The Fourth Crusade
Game Master Desriden

Baron Gregory Brougham smiles grimly.

”You’re right, son. I need someone sneaky.”

He gestures for all of you to come closer. As you draw near, you can see that there’s a small ramp to his right where you can walk up to see him eye to eye. Once you see him from the side, you realize the baron has lost both of his legs. His left leg ends almost near his groin, while the right leg seems to be cut off around the knee. His plate armor continues past his waist, but the ends of his legs are covered in chainmail so you cannot see the skin.

”The demons attacked during morning prayers near the wardstone fortress that the Storm King targeted last time. He’s the cause of this weather, as well. But that wasn’t the first strike of the day. Another group of demons tried to breach the barrier farther north of here. They’re still fighting up there, but not just regular demons. There’s drow, derro and twisted plant abominations, as well. We immediately realized it was the work of the demon lord Cyth-V’sug.”

He looks at you as this sinks in.

”The demons are just as likely to fight each other as us, and that chaos as helped our forces many times. But this is too calculated to be random. So the seers in Queen Galfrey’s court contacted Iomedae to ask for guidance. One of them choked to death as a mass of fungus and tubers ate him from the inside out. The second seer then cast speak with dead to find out what the first saw. It seems Cyth-V’sug is helping in the attack because it's a diversion. Some sort of assault by the demon lord of plants is taking place right now in Starfall, the capital of Numeria.”

Akor whistles softly in amazement "A Demon Lord being underhanded and sneaky, who would've thought such a thing. Are we to head to Starfall and stop whatever attack is happening there?"

The baron nods.

"The Technic League might kill some demons on occasion when they test their new contraptions, but Numeria has done little for the crusades. I can count on my toes how many of our paladins have a gun. Still, if the demons gain a foothold outside the line of wardstones, our country will be overrun. We cannot allow that to happen."

The baron looks at each of you in turn.

"Mendev has no authority in Numeria, obviously. Many of its people still live in a near-tribal state while the others are obsessed with their machines and that metal mountain. So we want to send you to stop the demons since that probably won't be seen as an invasion. Try not to anger the locals too much, stop the demons and report back here when you're done. The standard contracts apply; whatever you find is yours unless you're stealing it from the Numerians."

Malak handed Akor the gold piece in payment for the running bet they all had as to who could get Darnak to speak first. Of course, it only applied to when they were all telepathically bonded as the group greatly repsected the dwarf's vow. He laughed aloud at Sparel's discourse and wisely stayed out of the remainder of that conversation.

Inside the warehouse was a converstaion he was interested in. The name Cyth-V’sug was a familiar one. He was somewhat certain it was tied to Treerazer but that didnt seem to matter right now. Iadara was a long way away...

Sounds cut and dry. Since you made a point of our stealth abilities we can presume that you'd rather we were not seen by the local authorities?

Sparel nods respctfully at the "lights" as they pass.

Re: Stealth

"I can be the silent wind that doesnt even rouse you from slumber if need be."

Other than that Sparel listened quietly to the explination and the need before asking,

"Should we go as ourselves or would it be better to mask our identities?"

Thad grunted at the slight insult against the other Taldan. He may be far removed from his homeland, but loyalty runs deep. The old familiar sneer was pasted back on his face whenever their perspective employer would look, not like it would matter.

Going to Numeria was hardly high on his list of desires, the backward place thought their strange contraptions were the keys to their protection, but all it did was get more trouble than what it was worth if anyone asked Thaddicus, which they sometimes did. They had no sense of worth in the tried and true. He would be glad to show up and use archaic weapons to defend them against a threat they could not handle on their own. His sneer almost disappeared.

"Since we cannot send an army, a stealth group was deemed best. You should be able to sneak in and deal with whatever the threat is. We still are trying to scry into the area, but you should be able to arrive there before that spell is complete. Stealth was deemed best because you should be able to sneak your way past any army, technic or demonic."

The baron turns to Sparel.

"You should be fine as you are in terms of international diplomacy. If you want to try to blend in to help your mission, that is totally up to you."

I know I cant teleport across the wardline, but does our destination cross a ward line? In otherwords can I teleport there?

"We should make haste then."

You can teleport to Numeria just fine. The wardstones keep the demons in the Worldwound and also prevent you from hoping in to attack. You can physically cross the line and then teleport within the Worldwound however you like.

"If everyone is ready we'll teleport immediately."

If I've never been to our destination before:
"Can you please describe our destination please? The more detail the better"

Then:

If I have been to our destiation before skip the above:

To the party,
"Link hands and we'll be off immediately."

If i've never been I will cast greater teleport to remove miss chance. If I have been a simple teleport should suffice.

The baron reaches into a large gold ring on his desk. His entire hand disappears as he rummages around inside and pulls out a highly detailed drawing of Starfall. The Silver Mount rises high in the background.

The country tends to be suspicious of outsiders, so it's unlikely you have been to the capital.

Any buffs or other preparations people want to take care of before leaving?

The baron reaches into a large gold ring on his desk. His entire hand disappears as he rummages around inside and pulls out a highly detailed drawing of Starfall. The Silver Mount rises high in the background.

The country tends to be suspicious of outsiders, so it's unlikely you have been to the capital.

What race normally lives there?

Nope. I'm good per buffs.

Darnak nods, signaling he's ready to roll and moves up so as to be ready to join hands, preparing himself for the big jump.

Unless we need disguises I'm just going to teleport. I have no additional buffs at this time. I don't suspect we're immediately going to drop into battle.

Majority human, very few elves and dwarves, decent number of gnomes. Few of the rest.

Touching a hand to his shield, Akor mutters a prayer for boosted defenses to Iomedae. He then calls upon his goddess to enhances his senses as well. Casting Magic Vestment making my AC 28 and Perceive Cues giving me a +5 to Perception and Sense Motive "I am ready to go. Let's go bring the pain to some demonic invaders."

WHen everyone is done casting

WIth a word and a gesture the companions vanish with a pop of air moving to fill the vacuum.

You know Numeria is a barren wasteland, so you were expecting the wave of heat that hits you as soon as you arrive. But you weren’t expecting this humidity. If anything, it feels wetter here than it did in the storm.

The moment your eyes adjust, you can see why. Starfall, a city of ancient rock and shining silver metal, is covered with green, leafy vegetation. You arrived on a small hill that should have allowed you to see the center of the city, which includes the pleasure palace of the Black Sovereign Kevoth-Kul and one of the main strongholds of the Technic League.

Instead, there is an enormous green tree covered with ragged vines and gargantuan twisted branches. At first you think it must be an illusion, but this nearly 2,000-foot-tall monstrosity is far too real.

What should be rock or sand under you feet is covered with a thick, lush moss. Many of the buildings are now ruins covered in vines or have trees sprouting out of them that – until just now – would have been the biggest you’ve ever seen. The thick canopy blocks out most of the direct sunlight, casting the remains of the capital into twilight.

Even as you watch, new trees seem to be sprouting at an accelerated rate. The creaking of wooden trucks going through years of growth in mere moments sounds almost like a tortured scream. It’s a noise you can hear echoing over and over again across this new jungle.

"I believe we're in the right place." Sparel says sardonically.

"Seems that way, allow me to scout ahead a bit, see if I can't find anything or anybody friend or foe."

Darnak takes in the scenery with suspicion, quite taken aback to what has transpired here. Especially with the trees growing at an alarming rate.

::"Hold a moment, Akor. Ya think that wise, scoutin' off by yerself? I'm thinkin' we ought ta stay together.":: Darnak continues to scan the area, with a terrible feeling of being completely surrounded. ::"As far as I'm concerned, I'm not trustin' the mere ground we be walkin' on."::

::I assume we're looking for the source of all this. That being the case we should head toward the densest vegetation.::

::"Aye. Let's move. But be wary.":: He thinks as he continues to scan the area.

Edit: To save an extra post...

Perception: 1d20 + 39 ⇒ (1) + 39 = 40

You know, this is probably one of the rarest times that I roll a one, and not be too ticked off about it. :P

::"I wasn't planning on going too far ahead, so you all would be fairly close to assist me, but fine, come with me, just don't get in my way.":: He begins to move just ahead of the group, scanning the area for anything or anybody that might be causing this or a potential ally for that matter. 1d20 + 34 ⇒ (14) + 34 = 48 Perception

Thaddicus looked up at the monstrosity of that tree before him and blinked. ::"I do believe the roots of that tree are threatening the aqueducts in Kenabres. Let's do our neighbor's a favor and cut it down. What say you?"::

The old archer smiled at his own joke and strolled down the path toward the large tree like he was going for a walk in his own garden. But even in spite of his good mood, he kept his keen eyes watching for the slightest disturbance.

Perception Check:1d20 + 48 ⇒ (20) + 48 = 68

Broken guns and other small pieces of machinery litter the streets. There are drag marks in the moss that head toward the massive tree that dominates the city. The occasional footprint can be found in the moss along the tracks.

Most of the buildings you pass are empty and have been quickly looted. A few seem charred, but the dampness of the now-tropical air seems to have prevented any blazes from sweeping the city. Some streets are completely impassable because of massive roots, forcing you to climb or go around.

The group cautiously searches, but it is Thaddicus who first spots creatures moving in the forest. Orcs, trolls and writhing mounds of plant matter stalk the ruins. The Zen archer also sees groups of people chained together like slaves near some tents around the base of the massive tree. Orcs and trolls guard the prisoners while more of the monsters move throughout the city.

The Taldan can count the creatures at a glance, much the way he can gauge a quiver of arrows, even though the encampment is almost 700 feet away.

"Into the tree then. Any thoughts on strategy?"

I have a quick formula that rolls all of them. Just pick the relevant and use that for relevant knowledge. ;-)

Thaddicus had pulled down what look to be rather ridiculous spectacles he had made a few years ago that make his eyes look nearly twice as large, and which have been attributed to his amazing powers of perception, or at least that is what he says.

He directs the attention of the group toward the encampment and begins discussing strategy. ::"124 Orcs, and 15 trolls at first count; they are collecting slaves so the immediate safety of the natives is not a priority. There's also openings inside the tree (hardly sturdy at all) that are big enough for a few thousand squirrels to make their home there. Being that they are collecting slaves, it might be more useful to sneak past the encampment and go right for the source, if we had good information on where that might be exactly.

There are small groups of Orcs making their way through the town, it's possible you can get some good information out of some of them without too much trouble. That is, unless Orcs don't have any information in their heads that they haven't replaced with their unskilled muscle."::

::I could send my army of little spies if you think that's a smart move. Of course if anyone sees one and recognized it for what it it then they'll know a powerful caster is nearby. It's a risk, but it offers significant reward.::

Sparel has used this spell before and explained the details in the past.

::"Aye, Sparel, send ou' yer eyes. Thad is right, let's find who or what's behind it all. I'm not feelin' up to takin' on an army of orcs an' trolls.":: He pauses a moment, thinking even he wouldn't believe that. ::"But I will, so's long as one o' ya says please.":: He smiles wryly.

::Thats a sizable group and will be quite dangerous if there's any sort of leadership. Let's find a place to hide while you send your spies ahead cousin.::

::"Your spies are a good plan, but I think we can also borrow a few Orcs without attracting too much notice. They are sending them out in relatively small groups to round up prisoners. A little coercion might help where prying eyes cannot see. Besides..."::He added with a smirk, ::"I hate waiting."::

::Of course I could just make us all look like Orcs. But in the mean time.::

Sparel casts Prying Eyes to scout the surrounding 1 mile radius.

Summons 1d4 + 18 ⇒ (4) + 18 = 22 eyes

Sparrel sends them in paris of two who do not travel too close to each other. If one is destroyed the other returns.

Most will be sent to the structure with only a few sent to the surrounding country side. If they find anything Interesting the pair returns. They know what I know and have the same definition of "interesting."

Any information found out will be shared with the group. (ie. don't worry about spoilers)

Let me know what rolls you want based on the spell or you can roll them at your option. See spoiler above for details.

I'm in class today, but I will check in at breaks.

Akor chuckles at Thad when he reports on the numbers "Only a hundred and twenty four orcs? Thad and I could take em by ourselves, no problem. Remember that one time at that hill fort, we took out over a thousand of the little buggers? Course we had high ground and a protective wall that time, but still, this is a far cry less than that. I say we pin cushion em"

::"I only brought 600 arrows with me today,":: Thaddicus stated meekly. ::"There may be quite a few more on the inside, or ones that require more than one arrow apiece. Better to kill their commander, scatter the troops and let the natives kill them so they feel like they contributed."::He stopped and pondered it for a moment.::"Although if we decide to take them out, a gold says I can one-shot a troll from 500 feet."::

::"Although if we decide to take them out, a gold says I can one-shot a troll from 500 feet."::

::I'll take that action.:: Sparel Jests with a half grin on his face.

Akor pretends to be hurt by Thad's comment ::"My friend, you wound me. Gladly would I lend the might of Iomedae to ensure we only needed one arrow per kill. I also know a particularly useful prayer that will help us against those pesky trolls."::

Feel free to roll the relevant knowledge checks and consult the information here. If you roll high, you can read the relevant spoiler and anything with a lower DC. So, if you roll 30 on your Knowledge (planes) check, you can read the spoilers for DC 20, DC 25 and DC 30. Please note each spoiler has different information.

Sorry about the spoilers, I had this written ahead of time and it would have been far too much work to remove the coding.

Thaddicus Marcaldor wrote:

::"Although if we decide to take them out, a gold says I can one-shot a troll from 500 feet."::

::I'll take that action.:: Sparel Jests with a half grin on his face.

::"Aye. I'll give ya five if ya can pull it off,":: he winks.

No knowledge checks here. I basically know nothing. :)

Sparel thinks a moment then proceeds to educate his companions via the telepathic link
;;Many ancient texts speak of a being named Malgarius that is similar to this tree. Once a powerful demon itself, Malgarius was held captive by an unknown demon lord who defeated it in battle long ago. It is said Malgarius can be controlled by an artifact called the Seed of Malgarius
Once Malgarius appears in a world, it stablishes a link with the world’s ambient life force and can only be defeated if is connection to the Seed of Malgarius is destroyed. One way to break Malgarius’ connection to the Seed of Malgarius is to transport the seed to another plane after Malgarius has taken root in a world. Another is to find something that can utterly destroy plant life on a massive scale.::

:: Further The great tree resembles a being known as Malgarius, a demon that once ruled a layer of the Abyss. The forest it has spawned will draw the life from the land and kill all living things. Malgarius was defeated by a demon lord named Cyth-V’sug, who imprisoned it within an artifact called Seed of Malgarius. Whoever possess the seed can command the tree. Malgarius is difficult to control. Cyth-V’sug never attempted it, but perhaps a might being can command its obedience. Malgarius hates its captivity, and it desires freedom and vengeance above all else.::

Don't have time to format properly. Sorry if some info is repeated.

P.S. DM, no worries about the spoilers.

Sparel Radtymah wrote:

Thaddicus Marcaldor wrote:

::"Although if we decide to take them out, a gold says I can one-shot a troll from 500 feet."::

::I'll take that action.:: Sparel Jests with a half grin on his face.

::"Aye. I'll give ya five if ya can pull it off,":: he winks.

No knowledge checks here. I basically know nothing. :)

::I never said I would use a bow. :: Sparel grins

Sparel, the orbs can fly. Do you wish them to explore up the tree to the limit of their range? Or do you want them to stick closer to ground level?

Thaddicus plays along with Akor for a minute, frowning. ::"I have yet to one-shot a Balor or Maribeth or whatever they are called If we run into more than a hundred of those in there, I might run out of arrows.":: Then he cracked a smile.

He hears and thinks about the information from Sparel. ::"So we find this seed, and take it to another plane and then we can defeat the tree or whatever manifestation it utilizes. I knew this would be a good day."::

Sparel, the orbs can fly. Do you wish them to explore up the tree to the limit of their range? Or do you want them to stick closer to ground level?

One mile radius in three dimensions. so up the tree too.

He hears and thinks about the information from Sparel. ::"So we find this seed, and take it to another plane and then we can defeat the tree or whatever manifestation it utilizes. I knew this would be a good day."::

::To the best of my knowledge, yes. Though What plane would be best? My initial thought is that the negative energy plane would be the best as I suspect that would kill the seed, if such a thing is even possible.::