Although grueling, you push forward through the Thornwaste with frequent stops to apply bandages and to pull out thorns. Mantooth's skills with lay on hands and Edvard's skill at healing serves to help move the party along. Eventually the region you venture into grows scarcer and scarcer of vegetation and life until you find yourselves trekking through a region that for several miles is completely barren.
• Starday, Lamashan 13, 4710 • 2 o'clock in the afternoon •
By early afternoon you finally reach it. Rising from a low mesa is an intimidating sight. A massive lion of stone crouches, as if ready to pounce on a nearby hill. The cyclopean monolith is composed of a dull tawny stone. It looks to be about two hundred forty feet in length, and the top of its maned head rises over eighty feet from the ground. There seems to be some sort of hollow between the lion's front paws, in the area bordered by its chest. Likewise, hints of a dark cave are apparent in its gaping maw.
Dozens of translucent lionlike shapes fly and caper about the massive lion's head and body. The shapes sometimes even pass through its stony surface to emerge in a different spot.
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Perception:
Huh. Weird ghost lions shootin' around... now before we get started, let's get these distributed properly, shall we?
Bofus takes out the lead boxes holding the fake phylacteries. I've got the real one hidden away; I'll keep it, unless anyone objects? I think it only makes sense for Mantooth to carry one of the fakes. Since I have the real one, I should take an empty box. That leaves one box with a fake, and one empty. Who else holds one?
How 'bout someone who can fly?
"Huh. Weird ghost lions shootin' around... now before we get started, let's get these distributed properly, shall we?"
"Let's do it, Bofus. Now please remind me what you have scheming in that halfling mind of yours. Are you planning to give the phylactery to the Ghostlord, or were you going to try and threaten him first? I just don't want to make a new enemy that we will have to fight in addition to the horde."
"How 'bout someone who can fly?"
"Thordak, if you are suggesting that we give a phylactery to Lulu, I think that is a bad idea. She is not going to be in any position to present it to the Ghostlord and besides, she is not going to be able to fly much once she enters that Lion's hungry mouth. Perhaps you should leave Lulu outside?"
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"Let's do it, Bofus. Now please remind me what you have scheming in that halfling mind of yours. Are you planning to give the phylactery to the Ghostlord, or were you going to try and threaten him first? I just don't want to make a new enemy that we will have to fight in addition to the horde."
We haven't put much time into discussing this yet, have we? Well, my thought is this: we can give the Ghostlord one of the fakes right away, as a token of our goodwill. That will prove to him that we know what his actual phylactery looks like--that we're not bluffing. Then he can't simply kill us out of hand, because as far as he knows, the phylactery is at a church to be destroyed if we don't return! WE can then bargain in good faith--for our part, at least. What I'm not sure of is, what kind of assurance we can accept that he'll pull his troops back? And are we simply going ot hand him the real goods?
.The other fakes are simply insurance, to be used if necessary--to buy time, fool lower-level minions, that sort of thing. Luck favors the prepared, Grampy Bozak always said!
Oi'd say we make our way to tha Ghostlord, an' if any o' his lion-friends try te kill us, we kill 'em first. When w get to him, we say it plain. Moi pa always said ye should speak plain an' carry a big axe. 'Sides, if we kill some o' his minions, he'll know we're not te be messed with. 'Course we'll try te just go in without fightin', but any one o' those ghosty-lions tries te bite me, Oi'll be makin' a ghost-lion rug fer me ma!
Mantooth! O' course Lulu won't be comin in, Oi meant one o' tha spellcasters ye daft human! Thordak says, turning to Lulu and patting her on the shoulder. Ye stay safe now, we'll be back afore too long. If we're not...don't come a' lookin'...
"Damn! Yae really are going tae go through wid this and visit auld Urikel Zarl?! Damn! Damn! Damn! Ahh'm started tae feel a little oot o' mae range here, boys! Pickin off hobbies from behind trees and hide and shoot tactics has worked well fer me, but tae enter that monstrous crypt o' a lion is gonnae likely mak that a tomb fer me. Hell, if Ahhm not careful, Ahh may undead up as one o' Zarl's undead minions! Mebbae Ahh could look after yer horses for yae?! Damn! Ahh cannae believe Ahh'm sayin that! Ahh just dannae ken what use I'd be tae yae once we're inside! Ahh'm not the same man Ahh use tae be!"
Jorr thinks for a moment longer and then takes a deep sigh and finally says, "Hell, this auld codger isn't done yet! Forget that Ahh even said such blasphemy, boys. Yae can count on me tae the end! Ahh'll dae whatever yae need me tae. Hell if this doesn't work, then we'll never see the Elsir Vale again anyway!"
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Jorr, I'm sure none of us would begrudge you volunteering to watch our mounts. You never know what dangers are out here, waiting for unprotected horseflesh, yes? And you're far better equipped to deal with theats out here, than in there.
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Edvard, hear me out. I am NOT suggesting we overtly try to decieve the Ghostlord. But put yourself in his shoes. You're a lich, and you're missing your phylactery. A party comes in and says "we have it!" What do you do? You smite them and take it, end of story. What you suggest, quite frankly, is suicide and I will NOT be a part of that. If that's what you're going to do, I'll give you the real one and wait out here for your dying shrieks--if he lets you live long enough to MAKE any, that is--and don't doubt that I'll make good on that promise.
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What *I'm* suggesting is we tell him the truth, but not all at once. We go in there, say "we know where your phylactery is, and we can prove it!" and we hand him a fake one. That immediately makes him think twice about killing us outright--he knows we know where it is, otherwise we'd not know what it looks like to duplicate it, savvy?? Then, and only then, when we're in the position of strength, do we make the simple bargain: withhold your troops from the Red Hand, and we'll give you your real phylactery. And we have Mantooth make the promise, so that's his assurance we'll keep our word. The only hole in this plan that I can see is that we can't be assured he'll keep his word--particularly if and hwen we hand him the real deal. I'm open to suggestions, but I feel this is the best course of action given our liabilities and assets.
Bofus crosses his arms, waiting for input from the rest.
"Well Bofus, this is not an easy situation as you well know. We obviously do not want a lich running rampant here in the Elsir Vale. I have no desire to make the creature angry and the Vale is not in any position to deal with the double threat of a lich as well as the Red Hand Horde. Let's face it, this creature must crave power and rebuke life unlike anything we have ever seen. Without doubt, it must be an extraordinarily deadly fiend. We have had this discussion before and I know you are fond of the idea of using the fake phylacteries, but let's not do anything to provoke him. Is it possible to tell them that we stole the phylactery back from the Red Hand and somehow persuade the lich that the real enemy is the Red Hand and the dragons? I mean, let's try to make a good first impression and at the very least, not make another enemy at this time."
"However, could I kindly ask us all to stop with the ultimatums? We all need each other here and this task will not be easy at it is. We need to put an end to this threat of undead and return to Brindol safely. First, we need to work our way into this crypt and see if we can find him and his undead army, if it even exists. We also want to keep an eye out on any weaknesses or history of the lich and try to find a way to destroy it, if possible. Now, how are we going to proceed? What else do we need to discuss? Do you think these Lion spirits are going to harm us?"
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I don't get you guys. How is showing him a fake phylactery--telling him it's a fake--going to anger him?? All it does is prove to him we've seen it, that we're familiar enough with it to MAKE a fake. Proving that to him is going to be the only thing that keeps us alive!! We walk in there with "we know where your phylactery is," without the ability to prove it, we're going to be carried out in a box.
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Mantooth, you think a palading walking into that tomb is going to be viewed as anything BUT an enemy?? C'mon, you're kidding, right?
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You all might accuse me of playing a game. And to that I'll say "hells yeah!!" but I know what the stakes are. I have no intention of dying, or of losing. This IS a game, a game of chess. I'm simply setting us up so we don't lose our pieces. For some reason some of you seem to think being straightforward and handing this guy his phylactery is going to engender trust or good faith or something? With a LICH? You've got to be kidding.
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Since we went against my better judgement in bringing it with us, I'm not going to stop arguing that we do it smart-like, to maximize our chances of walking out of that place under our own power. Unless someone has a better idea--and by better I actually MEAN "better." Sell it to me. Whacha got??
"Urikel Zarl is gonnae take that box for his soul and then zap you with his evil life sucker touch or something! Ahh cannae expect he is use tae havin visitors!"
"Mantooth, you think a paladin walking into that tomb is going to be viewed as anything BUT an enemy?? C'mon, you're kidding, right?"
"I admit, I cannot envision a holy knight of Iomedae and a Lich ever being friends. We don't exactly have much in common. However, I am not foolish enough to try and provoke it. I would like to at least try to keep a neutral relationship where at least we will do him a good turn and agree to leave him alone for a while if he agrees to simply stay put and not cause any harm to the Elsir Vale!"
"As you say, give me the true phylactery... you can await my dying screams out here with Jorr."
"Listen everybody! Nobody should be dying and nobody should be staying outside on their own! My friends, we need to stick together in this task. I am certain that there will be many more foes to deal with before we even reach the lich. Jorr, you appear to know a great deal about the history of this man named Urikel Zarl. Even if you cannot fight, I expect you would have a good deal of information that could help us in our quest. What more can you tell us about him? Do you think there is any trace of humanity left in the creature?! Do you think that he might be content to be left alone if we hand over the phylactery? I mean, what do you think motivates a lich? Do you think that he would be seeking to rule this land the way the Wyrmlords and the Dragons of the Red Hand do?"
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Edvard, you are talking like a FOOL! What in this world makes you think that presenting him his phylactery in good faith will be met with good faith in kind?! As soon as he gets it back in his cold hands, HE WILL KILL YOU. This is a LICH!! And undead sorcerer wanting nothing but power. Tell us why you think your "plan" is going to work.
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And I'm not attempting to be clever. I'm attempting to be SMART. I'm trying to know my enemy.
"What more can you tell us about him? Do you think there is any trace of humanity left in the creature?!"
"I am sure he was once a human, but centuries later, I doubt that you will see much of that left. He was a great druid and a leader of nomads, but that was a long time ago. So long ago that it happened before the fall of Rhest. In fact, some historians blame the fall of Rhest on the warriors who came to this desert and killed the monarch lion of the tribe. However, whatever truth of the story, you can rest assured, Urikel Zarl did not become a lich and find immortality without giving up his soul."
"Do you think that he might be content to be left alone if we hand over the phylactery?"
"This is a fine question, Mantooth. I admit, we have not seen nor heard from him in all of my life time. Most people would not think of the Ghostlord as anything other than a story to frighten children. However, that being said, the Ghostlord is going to be very angry with whoever stole his phylactery and is likely to do absolutely anything to get it back, regardless of the cost."
"I mean, what do you think motivates a lich? Do you think that he would be seeking to rule this land the way the Wyrmlords and the Dragons of the Red Hand do?"
"I am far from an expert on Lich motives. However, from what I understand, a lich values his phylactery above all other things. I suspect he is going to highly motivated to bring revenge onto whoever took it from him in the first place."
Tirion who has been listening the entire time finally steps forward and speaks up:
We know little about this particular lich, the Ghostlord. What we know is that the Horde desired to keep the phylactery away from him. What we also know is that he has not mettled with the Vale in many years, possibly hundreds of years. Either he has not had this phylactery for centuries or it was stolen by someone related to the Horde. Either way, he will want it back at all costs.
I rather doubt that he will want to bargain, after all, other than the phylactery, what would a hundreds of years old undead lord want or need. What we do is we go in as a group. Tirion looks at Jorr. You can stay out here or join us, it is your choice, but we cannot be expected to protect you if the lich decides that he wants to take back his soul with force.
Once we are in, I would expect that we will find any number of traps and undead facing us. A lich will not simply let people walk into his home.
Tirion looks at Edvard: You are free to walk in by yourself, but I doubt you would find the Ghostlord. It is possible he is simply waiting in the first room, but I doubt that. More likely we will need Bofus' skills to find and disarm traps. We will need Thordak and Mantooth's blades to defeat any enemies, undead or otherwise. And we will need your and my arcane skills when blades and stealth fail to suffice.
Tirion then turns to Bofus: I think that attempting to trick this undead lord is likely to only result in a swift and painful response. If you give him one that is a mock-up, make sure that he knows that we have access to the real phylactery and will return it once we have his word that he will recall any undead headed toward Brindol, and, if possible, will direct the undead to attack the Horde before recalling them back here where he will be left in the peace he appears to crave.
After saying his piece, Tirion steps back and crosses his arms waiting for the others to respond.
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Edvard, let me make this clear, again. I am NOT proposing to present a falsehood, dammit!! You don't walk into a bargain--and you'd better believe this IS a bargain--and simply hand over all the leverage you have!! Here's how I see it going down.
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Assuming we find him, we give him or his minions one of the false p's, and the note from the horde we found with the real one. This immediately shows him that the Horde did it, and that we know about his real one. At that moment, he cannot kill us, period. At that moment, he HAS to listen to us.
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what you are proposing is, we find this lich, and hand him his p back. At that instant, THERE IS NO REASON FOR HIM NOT TO BLAST US TO CINDERS because he's angry at having lost it--it doesn't matter who took it. This is a thinking creature, but he's soulless and evil. It could well be that he'll then withdraw from the horde, in fact I find that very likely. But in a flash of anger he could obliterate us, and will feel no remorse for it.
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My proposal is, we will tell him the whole truth--just not at once. We keep our leverage until the end. No lies, simply leave out that we have it on our person, until we somehow secure his promise to leave the horde. That's all. No subterfuge, no lies, no falsehoods. Yes, being clever. And it's the correct course of action.
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And by the way, one of the reasons I don't trust you on this is because you haven't yet defended your position. I can't understand why you think your way is going to work. I've laid my plan out, and why it will work. And it will. We'll walk out of here if we do it my way. We *might* if we do it your way. Where should the smart money go??
...Ummmm...Ed?
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Ooooohhhh dear. *sigh* Perhaps he's found a different way to fight the Hand. I didn't much like the omen thingy of emptying the horseshoe, but I guess we'll have to make our own luck. It's unfortuante we won't have his firepower with us--the way to the lich won't be paved in candy!
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I suppose we should get started. But let's make sure we're agreed. The real p stays in the folding boat, inside a lead box. I have that--but if someone else thinks it should go elsewhere, say so. I also have an empty lead box. There are 2 fakes, complete with boxes. One of those also has the Hand note in it. When we see either the lich, or one of his liutenants (if we can determine that), we give htem the note, and show a fake, and proclaim we know where the real one is--and take it from there?
Tirion simply stands and watches as the witch flies away.
A strange man. I hope he returns to protecting the witchwood. It will need all the protecting it can get from the horde.
"Aye, he was a strange one, but I presume yae didnae have much choice. There are not many folk that wid enter the crypt of an evil lich. Ahh can see that yae are desperate tae find this lich and return his soul tae him. So now that he's given yae the unlucky horse shoe and fled, now what are yae gonnae dae?"
Was it somethin' Oi said? huh... Well! Oi guess we'd better get started...Aye Bofus, that sounds like a plan.
From a relatively safe distance, you look upon the Ghostlord's gigantic lion shaped crypt in awe. This ancient structure is surrounded by dozens of translucent lionlike shapes who simply fly and caper about around and through the great structure.
Bofus, From this distance this distance cannot ascertain the existence of any traps. However, you can all make out a worn stone path that leads between the great paws to a low stone ramp, which climbs up to an impressive archway in the lion's chest. Two basalt statues of skeletal lions stand facing each other on either side of that arch, as if passing judgment upon those who travel between them.
As you each approach, please give me coordinates for one round at a time and also kindly give me a perception check once every round. Consider the terrain to be difficult.
Tirion casts Mage Armor - lasts 7 hours.
He follows behind Bofus attempting to stay in the same path, but following slower.
Move to AH/-2
Perception:
"A strange man. I hope he returns to protecting the witchwood. It will need all the protecting it can get from the horde."
"One man cannot do anything against the horde! If we are to stop it, we must stand united. There is little that we can do alone. I fear the arguments between ourselves have driven him off. Let us hope that our numbers do not drop any further otherwise this task is certain to fail."
Mantooth follows Tirion, trying to step in his exact footsteps. He watches the translucent Lions and sees if he knows anything about them.
Knowledge, Religion
Perception
Thordak keeps his hand on his axe as they approach, ready to defend the party.
So far so good. You safely travel along behind Bofus in a single file line crossing the thorny terrain. You are approaching the ghostly lions, but they do not yet appear to notice you.
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Bofus flings up a hand in the universal "halt!" gesture behind him. He brings up the Eye of the Dragon to peer closely at some of the terrain . . .
Perception (Trapfinding) AG3:
Perception (Trapfinding) AG4:
Perception (Trapfinding) AH3:
Perception (Trapfinding) AH4:
Your assumption is correct. I don't have a weapon drawn yet.
Slowly, Bofus moves across the thorny landscape to avoid the pit trap.
I continue to follow about 10' behind Bofus, trying to stay in his exact footsteps.
Perception:
I also cast Detect Magic and use it to scan the area in front of Bofus for any magical traps or warnings. 60' range.
Bofus Beerswizzler continues the important job of leading his companions through a deadly area of hidden pit traps. Thus far you have successfully avoided falling into any of them.
As Bofus moves, Tirion suddenly whispers out to him:
Bofus, be careful. There appears to be a trap to your left.
Tirion is pointing at AD, AC, 6 & 7.
"This is quite exciting!!"
Just as you say such a thing, the sand begins to give away at the side of your feet and a large open pit trap is revealed to you on your left. The hole is dark and drops a good ways down.
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Ref: <--if this doesn't succeed, we'd all better give up!!
Tirion's warning comes exactly at the right time--Bofus' next step simply moves slightly to his right as the unforgiving sand shifts into the hungry pit.
Bofus is visibly surprised by this turn of events. Well. I can't believe I missed that! The Ghostlord has just gone up a couple of notches on my respect meter. No more kidding around, eh??
With a shake of his head, Bofus continues scanning ahead for traps.
Moving diagonally via AF7-AG8-AG9-AG10
perception:
Tirion whispers forward: Bofus, you want to tie off to a rope and let the big boys keeps you from falling too far? Or I can give you the ability to fly, although I have a limited amount of this that can be done.