DM Avian Aloft |
The hall is shaken again by the relentless attacks. Silas nods at you, acknowledging your bravery and beckons you follow. He leads you down, deeper into the base of the tower to a large room. It is clearly an arcane workshop that has seen much use. Four large platforms hold strange constructions of wire and crystal. He turns to you...
Silas Shoreborn |
"This is your last chance to change your mind. Once you have gone through you are committed. Would anyone like to leave? No? Good."
His weary smile shows his exhaustion as he runs a hand through his white hair.
" We will need a number of things on the other side. Fresh water, some sort of safe food source. A map would be nice of the area you choose. Your task is to find us a site for our settlement. Your second task is to document as many of the dangers of these new worlds as possible. Your third is to make contact with, and determine if any natives are a threat or peaceful. The last is to determine as best you can the mundane aspects of the world, such as the weather, or what plants are edible or good for other things. Each talisman is keyed to a specific gate but will also be your recording device. To document these things simply speak to it using the phrase "Shoreborn Stone, I would like to report..." When the time comes for me to re-open the portal and send through others I will first retrieve your report, this will determine what comes to you through the portal. Then I will open the portal. It will open near to the Talisman, or, if you have buried it in soil or sand, immediately upon it. Burying it will allow me to hold it open longer and send more through so that preparation could mean all the difference if you can manage it."
He looks at the three teams. "Any questions?"
Arrahska Simik |
Arrahska "steps" forward, or what the slithering motion of her fishtail could be called: "How soon should we report? An immediate description of the environtment, or should we scout for an in depth report first?"
Selen Desaru of Daikitsu |
The white haired individual steps forward, leading her horse by the reins, and nodding solemnly.
"We will do our best. Hopefully we can save a few fortunate souls."
Selen appears to grip the reins tighter than her calm voice would imply for.
Slobad Ironbelly |
The green half orc steps foward, he pass his hand through his beard and touching his fangs says with his deep voice
"We will be succesful and hopefully with a new home for everyone" he liked the idea of going into the unknown,
"How much time do we have before you open the portal?" ask the man as he fixes his armor
Silas Shoreborn |
"I will open it when you are ready
You hear some of the others ask him some questions as well.
He nods, "Good questions, I will be able to keep everyone here intact for a little over a year. I will draw the information from the stone in 365 days, and open the portal within a week after that. As for how much information... I have not tested the upper limits but each of you can make a 25 word report per day without losing any information within those 365 days. More may be safe but I don't know."
heh really should have done the sendoff in one threat together, would have made more sense
DM Avian Aloft |
You feel so cold. As if your entire being is sheathed in ice. It tears at you and stings as you hang suspended in the firey red light. A jolt hits you like lightning as you are deposited on your hands and knees. The incredible cold is replaced with a dry heat as your hands are scrapes by the baked clay soil beneath you.
As you gather your wits and look about you see a barren plain. It looks as if it was once vibrant with life bit now is a wasteland. The brush is dried and dead. The grasses wilted and lifeless. A nearby stream bed lies empty. Something feels incredibly off here. As if the magic of this place has been horribly warped.
Looking about you see the first sign of life as a small burrowing creature breaches the surface and snuffles about. Suddenly Tue nearby "dead" bush moves forward and picks the creature up. The mole screams in terror as the plant devours it. The plant looks a little less dead after its meal but you aren't really feeling all that comforted by it...
Arrahska Simik |
What is the time of day approximately?
"Gods..." Arrahska mutters quietly as she takes in the desolate surroundings. She scans the horizon while keeping her spear levelled at the animate plant.
Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 9
Slobad Ironbelly |
*Cough*"Agh..that was..unpleasant.." says the orc breathing slowly smelling the air and feeling the heat as he starts to sweat,
"Is everyone ok? Be careful, that doesn't seems friendly" Slobad draws his sword as he sees the plant eat the small creature, he looks around to checks if everyone is here and if they are fine.
Selen Desaru of Daikitsu |
"By Daikitsu...where are we?"
Selen looks down and kicks at the dry soil, knocking some of the flakes up. Looking up, she shields her eyes, trying to see if there was any other vegetation besides the two carnivorous bushes.
"I worry we may have chosen poorly"
Nodding to Slobad, "Besides some apprehension and discomfort, yes, I am all right."
Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10
DM Avian Aloft |
The noon sun beats down on you with exaggerated fury. Glancing around most of the brush appears to be fairly normal but you spot two more of the carnivorous plant mutations hiding among the truly dead underbrush. To the north a set of sunbaked hills stretch across the horizon. An odd dirt formation lies about 200 feet to your south as if the earth had been pushed towards you by a giant hand. The stream bed runs to the east and west. To the east it looks just as parched but about half a mile to your west it looks green.
DM Avian Aloft |
The large ones are easier to spot but a few of the smaller plants attack your boots as you travel. The smaller ones are easy enough to shake off and appear rooted in one place but they attack anything moving in reach. As you approach the greenery you see something very odd. It is a perfect curved line that seperates the green from the barren. Where the stream would empty into this bed the water is held back by unseen forces.
Selen Desaru of Daikitsu |
Selen waves her hand through the barrier.
"How wierd indeed. I am sorry but I do not know too much about magic."
Selen steps through and then will try to step back.
Arrahska Simik |
"Wait," Arrahska puts her hand on slobad's shoulder. "Let me see if I can make sense of this first.", she speaks a magic word and examines the line between the parched and the green landscape.
casting sense magic
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
DM Avian Aloft |
Selen feels a slight resistance but nothing stops her.
Arrahska Simik |
"The barrier reacted with your armor somehow, Slobad." Arrahska now also crosses the barrier. "It's magic, all right. But something is fundamentally wrong with it... Not just this,", she points at the separating line: "but with magic itself. It's as if it is... broken, in ruins. Something must have caused this, and it might be a potential danger."
Slobad Ironbelly |
"Argh! You stopped me in time, thanks" Slobad says to Arrahska,
"Maybe the magic in my armor is what caused the reaction" he looks at his armor and gets closer to the barrier to see if it happens again.
Slobad will get close to the barrier if the effect is the same he will backup, if not he'll cross as fast as he can
Arrahska Simik |
"I'm not sure how immediately dangerous it is to us. We seem to be able to move through just fine after all." Arrahska looks around for a small object, like a stick or stone, when she finds one she casts another spell on it. "Let's hee what happens if i move an obviously visible magical effect through the barrier."
I cast mage hand on any nearby rock, stick, or even clump of dirt and mover it back through the barrier with the spell to see what happens.
DM Avian Aloft |
The mundane blade sparks no reaction but as Slobad approaches the barrier he feels the pins and needles start again.
Edit:
The small stone floats up and passes through the barrier easily with no noticable effect but the spell ends abruptly as the barrier dispells it as if it overloads.
Arrahska Simik |
"The same thing as with my detection spell. It was dispelled. I think for your safety you shold take your armor off before crossing. I don't know if the barrier would destroy the enchantment or just suppress it momentarily."
DM Avian Aloft |
The greenery is slightly higher in elevation, from here you make out that the odd dirt formation looks roughly circular, as if something scooped out a bowl of earth and pushed it around the edge. You can't make out the bottom from here but it is roughly 800 feet across. The plants here look healthier but at the same time still look odd. You spot a couple you identify as the carnivorous ones and shudder as you realize they grow even bigger here.
Selen Desaru of Daikitsu |
"Magic is different over here?" Selen tilts her head quizzically and passes through the barrier again.
"I wonder if it affects the divine as well as the arcane..." saying a couple of words to summon the divine energies she tries casting a protective spell.
As she casts she begins drawing on the positive energy around her to release into a burst.
Selen will cast Alignment Shield (Evil), and then try to cast a Channel Positive Energy
DM Avian Aloft |
Your spells and abilities seem to work just fine, but anything active that passes through the barrier is dispelled.
1d100 ⇒ 15
1d4 ⇒ 2
1d20 ⇒ 14
2d12 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7
There is a flash as the armor goes through and those standing near it feel a small burst of frost that sends a cloud of mist out from it. You watch in amazement as it glitters and shines, the metal taking on a coppery gold sheen. Closer inspection reveals the magic is intact and appears to be perfectly stable, however the material has been transmuted into something completely new. It seems to be about 10% heavier.
Slobad Ironbelly |
Slobad picks up the armor,
"Wow, I though it would vanish or something, its heavier and shiny" He begins to put the armor on again while examining it.
"More plants on this side, that means more man-eating plants too"
Arrahska Simik |
"I wouldn't think so, the magic on the other side of the barrier seems to be what animated those plants. This magic seems completely unpredictable, it seems to completely deplete the moisture from everything within it, which is why everything is parched. At the same time it did, that to your armor, while dispelling any spell passing through."
Arrahska puts her right arm forward, displaying the winding snake tattoo.
"Vorana dear, I am going to need your help.", the tattoo starts to unattach from her skin and take the more tangible form of a ringed sea krait. "You're not going to like this, but I promise I'll make it quick.", she sets the snake on the ground, "please cross that barrier for me again.", while the snake turns to slither across the barrier Arrahska attempts once again to levitate the stone, by casting the spell at it through the barrier. While she does this she keeps her mind focussed on Vorana's emotions.
I want to see if the spell would work being cast through the barrier, and also see if my empathic link with my familiar works while it crosses through and is on the other side of the barrier.
Arrahska Simik |
Arrahska extends a hand to her familiar "Thank you, Vorana, you can come back."
As the sea krait slithers back up and around her arm and melds into a tattoo again she turns to the others: "I think I've seen enough. We should find out what caused this and how dangerous it really is."