Detect magic-spellcraft combo time!
The others: don't know, haven't seen them before or sumfin..
"Ooh, fire breath potions! Grandma used to add a dash of these to her chili! Ohohoho!" taking a drop of the potion onto his fingertip, he sticks it into his mouth and burps a tiny plume of fire!
Anja chuckles at Terry's display, then returns to watching Valeeran reading the tombstones.
"Think they're real people? If storykin can't die, who would be buried here?"
She sheathes her sword and straps on her ranseur, then relieves the Barrow King of the harness for her new greatsword. "What kind of dragonhide is this? Would it be resistant to lightning, by any chance?"
The one you were most shocked to find was the one with the name Sonorae. This is obviously an empty grave, as can be expected.
"The names seem to have nothing in common. I would guess they are from the width and breadth of our world. Interestingly enough even Sonorae has a place, though it appears empty. I wonder if she wove her own grave into a story or if her...children I suppose...made a place for her." The elf seems lost in thought for a bit.
"About the candles, my guess would be as long as they're lit the dead will sleep but before we go jumbling them about why don't we all step back and I'll move a few with magic. If our good friends down below don't cause a ruckus then we can look into the sarcophagus."
With the party clear of the area Valeeran focuses and begins to move candles from the lid of the sarcophagus to various tombstones. On a whim he floats the last of the candles to Sonoraes grave and places it on her tombstone.
"I hope your enjoying the turn of your tale storyteller. It's certainly an intriguing yarn for us." he thinks and gives a nod of respect before inspecting the results of his work.
Anyone wants to do something before I reveal the results?
Terry watches anxiously, ready to summon his wings and take to the skies again if need be.
*drum roll*
As Valeeran moves the candle, a short breeze stops everyone's hearts for a second as the flames dances wildly.
Nothing seems to happen however.
Unfortunately, the second the second (:p) candle leaves the sarcophagus, the arms burst through the ground once more, grabbing and twisting, trying to find something to pull to shreds.
Anja watches Valeeran replace the second candle, returning the arms to the ground.
"Hmph. Well, I can go move it. They don't do much to me."
Terry will rush over and keep an eye on one of the votive candles so that Valeeran only has to watch one.
"Go ahead. If it's too heavy, let me know and we'll both give it a shove."
To make the way easier for his companion Valeeran floats the candles back into place and setting the dead back to rest.
"When you get close perhaps see if there is anything different about one of the candles. If not I suppose we will just trust to your nimbleness."
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With a nod, Shan-yu nimbly makes his way back to the sarcophagus, leaping from tombstone to tombstone. Ariving at his destination, he surveys it for any tell-tale marks Valeeran asked for, then ponders how to possibly disabled the trap without resorting to brute force. If all else fails, he will do his best to just shove off the lid.
As before, you can describe it the way you see fit how everything plays out, if you don't mind.
You get out of there without troubles, maybe being grabbed once for a short second?
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Shan-yu quickly collects the items of interest within; pocketing the token and carefully lifting the various tombs and scrolls. ”I have found some tombs of knowledge for you Valeeran.” calls the monk as he carefully makes his way through the grasping hands. This time he does not perform a tumbling run, for fear of damaging the scrolls and books, and it shows when a few hands manage to wrap around an ankle. However, the lithe monk proves to be as good as his word as he pirouettes once to loosen the hands before leaping clear of them , his prizes still intact. ”I found what I believe to be the token as well.“ he says, showing them the ruby after presenting his elven companion with the delicate books.
Anja smiles as the monk gets free of the grasping hands and sarcastically mimes a silent clap.
"Let's go say goodbye to my friend on the bridge, and then find a place to camp out on the other side."
When they meet Mourning Choir, Anja greets her with a hug. "I told you I'd be back. It was pretty rough, though. How are you?"
Anja puts her arm around the couatl, "I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do. I hoped that the Barrow King might have had some influence on you, that his defeat would have freed you from this pain."
After a few moments of sitting quietly with her inconsolable friend, she gently changes the subject, "We need a place to rest for a bit. You know any safe place near here we should look for? Or any places we should avoid?"
Valeeran claps at the monks display of acrobatic skillfulness, "Well done. Well done indeed my friend. That was quite the impressive display." Taking the items offered he first detects magic on all of them before putting the ruby near the tokens they'd previously found to see if he can sense the "pull" they seem to have towards each other.
As they leave he begins studiously going through the papers and tomes somehow managing not to trip as they walk along.
"Somehow, pfffrt. If you didn't have me, you'd be flat on your face three times before stepping off the bridge," Skitter thought
As the party rests before setting up watches for the night, Anja unwraps some trail rations for herself. She looks around at the rest of the party. "Here, I've got more if anyone wants some. So what were you all doing in town before that Harrower sent us here?"
Terry will accept Anja's offer of a ration and nods thankfully. He takes a seat on a nearby stone or log if he can find one and takes out his travelware - a small metallic fork with a spoon on the other end. "I was there on a whim, truthfully," he confesses as he scoops up the first bite. "I'm a wandering healer who wants to make his way in the world, and I felt curious about my fate in the cards."
The weeping lady points you to a place not far from the river of souls.
"You thought wrong, my friend. His demise is one of many, and he wil return. For now, I will add another couplet to my song, for him. In time, he will return, but so many will not."
Valeeran sits near the fire absently chewing on a ration without appetite while he flips through the papers found at the barrows. He looks up and chuckles a bit at Terrys statement. "It seems curiosity got the best of a few of us then. For myself I just couldn't seem to put the thought of a harrowing out of my mind. Kept poor Skitter up half the night." he says giving the weasel, who also seems to be shuffling through scrolls, a friendly scratch behind the ear. "It was a bit odd though. I've not given too much thought to who my parents were in many decades. In retrospect I wonder if there was a bit of compulsion, magic or otherwise, involved." he finishes with a shrug.
You succesfully sleep through the night, nothing disturbing your restless dreams but for a strange feeling of not sleeping in your own bed.
What are the plans?
"Is the manmolds next? I'm glad we got a chance to 'kill' someone first. I want to see how they come back."
"One path is as good as another it seems to me. We'll be visiting them all in turn anyway."
a half-moldered collection of books and scrolls on burial rites of various Age of Darkness civilizations, worth 1,300 gp despite the damage.NO doubt very interesting, but nothing that can help you in this situation (unless you want to make something up to talk about to the others. In that case, be my guest :)
When you are breaking up 'camp' the next morning, you suddenly notice a very imposing figure standing on the outskirts of town. He wears a golden plate armor which has been shined to perfection, a helmet which covers almost his entire face and a grand red cloak which is hanging perfectly behind him. The helmet has a purple feather on top of it, and has golden wings shaped into the metal.
In his hands is a long sword and a shield with intricate heraldries on it.
He raises his arm, sword in hand, and shouts: "HAND OVER THE TOKENS, !" during which you can see his eyes are burning white, as his gaze falls upon you all.
Terry narrows his eyes. Calling us fiends? Only people I know of to use that kind of language are zealots and... he unconsciously reaches in his pocket, plucking out the Paladin card. Paladins!
Turning at the sound of the challenge Valeeran looks at the armored individual and then back to the group. "Well, ummm, good morning to you as well, such as it is. If I might ask, what have we done to earn such a moniker?"
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Shan-yu looks upon the knight with a look of slight exasperation. ”Do we look like fiends to you? From my studies, fiends are generally horned, have a tail, and radiate palpable evil. Now, I have no way to magically detect things as such, but I doubt anyone here is any more evil than you. And as for horns and tails, the only tailed creature here is the familiar, and no one has horns. Now, perhaps you should calm down and we can discuss why you seek the tokens you claim we have.” he says without hint of emotion, motioning with his free hand to a nearby stone.
Anja draws her ranseur when the knight issues his challenge. When Shan-yu comes to the party's defense, she raises her hand. "I'm probably a little more evil than he is. I'm not a virgin."
Response to Valeeran:
"Have you not the sacred tokens in your possesion, outsiders? I can sense them on you, so don't even think about lieing. As my name is Algon the everseeking, I cannot be fooled! Hand them over, or prepare yourselves to face justice!"
Response to Shan-yu:
"Fiends come in many shapes, and speak with forked tongues. You cannot cast a veil over my eyes evil-doer, for my faith and my calling protects me!"
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”And your faith and your calling should have granted you the ability to sense the evil in people. Do we sense evil? We are strangers in this land hoping to use the tokens to return home. We cannot allow you to take them, but we also do not want to make more enemies than we must. This is a misunderstanding, you must see it! I cannot speak for my companions, but I feel they will agree. If you insist on the path you have chosen, and try to take these tokens by force, we WILL defend ourselves.” responds Shan-yu, his bow ready, but no arrow nocked.
Terry narrows his eyes as he studies the shield. Wish I'd had more time with my book, "Princes, Queens, and Royalty through the Ages," he thinks to himself.
"The tokens can't be that sacred. Their holders gave these to us for taking part in their silly games. You storykin, too, Virgon? You another coward who challenges people because you know you can't die?"
"Well that's quite the title you have there. Again I must confess my curiosity is piqued. Whose "justice" will we be facing? This land seems distinctly lacking in any form of legitimate authority...well since the natives rose up and ate their creator anyway. Also "everseeking" do you seek the tokens specifically or do you just seek things in general? I ask as it seems a bit odd, if the tokens are of special interest, that we new comers to this plane have found a number of them so quickly while it would appear you have not despite having been after them long enough to have gained a title based upon the attempt. Really the "seeking" part seems fairly straightforward since, from what we've gathered, the conspirators identities are common knowledge and, as you've mentioned, you even have the ability to sense the items. I suppose that must mean you believe those that hold them to be too difficult a challenge to face directly and that we, instead, are a more opportune target despite our having overcome a few of the beings you seek to avoid. An odd bit of logic there eh?"
Nearby Skitter makes an odd noise somewhere between a sneeze and a choking sound. Ignoring the weasels attempt to stifle his laughter the elf continues, "Ah but where are my manners? I am Valeeran and it is good to make your acquaintance Algon. Why is it that you seek the tokens? Perhaps we can be of help to each other Oh and feel free to put the sword down if you like, I imagine it gets heavy after a time."
Response to Shan-yu: "You... You do not feel evil." he says with a small sense of doubt in his voice.
He regains his conviction however, as he continues: "But I have been wrong before. Ilussions and golden tongues, I can't.. I can't believe a word you are saying! You have the tokens, I feel it!"
Response to Anja: His voice flaring with righteous fury: "I am on a sacred quest, . I do not challenge people for sport or pleasure, I am giving you a chance to hand over the tokens and leave in peace. Should you wish to fight me, I can only say I have faced greater foes and survived!"
Response to Valeeran: "You are one of those snakes with the golden tongue, who wants to confuse me and drive me away from my goal! The tokens were cloaked for a long time. Now they are visible again, I will have them, I will face HIM and I will destroy him. That is my fate, and I will not let anyone bar my path!!"
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"I've never said we do not have the tokens. In fact, we've collected a few of them in our quest to return home. You could have sensed us at a distance when we were un aware of you to determine our nature instead of immediately assuming we are enemies and trying to pick a fight. Do we look like storykin to you? Everyone else is a blend of animal and humanoid. We, are not. Are you so paranoid of Illusions and golden tongues that you refuse an honest man when he speaks to you? Perhaps you can join our band and we can face HIM as a group? It never hurts to have archer support and magical aid when assaulting a strong foe." says Shan-yu, beginning to sense the doubt in the knights voice, at least to him.