Elen Emerwen |
Kallistiel pauses, looking at Elen and replies.
** spoiler omitted **
Lord Manticore |
Knowledge roles to see if I've ever heard of that temple before:
history 1d20+16
religion 1d20+16
local 1d20+10
I am including Elen's Aid Another in this write-up of what you have asked for.
Approximately 150 years ago, a powerful wizard by the name of Argonax began a cult that worshiped the foul demon in the area that was formerly known as Sarkosis. Within a decade, Argonax had formed a large enough cult that he was able to begin building a city to Orcus' honor, known as Tsar. By the time of Aroden's death, the city had grown to metropolis proportions, yet strangely, the natives did not try to rid their kingdom of this abomination.
When the Worldwound formed, Orcus made his presence known, no longer having to worry about Aroden and his many good deeds fouling any of his plans. Argonax was named the 'Grand Cornu,' a title that indicated he was the right hand man of Orcus on this plane. According to legend, as a gesture of his promotion, Argonax demanded that a temple to the demon lord be erected. It is said that this temple, built to look like Orcus himself sitting on a massive throne, was several hundred feet tall at its completion. The city of Tsar was placed under siege and eventually sacked in 4608.
Elen Emerwen |
"I suspect," says Elen as she and Lavinia compare notes on Orcus and his temple in Tsar, "That Roondar's spirit was willing to speak to us because he knew relatively little that could be of use to us, although it does give us important information. It does indicate that this Harbinger believes we are some sort of threat -- that's somewhat gratifying at least -- and that the threat we pose directly relates to our mission, and that answers to our questions may be found within the temple of Orcus in Tsar. I do not think the last answer is an evasion -- the gnome probably had very little information about the 'veil of Tsar' save that we could find more information about it there."
Elen Emerwen |
After a moment of thought, Elen continues, "I would say, in fact, that we should count learning who or what this Harbinger is, what the 'veil of Tsar' is, and what it would mean to pierce it, among our goals for this expedition."
Lavinia Batharoy |
Lavinia sits tiredly on the deck as she tries to think. "Well, sometimes when people speak of lifting a veil, they mean to see past an illusion or to see things as they really are. Perhaps the Tsar is protected by some sort of illusion that we will need to see past in order to find him? Maybe in the temple we will find an artifact or something that could help us to see past it?"
Ruul Spiritskin |
After Lavinia's has a few moments to say some parting words, Ruul casts the other gnomes remains into the water as well.
"We can discuss this more in the morning. For now, you ladies should get some rest", the minotaur suggests.
Did the goons that surrendered/got sleeped die?
Ruul gently holds Lavinia's chin in his massive hand.
"I will join you shortly."
Azaraunt |
Azaraunt listens intently. What worries me is the idea that Daemon and Demon might be working together. Why should this Harbenger care if some veil of a city built to glorify a demon is lifted? This Harbenger should not be an ally of Orcus. No, in fact it should fear and avoid the demon lord unless it has some power over him.
Have we learned that this Harbenger is of the same level of power as Orcus? I was thinking not.
Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (11) + 19 = 30
Elen Emerwen |
Did the goons that surrendered/got sleeped die?
Good question! I kinda forgot about them. Assuming they didn't, they would still be tied up. If they're still alive, Elen will say the following:
"Might as well leave their cronies alone. We've seen what questioning them gets us -- a stomach-churning death or near-death. Turn them over to the authorities in Gundrun or something -- or perhaps Captain Teach will make a captain's judgement. But stars! I need sleep. Don't expect me for breakfast. Perhaps second breakfast. Or elevensies."
(Well, she did live with halflings for quite a while. There's a reason she doesn't have the typical elfin slenderness.)
Ruul Spiritskin |
"I mean to see them bound and locked up. We will need a watch on the sick one too. Macavity, would you mind seeing to that? I know you prefer it up here, but your sharp eyes would do us just as well below decks on the prisoners."
"Get some rest Elen. We will all be here in the morning."
Kallistiel Illuiadlara |
** spoiler omitted **
Kallistiel sighs before continuing.
Kallistiel then moves towards her quarters to move her things to a room on the other side of the boat. Accepting Elen's help with the move.
Lord Manticore |
After Lavinia's has a few moments to say some parting words, Ruul casts the other gnomes remains into the water as well.
"We can discuss this more in the morning. For now, you ladies should get some rest", the minotaur suggests.
Did the goons that surrendered/got sleeped die? No, they are actually sleeping below decks, tied up.
Lord Manticore |
Azaraunt listens intently. What worries me is the idea that Daemon and Demon might be working together. Why should this Harbenger care if some veil of a city built to glorify a demon is lifted? This Harbenger should not be an ally of Orcus. No, in fact it should fear and avoid the demon lord unless it has some power over him.
Have we learned that this Harbenger is of the same level of power as Orcus? I was thinking not.
[dice=Knowledge Planes]1d20+19
No he is not, the Harbinger is not a god, but it might be one of his long-term (and by long-term, I mean millenniums) goals.
Lord Manticore |
The rest of the evening is quiet. Digory is almost comatose in his locked room, but he seems to be through the worst of it. It is not hard to miss that his assassin days are over, given how bad the poisoning was. The other thugs are in a room, but are not putting up a fuss. Captain Teach, from his pilothouse, passes the word along that he plans to turn the thugs over to authorities in Gundrun, who will more than gladly take care of them. He has not, however, decided what to do with Digory. Teach comments that the poor man has taken so much damage already, it might not be worth it to either kill him or turn him in.
With the morning, the clouds have turned dark and cold rain patters the deck. Niles soon resumes his duties, mainly because of the bad weather. There is little wind to drive the rain, which allows the air to remain only moderately chilly, but movement upriver had dropped to a near standstill. By noon, it is almost as if the boat has moved maybe a mile. After a cold lunch, Captain Teach stands on the deck to read a scroll.
Use Magic Device: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
1 minute
Use Magic Device 2: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
1 minute
Use Magic Device 3: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
After a couple of tries, the winds begin to blow again, but much, but enough to fill the sails and move forward once more. At this point, thunder adds its harmony to the rest of the cacophony.
Feel free to RP this as we move towards Gundrun.
Elen Emerwen |
I will retcon more of Elen's conversation with Kallistiel a little later when I can compose a longer post.
Elen sleeps until about 800 in the morning, then spends an hour in communion with Ally, finally emerging at around 930. She prepares new spells (I'll have those up in the profile in a bit) and goes through her morning ritual, casting Mage Armor and False Life with her extend rod. She also casts Mage Armor on Ruul using his extend rod, and uses pearls to get back the prepared slot.
False Life: 1d10 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Ruul Spiritskin |
After finishing his early morning prayers to fill his mind with fresh spells, Ruul checked on the prisoners, and then returned to Lavinia's side. After the events of the attack from the previous night he wanted to ensure she was well (beyond the expected soreness).
"I apologize for the interruption last night. Did you sleep well?"
Lavinia Batharoy |
Ruul returns to their cabin to find Lavinia having just finished up washing and dressing after saying her morning prayers.
"I suppose I slept well enough, all things considered. I may just have to get used to the occasional bad dream featuring unknown assassins until we manage to defeat this Harbinger or pierce the veil or whatever. Also, you have nothing to apologize for, its not as if you arranged the interruption or anything."
Lucrezia sighs loudly as she moves to leave the room. "Well, shall we go grab some breakfast?"
Lavinia's bluff? check to Ruul 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Ruul Spiritskin |
"Do not let such things trouble your dreams. No harm will come to you as long as I draw breath", the minotaur declares.
At the mention of breakfast, Ruul's bovine eyes light up.
"Yes, food. After last night, I'm quite hungry."
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Heh, oblivious.
"After we eat I mean to send a magical Sending to the Grand Lodge informing them of what's happened so far. With the library in Absalom they might be able to provide some aid."
Elen Emerwen |
Though bone tired, Elen helps Kallistiel move her gear and recruits a crewman to assist her and Kallistiel in moving the mattress to the cabin formerly occupied by Roondar.
"As for minotaurs, yes, some are evil brutes. It is true that speaking Taldan doesn't make one a person, but neither does fur, horns, or hooves make one an animal. Other races are known to be evil brutes as well, some even form the majority of the race -- such as certain nations of humans, orcs, goblins -- but I have seen those who have transcended their heritage, and even become valued members of society. What I've studied about minotaurs indicates that the anthrophagous (i.e. humanoid-eating) monsters one hears stories of are exceptions, outcasts, while the majority of them form an honorable, if primitive, society. It is also natural for them to mate with human women -- there are no, or very few, female minotaurs."
"Ultimately it doesn't matter to me what you think of them, as long as you're with us -- all of us -- when swords are drawn and spells are cast."
After this, Elen listens to any reply, then wishes Kallistiel a good night, and heads to bed.
Elen Emerwen |
Above post was last night. Now is morning.
"Um, excuse me, sir? You wouldn't happen to be serving Second Breakfast, would you?" asks Elen timidly of the ship's cook.
"Second Breakfast? What are you on about? Breakfast's done," comes the grumpy reply.
"I don't think they know about Second Breakfast, dearest," murmurs Ally.
Elen manages to get some biscuits and bacon grease for herself and Ally, but she insists on being able to make a liquid meal for Digory. She cooks some ground oats and flour in water to make a thin gruel, and boils some scraps of beef bones until the meat and marrow practically dissolve into the water, then straining out the solid particles and clarifying it with egg whites to make a simple consommé. This she takes to the prisoner, offering the simple liquid foods she has for him. If he's asleep, she will wake him up, and examine him while feeding him something that hopefully shouldn't aggravate his injured bowels. Before feeding him, she casts Detect Poison to make sure that no poison remains in his body.
If he's willing to eat and to talk to her, she will feed him (his hands will remain tied) and ask him a few calm questions. If he resists, she will cast Charm Person with the daily use of her Eastern Mysteries trait for +2. Will Save, DC 19.
"So I wanted to clarify some things in my head, about what you told us last night. Who was it who hired you?"
Whatever his answer, she will ask:
"And what did he tell you was your task here, and for what purpose?"
"Have you ever heard of this Harbinger before?"
"Do you know why Shamil killed Niles? Was that a part of the plan or a mistake?"
"Was it your plan to try to kill us in our sleep?"
Ruul Spiritskin |
Oops, Sending is a 4th level spell. I'll reword that last part.
"After we eat I would like to send a magical Sending to the Grand Lodge informing them of what's happened so far. With the library in Absalom they might be able to provide some aid."
"Is such a spell within your power?"
Lord Manticore |
Above post was last night. Now is morning.
"Um, excuse me, sir? You wouldn't happen to be serving Second Breakfast, would you?" asks Elen timidly of the ship's cook.
"Second Breakfast? What are you on about? Breakfast's done," comes the grumpy reply.
"I don't think they know about Second Breakfast, dearest," murmurs Ally.
Elen manages to get some biscuits and bacon grease for herself and Ally, but she insists on being able to make a liquid meal for Digory. She cooks some ground oats and flour in water to make a thin gruel, and boils some scraps of beef bones until the meat and marrow practically dissolve into the water, then straining out the solid particles and clarifying it with egg whites to make a simple consommé. This she takes to the prisoner, offering the simple liquid foods she has for him. If he's asleep, she will wake him up, and examine him while feeding him something that hopefully shouldn't aggravate his injured bowels. Before feeding him, she casts Detect Poison to make sure that no poison remains in his body.
If he's willing to eat and to talk to her, she will feed him (his hands will remain tied) and ask him a few calm questions. If he resists, she will cast Charm Person with the daily use of her Eastern Mysteries trait for +2. Will Save, DC 19.
"So I wanted to clarify some things in my head, about what you told us last night. Who was it who hired you?"
Whatever his answer, she will ask:
"And what did he tell you was your task here, and for what purpose?"
"Have you ever heard of this Harbinger before?"
"Do you know why Shamil killed Niles? Was that a part of the plan or a mistake?"
"Was it your plan to try to kill us in our sleep?"
Before we do this, I'll need a Heal check, DC 21, in order to bring him around. That poison has left him very weak. He lost at least 5 Con because of this, and it wasn't that high to begin with.
Elen Emerwen |
A night's rest ought to have given him back at least 1 point of CON.
Heal check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Aid Another from Ally: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
No good. He doesn't seem to be waking. Elen sets down her two bowls, but takes the spoon with her in case he's faking it. She seeks out Lavinia and explains her plan to feed the prisoner some very basic food while prodding him gently with questions.
Ruul Spiritskin |
After Lavinia finishes breakfast (and Ruul finishes his third serving), the bull leaves to check on the prisoners again. With what he'd seen from their foe, there was no room for taking chances. Once he's confident they are still secure he hunts down Numair.
"Are you prepared to learn some wrestling techniques?" he asks the paladin.
Lavinia Batharoy |
Hopefully Numair is learning some different wrestling techniques from the ones Ruul used with Lavinia...
Lavinia listens as Elen explains her plan. "Would you like me to look him over and help you feed him?"
Assuming the answer is yes, Lavinia will go with Elen to the room that Digory is being held in and look him over and attempt to help feed the poor man.
heal check 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19
"I guess he is still too weak to do much other than sleep. I will try again with you tomorrow morning if you like. Perhaps another day of rest will help him. Let me try another healing spell or two upon him."
Lavinia will cast Lesser Restoration in an attempt to heal some of the con damage from the poison and then a Cure Light Wounds after that.
LR 1d4 ⇒ 2
CLW 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
New heal check to see if any of that helped or not:
1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28
Ruul Spiritskin |
I don't think Numair can handle those techniques. ;)
Ruul will prepare by clearing a large area of the deck and asking the crew to steer clear for a while.
Elen Emerwen |
If Lavinia's restoration and/or second heal check managed to bring him around, Elen will feed him, charm him if necessary, and ask him questions as in the previous post. Otherwise:
"Thank you sweetheart. I'll check on the other prisoners, make sure they have something to eat. Will you come with me just in case? I'll come back for him later in the afternoon."
Elen gets some ship's biscuit and goes to each of the prisoners, letting Ally untie their hands while she stands ready with a sleep Hex and a dagger (and Lavinia if she joins her) while they eat the simple fare.
Lavinia Batharoy |
"Of course I'll go with you to check on the others and please come get me whenever you want to check on Digory again. I know you'll always have Ally with you when you check on the prisoners, but having another person along is a good idea just in case they try something."
Elen Emerwen |
Retcon - since this is a new check, I can do Aid another on Lavinia's first heal check, I kinda forgot about that.
Aid Another heal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
That should put Lavinia's result at 21 which should do the job based on the DC LM said earlier. Can we go ahead with the questions asked? A lesser restoration and clw makes sense since neither cost anything.
Kallistiel Illuiadlara |
Though bone tired, Elen helps Kallistiel move her gear and recruits a crewman to assist her and Kallistiel in moving the mattress to the cabin formerly occupied by Roondar.
** spoiler omitted **...
Kallistiel snorts after something else Elen says.
Kallistiel frowns before continuing.
"You needn't try to offend me by questioning my resolve to be 'with' the group as a whole as it is my concern for the group that is foremost on my mind."
"Thank you for the assistance. And for the conversation, such as it was. Sleep well."
Kallistiel then ushers Elen out of the room so that she could settle down for the night.
Digory Odgers |
This is to cover Elen and Lavinia's attempts to revive Digory and to move the story forward a bit.
Casting Lesser Restoration and Cure Light Wounds seems to have helped him somewhat. His breathing, which was shallow, short, and rough has become more normal, and some little bit of color has returned to his near parchment pale features. However, he does not immediately awaken as you hope. It seems clear (from your combined Heal checks) that some more rest is needed before he is well enough to eat, let alone talk.
As the day wears on, the ship's morale is almost as low as the cloud cover. Captain Teach, who continues to use the magic of the scroll to manage the meager winds, refuses to look at any of you and focuses on his work. Niles and the sailors glumly work the sails as best they can, but the stench of evil is all around. The companions and magic users can all feel it, even if they don't express it. From their perspective, it is almost a taste of brimstone, as if something is sprinkling it in the air as a spice. It is not too hard to imagine that the boat's crew, superstitious men that they tend to be, is likely believing that they have been cursed somehow. You begin to wonder if that is not the case.
Late in the afternoon, as the waning sun begins dancing with the top of the treeline, Macavity, while moving around below decks briefly, hears a moaning. After investigating, he walks around to find the witch and the cleric, and informs them that their patient is awake and drinking from a bowl left in his room (the now cold soup, I would imagine).
Calendir Elberen |
Calendir sits quietly on the upper deck, constantly watching. It would seem the recent events made the already silence prone half orc to turn even further inward.
Every once in a while, he changes his watch position from one end of the barge to the other, keeping his gaze focused on the river banks, and the calm waters themselves.
Digory Odgers |
Both of you walk into Digory's room, after unlocking the door. He is slowly eating the cold soup, one spoonful at a time, although as shaky as his hand is, a fair portion of it is currently on the floor. He is propped on on elbow, but after taking a bite, he plops back down on the flat mattress, taking a break between bites.
In a weak, almost trembling voice, he mutters, "Here to make the captor talk? A little torture perhaps? I'm afraid that someone beat you to it. But I'll talk all the same."
Elen Emerwen |
Elen crosses her fingers and asks the stars for a bit of luck using Fortune hex on herself and goes over to where Digory is clumsily feeding himself with bound hands. She takes the spoon and takes over, asking him a few questions as she feeds him.
Diplomacy to change attitude or gather information: 1d20 ⇒ 15
reroll from Fortune hex: 1d20 ⇒ 3
"Seems like your employer implanted some sort of poison capsule in your stomach. Almost as if you were expected to fail. I can't imagine you knew you were signing up for a suicide mission. "
Digory Odgers |
Elen crosses her fingers and asks the stars for a bit of luck using Fortune hex on herself and goes over to where Digory is clumsily feeding himself with bound hands. She takes the spoon and takes over, asking him a few questions as she feeds him.
[Dice=Diplomacy to change attitude or gather information]1d20
[Dice=reroll from Fortune hex]1d20"Seems like your employer implanted some sort of poison capsule in your stomach. Almost as if you were expected to fail. I can't imagine you knew you were signing up for a suicide mission. "
"I didn't. I was told it was going to be a straight up ambush. Actually, I wasn't told anything, everything was done by drop points. That's how I work, or worked. It'll be awhile before anything like this happens again."
Lord Manticore |
"Do you know anything about why you were being sent to ambush us or who hired you to do it?"
His voice picks up a little, the soup giving him some kind of positive effect. "I first heard of this person, the one who hired us, about three weeks ago, while I was held over in Urion, that port we left yesterday. He contacted me, and then I picked up Shamil. We had...worked together before." Digory stops, his breath a bit ragged. He lays back, accidently bouncing his head off of the wood frame. He curses indignantly, but his protests are weak.
Elen Emerwen |
"What had you heard, then, about this person? Was it Roondar? And Shamil -- am I right in assuming that killing Niles wasn't part of the plan? She went off-script?"
Alliriyallin |
Sense motive to see if he's lying: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 2 = 17
Aid another bonus from Elen: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Ally watches, uncharacteristically quiet, to try to detect any hint of a falsehood from their captive.
Digory Odgers |
"What had you heard, then, about this person? Was it Roondar? And Shamil -- am I right in assuming that killing Niles wasn't part of the plan? She went off-script?"
"No, Roondar came later, after everything had been arranged. This person said that he needed a group put together so that another group could be taken out. We were told, through various drops, to expect three or four individuals, sent from the Pathfinder Society, travelling through the area. We were told to take you out before reaching Gundrun if at all possible, the Camp if not.
"As for Shamil, she had always been...adventurous with the opposite sex. The way that she was humping against the minotaur, I figured she was going after him first. As horny as she can be, it is an effective way to complete an assassination. To be fair, he is the most likely to take down several on his own in a fight. I would guess that she found Niles and decided to do it, then got rid of him when it was time to go after you."