Rise of a Regent Campaign Thread
Game Master Illydth

Thantos looks intently at the staff. "Hmm, I did not hear her say anything about her belongings. We may as well take it with us either way."

Selena nods in agreement.

"This symbol is familiar to me for some reason. I'm sure I can pinpoint why when I have time to think about it."

Thantos tries to recall if he has seen the symbol in his studies. He closes his eyes and pictures himself in his quarters at his master's tower in Landfall, sitting in a stuffed chair, ornate and well-made but beginning to fray and show its age, a glowing fire at his feet and a glass of wine in hand. Thantos can see in his mind's eye the thousands of pages of Arcana he hungrily consumed for hours and hours every night.

Knowledge (arcana) 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Selena's hands glow with a white light and the staff flashes briefly as the light envelops it.

Selena looks lost in thought for several minutes as she concentrates her will on the magical aura surrounding the staff.

The rest of you move to the chest and continue retrieving your other equipment. Several minutes later, with no more resistance forthcoming, you manage to finally and completely re-equip yourselves, tighten all the straps and buckle all the buckles. Each of you feels slightly better about the fact you now are equipped again, though several of you are still hurting from wounds.

Dirk makes a cursory glance at the bodies of the men but the "mess" is a bit much, even for the hardened adventurer in you, to wish to pillage these men who are literally fried to little more than blackened and charred flesh. The weapons they held are only minorly damaged (though the crossbows and most of the arrows show damage beyond repair) but look neither exceptional nor worthy. It's unlikely they'd even fetch much of a price back in town due to the chips and ill-repair the weapons are showing.

If you really wish to paw through the blackened and charred bodies for coin I'll let you, but it will take you close to 20 minutes to make your way through what's left of the webbing and pick through what's left of the corpses to get what they've got. None of the weapons are overly serviceable, but if any of you want a normal longsword or battle axe you may pick one up here.

Once Selena seems to "come to" from her trance shaking her head Thantos asks to examine the staff. Looking intently at the staff he stares curiously at the hand and sunburst carved end thinking back through his tomes and trying to recall anything he might have read.

Assuming I hear nothing from the party, I will assume you are progressing to the room where you first encountered the guards you just destroyed. From there you need to determine if you are going after Armand first, or will try to find Sarala and rescue her before you go find Armand.

As recollection suddenly dawns on Thantos, his eyes widen with excitement.

"This is an interesting staff indeed!" he says, briefly explaining to the group that staves such as this from the Goddess of the Sun have not been seen for some 200 years and that it may be worth a small fortune to the right buyer. Speaking fast as his excitement infects him he continues, "but most important of all, I believe if our need is great any one of us could use it to provide a small amount of healing by simply pressing it against an injury."

The staff has one charge of cure light wounds

He hands the staff back to Selena and then suggests that the group at least try to find Sarala before continuing since their emancipation they owe largely to her.

"If anyone is seriously injured, I can attempt to use its power now."

Selena pipes up, glad that her discovery provides healing power. She stops herself.

"Then again, we don't really know who the staff belongs to. We should get the owner's permission... unless the need is great enough. A healing staff is made to heal, after all. Permission is implied."

D'oh. Should have made a Knowledge (Arcana) check, not a Spellcraft check.

"That seems to be a pretty useful staff. But I have no intention of getting back and start asking who is owner. Even if we find him giving the nature of the people in this place I would say the legit owner is already dead."

"I don't see a reason for us to keep smelling soldiers barbecue any longer. Shall we get moving?"

Says Mird waiting for Dirks - Our might leader - consent

Fast correction: Cure Light wounds from the staff COSTS 1 Charge, not that the staff HAS one charge. Also keep in mind that the information I've given you is FROM your arcane knowledge, that doesn't NECESSAIRLY apply to this particular staff. The Spellcraft roll with the detect magic would have given you exact information.

It's sort of like me telling you all swords are sharp and historically they had cow leather wrapped hilts and were between 2 and 4 feet long. The vast majority of swords produced would be considered "short swords" historically because they were cheaper than "longswords" given the amount of metal to produce. That doesn't mean the sword you just found is a shortsword nor does it mean that the unidentifiable material wrapping it's hilt is cow leather...nor does it necessarily mean that the sword you've found is sharp.

The information you have on the staff is historical in nature and describes the general properties of a staff that looks and acts like the one you've found. The detect magic Selena cast has provided you a clue that it is likely a MINOR staff of that type given that the aura it produced was a minute aura. If you want to know how many charges and whether or not all of the powers I've described to you are still present, you'll need to apply your other magical skills such as identify or detect magic with a successful spellcraft roll to get more information.

"Good point. Ok Dirk, your call, we need to get to Armand while they're still confused about what's happening but we made a promise to Sarala, that I mean to keep. Who's first?"

Lash's body language makes it clear how relieved she is to have her equipment back, although her hair, unbraided from the long time kept in such poor conditions is an unusual sight.

Dirk is intensely honorable when it comes to promises of any kind, but he is also the sworn protector of the King of Kathlentica, so his answer comes as little surprise to anyone.

"I agree, we will honor our word by freeing Sarala, but I must ask that we make Armand our priority. The threat to his life will grow if word spreads that we have escaped. Let's quickly check the room these guards came from to reduce the chance of a surprise attack from our rear, then head directly to Armand."

BTW Who's keeping the staff?

Gathering the last of your equipment, and the staff, as well as the incidental treasure in the room (A sack with 450sp and 75gp was laying half uncovered by the chest under the bedding), you make your way, gingerly, through the entry chamber, past the stairs up, and back into the hallway you came through from your cells.

Cautiously making your way to the end of the dank hallway, still stinking of burned flesh, Lash moves out ahead of the rest of you and peeks around the corner.

There is no sign of movement.

Quickly rushing across the hallway, in case of other soldiers, to the room just west of the cell block and east of Sarala's room, you enter the room and partially close the door.

The room is rough, but at least somewhat comfortable. Four large pallet beds line the walls, with trappings hung from the wall and other rough furnishings (chairs, a large table, etc.) occupying the center of the room. Two lanterns hang in the south east and north west corners of the room, providing some dim light to the room itself, with the center about as brightly lit as can be had in this light-less cavern.

On the back wall almost in the center, with a makeshift tabletop resting on it's wooden cover, and some dishes/cups on top of that, is a iron bound chest that does not appear to have a lock.

Being in a hurry Dirk shifts over to the chest and kicks the table top off of it, sending the dishes and cups scattering and clattering to the floor. (You've all made enough noise to wake the dead down here, a bit more won't hurt...besides, you're in a hurry).

Wrenching the lid open two sacks and a small vial of liquid greet Dirk's eyes. ([350 CP, 180 GP, and a Potion that looks very much like the healing potions you were given back in your cells by Sarala. The presence of almost a dozen empty slots in the wooden holder leads you to believe you've found the source of the potions you were given...though how Sarala managed to get these is a mystery beyond you).

Quickly gathering the items and searching the room for anything else, the 5 of you exit the room and continue down the hall to the west.

As you pass a portion of wall that your map marks as a secret door into the room where Sarala is supposedly kept, a muffled hiss and slight screech sound from within the space beyond the wall.

Press on down the hallway toward the Throne room or stop here?

Selena keeps the staff.

At the sound Lash freezes, hand grippint the hilt of her rapier white knuckled as she glanses back at Dirk.

"She could be dead by the time we come back," she whispers. "I'm doing something."

Dirk hesitates only a moment before nodding at Lash, "Agreed."

Looking at the wall where the hidden door is supposed to be, Dirk only sees... wall. "Do you see a door? Can you get it open?"

Dirk draws his sword as he steps back to let the others, more skilled at opening hidden doors, have some room.

Lash approaches the wall seeking a point of entry and listening for a hollow point.

Thantos nods in silent agreement. Clearing his mind, he readies himself to cast a spell at whatever lies behind the door.

They say knowing is half the battle, and the adage proves true in this case as well.

Lash approaches the door cautiously, alert as the streets have taught her to be, and almost immediately recognizes the small crack in the stone just left of where she thinks she sees the faint outline of a door.

Probing the crack with her dagger to spring any hidden traps she hears a metalic clank as her dagger strikes against something foreign. Smiling, she pulls her dagger from the rift and trips the hidden latch. The stone of the door seems to "separate" from that of the wall, as if a large chunk of rock was "glued" in place to make up the wall and that glue had just broken.

Swinging outward, the party is greeted by a somewhat brightly lit and well furnished room.

At first glance, the room looks VERY comfortable indeed. A small fire-pit with a natural chimney leading either up to open air or at minimum to other long forgotten caverns large enough to dissipate the smoke rests in a hollow in the south western wall. Obviously the fire in the pit has recently burned out, the embers still slightly glowing, and the room warmer than the outside corridors by several degrees making for a very comfortable temperature.

Near the fire pit stands a large 4 poster bed with what is very obviously a down mattress (you can see down feathers scattered on the floor of the room near the bed) and the sheets and blankets look exquisite and inviting: made obviously of silk and animal furs. A pair of old overstuffed armchairs that have been patched time and time again rest in the north east corner, along with a dressing table with a copper basin, oil burner, silver mirror, razor and other assorted items. The floor of the room is partially covered by various animal skin rugs of which goat and sheepskin make up the majority, though a large bear skin rug does adorn the middle of the room.

The feature that most catches your attention however is what can only be called a cage, secured into the floor in the north western corner of the room. Iron bars about 1" thick and spaced 6" apart are set into the stone floor. The "ceiling" (a metal plate) is secured to the top of the bars and only stands about 4' off the floor, certainly no where near tall enough for what is inside the cage to stand and is just shy of 10' by 10'. A small door on the front of the cage is secured closed by a metal lock. The cell is entirely empty, save it's occupant. There is no bedding, straw, blankets or other trappings denoting sleeping arrangements leading you to a confirmation of the "arrangements" Blackmaer has made with his captive prisoner.

The cell is, obviously, occupied by the same woman who you met earlier. Sarala, however, looks to be in fairly bad shape. A large gash down the outside of her left thigh starting almost mid thigh and running down past her knee is bleeding freely. She's huddled against the back of the cage, against the wall, as far as she can get trying desperately to stay away from the horror in front of her.

The largest lizard any of you have ever seen is standing with one sharply clawed hand reaching into the cage, trying to snag Sarala with one of it's claws and reel her in for a snack. The lizard like creature is a deep grey in color, almost the same as the stone of the room, and about 11 feet long from the tip of it's tail to the tip of it's nose and stands at least 3 feet high on all fours. It reminds you, in many ways, of an alligator or crocodile, except the snout is not as pronounced and it looks MUCH more mobile. The talons on the end of each hand are some 2 inches long, curved and seem to scratch the stone of the floor as it turns slowly toward you, tongue flicking in and out of it's mouth.

Suddenly its mouth splits wide as it gives a horrible open mouth screech/hiss and you see rows of sharp teeth each of you make a mental note to stay well away from.

As it ends it's hiss, it's back legs tense and it springs in to attack!

Roll Init please. First round actions in. Only Dirk and Lash can reach the Lizard in Melee this round as it's basically blocking the doorway.

Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Thantos holds action

Initiative
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Round 1
If Selena can throw her dagger at the creature before it closes to melee, she will do so.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
1d4 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Otherwise, she will hold her action.

Init1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Charging forward with a yell of fury Lash's blade darts forward striking at the lizard's neck.

1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

crit confirmation
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

On the off chance it gets a lower initiative 2d6 ⇒ (5, 4) = 9

Dirk is enraged by the scene in the room and is spurred into immediate action!

Sword already drawn, he shouts his battle-cry and opens with a viscous attack on the beast!

Init: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Over-hand Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (4, 6) + 8 = 18

*Mutter* Obviously that should have been 3 huge lizards in the room and not 1. :)

That didn't slow you guys down much did it?

Lizard Attack: (Lash) Bite/Horn: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10, 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18.
Lizard Damage: 2d4 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5, 1d6 ⇒ 6.

Hunting Lizard Initative 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Expecting trouble, Lash and Dirk set themselves, weapons drawn and ready.

The lizard spins and charges to attack practically throwing itself against Dirk and Lash as it tries to break through the doorway to attack the rest of the party.

Lash keeps her rapier at the ready, exchanging a gash from the lizard's nose horn for a clean strike at the Lizard's head. (I forget, Lash, if your AC is above 18...I don't think so. I think you'll take 6 damage from the hit.)

The rapier pierces through a nostril and pokes deep into the Lizard's head, and the force of the Lizard's charge forces the rapier cleanly through to stab into the creature's brain. If that wasn't enough damage, seeing Dirk's overhand slice coming down, Lash jerks the impaled Lizard's head to the left, leaving a clean shot at it's neck for Dirk's blade to slash down through.

Moments later, it's over, the ferocious beast is laying, headless and pooling blood, on the ground.

A sob from the back corner of the room draws your attention to the no longer bleeding woman in the cage who's slumped on the floor in fright and trembling with the after affects of the adrenaline and fear the ordeal has left her.

Still sniffling and in almost hysterics she babbles "I fell asleep, I knew I shouldn't have but I couldn't help it, I was so tired. That thing almost ate me, I woke up to it's claws burred in my leg and being pulled toward it's mouth!"

Sarala again breaks down sobbing and shaking in her cell.

Selena immediately extracts her healing kit.

"Dear child, there is nothing to be ashamed of. You have survived this travesty, and will be stronger from it. Perhaps it was a mistake to fall asleep, but you are now alive, and will continue to be for some time if I can be of use. Think of this as a learning experience."

Heal (Treat Wounds) 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Dirk will pull the corpse of the dead lizard-creature out of the doorway to make room for the others then he will go about ensuring that the room has no other hostile surprises.

As Selena binds Sarala's wounds her sobbing stops and her will seems to strengthen as she gives Selena a tentative smile.

"Th-thank you." Sarala stutters as she gets her voice back under control with a deep breath. "I'm ok, I was surprised and terrified when that thing woke me in the way that it did and obviously it unnerved me. I am glad to see that you have made it out of your cells and that you kept your promise to rescue me."

Eyes widening she continues quicker. "Your friend, the priest! They took him to the Queen's chambers about 3 days ago when they drug the 5 of you down to the dungeons. The Queen wanted to personally "question" him. Blackmaer has been gloating about the "questioning" ever since. I suspect your friend has no time to lose, if, indeed, he is still alive at all. We must hurry if we are to rescue him before they beat him to death."

Anything else you want to accomplish between Sarala's room and the door's to the queen's chambers before we run you up to the confrontation? We probably have a least a post or two of description and conversation time before we'll call init rolls.

A cold look of impending death etches it way onto Dirks face as he listens to the description of Armand's treatment.

Without a further word, Dirk walks out the door and toward the Queen's chambers.

Selena nods with a reassuring smile, and packs up her healing kit once again.

Looks like nothing new is happening here, so I'll go ahead and move us forward.

Without a sound Dirk simply shoulders his sword and strides from the room.

Understanding Sarala's message and it's portent for Armand, the rest of you finish packing the what's left and hurry out of the room to catch up to Dirk...Sarala following the rest of you out the door and down the hall...obviously intent on wrecking as much havoc and payback for her ill treatment as the rest of you are.

When you do, he's almost at the end of the hallway, about to turn toward the doors to the Queen's chambers. Stopping momentarily for the 5 of you to catch up, Dirk falls back to his normal second place in line and allows Lash to move ahead.

Without incident, the 6 of you move up to the doors that Sarala marked on her roughly drawn map what feels like weeks (but is only mere hours) before.

The opulence of the room beyond is apparent by the doors into the room itself. The doors themselves are an almost black hardwood of some unknown origin...it's obvious they must have been imported because there are no trees around this area that would give wood like this. The wood has been carved with intricate detail that would almost be described as "lovingly" if the depicted scenes weren't so grisly. A collage of hideous war scenes, depictions of horrific death, and detailed pictures of torture and suffering meld together into a pattern of what could only be described as sickening to any right minded being. At the top of the doors above the stomach turning scenes is a detailed depiction of Orcus, God of Death, Necromancy and Wrath. Looking over the scenes of horror, the God is depicted with a rictus grin, obviously approving of the death and destruction happening below him.

Alone, these doors (if you could EVER find a buyer) would be worth thousands of gold pieces each and must have taken thousands to tens of thousands more to produce and ship to this remote location. "The Queen" is obviously not poor.

From within, a muffled thud and grunt can be heard through the door and then silence.

The doors to the final confrontation stand before you, how do you plan on approaching this one? Any preparations you want to make or are you planning on storming in?

Thantos casts mage armor on himself

Selena also casts mage armor on herself.

As anxious as he is to aid Armand, seeing the elaborate designs on the door gives Dirk a moments pause.

Looking at Thantos, "Can you tell if this door has any magical wards on it?"

With a slight shudder as he tears his gaze from the gruesome scene depicted on the door, Thantos replies.

"Not at the moment, my friend. Perhaps...Selena?"

Lets see if I can't answer most of the questions of this Ilk.

A Detect Magic by Selena shows nothing nor does Lash's search of the door for traps. The doors also do not seem to have any locks associated with them, the likelihood is that in case of attack they're meant to be barred from the inside, much as a castle gate is barred and/or magically held closed.

Other questions? Approach? As of tomorrow I'm just going to have you guys walking in if you have no additional plans.

Selena grips the new staff, as though to comfort herself, but nods firmly to Dirk to signify she is ready to continue.

With his hand on the door, Dirk takes one last look around to ensure that everyone is ready.

In a hushed voice, "I'll try to draw their attention as the rest of you get into position. Let's hope we have the element of surprise."

Turning his attention back to the door, Dirk tightens his grip on his familiar curved blade and clears his mind for the task at hand.

I believe this is what we all term the "defining moment" in the Act. Lets all have some fun with this before we rush into combat.

Apologies for the WALL OF TEXT (+4).

Nodding at each of you to ensure your readiness, Dirk turns and pushes the ornate doors inward the five of you (with Sarala at the back) hastily springing into the room, weapons drawn...and are immediately brought up short by the scene in front of you

The huge room you now stand in is immaculate, if a bit barren.

Your eyes are immediately drawn to a huge chandelier, made of hundreds of tinkling crystals, with a multitude of glowing orbs somehow attached within, hanging suspended from the ceiling about 20' above your heads by a thick iron chain in the middle of the room. The light from this gorgeous and priceless item radiates to every corner of the room about you, leaving it as bright as if above ground. In a few places along the walls where an orb's light is refracted by one of the crystals in the chandelier, a rainbow of color appears on the wall, slowly moving up, down, or along the wall as the air displacement from the opening of the great doors causes some of the crystals to turn or sway.

Where the walls are not bare stone, they are covered by massive portraits of a man you recognize from your time in the region as being Lord Arturus Penhaligon.* (See Notes Below) Other portraits of a powerful, strong, dark haired woman also adorn the walls, along with tapestries that depict more macabre horrors akin to those displayed by the carvings on the doors to the room.

A bright red "runner" carpet leads immediately from the doorway along the entire length of the room, at least 60', up to a massive wooden platform set about 3' off of the ground with a couple wooden, red carpeted steps leading up to it. The runner continues to the middle of the platform where sits a massive hand carved wooden throne.

Standing beside the throne is a pudgy man in his late 20's with short cropped blond hair and blue-grey eyes. He stands on the right side of the throne and looks to be around 5'9". He wears a brown robe and holds a long, wooden, and intricately carved staff in his hands.

It is, however, the occupant of the throne that draws your attention.

Sitting on the throne can be none other than Ilyana, illegitimate daughter of Lord Arturus Penhaligon, and self styled "Queen". If the facial structure is a little different, her brown hair and brown-hazel eyes easily match her to the bigger than life portraits of the woman on the walls. As you enter she stands slowly, an evil smile plastered to her face and her right hand resting on a longsword standing point down on the wooden dias.

In front and to each side of Ilyana stand the deformed figures of two half rotted corpses, dressed in the finery befitting servants of a queen's hall.

At her feet lay two of the largest hunting dogs you have ever seen. As Ilyana stands, each oversized canine raises it's head and bars it's teeth in a growl that sets the hairs on the backs of your necks standing on end.

"Ah, our guests have arrived." she states jovially in a deep woman's baritone voice. Turning her head only slightly to glance at the man standing to her right she says "See, Bernal, I told you that cage wouldn't keep them for long."

"Yes, my queen.", a man's dry, almost raspy voice escapes from her companion.

Still smiling, Ilyana addresses the dogs at her feet. "Chaos, Ruin, that's not a nice way to address our guests. CEASE"

Immediately the dogs stop growling, but their hackles continue to be raised, their tails are stock still, ears forward, and their snarls still plastered on their faces, showing you each of their very obviously large teeth.

Quickly glancing to the east you see three doors separated by tapestries about 10' apart, in front of each door stands another corpse dressed in livery.

Turning back to the stage the 5 of you begin preparations to attack.

To be Continued...

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Player's Note: As it's been probably several months since the original story of why you're here was noted in the thread, let me give you a quick "history lesson".

Your adventure started with a wizard by the name of Kavorquian and his adopted son Kaerin shortly after Kavorquian's death. It was later revealed that Kavorquian was the brother of a man by the name of Lord Arturus Penhaligon, ruler of the Estates of Penhaligon (the closest town/city to Kiren's Keep). Lord Arturus Penhaligon had died several years before the start of this campaign and has left his legitimate daughter, Lady Arturus, to rule the Estates in direct responsibility to Duke Stefan Karameikos himself (ruler of this entire region of Norwold).

Unfortunately, Lady Arturus was not his only child. As tends to happen with nobles, Lord Arturus had an extramarital tryst with another woman that provided him with another Daughter, (illegitimate though she may be)...Illyara, who has become a massively Chaotic and Evil warrior bent on overthrowing her "sister's" rightful rulership of the Estates. As the only other daughter of Lord Arturus, she plans to overthrow her sister and claim rulership herself, a claim the Duke would have to take seriously as the only blood descendant of Lord Arturus.

Along with these claims she also seems to have aligned herself with "The Brotherhood", the assassin organization that overthrew Kethlenica and ousted Armand (as well as Dirk and lead to the events causing the rest of you practically being forced to leave as well). With all of this there are also some ties between her, the brotherhood, and the humanoid army that weeks ago tried to take Kirin's Keep.

Hopefully this brings you all back up to speed on what you're doing here and why.

Selena quickly looks around the room, blissfully ignorant of the evil images on tapestries and doors.

"But... where is Armand?!"

Seeing you preparing to attack, her deep voice hardens though the smile never leaves her face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." and she throws her left hand out to indicate a ways down the wall to the left of her.

Standing about 15' to her left, partially hidden by the platform and the Zombie is a man clad in a full set of black platemail. Standing about 6'2" with wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes, the man is obviously young, no more than his very early 20s, and could be described as extremely handsome, if not for the broken nose and missing front upper teeth. A large two handed sword, drawn, is being held to the throat of another man you have only now just come to recognize is there.

Hanging about 2 feet above the ground by his wrists, Armand looks all but unconscious. Stripped to a loin cloth and nothing else, blood is running freely down the man's wrists, down his arms, and along his chest, obviously from where the manacles he's been attached with to the wall have cut into his wrists from the weight of hanging there. A hemp rope attaches the shackles to somewhere up farther on the wall, keeping all suspended.

His entire body is covered with bruises and his face is almost unrecognizable, being bruised and almost entirely swollen and he is not moving. From this distance, you cannot see whether he is breathing or not, and whether he is dead or alive remains a mystery.

Seeming to read your mind Ilyana says "Oh, Armand is quite alive...but probably won't be for much longer."

Her voice raising slightly, she says "Lets see, who we have here."

Looking directly at Dirk her smile gets even wider.

"There's no mistaking you from the description I got from my contacts, you are without question Dirk Deathtalon. Yes, I know quite a bit about you from the history my contacts told me about, prize student at the Kethlenican academy, and Armand's best friend. Your father was the great captain of the home guard..."

Smile turning into a sneer, she continues.

"and a wonderful aid to the brotherhood. I'd like to thank him personally for putting that dagger into old Renelas's* heart that night, but unfortunately the brotherhood deals with traitors the same as any nation, regardless of their use to them. Ah, but I've said more than I should."

Turning her eyes from Dirk she scans the the other four of you.

"The rest of you I don't recognize. Hired swords? Dirt sucking peasants from some local burb with pitchfork and torch come to beat down the TRUE and RIGHTFUL ruler of the Estates?"

Pausing, she stares intently at Mird.

"No, not quite. You must be the missing Kethlenican Hunter I was told about. The one assumed dead on some "special mission" from the hunter's society. I guess that little mystery is solved. Found your King did you?"

Another evil smile lights up her face.

"If this is how all of your society does their jobs to protect the Kethlenican Royalty, hunter, I am not quite sure how your leaders haven't been assassinated daily for years. I must say, between the disappearance of your society's leadership and your ineptitude it is amazing your pitiful little kingdom hasn't fallen by now."

"Oh wait, it did."

Laughing deeply and turning back to her throne, Ilyana sits down, resting her sword across her knees.

"You other three may go. Hired swords are of no use to me and I have no use for you. Run for your pitiful lives and perhaps the brotherhood will not try to track you down for associating with criminals such as these (a sweeping gesture that encompasses Armand on the wall, and Dirk and Mird standing in front of you). I'll make it sporting for you. You may exit my dungeons and try to find your own way out of my keep without getting massacred. If you can manage, you may keep your pitiful lives, I will not order my forces after you."

* Renelas and Aramanda were Armand's Mother and Father, Renelas being Kind of Kethlenica at the time.

At this point we'll pause for questions, banter, comments, DM questions, and give you enough time to read and assimilate the text above.

There is more to play out in the scene, this is a "break" in the wall of text to ensure you are all caught up with the story, can get any open questions you might want answered out into the open, and catch your collective breaths before we begin.

Selena's eyes rest on the sword and sudden comprehension dawns in them.

EDIT: Oh, what the hell. You only live once, right?

Selena steps forward with her staff.

"Run for my life? After everything I did to get them here for you. You should be thanking me for all the stuff I went through to make sure they followed the signs, Queen Ilyana."

Bluff
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Lash's eyes widen in shock then narrow, her blade pointed at Selena, tears of rage and betrayal in her eyes.

"You b*%&!! How could you? After everything I....I'l kill you!"

Bluff1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Selena releases a laugh, raising her staff in defense and pulling out her dagger with her other hand.

"Not, I think, before Armand is killed. Or did you just want him on his knees, Your Majesty, begging for death?"

She laughs again at Lasciel.

"There are only three words I have for you. Kalesh Griam Belier"

After that, she laughs again, bemused by her former "friend's" betrayal.

As Illyara finishes her speech Mirds take his hood off

His expression is different. After 8 years as living as a bounty hunter a character that he has created to keep his true identity in secret it is the first time he is a soldier again.

He is now very serious and ready to do the duty he was trained for.

"The thought that some lackeys and 2 dogs will prevent me to complete my mission is appropriate to a bastard like you. A bastard that will never be Queen of nothing."

Mird looks at the party.

"Let's get this over with" - Calling them to the battle

Externally Dirk is like a stone, muscles corded and coiled - poised to strike. Internally his thoughts are in turmoil at the turn of events.

I assume Selena's bluff affect us all?

Well, you've got two things going for you. One, knowing her all this time. Two, Bluff is countered by Sense Motive. So you can roll a sense motive check. Up to the DM what else you do. You can also wait and see what else Lash will do. :P

Interestingly enough, 'all this time' is only about 4 weeks total.

From the point you met to the point you were brought together as a party was a matter of 2 days, the assault on the keep, the destruction of the siege engines, and where you first found out who Prince Armand was was another day. Gathering and travel out to Kavorquian's mansion was less than a day's trip and the venture into the dungeon's of Kavorquian was just under a Day total, bringing it up to just under a week's time by the time you got back to Kiren's Keep for re-supply to venture into the mountains. The trip to your post in the mountains and the scoutting of the intial plan was about 2 days bringing you to only about a week of really "knowing" each other. From there it took you around 3 weeks to get into the keep and you've been here (including captivity) for less than 4 days total...bringing your total time of knowing each other to right at about a month's time.

Admittedly, you've all been through quite a bit with each other...but not quite enough that I'd call your trust in each other "implicit". There IS likely an ability to believe you have, in fact, turned traitor, though alone I would expect a failed "Sense Motive" check to produce confusion instead of outright rage.

Except that Selena's closest friend, Lash, has just gone completely overboard nuts at her "betrayal", throwing at least SOME credence to the claim that this was a setup from the beginning...

Here's how we're going to handle this. Almost everyone will be making 2 sense motive checks and I will provide guidelines as to what "failing" each or both of those checks means to your character. The end decision of HOW you will react to your success or failure will STILL be within your power. If you choose to ignore my guidelines due to another reason I respect that decision. In other words, these checks are to help you, the player, understand how your character might feel at this point...it does NOT dictate your actions/reactions. Those are YOURS to determine, outside of a roll of the dice.

I'd like everyone (Except Selena and Lash) to make 2 sense motive checks.

Check 1 (Selena's bluff) will be at a +5 circumstance bonus due to the "hidden message" she's trying to pass Lash's way as well as the fact that you have been through a bit with Selena and this is, certainly, out of character for her.

The second sense motive check is against Lash's Bluff. This one will be slightly different. If you manage to surpass the sense motive check for Selena above, add +10 to this roll. If you fail the sense motive above, do not add anything to this check...Lash is, after all, acting the part of the betrayed companion...very true to character.

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Guidelines for Success/Fail on the two Sense Motive Checks.
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* Success on Both Rolls: Your character likely realizes they have not been betrayed by Selena, and this is a ploy by her to gain some kind of leverage in the situation. You also expect that Lash, too, isn't really angry at Selena but is playing along.
* Success on Selena's Sense Motive but Failure on Lash's: Your character likely understands Selena did not betray them, but you still have a lingering doubt given Lash's reaction and the fact she knows Selena best. You are unable to read Lash's true intentions. Depending upon how you feel your character might act, you may decide not to trust your feelings but to trust the woman who knows Selena best and take her anger as your own, or you may decide that it's a bluff and not react.
* Failure on Selena's Sense Motive but Success on Lash's: The most likely result for your character in this case is complete confusion, unless you feel you have some kind of mitigating circumstance that would give you better insight. As Selena has shown no sign of betrayal in the past and the fact that Lash's reaction is obviously (to you) faked it is unlikely you will buy Selena's bluff, but neither will you support her openly till you know more.
* Failure on both rolls. Your character likely believes they've been betrayed...that said, this is not without doubt. The woman who knows her best is obviously convinced she's been betrayed, so you are likely leaning down that route as well.

I also wish to remind everyone that Armand is still hanging on a wall practically unconsious with a very large sword held to his throat. In circumstances like this you can consider the Gentelman with the large sword to be holding action with a coup de grace blow prepared...and Armand is DEFINATELY considered helpless here. I suggest everyone temper their next moves with the knowledge that it's unlikely anything any of you does from this distance would succeed before that sword slices Armand's throat open.

Selena: I'd like you to make a sense motive check at a +10 vs Lash's Bluff (you assume due to your message and your actions and how well you know her that she will not be hostile) to determine her true reactions. Failing this roll will make you actually believe Lash "doesn't get it".

Lash: Same thing here, Senese Motive at +10 vs. Selena's Bluff. If you fail this check you really do believe she's betrayed you, again with doubts. You have the option to determine that you know her well enough to give her the benefit of the doubt and not actually try to TRUELY attack, but your faith is shaken.

Lets everyone give me the rolls and your intended reactions (rolls in clear but reactions in Spoiler text so I can understand what will happen before it does), and lets see where this goes before the final shoe drops.

"I almost died for you!"

Lash's eyes narrow and with an incoherent yell she charges towards Selena.

I'm going to "hold" the charge a sec Lash till I can get everyone's rolls in and start determining how the party is going to react. That will have some impact on how Ilyana reacts which will filter down to how the encounter plays out.