Against the Whispering Tyrant in his own backyard.

Game Master Vrog Skyreaver

When the word "girl" is mentioned, something sparks in this saner Lorelei's brain. Even if Azani is suffering from some sort of multiple personality disorder, it is very odd that the other entity would not see the group standing before her. Moreover, the way it talks just seems off. Surely it would think of itself as Azanai in some manner, and it certainly does not seem that way.

Sense Motive (Hunch): 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (3) + 29 = 32

That other... voice, is it Tar-Baphon communicating with Azani? Is it really another personality of Azani?

Having watched her as her voice changes, you can definitely see that her body language changes. You're pretty sure that someone is communicating through/to her, but you don't recognize the voice (although TB is definitely a good candidate).

Ultimately, you may spend as much time as you wish talking to her, but you should try to decide what you want to do about her (and the phylactery, but that's a separate issue). I mean, I'll be more that happy to just RP her as long as you want (playing a madperson is fun, after all). let me know what you wanna do about her, and we'll go from there.

Manisha pulls out some rope and ties a pair of slip knots into a short length of the rope.

I'm not concerned with the phylactery. I do believe you would prefer that your binding to this place were at an end. Let this binding represent your willingness to find an alternative.

Manisha holds the loops out for Azani to place her hands into.

Baergar shifts his weight nervously.

Here we go...

Arazni will put her hands through the rope and say "kinky."

Who's my naughty goddess?

Haha!

in the words of the great takei "OH, MY!"

If Manisha starts spanking her with a riding crop, I'm outta here. Not the "adventure" I had in mind...

"So now what?" asks Lorelei, not entirely sure how to interpret the scene before her.

Anyone have an empty sack?

Interesting question.

Do bags of holding still function here?

No, they don't. I explained this to the scouts, but I realize that I never told the rest of the party that. basically, your hand can't enter them.

Well, no sack from me.

No, not now. What's the sack for?

Are we stuck? No bag, no spell?

Baergar is out of thoughts.

a bag of holding should still be a bag, just not bigger on the inside.

At any rate, what is your plan Manisha?

bump

"Why do we need an empty sack?" the saner Star asks curiously. "While admittedly useful, that strikes me as a bit random to need at the moment."

While waiting for an answer, Lorelei will also take a look the room for some stairs and thinks over some thoughts rattling in her head.

Is there a staircase going up? Have the stairs going down disappeared like Azani hinted?

Also, question time. Is scaling the tower from the inside strictly necessary? Are the wards contained strictly within the tower? What is to stop anyone from D-Dooring from the outside in and vice versa from a higher floor and flying up/down? It was doable from the ground.

Finally, what might be stopping Tar-Baphon from skipping down the stairs, waltzing out the front door, and strolling past the outside gate? In other words, could these wards be affecting him in a special way that other entities are not? His agents certainly don't seem to have a hard time exiting and entering. Neither did Star or Lefty during their original scouting trip.

Knowledge (Arcana): 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (5) + 29 = 34
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (17) + 29 = 46

you don't see any stairs going up here. I have a different plan in play for moving you to different areas of gallowspire. and yes, there is definitely something preventing TB from just strolling out, although I can't explain it now, but I promise I will. As far as using extradimensional travel, as I've said before, the wards allow such movement to areas within them, but you can't cross ward barriers at all, except by walking.

And the stairs going down are still there. those have not changed, at least.

Let's go down. At least, one of us, the elf says, all mindopatithically.

Taking 10: 49 stealth and 41 perception, looking for traps as Lefty scopes out the only exit from the cray-cray.

As lefty gets to the bottom of the stairs, he makes a horrible discovery: the door that the group used to enter the tower is gone. Even with his keen eyes, he can't see so much as an outline of where the door used to be.

I was going for a passive approach. If she's bound voluntarily, and blinded. Then she won't 'see' someone messing with the phylactory, nor easily respond if forced to intervene as her other persona hasn't taken over yet.

interesting. Make me some sort of diplomancy/bluffage type check and we'll see what it gets us.

Depending on what you say, Baergar will try to aid.

Trapped! Trapped like a rat!

perception: 1d20 + 31 ⇒ (7) + 31 = 38
arcana: 10 + 38 = 48

What's up with this freaky disappearing exeunt? What kind of magic is it? I'll spend a Gallowspire point, because I believe I've entered an area where there might be a secret door or hidden object (including traps). My Arcane Sight is always on.

Well, you have enough of an arcana bonus to know that there are spells such as stoneshape that could do such a thing, but you don't see any lingering magic here (although given the amount of time spend upstairs, there wouldn't be any).

I know I'm not there, but if Lefty could inspect the material of this wall (it seems to be stone) and tell the group, then Star might be able to help him.

Yeah, Lefty will tell the group.

The stone is the same stone that the rest of the walls are made of.

you guys should just make a decision as to what to do about Arazni and let me know what decide, then we'll go from there.

Question for the Divine Magic Eight Ball: Would Star know if Arazni could polymorphed or petrified via Polymorph Any Object? Aside from Hiram clocking her upside the head nonlethally, that might be the group's best means of a nonlethal takedown.

outcome unclear, but if this is part of a god, hijinks might ensue.

"I'm going to stretch my legs," Lorelei declares as she begins to fly up toward the ceiling.

Going to inspect the upper part of the room. Maybe there's a chandelier Star can drop on the statue. Or a big monster clinging to the ceiling that she can bullfight into crashing into it.

Perception-Sight: 1d20 + 39 ⇒ (4) + 39 = 43
Perception-Hearing: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

Perfect Darkvision and Arcane Sight.

after the first 100', you start to see incorporeal undead, more of them the higher up you get, eventually ending up in a swarm like you saw outside, although you see that they don't actually go through the walls, but the very top section (hard to see through all the undead) is filled with them. You also can see that there are....shapes....moving in the statue, but you can't see them clearer without getting closer.

Curious about what is moving in the statue, Lorelei moves closers. However, she readies an escape method, just in case.

The most recent ward explicitly purged invisibility, but regardless, Lorelei is going to try and reactivate her Ring of Invisibility.

Stealth: 1d20 + 39 ⇒ (3) + 39 = 42 +20 if Invisibility takes

Star also readies a Dimension Door to jaunt away if necessary. Since all her spells are silenced via her curse, she literally just has to think, and she D-Doors away.

alas, unlike the other wards you've seen, this one is actively preventing invisibility (which when you think about it, you'd want as a protective measure when guarding your phylactery). Still, you think you're good as far as hiding goes, cause you notice that arazni doesn't react as you move closer. As you get closer, you see that the crystal is more like opaque glass, which you could probably see through if you were to press your face against. That would require moving across the circle that surrounds the base of it. Let me know if you wanna do that.

I will be out of town until Monday evening and my internets will be shoddy. I will post as much as possible, but it may be zero :( Please NPC me as needed.

Her comment requesting we not tie her up seemed out of place. I took that as a hint in handling her.

So you have to stop anyone that tries to approach the statue. Do you have to seem them approach? What if you were playing a card game and had your back turned? Do you like to play cards?

Manisha looks at her companions and shrugs her shoulders got a better idea?

We're not winning, are we? Manisha has it right. Jut talk to her until we learn more. Lefty will try to quietly refill a slot or 2. Unless there's some godlike magic to negate it, his Mind Blank should make him still invisible.

Invisibility just doesn't flat out work in this ward.

Lorelei silently withdraws without touching the circle.

"Legs stretched," the Oracle comments as she floats back down to earth. Once back with the group, she asks "What's that circle do anyway?"

Lorelei ponders Manisha's point.

"If we could get you out of this tower, She Who Bestows Ribbons, would you be free of that bad man?"

I'm thinking the Nexus Crystal might be the missing piece of this puzzle. There had to be a reason Star got it despite Plane Shift not working here.

To Manisha, she says "The circle is where people have to stop. No one of Importance can past it. It's also where I would have to kill you. I don't have a back do I? Front-back? Back-front?" She then begins spinning trying to look at her back and front at the same time, until Star asks her questions, to which she says in a whisper so low that you almost think you imagined it "Shhhhh. He'll hear you. Don't talk about him."

An enchantment? Think we could break it?

I could try a Disjunction, but I'm not sure it would work.