DM EngineHouse - Smoke and Shadow (Inactive)

Game Master EngineHouse

Gregory charges after the figure that ran away...

Acrobatics: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (19) - 1 = 18.

The paladin mutters to himself as he continues to help tie up the mages, so this won't become a fight on two fronts.

"Every single person in this forest is insane, and that includes me for coming here instead of someplace nice, like the World Wound."

Odol groans, "#%*+€>%#!"

He looks in dismay after the sprinting figure.

I'll never catch him... He continues to help Salvin with the captives.

"Salvin, I fear we're just getting started. I may be ready to join you at Nerosyan when this is over."

Just restating that Vhailor's intent is:
1) secure the stunned mullets
2) loot the secured stunned mullets

Damrang will look helplessly after the fleeing figures.

"I'll never catch them. Obadiah I'll use my rope on these two, can you hit the third from here?"

Obadiah nods

"I can but try Damrang... Will be a difficult shot, but t'Elk Father will guide me..."

He raises his bow, notches an arrow and as an incantation of Erastil fills his mind;

O, bend t' bow in powerful prayer
And wing your wishes, on t' air
Towards, towards t' arrows mark
And steal from them, life's last spark

Cast True Strike

Gregory, you charge to the edge of the ravine and leap into space. The man you are attacking seems to be hanging in the air, falling more slowly than he should. You bring your weapon back...

Obadiah, the man has almost fallen out of view by the time you have drawn your arrow. There is no time to aim and no time for skill, but there is always time for faith. Your arm seems to move according to another's will and the arrow flies true

...Gregory, an arrow sails under your arm and pierces your target a second before you slam into him and bring your weapon down.

+20 is an auto-hit for Obadiah even with the penalties I was going to apply. There is no need to roll to hit, just damage. Gregory, roll to hit. You passed the acrobatics to take the fall, but you're still in mid-air right now.

[ooc]I know I said he was already running off down in the ravine, but I'm retconning he's still in mid air as you make your attacks in the light of the extreme measures you're taking to get attacks off (true strike and jumping at him over the ravine). We are back in initiative order, modified due to readied actions:

Vhailor
Third Adept
Obadiah
Gregory
Odol
Damrang
Salvin

Once Gregory and Obadiah's attacks are resolved the adept will have hit the bottom of the ravine and will be out of line of sight to those not at the edge of the ravine looking down. Refer to the map for how far you have to move to get into these positions. Vhailor, you have finished securing Olivia and Corlit.

Odol looks up as Gregory sails off the cliff, followed by Obadiah's arrow.

"Oh my," he breathes. An impressive group of companions to be surrounded by. I'm glad some are more athletic than I.

While he and Salvin finish with the captives, he takes a look around the area, watching and listening to see if there are any other hidden foes.

Perception 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10

Content to allow the other party members to hunt the remaining adept, Vhailor concerns himself with ensuring the color sprayed adepts are stripped of possessions so that they cannot immediately fight back when their condition passes.

Damrang stands guard over the captives with the others, lacking the ability to fly as well as Gregory.

Gregory's action was posted on the last page; 23 to hit on a charge, for 11 points of Bludgeoning damage.

Longbow damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2 Dammit... I really need to invest in a Composite Longbow w/STR bonus!

Obadiah listens intently trying to discern if his quarry has been felled;

"'ush up lads... Wondering if my arra flew true and straight..."

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Gregory smashes the adept downwards before plunging into the shallow water himself. The battered spellcaster pushes himself to his knees and grabs the arrow lodged in he thigh. He tries to wrench it out, but the pain is too much and he slumps back down in to the water.

Gregory's falling damage (10' due to successful acrobatics): 1d6 ⇒ 1

Gregory, as you get to your feet you see the adept lying dead

Heal (first aid): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15.

Gregory shakes his head sadly at the corpse If it is indeed a corpse).

"If only you had not tried to run..."

If truly dead...

He then carefully strips the body of portable items (like scrolls and potions), before allowing the flow of water to carry it away.

If simply unconscious...

He then carefully collects the limp body, and carries back up to the others.

Vhailor finishes searching Olivia and is drawing a longsword inlaid with an intricate gold leaf design from her scabbard when she recovers from the blinding effect of the colour spray.

"You deceitful runt! You'll never leave this forest alive."

By this point Gregory has made it back out of the ravine and dumps the (very much dead) body of the third adept down next to Olivia and Corlit. You hear Corlit groan as his injured eyes see the body, and now you come to look you see the two men bear a considerable resemblance. His jaw then sets and he speaks tonelessly.

"Vern Corlit. Adept. Helix Order fifth conclave"

Olivia snarls

"You won't get another word from us. We can take more torture than Saenrae will allow"

She nods at Salvin before glaring at Vhailor again

"Olivia Kerrow. First Adept. Helix Order fifth conclave"

So, he is dead, Jim?

Sorry, more accidental ninja-ing. I overuse the edit tool

No worries!

Gregory turns to the group.

"Well, what are we going to do now? We seem to have gotten ourselves into the middle of a right mess of a war."

As much as I hate getting rid of loot, I think the armor is probably a little *too* distinctive for us to get away with carting around. The other items could probably be safely looted, though :-)

Vhailor smiles at Olivia and pokes out his tongue as he pockets the original fireball scroll plus the two lightning bolt scrolls.

Obadiah impassively stares down at the bound Helix mages;

Three things cannot be long hidden: t' sun, t' moon, and t' truth...

"You fine Helix mages fail to realise t' gravity of your situation... We need information, we need the truth... Not the 'alf truths you spouted previously but everything..."

The farmer of the Elkfather looks at the sky, then back at the prisoners;

"Left out 'ere... once its dark... t' cog-dead will come for ye... Then NO amount o' training will stop you from screaming..."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Now you decide to roll well on Intimidation.
Not so tough when the wee mage has knocked em out and tied em up for you is it ;)

You softened em up Master Falk good and proper like... Now old Obadiah will see to em... ;) Ain't that right "Mother"!?

Indeed "It says so in the scriptures!"

Odol joins Obadiah, scowling down at Olivia and Vern, "Idiot. Have you already forgotten that he is from Iadenveigh. His people are dying every day because of your war. None of us are afraid of death in this wood, but you'd better be."

Assist on Intimidate 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

The paladin feels ill at the talk of the mistreatment of prisoners, even in this difficult time. But all attempts at parley have failed.

"I do not condone tormenting prisoners. But this is war and none of you are innocent. You will answer all our questions truthfully or we will leave you here to meet your fate."

...Wow. Ok, looks like they will talk after all

"You wouldn't...you can't..."

She looks from Obadiah to Odol, then to Salvin's appparent apathy. I looks like she's more afraid of the zombies than she let on, because she immediately caves.

"I don't want to die. Not like that. I'll tell you anything, but please understand that we're only told what we need to know!"

Corlit is not so easily broken. He finally looks away from the body of the third adept and just stares at the sky. You hear him mutter:

"coward"

Olivia apparently doesn't hear.

Salvin, for the record Olivia would almost always be right when she says you can't allow prisoners to be physically tortured. You definately couldn't in this case - they didn't even start the fight. Leaving them for the zombies, however, is acceptable.

Standing just behind Mister Obadiah's left side Vhailor pipes up "Was what you said about the mecha-zombies true, are they spawned by Xoud?"

These mercenaries are truly brutal. A paladin who would allow others to be eaten by zombies?

Damrang turns to Corlit and holds his weapon menacingly.

"Quiet you. Far as I'm concerned you're responsible for these zombies as much as any."

Yeah, I'm not big on torture in games or real life. All Salvin would do is strip them of weapons and spell componet pouches and tell them to return to their base. He would also escort them there, in hopes of learning more. But he won't be party to torture or mass murder, which have both come up in the last couple of hours in game time. He will be praying tonight and tomorrow to his goddess to see if he should continue on with the mission with this party.

Salvin, I would be mighty uncomfortable if you were big on torture in real life ;-) On a more serious note, Gregory would not support the torture and/or murder in cold blood of the Helix Order mages. Given that we are in a war-zone, though, he would support looting them and then abandoning them to their own devices, if necessary...

Regards the war and its morales... While Obadiah doesn't condone torture, or mass murder, he also won't think of the ramifications of "winning this war". His view is very blinkered (at present) due to the slaughter and death visited upon Iadenveigh...

His zeal is somewhat "black/white" and he's trying to fit "shades of grey" that we encounter into that scale... its not working and he'll struggle with that...

Looking over Erastil's ethos more, perhaps Obadiah seeks to "convert" these tech-orientated enclaves and show them how co-operation and traditional methods will reap the best rewards?

Odol's gaze grows darker and he swings his eyes from Olivia to Vern, then back to Olivia. "Answer the gnome and unwind your story lass. Who is responsible for the zombies?"

What will it be? Helix? Delve? Or another group we haven't yet found?

"They're ours! They're ours, but I had nothing, NOTHING to do with their creation. I'm a field adept, not a necromancer."

She calms herself somewhat and anticipates the next question

"And why are they attacking Iadenveigh? The money. The archmagus needed a way of turning heaps of scrap metal and obsidian into useful currency. His solution was getting a scout team to pose as mercs and charge the world for fending off an endless string of managable attacks."

She looks pleadingly at Obadiah

"Those in my conclave have barely even SEEN the undead. I know your people have been dying, but it wasn't me. It wasn't us."

I am Obadiah. I am Erastil’s Bow. I am Iadenviegh.

Wound me I shall heal. Deceive me I shall discern. Wrong me I shall avenge.

Obadiah looks down at her words with a mixture of pity and disdain;

”T’Parables teach us that greed is the blight on a community and on t’ man. Greed makes a good man lie and an evil one worse. Your archmagus is clearly t’latter and rest assured as these good men are my witnesses I’ll spare ‘im no mercy for the death and misery ‘is greed ‘as wrought.”

Eyes full of zeal Obadiah gestures forcefully towards Olivia with the weathered, deerskin book gripped in his hand;

”REDEMPTION is at ‘and! It is yours to 'arvest as you will. RENOUNCE your archmagus! ‘elp our cause, ‘elp Iadenviegh and in doing so ‘elp your very soul… Then... and only then per’haps, t’ ledger can be balanced…”

The tension that seemed to be in the paladin eases a bit as he sees Obadiah turn to mercy and forgiveness before wrath.

Thank you goddess for this sign.

The paladin stares at the two mages with a grim face, waiting to see what these mages plan to do about their immortal souls.

Olivia too seems calmed by Obadiah's change in tack

"You want me to join you? Well...if that's what I must do to live, so be it. I am a mercenary, my loyalty lies with whoever makes the highest offer. You're offering me the chance to live. You've made a good call - I know this forest well. What's more, seeing an Iadenveigher in the flesh makes it far harder to look the other way to our...enterprise"

Corlit is looking at her with rage by the time she's finished. He looks about to say something to her, but then seems to think better of it. Instead, he addresses Obadiah

"Pois holy man, with your talk of good and evil. When was Iadenveigh's last lynching, preacher? Your "community" is a fine thing for everyone except the rest of the world"

Iadenveigh's last lynching was six months ago. Someone trying to sell one of the taverns 'ale' he made with a hissing sky-tech machine. Seven months before that it was a gunslinger who shot a man's dog after an argument.

Vhailor is happily observing, he'll leave the heavy lifting dialogue to those less.... flippant :)

Salvin lets out a sign as the bound man challenges the evangelist.

These mercenaries are being more forthright and truthful with my companions than myself. How shameful.

The paladin turns toward Obadiah to see his response.

Gregory continues to watch impassively.

Perhaps now the farmers will not be quite so quick to judge technology...

Obadiah smiles at the desperate accusations of Corlis;

When justice is done, it is a joy to t' righteous but terror to evildoers...

"T' last lynching was indeed 6 months ago... Ale tainted with sky tech caused strong men to weaken, and women to lose their children... So aye we of Iadenveigh 'ung t' uncaring poisoner in't question."

He kneels down close to Corlis, still smiling grimly, his book branded with the antlers of Erastil raised high;

"T' Parables tell us that one drop of poison can spoil all of t' milk... When I look t your 'eart Corlis... I see naught but poison..."

"Do you now? That's mighty convinient - maybe the paladin will let you execute a helpless prisoner if his heart is poisenous enough. How'd you spot it anyway? Magic or good old fashioned prejudice?"

Olivia interrupts him

"Corlit, shut UP"

"Frak you Olivia. Some of us keep our oaths. You know the one I mean"

"So you're going to drag me down with you?"

"I don't give a frak"

"Whatever we're going to do with them, we should do it soon and somewhere else. One patrol from that waterfall and we're dead, and obviously these Helix bastards know how to find this spot as well. As for you Corlit, I wouldn't start slinging too much bile around, you might damage your hypocrisy. After all, didn't you just admit to killing innocents for money?"

Why Obadiah has let them live I don't know, but I'll follow his lead for now.

Gregory watches the exchange with mild amusement, but refrains from commenting.

So those Halflings work for The Helix Order, and the 'mechanical undead' threat was cooked-up simply to part those Luddites from their money? Ingenious.

His expression then sours, as something occurs to him.

We were never meant to survive. I reckon that Halfling was trying to get us killed... If we ever go back to that town, I will have to have a... vigorous... discussion with him.

Gregory's face then lights up.

Still, this information might be just what we needed to tip those folk from Iadenveigh over the edge... How ironic that they might end up aiding a technology-backed force against a common enemy!

Obadiah pats Corlit gently on the shoulder as he speaks plainly;

“Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and reform t’ criminal. You Corlit, I fear, are beyond redemption... but per'haps t' water will cleanse your sins...”

Obadiah grabs the prisoner and begins dragging him like a bale of hay towards the waterfall and stream. As he does he sermonises;

”What MAKES thee unclean, cannot make me unclean, but THOU canst make me unclean!"

Vhailor finds a rock to sit on with a view of proceedings, watching with interest - but not speaking up.

Corlit doesn't try to struggle as Obadiah drags him across the ground, but does go limp to make the preacher's job as hard as possible. Nonetheless, Obadiah gets him to the edge of the cliff. He still says nothing, just looks down into the water.

Obadiah, you can throw him into the plunge pool which might drown him or the stream that will hurt him from the impact but won't kill him.

Once he works out what Obadiah is planning to do, Gregory begins to shift uncomfortably.

He then moves over to him, and says:

"Obadiah, if your intent is to 'wash his sins away' and kill him, there are more humane ways to do it than drowning. Yes, he is a soldier, and yes, he unrepentantly works for a group that has preyed upon the fears of your town for the sole purpose of generating revenue, but cruelty begets cruelty; give him a swift, clean end, or you are no better than he."

To be honest, I doubt the Paladin is comfortable with the killing of a bound captive, but I think a long drop, followed by a slow drown, is a tad evil :-/

Obadiah gives Gregory and unconcerned look;

"Nae. Not t' kill, merely to offer a chance at the redemption he clearly feels he does not need..."

Turning his attentions back to Corlit, Obadiah smiles once again as he holds the man over the edge;

"Beyond that waterfall lies your 'ated foes in t' Delve. Should I drop you, you will not die... merely to flounder like a spawning salmon... waiting to die? And when THEY return... you will die. In a manner not pleasant nor quick I'll wager... 'he choice is yours - a vessel for spite or one with t' Elkfather in 'is 'eart?"

Not sure if I can try Diplomacy or Intimidation to "convert" him? If I can Obadiah will cast Guidance first to aid his cause:

Father Erastil let this lost soul follow your guide arrow bright and clear. Let 'im take t'old ways once again into 'is 'eart...

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23 OR
Intimidate: above 14+5 = 19

A true religious conversion would definately be a diplomacy roll to influence attitude. As such, your roll isn't sufficiant to sway Corlit.

"Seems as good a way as any to get your rustic stink off me"

He spits in Obadiah's face.

I assume Obadaih throws him off the cliff at this point. If not, I will retcon the following

Corlit falls down into the plunge pool. The frothing water closes over his bound form. You can see his thrashing figure for a few seconds before it is forced under by the current. The waterfall is not large, it would be easy to escape from - were his hands and feet not tied.

Those of you still near Olivia hear her mutter

"What the hell did he think he was dying for?"

The paladin sighs heavily as the scene plays out in front of him.

"Something he believed in," he says to Olivia as he walks past her toward the water.

Waiting to post more until I know for certain what Obadiah does.