Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Mang Fu Ha Saan looks quickly to Shadara with a mix of fear and shock at her suggestion to burn the place.
Shadara! No! No fire! These headstones have significance, this place is sacred. Our enemies must have brought us here because they knew there would be guardian spirits who they could trick into attacking us.
Mang Fu Ha Saan moves toward the burned headstone closely inspecting it, its humming, its features, the burned vines, and the ground around it. He turns to the group after his inspection and looks toward them briefly, before turning back to the headstone. Speaking in the sacred tongue of his people he addresses the headstone, and the Grove.
He then returns his attention to the grove around him, and reaches out to Strong Talon circling high above to seek guidance from his friend for direction toward the populated area of the Grove, if any trails beside the one they came through on exist.
survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33
Herkymr the Silly |
Sorry all!! I somehow missed Mang's post.
As soon as you speak Druidic, the runes seem to not only pulse but form and reform themselves into different arrangements. Thinking back to your childhood you don't remember seeing anything like this prior to this instance.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Mang Fu Ha Saan sees the runes coming alive on the headstones and is amazed at the sight. Breaking his attention from the runes for a moment he speaks to the group.
Strong Talon tells me there are others here in the glade besides us, though they are no threat he says.
On having spoken to the group, he then turns and speaks directly to Quinten.
Come and see this.
Mang Fu Ha Saan then returns his attention to the headstones, he reaches into his pack and pulls out the stone sphere he carved nights prior and places it at the base of the charred headstone in front of him. After placing the stone he stands back up and begins to chant songs to it in druidic. He starts off chanting the medicine song, followed by sunrise song, and then song of the bear.
Recall that the stone sphere was described as having runes carved on it in druidic. I had initially intended to use the stone at a much later date but this seems very appropriate.
Quinten Gladwell |
Quinten glances around when Mang mentions others but sees nothing. I hope we can trust the bird's judgement. I'd prefer to avoid another close encounter with a crossbow bolt.
Assuming his companions will watch for danger, Quinten walks over to the tombstones and studies them as asked, concentrating on the one where the vines have been burned away. When Mang begins to chant, he smiles. The runes are moving and changing! But why, and what do they say?
Linguistics check to pick up a few words from the language: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
They're moving fast enough that I doubt I'll be able to pick up much, but I might be able to deduce what the runes are doing if I study the currents around them.
The teacher pushes his glasses up and addresses them. The magic here is old, like you, so it might be familiar to you. Let me see it.
Quinten is casting Detect Magic.
Spellcraft check to identify what the magic on the tombstones is doing, or at least what school it is: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
Shadara Windless |
Shadara puts the torch away and pulls out her bow notching a blunt head arrow to the string. She alternatively scans the area and looks up in the sky to see if the bird is circling over a specific enough area to give her an idea of where the others Mang mentioned are. She is careful not to raise the bow. The glad looks the same as it has with no sign that there are is anyone else here other than the agitated plant and her companions.
Jerram you ok?
perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16 for the described scanning activity noted above
Herkymr the Silly |
More coming have to wait for Mang and Shadara's responses to me before I can do more.
Copy this to your profile...look if you like Muwahahhahahaha.... OR dare......
As you scan the glade area you catch a fleeting glance of a moving plant-formation with in the "Jerram grabbing" vegetation. They remind you of the occasional assassin vine that encroached upon the Baldeni grounds before being driven off or killed.
feel free to look them up in the bestiary as general info you would know as a character
Shadara Windless |
AFter a couple of moments of scanning the area, Shadara chuckles and puts away her bow. She pulls out her wire saw and slowly starts to approach the area of vines closest to her. She moves slowly and stops about 30 feet away from the vines carefully studying the vines for movement.
I would suggest that everyone stay away from all vines in this area, I believe we have found some of the protectors of this area. They are not intelligent enough for us to reason while. I would not mind a 5 ft length of vine however, a rare ingredient indeed. Watch this
She quickly takes a couple steps forward and then as the vines come to life she leaps backward, flips over and lands outside the the stop she started from further away from the vines.
Shadara Windless |
Forgot to give rolls
Reflex save 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Acrobatics 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25
Jerram |
Jerram downs the potion in a movement before going into motion again. Jerram makes his, way, a little more carefully this time, watching to stay far away from any vines and readying himself to jump out of their way if they start to move.
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
Quinten Gladwell |
Quinten's smile turns into a frown as he tries to make sense of the auras swirling before him. If I'm counting right, there are eight auras around the headstones. Some sort of enchantment binds them together. I can't identify the other auras individually, but I can tell that at least some of them are from the school of necromancy, with weaker ones from abjuration and conjuration.
The necromancy doesn't feel as tainted as I'd expect. If I had to guess, it's working with the abjuration to keep whatever these stones hold from being possessed or woken. Perhaps the enchantment is what made the vines so eager to conceal the stones when I tried to study them earlier.
But I'm only guessing. Shadara or Jerram, can you revive Richard? He's a better caster than I, and he might know something about magic the people of our time have forgotten.
Herkymr the Silly |
The gobe of stone you so carefull worked on begins to glow and pulse with the runes on the headstones. They seem however to pulse in opposition to the beat.
Each time someone speaks the pulsing grows stronger and stronger. The ground underneath you is beginning to reverbrate as if trying to sing the melody.
Jerram |
Jerram glances at Richard then back to Quentin.
He looks back at Richard and frowns. He looks closely at the unconscious man trying to discern what may be wrong with him.
Heal check to determine what's wrong: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Jerram |
Jerram purses his lips, unsure then shrugs. He pulls back and slaps Richard across the face, trying to wake the man up.
I doubt if need a roll to hit but just in case: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Nonlethal Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
If I can do this by trying to do only one (as in purposely roll a one for the d8) damage, I'd like to, but I don't know how that would be handled
Quinten Gladwell |
Quinten shakes his head as Jerram wakes Richard. Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind, but it worked.
Richard, can you look at the magic around these tombstones? It's reacting to our voices somehow, but I'm not sure why or to what end. I'm curious what you think it's doing.
Shadara Windless |
Shadara stops playing with the plants at at Quinten's words. She turns toward him and Jerram, whistles and then slowly signs.
With that said she puts away her wire saw and starts moving back the way that they came trying to find the edge of the glowing area. All the while looking for any more moving plants that may have tried to come up from behind them. Once clear of the tombstones she turns and signs again to Jerram.
Richard the Amnesiac |
Richard’s eyes open as he then sits up. He places a hand on the part of his face stinging. He looks at the people around him as it takes a second for him to recall who they are. ”What happened?” He gets to his feet as Quentin asks for his assistance in figuring out the magic of the place.
”Hmm I can certainly try.” Richard focuses his gaze at the tomb stones and tries to read the magical acres from them. Then he tries to see if they do hold a Special kind of significance.
Using detect magic and then will try out detect psychic significance.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Jerram |
Jerram nods at Shadara, then moves back following her. He stops just outside the glowing tombstones then turns, preparing himself to act.
Shadara Windless |
Herkymr the Silly |
When Mang begins to chant, he smiles. The runes are moving and changing! But why, and what do they say?
[dice=Linguistics check to pick up a few words from the language]1d20+11
The script is ancient but you are able to pick out a few things. more random in nature and placement than an organized pattern. fear ... Fire.... lizard...home
Herkymr the Silly |
You glance around trying to clear your senses and your eyes seem to focus on the globe that Mang has created. The spinning of the globe speeds up as the stones begin to pulse. Lights or atleast they seem to appear as lights begin to etch the surface.
Quinten Gladwell |
Richard, you puked and fell unconscious when the stones began to react to our voices. I'm not sure why.
When Shadara whistles, Quinten turns toward her, scowling as he tries to read her sign. Signing may keep the magic from reacting to your voice, but I suspect it also excludes Richard and Mang from receiving your message, and they're the two most likely to figure out what's going on.
Still, I suppose you're right. The teacher takes a few steps back from the headstones. I'd move further away from the stones for safety, but the auras are subtle enough I can barely study them at this distance.
The runes are another story. I can't place the language, but I can make out a few words that appear in others. Fear, fire, lizard, and home. Perhaps whoever lived here attracted a dragon's wrath.
Jerram |
Jerram thinks for a moment before pointing to Shadara,
Shadara Windless |
Shadara nods assent to Jerram and then starts stretching, shaking out her arms and legs, and bouncing on the balls of her feet in an anticipatory fashion.
Herkymr the Silly |
You recognize some of the surrounding mountains in the globe but they seem to lush with vegetation. This is somewhere near where your tribe as held domicile for ages. When you turn the globe, the image moves with the globe as if it were “carved” with in the globe. The exception is the eyes of the figure;though indistinct in all features, the eyes still seem to bore into you as the ball turns.
As you peer at the markers and attempt to read their significance, you become drawn into the runes. They pull you mentally into themselves as the convalesce into a solid globe of something. As you look becomes more focused,the swirls of color entrance you more and more suddenly with a blinding flash,the orb spilts in two revealing hands cupping the globe now colored in blues. You recognize what has to be a map of the world before the storms. You see several of the lights upon the surface sparkle and shine. Its as if they are alife and seek your attention. As you view them, you begin to realize that you know these places. They are homes or villages of the people you once lived with, Those that came Before. You are drawn to a specific point and the others fade from gaze. A memory of lush mountains, a waterfall several towers high,large smooth rivers, and building carved directly into the face of the stones bordering these. It is home! You feel it! Again the vision changes and you see a single mountain standing against the skyline. It dwarf's the surrounding landscape like a giant looking over a mere human cornfield. You see a river bed leading into the distances approaching the mountain. The feelings over whelm you and you shake your head to clear your thoughts. The vision disappears but leaves behind knowledge of a small green stone waiting for you behind a headstone a few feet from you.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Reaching out to take hold of what was once the stone orb he had so carefully carved a few nights prior, Mang Fu Ha Saan looks at the scene presented within carefully studying with a mix of awe and attentiveness. In his years he recalls journeying through a location near the mountains in the image before him, recognizing some of the peaks found within. He feels confident that he could travel to this exact location seen before him in the orb he now holds. His attention then shifts to the eyes that move to meet his with an intent gaze no matter which way he holds the object. A sense of sentience within this figure takes him and he meets the gaze of the figure in kind. He then speaks softly, but directly to the figure.
Herkymr the Silly |
As the monk prepares for assistance should it be needed he sees Mang pause and pick the stone ball back up. Mang does seem to hold it with a bit more caution now however.
After a few minutes of this, it turns it head and looks straight at you. A thick knurly finger brushes it lips in a "shushing" motion. Then with a brief head nod towards you, it continues on.
Shadara Windless |
Shadara stops moving staring intently at the spot where she thought she saw movement.
Um, Jerram did you see that? I could'a sworn I saw something move but I don't see anything now. Oh well, what's going on with the others?
She goes back to scanning the surroundings checking for danger.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 25
With the globe now in his hand, and the word "oracles" burning in his mind he carefully places the orb in his pack. Returning his attention to the glen he carefully scans the surroundings after realizing he had been focusing so intently on the stones and nothing else.
Jerram |
Jerram snaps his head to look where Shadara had pointed as he stands, ready to jump into battle at a moment's notice.
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
Herkymr the Silly |
mangAs you look up from the stone and gravestones and glance around, nothing much has changed. The vines in the thicker patch if anything seem to be shrinking back to normal vegetation and with careful observation you can now distinguish three separate assassin vines. Each vine has a pile of bones and misc metals and junk almost buried in the "root" of each plant.
Quentin You look around from your new vantage point studying the surrounding areas. The throbbing of the stones seems to be slowly dissipating even though there is still the normal noises in the glade. It suddenly comes to you that this whole time, the "common" noises have been missing.
Quinten Gladwell |
Unable to see anything unusual about Mang's globe, Quinten sighs as the stones' magic begins to ebb. The throbbing is slowing down and the currents are getting even fainter. I don't think I'll be able to tell anything else. But at least we didn't unleash some sort of ancient evil by being here.
Richard, did you deduce anything?
The teacher goes silent, then frowns. Shouldn't there be birds chirping and insects buzzing here? I remember hearing them when I visited the Groves as a child.
Jerram |
Jerram gives a wordless yell and points at what he'd seen. Jerram jumps into action, shooting a quick sign to Shadara as he does.
Jerram stops for a moment between the stranger and his friends.
As soon as the others start moving back Jerram runs towards a set of vines between him and the stranger, he watches them, and the moment they begin to grow and reach out, Jerram jumps, flipping backwards to land with the others out of reach of the vines.
Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (18) + 24 = 42
Shadara Windless |
Rally to me, Rally to me, Rally to me!
Shadara yells as she steps forward so that she can see the other group. She pulls out a nunchaku in one hand while urging the others to come over to her with her other hand.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
When Quentin makes the comment about the silence, Mang Fu Ha Saan first looks at the teacher, then looks about him paying attention to the sound that should be there. They must know something we don't, be alert!
He then takes a closer look at the surroundings just beyond the trees, looking for anything that might be stalking them.
perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26
At Shadara's rallying cry he moves hastily over to her and looks in the direction she is focusing.
Ready action to wild shape into a Diononychus at the first sign of a hostile newcomer.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/dinosaur/deinonyc hus <--- That should be /deinonychus but the stupid website keeps adding a space
Quinten Gladwell |
Quinten nods at Mang and looks around.
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
As he does so, the teacher grasps the wooden dog that hangs around his neck. I can't afford to waste my magic, but luck is the only thing that kept the crossbow bolt from killing me. If there is danger here, I need to protect myself.
For a moment, the teacher is his younger self, studying the green coat and pants on display beside the suits of armor at the Society for the Preservation and Study of Historical Artifacts. He jumps at his father speaks. "Those clothes look out of place, and they would be on the battlefield, but the magic they used to hold could turn aside a dagger or short sword. Once, they were the armor of a diplomat."
The teacher smiles as his clothes turn green briefly, then return to their normal color. Dad never could resist an excuse to explain something.
Quinten is casting Mage Armor, which will increase his AC by 4 for the next four hours.
Shadara's voice pulls Quinten out of his reverie, and he walks toward her, hand still on the dog. What's going on?
Quinten Gladwell |
Quinten frowns, backing toward Shadara as he studies the creature. What are you?
Knowledge (local) to identify the creature: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16
Supporting knowledge (nature); applicable if the animal hide he is wearing gives me any clues: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 0 = 16
I don't think I've read or heard of this creature before. Shadara seems to be aware of it, so it's possible she knows what it is. I'll let her and Mang take the lead.
Herkymr the Silly |
** spoiler omitted **
As you caress the dog around your neck and turn to Shadara, your hand wanders absentmindedly into the pocket of your clothing. You feel an object about the size of your palm that you don't remember being there. It feels heavy and wrapped in some sort of cloth. You are certain that it wasn't there last time your hand was in the pocket.
Quinten Gladwell |
Quinten starts as his hand settles on an object inside his previously empty pocket. He shakes his head. I can't investigate this now. If I take my eyes off the creature, I won't be able to spot it again.
As he studies the creature, the teacher notices details that eluded him at first. His build is that of a troll, but his skin resembles tree bark, and the hides he's wearing come from hags. From the green tint, I suspect they were forest hags. That could be a sign he's one of the Groves' guardians, but it's possible he's merely territorial.
Regardless, the weapons he carries and the fact that he's wearing hag hides suggests he's a skilled warrior with the ability to evade or shrug off spells. We should avoid a fight if we can.
I have to admire you, hag hunter. It took me a long time to spot you, and I'm not sure I would have had you not frozen when my friend shouted.
The teacher extends his hand toward the creature, as if inviting him to shake it. This looks silly given the distance between us, but it'll come across as friendly, and it should help the others spot him if they haven't already.
I'm Quinten. Perhaps you'd care to introduce yourself? I'd lie about my name, but I'm not sure Jerram and Mang can play along with that sort of trick, and I don't want to anger this creature.
Herkymr the Silly |
Suddenly a voice speaks from behind Quinten Very good! Very good! I see you are more alert than my initial impression. As you all turn to look, you see the same creature described by the teacher standing quiet calmly next to a headstone a mere arms reach of Quentin. I'll take that hand in friendship...Friend With a wry but genuinely friendly smile the Troll reaches over Quentin and grasps his hand. With no apparent effort he lifts the somewhat fragile looking professor and turning him. Then with another small chuckle he softly sets the teacher back down facing him.
Then with a courteous nod, he turns slightly and his fingers filete the air in precise and delicate movements.
As soon as his fingers cease their dance he reaches into his armor and pulls out a long braided strand of hair and deftly throws it to the running monkey.
We had an idea that someone in the groves wasn't "playing fair" so when you did not arrive where you were supposed to, we found out where you had been misappropriated and I came. Vigi and I had already decided that if you were delayed by any of the brethren that I would be the link and Vigi would not meet you personally. It is best if we don't upset balance or tip our hands before they hold the sand.
He turns to Richard and then to Shadara looking them over carefully before speaking.So, of Those who Came Before, a sigil born storm bow carrying Baldeni he pauses and lays a thick skinned and axe handle like finger to his temple Seems somebody has upset the balance but from the two of you here, Nature is showing her hand on the balance scales yet again.
Walking towards the circle of stones, the hag covered "man" indicates for you to follow. He reaches the stones and then steps in the middle of them and sits waiting.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Mang Fu Ha Saan startles slightly at the very large creature who by manner of incredible skill evaded his gaze while fully alert. He turns in time to see the very large and well-spoken Troll pick Quinten up with great care, and immense strength. Seeing the care with which his companion was moved about he relaxes his stance and instead gives his attention.
At the beckoning of the Troll, he follows it to the stones and joins him where he waits.
The spirits of this grove have deemed me worthy of a gift.
He then pulls the red orb from the pack and holds it up for the Troll to see.
Their is a figure within the orb, it spoke to me and instructed me to seek the oracles at this location... What can you tell me of this orb?
Herkymr the Silly |
But come now lets not be rude to those around us, we will use common from henceforth.[/b]
Turning to Quinten, Have you seen your lineage yet in the weaves or is your covenant still unwritten? What seek ye with this group of A jaunty smile flashes across the trolls face revealing and just as fast hiding a vicious set of tusk like incisors, miscreants? They do have other intents and purposes than our mere entertainment.