiar with trapfinding and such. He'll move to the biggest, most impressive portrait and take a look at the name plate--if necessary, he'll use autohypnosis to memorize the name.

I'm going to presume from the lack of response from Rex that I should wait to take my next level.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary made short, chipper claps after the two men budged the door open. The surprise in her voice was practically a calling card to the fact that she was pleasantly awed that raw strength had worked on the rune-covered door, “You're both stronger than you seem.”

With the others she patiently waited for Jaxon's trap search, Mary spending the time helping Sigurd into his armoured suit. She stepped reluctantly into the crypt afterwards, making a face. The air was foul in a way that encouraged her never again to grumble about doing an entire load of laundry for all the children at the orphanage. She exhaled sharply through her nose, pushing the stink away, and began breathing through her mouth. Her interest was quickly seized by the crowned corpse. As before, she didn't offer a prayer for the deceased in front of her, the soul likely having flown away already. But Armina's suggestion to shatter the bodies snapped Mary's attention to the other woman, “No!

“Don't. If any necromancy is present, I have the means to deal with it,” she assured Armina, her voice lowering to a calmer level after the outburst. “Before anyone gets hurt, and without need of destroying the already deceased.”

Taking her eyes back towards the sovereign skeleton, she walked up to it until Mary was little more than a step away from the throne. In that moment, she felt strangely important, thinking that she was closer now than any other commoner would ever be to royalty, let alone approaching without a curtsy. But the balled posture of the skeleton suggested to her someone that spent their last hour in consternation or starvation. She frowned at the thought, trying to keep it away from current considerations. With blackmail and divine tests abound, she told herself to focus less on this person, whom was now safely with the gods, and more on her own troublesome scenario.

Mary closed her eyes. She made a whispered request to gain the special sight to see magic. A timidly tickling sensation came to her eyes at that point, a small cue signalling that she could now detect magic through sight. Focusing on the crown, Mary made sure to see if she could differentiate anything magical about it. There had to be something particular about it. Assuming this was Amara's Crown, a crown was likely to endow magical or political gain, and would help explain why the kobolds wanted it. After she's done with that, she would glance around to see if anything about the room itself stands out.



All that just to say Mary casts detect magic on the crown. :P

Based on what Rex said in Bala's post, I'm guessing the brown book is written in Sylvan (or maybe Undercommon). Jaxon might be able to read it if it's Sylvan.



PParadox:




To answer the Dox's question: Level up right away when your experience says you can.


He responded in the last post, in the OOC topic.

[Toliudar]

Bala watches Mary approach, and renews her examination of the skeletons.