Magnus Thunderf00t |
Magnus ponders for a moment on the idea of war. "History seems defined by war. Civilizations rise and fall by their armies. If a war is coming, then I intend to be on the winning side, and I intend to be informed. " He glances about the room, not sure about the military sentiments of his company. "That is, of course IF the was is truly inevitable. Either way, I think we should turn our attention to the future. "
Magnus Thunderf00t |
" That answer is obvious, Gaius" Magnus conjures up a moving image depicting his thoughts. In this vision, there is an explosion that leaves a rift into darkness. Two people, knocked down by the explosion look to each other. The first to point a finger is a dwarf, who's dress turns to that of royalty as he stands. The second, a human loses his dressings for rags as the dwarf attaches chains. A clock appears marking the passage of time and the positions of the dwarf and human become firm. Finally, a knife appears and stabs the dwarf. As the dwarf collapses, the human looks hopeful, takes up his hammer, and prepares to bring it down upon the dwarf, but the visage of the human becomes demonic before the hammer drops. " There. That is where we are now. Do you agree with this interpretation?"
Shadowborn |
"What will I do? I will do as I always do, watch events unfold and help where I can to achieve the desirable outcome. It will be monstrous, but birthing pains are never beautiful."
Wayland taps the gnome, now stretched out on his pew and nearly napping, on the top of the forehead with his staff. With a groan, the gnome pulls himself upright and begins tugging on his boots and gathering his huge pack and the sack of gifts.
In regard to Magnus' illusion, the gnome actually deigns to speak. "You're bringing up visions of the past, not the future, son. That's already happened. There was an uprising after the Thane's son was murdered. The dwarves put it down swiftly." He seems about to say more, but a glance from Wayland makes him hold his tongue.
"I've more to do tonight," says Wayland. "Heed my words and use your gifts well. While the storm is on the horizon, it is not immediate. You'll likely find myriad troubles of other sorts to involve yourselves in before you hear the thunder."
Shadowborn |
Wayland and his companions move to the chapel door. Astarte pulls it open letting in a swirl of wind and powdery snow. She helps Wayland through, with the gnome stumping along after.
Unless there is anything else the party wants to ask him, or do on this night, we'll move on.
Stilgar Fulgrum |
Stilgar watches silently as the trio departs. Thinking on Wayland's final words, he retrieves the sack containing the prayer beads, attempting to discern whether they are magical.
Cast detect magic.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
That will be it for Stilgar for the night.
Gaius Gracci |
Once Wayland and friends have left Gaius too looks to his 'gifts'.
Casting detect magic on the paper and the bag. Spellcraft to id the paper (assuming it's not Explosive runes): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17. Same with the bag 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8. Well bugger.
Magnus Thunderf00t |
Magnus will leave his gift unquestioned, certain that it's use will become evident when the time is right. He retires for the night and sleeps late so as to be more alert the following evening at the Dwarven celebration.
Shadowborn |
Within the bag you find a glass sphere, about 3 inches across. At first, it appears to be filled with a cloudy liquid that rolls and roils within the sphere of its own volition. However, as you look more closely, you see occasional flashes of light. It appears as if a tiny image of a storm has been stuck into the glass. As you lift it from the bag, your fingertips tingle from the contact and you intuitively know that the power of the storm is here. [ooc]If you have the sphere in hand, any spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural effects that deal electrical damage are increased by 1 point per die. Weather-related spells have their duration increased by one additional increment of time as per the listed duration (round/minute/hour/etc.).
Shadowborn |
Magnus finds himself disappointed, as the following evening he heads up the hill to the fastness, only to find that the guards at the gate politely rebuff him. He is told that the official celebration has been cancelled and that the dwarves are celebrating privately with their families.
Pbp forums are still a bit wonky after the update, but hopefully everyone still has the thread dotted. I'll be pushing on to the next chapter.
Magnus Thunderf00t |
"Odd..." Magnus thinks to himself, but he decides not to push his luck at the moment. He goes back to be with his chosen family, cracking a bottle of fine wine from a previous adventure to share with them. Over the next few days, he gets around to finishing some scrolls that he has been meaning to work on.
Do you want craft checks, or can I take 10?
Gaius Gracci |
Gaius spends the next few days, or rather nights cold. He spends the dark hours on the roof of the inn with a tripod and marking chalk tracking the new 'star'.
"Does it rise and set with the other stars? Does it move in relation to known star positions? Does it change or have a pronounced color?
Tarrana |
Tarrana spends her day redotting this post. And also staying mostly indoors for fear of getting caught...again. Still not realizing what the hat does.
Shadowborn |
Tarrana: I'm sure someone helpful in the party will clue you in as to the hat's properties...
Magnus: Go ahead and take 10.
Your news of the archive interests him and he says he will send some of his monks to scout the place if your group will loan him the key. This is the tale you bring back to your companions. Meanwhile, Jinjer is suffering from some serious cabin fever by the end of winter and bids you farewell, saying she needs some time in the wilderness alone.
Magnus Thunderf00t |
Magnus finishes this batch of scrolls and purchases supplies for the next. He also sees Tarrana's interest in the new hat and offers to have a look.
casting identify one day, spellcraft
1d20 + 16 ⇒ (8) + 16 = 24
Shadowborn |
Magnus is easily able to inform Tarrana of the abilities of her hat of disguise.
Chapter 2: Portents of the Future
The rest of the winter sees heavy snowfall and a sedentary passing of the season. Come Spring, the village of Dunshale begins to move once again, shaking off the torpor of Winter to prepare for planting season. Once most of the snow has melted away, Brodgar returns from his trip to the monastery. Jinjer, it seems, has gone roaming the wilds once more.
The idylls of early Spring are momentarily interrupted one day with the arrival of a quartet of Inquisitors, in their ubiquitous red robes and hoods. The near-panic soon passes as they move through the village center and West. According to local talk, Speaker Chandler spent the winter developing an obsession with rebel conspiracies operating on his ranch. His constant disruptions caused several of the ranch hands to take their concerns directly to the Thane. In turn, the Thane requested an inquiry in order to put things to rest. The Baalites find no hint of treachery there. The Thane orders that the ranch be taken from Chandler's hands and puts a new headman in place. Narok raids on settlements to the west have made it necessary to ensure food production is maximized, as the dwarves are diverting resources to the areas that suffered attack. Speaker Chandler's mood since then has been rather dark.
Gaius' observations of the new star have it now in a fixed position, as if the star were looking for a new home in the sky and settled on a place. Each night it now appears just above the mountains to the northeast. It is bright enough that it is the first visible body in the night sky aside from the moon.
Stilgar Fulgrum |
The days pass by slowly for Stilgar, who does little else asides from restlessly tending to the chapel each day. The words of "Wayland" continue to weigh heavily on him, the prospect of a war almost incomprehensible to him amidst the seemingly peaceful town. It is only after Brodgar's return with the thaw that his anxiety seems to slip away, though he finds himself strangely disheartened by Jinjer's absence. As spring goes on with incident however, he only finds new reasons to worry...
"History certainly did not repeat itself at the festival," he mentions to Magnus one day, bringing up a topic that they had left alone for weeks, "Though I must confess, with the way things with the Narok are going now, I am starting to wonder if they will again pose a threat to this place after all."
Magnus Thunderf00t |
"Agreed, so what is the plan now? " Magnus says, looking at the party assembled again after a long period of separation. "...and what of your adventure, Brodgar? Did you successfully locate the group we were looking for?"
Shadowborn |
While we're waiting for Brodgar...
Magnus, Seer Corbin meets with you one day. The first thing he does is ask for the finder's sphere, saying that he'll be needing to use it soon for official village business. He then asks if you'd be up for a short trip on his behalf.
"As you know, magical knowledge is a great resource and not as common as we should like," he says, with Magnus feeling a sense of irony given his recent discovery of the Archive. "However the dwarves recently rediscovered an old ruin in which there is a monument bearing arcane carvings. They have given me permission to study them, but I'm not sure I'm up for such an arduous journey. I was hoping you'd be able to head out there for me. I can provide you materials with which to take rubbings. In exchange, I can provide you with new spells for your trouble."
Magnus Thunderf00t |
Magnus thanks Seer Corbin for the use of the finder's sphere "It has been a great asset to the village of Dunshale, in ways I cannot begin to explain." Then addressing the request. "I should be happy to undertake this journey, though I am not certain I am able to. A few questions: How long do you estimate the trip will take? Which direction is the travel? May I bring my band along with me for the journey? "
Shadowborn |
"To the North, some distance into the mountains. The ruins are some five days travel, or so the soldiers that found the place say. They were searching for that lost captain, Morgrim, who disappeared with his patrol last fall while hunting rebels. They spotted the ruins from a distance. Apparently they are outside the borders, or very near to the edge of them, so taking company would be wise. There is not much left to them, but a stele that stands in their center. That is your goal. Copy what information you can from it and return it to me. I'll see that your companions receive some compensation as well, since they will not likely benefit from the knowledge on the stone."
Brodgar Gilthelm |
Had a biology test I'd completely forgotten about Friday on top of a psych one I hadn't forgotten about. Sorry for not dropping in to mention most of my time was study time.
"Agreed, so what is the plan now? " Magnus says, looking at the party assembled again after a long period of separation. "...and what of your adventure, Brodgar? Did you successfully locate the group we were looking for?"
Answering this to the best of my knowledge given the spoiler earlier; fully expect Shadowborn may need to correct me.
"Yuh," the dwarf replies. "Spent the winter with 'em, though Heyward Ironhead was badly injured when we got there. Baal's blessings, he's up and about on crutches now, though. He's to send out scouts so long as we'll loan him the key to the archives."
Magnus Thunderf00t |
"Very good then. I have heard about Jinjer already. " Magnus looks off into the distance, as though waiting for her to come around the corner. "I hope she's happy wherever she is now. "
Magnus then explains the offer he has received from Seer Corbin. " It appears we have several objectives to take down. 1) Gain resources/insight from these ancient ruins. 2) Deliver the archive key to Heyward and begin re-building the archive. 3) Travel to the South in the Human City, looking for answers. " Am I forgetting anything?
Magnus Thunderf00t |
"Hmm... I suppose then it would have just been an empty puzzle, then wouldn't it? That's no fun. " Magnus leans back a moment and ponders. "Well, we'll just have to make another key. "
Stilgar Fulgrum |
"Make another one? Hm..." Stilgar muses thoughtfully, running a hand through his beard. Some of Magnus' plans had proved eccentric in the past, but he could not find a fault with this one. "If it is possible, then it is just as well as the original. As for what your master asked of you..." He looks to Brodgar and grimaces.
"Well, I have not gotten out much in these past few weeks. I could certainly use the trip."
Shadowborn |
He's referring to the key to the Archive and the puzzle box it's kept in. While trying to throw Speaker Chandler off the scent of any treasonous goings-on, he gave the box to Wayland as a Midwinter gift. The key was in it, so now the party has no way of opening the door to the Archive.
Stilgar Fulgrum |
Sorry Brodgar, it's my bad. Stilgar was referring to the task that Magnus' master asked of him, that he wants our help with. I had him look at Brodgar since he had the chance to get out of Dunshale. The way I worded it is a little vague looking back. Hope that clears things up!
Magnus Thunderf00t |
I think we should send a messenger to the same group Brodgar wintered with, telling them to go to the archive and to find a key hidden under a neatly folded blanket in an adjacent room. Meanwhile, we'll go to the archive.
Magnus Thunderf00t |
Sounds good. We'll send a messenger after we know what needs to happen with the archive.
Magnus prepares to head out, speaking to his human friends, Willem and family, He pays generously for a cart and a horse to pull it. 50 GP for a war trained pony, 20 GP for a cart
Shadowborn |
Ok, I'll need an appropriate Craft or Disable Device roll for a new key to the Archive. Unless there's anything else the party wants to do while there, I'll jump ahead for now.
The journey to the ruins is long and unpleasant. There are frequent rains and wind, and the temperature remains chilly. Also, you travel an alternate route. Apparently an ancient stone bridge over a river gorge collapsed some months ago, leaving the way impassable. The alternate route is rough and tiring and you take two extra days getting to your destination.
Ahead of you, at the highest point of a narrow valley, sits the ruin. There is not much left. The low remnants of a curtain wall and the truncated remains of a single round tower are all that stand; the rest is scattered rubble. The place is quiet, aside from the warning croaks of a pair of crows perched in a nearby pine.
Magnus Thunderf00t |
disable device 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26
Magnus sighs his relief at the end of the long journey. "Hopefully the return trip will be more palatable. Shall we examine the area, or should we get right to the runes in the ruins? "
Shadowborn |
The group moves up the hill and into the ruined walls, finding that most of the interior has long since collapsed to rubble, leaving a maze of low, grass-covered lumps and ridges here and there within the remains of the outer wall, along with piles of lichen-coated stone. In what was likely a central courtyard stands an obelisk, an eight-sided stone pillar that rises six feet to a broken top. The remainder of the stone is nowhere to be seen nearby. What remains is covered in runes etched into the rock. The tower's open doorway is shrouded in shadow, the door having long since fallen away and rotted to nothing.
Stilgar peers around warily, but aside from a scolding crow which flees the courtyard and sits atop the tower scolding the party for its intrusion, he sees nothing of note.
Magnus Thunderf00t |
Magnus examines the obelisk closer, and moves about the courtyard slowly. detect magic, particularly on the obelisk
"Do you think these are the runes we've been sent to etch out?"