The Gavisoria Games (IC)

[GrassyGnoll]

Sanfeng lingers at the back of the room, eying Alwynn's letter from a distance. The orc steps to the front of the mausoleum to inspect the pedestal, he gestures at the letter.

"Read it."

Spoiler

Show

Sanfeng will have a look-see at the pedestal with his +15 Perception modifier.

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix concentrates for a moment, looking around the room for any signs of lingering evil. He then turns to Alwynn, nodding at Sanfeng's remark. "It is your business whether you read it or not, Alwynn, but I think it would be in our general best interest to know what's going on. I'm not sure what it is about that letter, but it seemed to startle you. What does it say?"

[Serpentine]

Alwynn takes out the letter and looks at it, biting his lip. After a moment, he puts it back in his cloak.
"After we check the other room." He walks out and heads to said other room.

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix begins to speak, but he pauses, catching himself. He follows Alwynn out of the room, over to the half-buried door. "I understand, Alwynn. Just know that no matter the contents of that letter, my opinion of you will not change. You are a good man, Alwynn. I trust that you are an honest and noble servent of the great golden dragon, as well as Robin above." He smiles for a moment, and then begins to dig out the door.

Spoiler

Show

I still have a bit of the Fists of Stone left, so he should be able to clear it out pretty quickly.

And, for Alywnn, here's a pure Charisma check: (1d20+7)[27]

[Serpentine]

Alwynn smiles crookedly at Maekrix.
"This letter has me questioning that!"
But he reaches out and squeezes Maekrix's hand, and looks a little less worried as he works at the door.

[GrassyGnoll]

Sanfeng shrinks into the dark. He averts his attention from the letter; feigning a nonchalance towards its contents.

Spoiler

Show

Perception check on the pillar: (1d20+15)[20]

[Galathir]

Retroactive:

You all examine the platform and the items on it very closely, but don't discern anything particularly significant about it or them. The five urns, upon closer enquiry, are found to have tight fitting lids of ground stone. You are unable to decipher the runes on them though. The pedestal, while ornate, seems mundane and you can detect no magical powers or mystical energy in it.

Vinto follows you into the room, and glances casually at the letter. "I'm sure Alwynn will share it when he feels it proper" he comments. "No need to rush into things. But I do want you to know," he says, turning to Alwynn, "I trust you as I do everyone here, and I'll do what I can to help you if you need it."

After looking around, he follows Alwynn out of the room and helps excavate the buried door. With Maekrix doing most of the heavy lifting, the door is soon uncovered. It seems to be a door identical to the other one, constructed of wood and a rusty iron latch. The loose sand lying around you muffles the sound of your digging, exacerbating the tomb-like feeling that comes from the dim lighting and smell of death and blood in the air.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn's comment to Maekrix goes to Vinto as well, and he receives his own hand-squeeze (though maybe not quite as tight - how can I say no to a 27 Charisma check?! ).

Alwynn takes some quick deep breaths, psyching himself up, before gripping his staff firmly in one hand and swinging open the door.

[Galathir]

The wood of the door has apparently been severely dry rotted, and the area around the latch shatters into dust as Alwynn pushes on it. The top hinge lets go and the door hangs at a crazy angle as it gapes open. Beyond the entrance your lights reveal a perfectly circular room about thirty feet in diameter. The floor is coated with a thick layer of pale grey dust the eddies and swirls in miniature whirlwinds as you push in the door. The bottom of the door scrapes part of the floor clean, revealing polished black marble with faint whorls of white and flecks of gold. In the centre of the room is a round black marble pedestal, about three feet tall with a stone or crystal of some sort on it.

The air inside is a bit stale and dry, but still contains a faint fragrance of incense and wood smoke.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn gestures at the others. "Stay here.", he asks, and steps cautiously into the room. He looks around carefully, and walks with soft steps towards the pedestal.

Perception checks?

Spoiler

Show

(1d20+6)[16]

[Galathir]

The dust muffles your footsteps and little puffy clouds swirl up with every movement. The walls of the room are hewn stone like the rest of the cavern. As you move forward, you uncover a bit of the floor to reveal a band of silver, about as wide as a finger, set flush with the marble. It appears to extend all the way around the room in a broad circle about twenty feet in diameter. In the centre of this circle is set the pedestal. A single line of runes circles it about halfway up, and you recognize several of them from the other room. The polished top of the pedestal is marred only by a small indentation holding a black crystal, shaped into a small sphere a bit smaller then a fist.

OOC @ Alwynn

Spoiler

Show

You look around carefully and notice that against the back wall, mostly covered in the dust, there is a small white pipe (the kind used for smoking).

[Serpentine]

Alwynn stops at the line of silver. He kneels down and examines it, then stands up again. He sweeps his staff over it and in the dust inside the circle, pokes the stone floor and so on to check for traps or anything sinister.
If nothing happens:
He looks at the black stone and sighs. He walks around the outside of the silver circle to the pipe. He crouches by it and picks it up. As he examines it, he says wearily "Sanfeng, if it's safe to do so, would you please take that crystal there?" He stands up and, pointedly looking away from the pedestal and crystal, says "Very well. Lets get out of here, and I'll read you this letter."

[Galathir]

You find no traps or other sinister devices. Upon closer examination, the round stone displays the characteristic white swirls of onyx. The pipe is an ornately carved bit of ivory with the bowl displaying a carefully crafted scene of a dragon devouring a knight.

[GrassyGnoll]

Sanfeng snatches the pipe off the pedestal. He holds the artifact in both hands, walking it back to the entrance on light feet.

[Serpentine]

(stone ball, not pipe. Alwynn has the pipe on the other side of the room)
Alwynn follows Sanfeng out of the room, avoiding stepping inside the silver circle. He walks into the main part of the cave clutching his staff in one hand and holding the pipe gingerly in the other. He finds a relatively clear spot as far away from the dragon-thing as possible and waits there for the others, not looking at them.
When everyone is there, waiting expectantly, he puts the pipe in the pocket and removes the letter from it. He busies himself smoothing it out, and, eyes averted from the others, says "before I read this out... I want to assure you... It..." He looks steadily into each person's eyes in turn. "I swear, nothing in this but my own name means anything to me. I truly don't know what it's talking about."
He waits for their response, and then, reluctant but determined now that he's made the decision, Alwynn reads out the whole letter, word for word:

Alywnn, my dearest companion and closest ally, I bid you greetings again.

It has been so long since we last met in person, I find myself beginning to forget the look of your face and the sound of your voice. Indeed, at times I dream of putting this tiresome business behind us, and throwing ourselves with reckless abandon into that joyful reunion which must someday come to pass. But only for a moment. Of course, as you realize, our trials are far from over and our grand course of destiny still has many hills to cross before we can consider our task at an end.

This letter may be a bit premature, but I have the greatest faith in your abilities, both to defend yourself, and to continue acting the part you have so skilfully assumed. Indeed, I still chuckle when I recollect the moment when you decided to take the form of an Aasimar. Such a delicious contrast to your normal personality, but I suppose that only helps keep the two separate. By the time I find this missive, I trust you will have dispatched my servant, Quintino. You remember him right? He's grown since then, but of course you must expect that. I will miss him, you may rest assured of that, but he had his part to play, as do we all.

Well, I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done, and to encourage you as you continue on your mission. The hardest part is still ahead, but I have the fullest confidence in you. Stay strong, and look forward to our future reunion. Oh yes, I nearly forgot. If you can arrange to do so without suspicious, try to hold on to the onyx. You will know what to do with it later.

Your devoted friend,
Kalkim Nystin

Finished, Alwynn gazes half-defiantly, half-terrifiedly at the others.
"So," he begins in a wavering voice, "does this mean more to any of you than it does to me?"
He flutters his wings with a shudder, as though to remind himself that they're still there.
(@ DM: I didn't even notice )

[Galathir]

Vinto stares silently and awkwardly for a few seconds, apparently weighing the implications of several different conclusions. Deciding to put his doubts on hold for the moment and follow the course of reason, he takes a deep breath and looks at Alwynn.

"So, you say none of this is familiar to you at all? The letter does mention you by name as well as race and if it makes you feel any better, I can't detect any kind of shape-changing magic on you. As far as I can reckon, there are only a few options here. One, you are who you claim to be, and the letter is a mistake or coincidence of some kind; two, you are who you claim to be and the letter is a ploy with some unknown purpose; three, you aren't who you claim to be, but the letter and any past history are unknown to you, and four; you aren't who you claim to be, and know exactly what the letter is about."

"The first one seems exceedingly unlikely and if the last was indeed true, why would you reveal the letter instead of lying about it and keeping your false identity hidden. So, given that you've proven yourself a worth friend and earned my trust, I think we need to decide between the other two possibilities and go from there."

It's the most Vinto has said since you've met him, but his grave demeanour shows the seriousness behind his words. It is obvious that he is troubled by this development and wants to come to a reasonable conclusion.

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix pauses for a moment, contemplating the letter calmly. He then walks to Alwynn slowly, looking him in the eye all the while. His face is still and stern, regarding Alwynn's without emotion or expression.

He puts his hand on Alwynn's shoulder, and his draconic face breaks into a broad, pleasant smile. "You are a good man, Alwynn. I trust you. I know not what this letter means, nor who you truly. Therefore, all I can do is rely on my own judgement. I am dragonkind, Alwynn, and I have all the positive and negative traits that dragonblood entails. Loyalty is one of those things. Anger is another. Right now, Alwynn, I feel nothing but powerful loyalty to you."

His face hardens, and a fire appears in his eyes. After a moment, the fire becomes literal, shadows of flames flickering behind his pupils. The temperature in the room begins to fluctuate wildly, flashes of heat and freezing chill alternately washing over you. A smell of ozone fills the air, and a sharp acidic tang accompanies it.

Maekrix speaks, and the granite conviction in his voice makes mere anger seem like a wisp of steam. "If the one in this letter is attempting to hurt you, or confuse you, or remove you from this mission, I will kill them. You are my friend, Alwynn, and I am a dragon. There is only one course of action for those who would harm my friends."

Spoiler

Show

I'll be down some Prestidigitations, but screw it, the RP is just too awesome.

[Galathir]

Galwaith pokes his head out from behind Sanfeng's back and looks with curiosity at the black orb in his hands. "So . . . is that the onyx mentioned in the letter? What does it do?"

[GrassyGnoll]

The meaty-shouldered orc shrugs. He sneers at ominous the black lump.

"A sorceror's plaything? This delay is becoming annoyingly portentous. I know danger lies ahead! The fool wastes his ink."

[Galathir]

"This delay is becoming, if not portentous, at the very least, a hindrance to our mission." Vinto steps out of the room and returns in a few seconds. "It looks like the rain is stopping, so unless you have further reason to stay here, perhaps we should be on our way."

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix nods, and he heads out into the main hallway, glancing over his shoulder to the others, his wings held close to his body. "You are right, we should go on. This puzzle demands solving, and it will be given its due attention in time. However, I believe the best thing to do would be to get out of this place; it is all too clear that someone powerful enough to create a mighty draconic golem knows that we are here, and intends to either kill us or simply hamper our mission. I think the best thing to do would be to keep any avoidable delays to a minimum."

[Serpentine]

[insert a few posts up ^^]

Alwynn shivers a little, but smiles with great relief at his companions. "Thank you, my friends. We shall all best keep an eye on me, lest I suddenly become a monster like this thing!", he quips with a kick at the dragon golem, but only half-joking.
He looks down at the letter again. He looks at it seriously for a moment, then seems to throw it all off and waves it in the air with a grin. "We have a mystery to solve, now! How exciting!"
Alwynn reaches out a finger to poke disdainfully at the black orb, although the observant will notice he stopps just short of touching it. "What an odd bauble. Let us know if it does anything to you, Sanfeng dear. Makes your hair stand on end, or arouses in you a fondness for pillows or somesuch."
He walks to the cave entrance and gazes at the sky. "I guess we'll see, won't we, eh?" Alwynn spins on his heel and goes inside to gather his things.

[Galathir]

Galwaith slowly turns from the black gloomy room and shuffles his way along the sandy gritty floor towards the entrance. Stopping briefly to recover his lute, he carefully slings it over his back and leads the way outside. Vinto was close behind him when he suddenly stopped in surprise.

"You might want to see this. I think it's saving us a bunch of work."

You look in the direction of his pointing finger and see the remains of the golem you so recently dispatched. Frightful changes were taking place: a furious shrinkage and disintegration as the flesh and bones melted into a fluid ectoplasm and slowly sublimated from slime to vapour and disappeared. Apparently the actual physical element of the creature was rather small.

Galwaith looks casually around, and then quickly sticks out his tongue and makes a mocking face at the monster when he thinks no one is looking.

Vinto looks at the vanishing monster with clinical interest and a pensive look. "It must have either been created from other-planer materials or summoned here somehow. Now that the energy that sustained it has been interrupted, it must be dissolving back to wherever it came from. At any rate, there isn't anything for us to search."

"Or . . . wait a second, what's this?"

The golem was all but gone, just a small puddle of goop pooled on the floor. In the middle of this puddle lay the object of Vinto's attention: a small black stone about an inch in diameter and polished to a high lustre. Unlike everything else, it was uncompromisingly solid and apparently quite hesitant to vanish into mist like the rest of the monster.

Vinto leaned closer to examine it, but refrained from touching it.

"Perhaps whoever created this monster used this as the focus or energy source. It looks like onyx. And there's writing on it or something."

[RaggedAngel]

Spoiler

Show

Arcana: (1d20+10)[26]
Spellcraft: (1d20+7)[22]

Maekrix carefully observes the dissolving golem, and he looks at the stone in the middle of the muck and grim with suspicion. "Alwynn, does this stone set off any alarms for you? My knowledge of arcane matters is respectable, but I would like a second opinion before I attempt to touch it. Also, if anyone knows a spell to touch or move objects at a distance it may be of use here."

[Serpentine]

Alwynn looks at the stone quizzically.
"If that's the onyx... Then what's that?" He points at the orb held by Sanfeng.

[Galathir]

"Oh yes, the letter. I wonder which one you're supposed to hold on to."

Vinto focuses his attention on the stone again.

"Well, as far as I can tell it isn't dangerous. Most likely, whatever magical energies it contained were dispelled when we destroyed the beast."

He carefully leans over and reaches out for the stone. With a gentle and cautious motion, he lightly places his fingers around it and flinches a bit but nothing happens. He lets out the breath he had been holding and picks it up, holding it out for Alwynn and Maekrix to examine.

"I have no idea what this script is though, perhaps your studies will be of greater use?"

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix's eyes go blank, and he seems to gaze off into space. He mutters something to himself, and then looks at Vinto sharply. His gaze moves to the stone. His wings spread a bit, and the subtle difference makes him look much larger and more powerful. "That stone is an object of power, and I doubt its power is diminished simply by the destruction of the golem. I know little about it, but it seems that my connection to dragonkind is enough to give me a glimpse of a time before my own. The words on the stone say 'For the first thousand years of imprisonment, the promises were of power and dominion over the earth- but the seals were intact.' I know not what that means, only that it is." His face set solemnly, he looks to Alwynn. "I believe that we should keep this, but we should keep it hidden. Does anyone have any containers for storage?"

[Galathir]

Galwaith's hand pops up as if it was spring loaded.

"I do!"

He quickly unslings his lute, and takes off his pack. Rummaging through his possessions for a moment, he draws out a small leather bound book, quite thick and closed with a solid brass latch labelled on the cover: "Personal Recollections and Journal of Galwaith Harkenford IV". Holding up his hand for silence, he pauses for effect. "Just wait, it gets better." Drawing a small key from one of his pockets, he opens the latch.

"No one ever looks inside, and besides, who would expect to find something inside a book?"

With a dramatic flip of his hand, he opens the cover to reveal that instead of being filled with page of boring minutiae, the paper is blank with a hole carved in the centre of the book large enough to hold several small items.

"All I've got in here is this rin- . . ." His voice trails off in surprise as he realizes that along with his ring, there is an ornately carved ivory pipe. He looks apprehensively at you, a quiver of unease rising in his voice. "Are you one you playing a joke on me? I didn't put this here."

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix looks at the pipe, and then Galwaith. He raises his brow inquisitively. "Allow me to test a theory, if you please." He takes the pipe carefully, his clawed hands surprisingly deft, and then he tucks it inside his spell component pouch at his hip, so that no bulge can be seen from the outside. He then turns and walks ten feet away from Galwaith. "Close the book, lock it, put it away, and then wait a minute. Then take it back out and open it. I have a hunch, but I hope that I'm wrong."

[Galathir]

"Certainly"

Galwaith carefully secures his book and takes the extra measure of sitting on it while softly whistling a dramatic theme until Maekrix motions for him to open it again. He does so, but the book remains pipeless. The pipe, upon checking, remains in the pouch.