"What nonsense are you speaking of Grigore? I speak of my telling our mages to deal with the floating fiends, not anything else. If they had or instead focused their fell magicks on the horned one and not the damnded portal perhaps he wouldn't have gotten away."
"What nonsense are you speaking of Grigore? I speak of my telling our mages to deal with the floating fiends, not anything else. If they had or instead focused their fell magicks on the horned one and not the damnded portal perhaps he wouldn't have gotten away."
"Perhaps if you didn't whine so much he wouldn't have gotten away. I guess we'll never know, so best to drop the subject." Vesta says casually and demurely over one shoulder as she gets patched up. She then flutters here eyebrows very obviously coyly.
"Did you actually contribute anything useful to this battle? No, I didn't think so. Maybe next time you could, oh I don't know choose a spell or two that actually did something as opposed to fizzle uselessly."
The lacridaemon, after seeing it's compatriots depart, attempts to end it's own life by slitting it's throat. But the intervention of Ignac means that it is unable to act upon that impulse.
The piece of robe that fell to the ground has a pocket on it, which contains a small dogeared leather bound notebook.
You hear sounds coming from the upper tunnels suggesting that more of the Shadow Claw's forces are en-route.
Muttering imprecations, Gabriel erupts from the pit like a spider escaping from a drain pipe just as a downpour is beginning.
There is the body of one of the floating daemons down in that pit, which did not get the chance to use its 'escape gem'. We should probably retrieve that. I would have done it myself, but I did not have a spare hand...
"Your anger is delicious." Vesta says to Gathroc.
Vesta will dismiss her pit and telekinesis the body Gabe was playing with out of the pit
Vesta retrieves the body of the venedaemon from the acid filled pit and places it on the ground above...
Item save:
...and rifling through it's smouldering robe you find that the soul gem has survived the predations of the acid.
I foresee Gabriel keeping a 'wardrobe' of hands, bringing out the right one for the job :-)
The stone appears to have been pre-set to a targeted location, so to crush it in your mouth is to expunge it's power.
Once Daemon and the others confer, and work out the arcane threads which bind the gem together, Gabriel asks:
Can you identify the extraction location? It would be useful to know from whence they came... We may even have to pay them a visit...
Vesta toys with the gem for a moment, obviously unsure of her ability.
SPellcraft
Vesta is able to determine that the range of the teleport is relatively short, only a few tens of miles and the general direction - West. Based on your knowledge of the area you'd guess it is to a quiet and empty area just outside Mechitar's surrounds.
"Vesta, if your unable to carry your weight in these upcoming battles, I see no reason for you to continue working with us. Same for you Daemon, though at least the Lich can provide healing." He hands the book to Daemon, "This was on the horned fiend, any chance you know what that was out of curiosity?"
"Vesta, if your unable to carry your weight in these upcoming battles, I see no reason for you to continue working with us. Same for you Daemon, though at least the Lich can provide healing." He hands the book to Daemon, "This was on the horned fiend, any chance you know what that was out of curiosity?"
"If I hadn't been at the last one you wouldnt have gotten through the front door, oh ye powerful fighter type. Also, I don't recall my presence being your decision. It's the decision of our benefactor. Though if you would like to discuss it with him I would be more than happy to accompany you when you tell him to his face he made a stupid decision. Unless you want to do that I recommend you adjust your panty line, because it's obviously riding up and causing you all kinds of discomfort for you to be acting like such a little irritable princess. Once you do that we can proceed with the mission at hand. To that regard, the gem most likely leads to teh quiet area outside Mechinar to the west. I'm ready to take you all their whenever you're ready."
Knowledge(Planes)
Knowledge(Arcana)
Knowledge(Arcana)
Knowledge(Religion)
"Yes, yes belittle us and then hand off the work that requires actual knowledge to us, have no fear, we are not helpless and will hold our own."
Knowledge(Planes) 1d20+10
Knowledge(Arcana) 1d20+19
Knowledge(Arcana) 1d20+19
Knowledge(Religion) 1d20+18"Yes, yes belittle us and then hand off the work that requires actual knowledge to us, have no fear, we are not helpless and will hold our own."
"But he's so strong. Surely he can translocate and otherwise move mountains." Vesta says sardonically to Daemon in "defense" of Gathroc.
Looking to Gathroc, "Look, slim. We all have our purposes. Yours is to swing that weapon, which you do reallly well. Daemon is the brains and I am the charm. That's our purposes. SO perhaps we could act like civilized adults and forget the comments of hte last few minutes. Except of course the part where I told you where the gem went. Fair enough?" Vesta smiles inhumanely widely.
Bluff ;-)
Daemon believes that the horned daemon was a Thanadaemon, one which plies the barriers between Abbadon and the prime. They are able to take passengers on their skiff as they pass between. But he is unable to wrest any more information from the stone without using it.
The book is a non-magical ledger of sorts, though many of the first pages are blacked out. Halfway through the book you find an entry that reads the Crown, Transport and retrieval, Locus will be placed, Payment not contingent and below it lies two spots of dried blood.
Gabriel scuttles over to Gathroc.
If you would like to track the Thanadaemon, before you clean that blade, allow me to retrieve a few drops, so that I can 'attune' to him...
"I have somewhat of an idea regarding this teleport stone that we have found. I have Divination prepared today, it will take me 10 min to cast it but I would be able to tell if using the stone would cause us to teleport into danger. From there either one person could use it and Vesta could transport the rest to the person who used it or if it is capable we could all use it to go to the end point. Once there we can investigate and see if there are any clues there." Suddenly turning to Ignac, Ignac, hurry and finish subduing your opponent there may be another of these gems on it, or something else useful."
He's subdued. He's not going anywhere. Do you want him subdued, or do you want him dead?
Grapple check to maintain grapple:
"It would be preferable if we did not have to leave you behind grappling him while we went on our merry way to investigate. Anyone have shackles?"
Gathroc lets Vesta stupidity lie for now "You are lucky there are more pressing matters Ghost, otherwise I would kill on the spot." He knows it wouldn't last, but it would prove his point.
Regarding the conversation about the stone "I believe some of the others who are in the employ of the Shadow Claw are on the way. Let us wait for their arrival and they can deal with the remaining fiend. Perhaps our benefactor has some way to force information from it"
Gathroc lets Vesta stupidity lie for now "You are lucky there are more pressing matters Ghost, otherwise I would kill on the spot." He knows it wouldn't last, but it would prove his point.
Regarding the conversation about the stone "I believe some of the others who are in the employ of the Shadow Claw are on the way. Let us wait for their arrival and they can deal with the remaining fiend. Perhaps our benefactor has some way to force information from it"
Vesta expressively rolls here eyes, exacerbated, but otherwise says nothing.
The immediate responders to the scene are more skeletal warriors, though soon after a wraith passes through the floor and into the chamber as the pits within the room start to disappear. The wraith orders a couple of the skeletons to hold the remaining lacridaemon down, freeing Ignac from that role. The daemon continues to meekly struggle, but is easily held. Searching it you find no escape gem, though that is hardly surprising given that lacridaemons are far below the line of worth in daemonkind where creatures cease being expendable.
Daemon studies the stone further and can confirm that it is able to transport a single person only.
If the stone is single-target only as you propose, Daemon, then why not just use the portable hole as we have before?
"I suppose that could work, though it would be up to Vesta as it is her portable hole."
"I suppose that could work, though it would be up to Vesta as it is her portable hole."
"Oh yea!" Vesta says remembering that she's the one with the portable hole. As she pulls it out of her pocket and flips it onto the ground where it lands fully open. (telikinesis)
"Would someone care to explain what you all mean by 'use the portable hole'? I know what they do, yes, but...surely you are not suggesting that we all simply jump in and travel in the pocket of the ghost. We will all be destroyed!" Grigore huffs and sits in the air, arms crossed angrily. For all their worth, he still did not want to be cooped up in a sack with the rotting warriors.
How would we be destroyed? We've used this method before. Nothing unsavory has come of it yet.
i am mercurial. Perhaps he thinks I'll get bored of all you and pitch the thing into a volcano. vesta jibes.
The vampire rips his pouch off of his belt, tossing it at Ignac. Grigore takes a deep breath and puts his hand on his head, lounging back and visibly calming down.
"This bag will open a rift to a plane that we do not wish to enter, should it enter Miss Vesta's Portable Hole. If you are determined in that we travel in this way, I will have to leave it here. I'd rather not be caught without coin, but we will not be gone for long."
He sighs and floats back down to the ground next to Ignac, holding out his hand expectantly.