** spoiler omitted **
Actually, that's not correct.
Paul has plenty of knowledge of Planar Creatures. I just didn't put a rank in the skill Knowledge; Planes.
But obviously I know about those types of creatures, and so would anyone in our group. Just like I didn't put ranks into Knowledge: Arcana and I'm not a spell caster, but I still know what a Light Spell is; and I also know what a Magic Missal is, and a Cure Moderate Wounds Spell is; and I even know what a resurrection spell is, even if I haven't seen someone use one in game, but he would have heard of someone using the spell in his life; even if he doesn't know about the basics of the spell.
But yeah - Paul has knowledge of Planar Creature and summoned creatures; Alar is at least a planar creature, and he knows him at least.
But he has plenty of other knowledge, then just skill ranks.
He has a 14 Intelligence, and he's level 5; he has obviously heard of Planar Creatures at this point in his life experience and has seen summoned creatures in battles because you can summon creatures on level 1 and he's level 5.
So yes, he's seen Summoned Creatures, he knows what they are. And though he may not know their names or their specific powers; he is aware of them and knows about them.
Paul looks at the marks.
"Made by a humanoid hand; spread too wide for most human folk... Likely something with claws... Maybe a lycan... But I'm still putting odds on a summoned creature - especially given the nature of the cult," he says to the group.
Bartholomew had been staring at the corpses. He had seen the bodies earlier, but this was a little different. These bodies were definitely newer, which meant they had probably died here. Death was admittedly something Bart was familiar with, but still... The young lad found himself heavily distracted by its presence, so much so that he completely missed Ayreth's follow up question to his words. A good thing too, he wouldn't have wanted to lie to her. It was the Doctor's more firm second invitation that snapped him out of it. "Sorry... somethin in my eye..."
Bart raises a finger, asking for a moment, and grabs a pebble off the cave floor, that infuses it with light. Unlike a normal, simple light spell, Bart's was a bit more flashy. Several small motes of light surrounded the pebble, burning much like the stars that his other spells called. He tosses the stone to Paul, then walks over to the Doctor's side and looks at the wand. He takes a deep breath, then opens his eyes and his mind to the magical energies surrounding the wand. "Okay... Okay, I can see the magic. What should I do now?
"Okay... Okay, I can see the magic. What should I do now?
Paul's eyes are flat. He holds up the daggers -
"First things first - maybe figure out what's magic in the gods... in the, the room," he says with a tight voice.
He glances around.
"Then after you try that, then try to identify what type of magic it is... Hell, kid, I ain't a damn caster, but I've seen caster's do that kind of stuff all my life... it can't be that difficult," he adds.
While he waits for someone to identify stuff, he walks over to the barrels and flings things aside and looks inside to see what's there.
Gii follows suit with his own magic. "Now, you focus your magics into the item. You must peel away the corporeal, and look to the magics that flow through everything," he says, holding the wand up for Bart to see. "Once you peel back the veil, you can determine the kind of magics that have been contained in it, and from that, you can tell what it is." He looks to Bart, to see if he understands.
Bartholomew takes a breath and looks at the dagger, as requested, but it doesn't take him more then a moment to shake his head. Then he turns his eyes to the wand that Gii was holding and studies it. He listens to the mans words and feels this small barrier in his mind, keeping him from discerning things. It was hard to focus once he noticed it, and he spent several long moments simply staring at the wand. And then, slowly, it began to coalesce. "I... think... I think I see it!"
Excited, Bart turns his attention to the last Dagger, eager to see if he could do it a second time.
A split second after Paul flings the sack from the barrels a log studded with spikes swings down from the ceiling smashing through the area and coming to rest as it strikes the opposide side of the room.
"Good. Good. With practice, you will become better at understanding exactl-" Gii is cut off as the giant spiked log slams into the party. Tumbling head over feet from the impact, he lands on his back, wounded.
Spells Prepared:
1 - divine favor (1/1), obscuring mist (1/1), shield [D] (1/1), summon monster I (1/1)
2 - barkskin [D] (1/1, remove paralysis (1/1), summon monster II (1/1)
3 - dispel magic [D] (1/1), prayer (0/1)
Bart and Alar are several feet apart when the log slams into their sides. Alar was keeping watch around the cave, and Bart was listening intently to the good doctor who was instructing him on matters of magic he had never been able to practice before. Alar takes it and gets slammed into the ground, his magical armor of force protecting him no more then the naturally thick hide he had. Bart was even less likely to be able to take the blow and he goes flying, easily the lightest of the group, and ends up slamming into one of the cave walls before collapsing to the ground, his body aching.
** spoiler omitted **
A split second after Paul flings the sack from the barrels a log studded with spikes swings down from the ceiling smashing through the area and coming to rest as it strikes the opposide side of the room.
** spoiler omitted **
Paul feels the spikes in his flesh.
His eyes are flat.
"How the hell did someone get a gods damn, sodding, poxing log in this gods damned cave which was somehow big enough to cover the entire wall of the cave and then have it tied to the rock ceiling of the cave, and not one person was able to notice the gods-damned log hanging from solid rock when we all looked around this poxing cave," he spits out.
"We searched this cave plenty to see the ceiling and the walls easy! So how the hell is possible that not any of us in this gods damned crew couldn't see a gods damn log that stretches the length of the gods-damned room hanging from the rock ceiling!"
Because Paul has experience with Traps and Trapfinding, the riddle should be obvious to him.
He is going to study the trap and figure out what caused it; what specific type of trap it was.
But given the epic damage that the trap was able to do and able to inflict, he is considering leaving the cave. He himself is not prepared for the level of difficulty that such a cave apparently is filled with.
That single, stupid trap that was somehow connected to some barrels with a blankets on it could have killed have the party with one hit.
Paul looks at the trap; rage is in his eyes at this point.
"What the hell is it! I know every trap in the gods damned book; I never heard of this crap," he says, muted fury in his voice over his blunder.
Paul is very aware that that the damage that this trap could have done might have killed Yuki outright; if not others. He had searched the room when he got here - he didn't find it; he couldn't find a huge log hanging from the ceiling connected to a pile of barrels with his earlier search.
He looks at his companions.
"It's my fault; mine alone," he says to them his voice eerily calm.
"We searched the room; Alar and me - I searched it when I got in. I should have seen it when I got here; it should have been obvious to me. I searched the gods damned room and failed." he says.
"You're all nearly dead because my earlier search failed. You all could have been killed because when I searched this room before, somehow I missed this trap."
"I screwed up - it's my fault, and I think I'm out of my league and over my head with this whole deal."
"I'm sorry," he says to them.
Gii slowly lifts himself off the ground, carefully nursing his wounds. "Great Nethys, that hurt. Is everyone okay?"
Once he manages to stand, Gii hefts his holy symbol into the air. "Hold still," he commands. A bright white light emanates from it, causing everyone's woulds to knit back together.
Spells Prepared:
1 - divine favor (1/1), obscuring mist (1/1), shield [D] (1/1), summon monster I (1/1)
2 - barkskin [D] (1/1, remove paralysis (1/1), summon monster II (1/1)
3 - dispel magic [D] (1/1), prayer (0/1)
Once he manages to stand, Gii hefts his holy symbol into the air. "Hold still," he commands. A bright white light emanates from it, causing everyone's woulds to knit back together.
Paul feels the rush of healing, but it only makes him feel worse.
He looks into Gii's eyes.
"I'm sorry, doc - I swear to gods! When I came into this gods damned cave I searched it - I swear to you I searched this bloody cave! Hell, the cave ain't big enough to hide that kind of a trap that big. I mean, it's not bloody possible," he says with a growl, then spits at the log trap.
"The only thing I can think of is that it was a magic spell - there ain't no logical way!"
"I searched the gods damned cave, I'm telling you! And I know poxing traps! I normally got this six-sense around traps - when I get near 'em normally I can kind of "sense" it..." he looks at the others, shaking his head, disgusted at what had happened and worse - disgusted at failing his friends.
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As Bart and Gii examine the items, Ayreth contemplates the connections that are already becoming obvious. Something falls from the heavens; we are called here despite Dalviss' assurance that he sent no specifically-addressed letters; Bart has a companion made of stars and shadows; I get my powers from the stars; a cult is present that worships the void between stars.
Before Ayreth can draw any conclusions, she hears a click and a woosh. She barely begins to turn when she is sent hurtling against the cave wall. Hitting it hard, she is stunned by the impact and slides down to the floor. It takes her several moments to recover and begin putting the pieces together regarding what happened.
"How the hell did someone get a gods damn, sodding, poxing log in this gods damned cave which was somehow big enough to cover the entire wall of the cave and then have it tied to the rock ceiling of the cave, and not one person was able to notice the gods-damned log hanging from solid rock when we all looked around this poxing cave," he spits out.
"We searched this cave plenty to see the ceiling and the walls easy! So how the hell is possible that not any of us in this gods damned crew couldn't see a gods damn log that stretches the length of the gods-damned room hanging from the rock ceiling!"
Paul's rant prompts Ayreth to begin laughing almost hysterically. She tries to say something in-between the bouts of laughter."I remember...Old Man...Samson...telling me..." She takes a few deep breaths and gets her breathing under control. "...telling me: The second rule of adventuring is 'Always check for traps!'"
As Ayreth recovers while sitting on the floor of the cave, back against the wall, her eyes meet those of the blue-haired warrior. Somehow, each just knows what the other is thinking, and a leftover giggle escapes Ayreth.
The Nethian sighs heavily. "Save your apologies. We are," Gii coughs into his hand, "mostly in one piece. Just be more thorough in the future. And refrain from touching things." The frustration in the heavily-dressed man's tone is clear, but it is not accusatory. He pats the other man on the shoulder, and then moves to pick up the wand again.
"I remember...Old Man...Samson...telling me..." She takes a few deep breaths and gets her breathing under control. "...telling me: The second rule of adventuring is 'Always check for traps!'"
Paul looks at the blood soaked robes which cling to her shapely figure.
He shakes his head; angry at failing.
"Yeah - I know that. I searched the room and I failed. I searched it but my efforts weren't enough. I screwed up and everyone in this gods damned room almost got killed on account of my failure," he says.
"Look, it's my fault; I got it."
He ignores the blood on his own clothes and stuffs the pair of masterwork daggers in his belt.
"I'm sorry," he says again, guilt at failing his friends sick on his face.
Yuki dustwd herself off. Dust and dirt and everything all over her. Glad she wasnt in her fur coat at this point in time
"Well, that was exciting! Painful but exciting" she gives a smile
"Noone died, we didnt get robbed, still mostly in one piece. We are but mortal. Mistakes happen. Now. If i were the one to have failed to spot the trap, would you have accepted my apology.? Things happen, people get hurt. Move on and forward and try to make the world a better place despite your mistakes" she gives him a toothy grin
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Save your apologies. We are," Gii coughs into his hand, "mostly in one piece. Just be more thorough in the future. And refrain from touching things."
Paul nods.
"Aye... I got it," he says with a nod.
"Alright; that said - maybe we ought to put the fox-girl on point instead of Alar?"
"She's likely to be better at searching for traps than I am, and possibly even a better scout than Alar."
"We put her maybe ten feet in front on point then there's a good chance that if she spots any traps she can let us know in plenty of time. What do ya'll think?" he asks the others.
He adjusts his hat around his head and slings his musket - still loaded with the magical shot - over his shoulder.
He glances back at the dead bodies.
"Those two were lads cut up by something with claws - humanoid in nature... But I don't figure it was goblins or anything like that - whatever killed them left their weapons... Goblins aren't that stupid," he says.
"I figure it was something with claws that came to fight and kill; not an animal because they ain't eaten... but something to kill them with a purpose..."
He looks at the trap, pondering it thoughtfully.
He turns back and examines the seven companions, strung out over a distance of thirty-five feet. At least no one had said that they were clustered together - that much was obvious.
He looks back at the mouth of the cave, his eyes even more thoughtful, then looks back the tree again.
He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
"This place is worth exploring..." he says, than glances at Gii.
"Oye - Gii... you said that those lads worship a dark god right?" he says slowly "and they been dead for about two days.... and the girl's been gone for about two days..."
He rubs his chin.
"She's a lass who goes out into the wild for herbs and other things for the pot to cook..." he says slowly.
He glances at his companions thoughtfully.
"Maybe she ain't just a cook? Maybe she's a priestess... Or," he says, his eyes widening "maybe like a witch - or more likely a druid..."
He looks at his mates, getting a bit excited.
"Now hear me out... Druids and rangers and scouts do work together - part of the business... Rangers can make traps alright; so can scouts and I'd bet maybe a druid may have picked up a trick like that - maybe, too a witch..."
"Now what if was a druid? Well we all know that druids can call on allies of nature to help 'em in a fight, right?"
He glances at the dead men.
"Let's say you're a druid girl and you come to this cave to gather herbs and check on your turf... Let's say you see two scumbags who worship some cult to a monster that is all about darkness... Let's say you don't like those scumbags coming onto your turf and preaching crap about their dark god..."
"Let's say you didn't remember much on spells that day but things that'd help you in the wild - healing, pathfinding - that sort of stuff..."
"Let's say you see these two jokers hanging out in your cave and they get nasty - so what do you do? Well, maybe you drop back ten and shoot... I mean - you know; you call up some back-up to lend a hand - you call an ally of Nature to back you in a fight..."
"Now from what I remember seeing, those type of Allies can be like any other regular animal type; not magical stuff, generally... but when they come they fight on your say-so; that includes ripping into a guy's chest and tearing him up but not eating him..."
"So maybe you call on something nasty from the wild - like a wolf - or hell... maybe a gods damned wolverine!" he says, his voice getting excited.
"So that things pops out of nowhere, right? And suddenly it rips these basterds to shreds... Next thing you know, they're dead, so you send the beast home to wherever you called it..."
"But now you know you got at least two basterds trespassing on your turf - you don't go back home to report it until you check the rest of your turf - make sure it's all clean and safe... So you figure you got to head on in to see what's what..."
"Anyone else might think that's stupid, but a druid's got priorities that ain't the same - like looking after her turf... Meantime, as for the bodies? Hell, you don't bother with the daggers on account of the fact that that kind of crap isn't your bag - you know; a lot of druids don't like metal for some reason..."
"So you leave the bodies where the lie - you know; it's natural to let the wild take care of the dead... and you push on to see what's up..." he says slowly, a small smile on his face.
He rubs his chin again.
"You may have stuck around to set up the trap, too.. And you may have put it with barrels... Maybe you'd do that because no animal coming into this cave would waste time with barrels - nothing would go after barrels, I reckon, unless it was manfolk, maybe - and if manfolk died messing with barrels... well, they shouldn't be on your turf anyway, right? But anyhow, that's all just a hunch..."
"Anyhow, you headed deeper in to look around for trouble... But maybe there were more boys in the cave and things got nasty... You beat 'em down but maybe got made prisoner..." he adds.
He nods to himself.
"And if you were a druid in the wild you may have told your wild buddies - like them giant frogs - that if any other 'manfolk' come trespassing around here looking for trouble - maybe you told your frog buddies to shoot first and ask questions later..." he adds.
Then he shrugs.
"Eh - but what the hell do I know? That's all just guesswork..." he says with a shrug.
He shakes his head.
"Alright - we ready to go? And who's on point?" he asks the others, his musket ready in his hands.
"If i were the one to have failed to spot the trap, would you have accepted my apology.? Things happen, people get hurt. Move on and forward and try to make the world a better place despite your mistakes"
Paul looks at her.
"Saying 'sorry' means that you know you did something bad or stupid; you know it, and you're basically telling folk that not only will you do your damnedest to make sure it don't happen again, but you'll do what you can to make sure that anything you screwed up gets fixed right," he says her.
"If you told me you screwed up and were sorry, and that you don't plan on doing it again, and that you promise to do what it takes to make things proper - of course we'd be square," he says looking at her.
"Of course, that's if you were being true with an apology," he adds, glancing away for a bit.
After a moment he looks at her.
"You taking point or rear-guard? I'm walking behind Blue Heron, I think, and she's behind Alar," he says to her as the others start falling in.
"No one can promise they wont make the same mistake again though" she shrugs
Then at the front then at the back
"I'll take point, but dont expect miracles. I can only do so much. But i will try"
she smiles
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"Maybe she ain't just a cook? Maybe she's a priestess... Or," he says, his eyes widening "maybe like a witch - or more likely a druid..."
Ayreth visibly tenses at the word "witch". The tension leaves her as he continues.
She waits for Paul to finish with his hypothesis. "It is a possibility, though it depends on a lot of 'maybes', 'if'ns', and 'reckons'." she says with a smile. "I once told a fortune for this fellow named Ockham, possibly the smartest half-orc I ever met. I know that usually does not say much, but I swear, he was outright well-spoken. Anyways, we became friends and I remember him telling me something that might apply here. 'Bunny', he said... he called me Bunny, don't ask. 'Bunny, the less assumptions you make, the less you have to be wrong about'. I'm telling you, he was smart as can be. Do you think that might apply here? Death and injury from long gash wounds?" Then she points to the log studded with spikes.
After Paul's and Yuki's exchange, she asks, "So, was there anything in the barrels? It seemed like we were a bit distracted after you uncovered them."
She waits for Paul to finish with his hypothesis. "'Bunny, the less assumptions you make, the less you have to be wrong about'. I'm telling you, he was smart as can be. Do you think that might apply here? Death and injury from long gash wounds?" Then she points to the log studded with spikes.
Paul looks at her; his eyes widening somewhat as he pictures her as a little rabbit. He shakes his head, as if to clear it from some thought, but he says nothing else until she's done.
"Maybe you're right..." he says with a shrug.
"Sometimes I get excited and I like to make guesses and tell tales; it actually makes me happy... Hell, I should have been a bard with all the tales I like to tell, I reckon... Oh well, bad luck," he says, as if recalling something.
"Anyway, no worries; I got it."
After Paul's and Yuki's exchange, she asks, "So, was there anything in the barrels? It seemed like we were a bit distracted after you uncovered them."
"Don't think so..." he says with a shrug.
"I looked in the barrels.. if there was stuff, I would have seen it - but I didn't see nothing; but I reckon I can look again," he says.
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Paul looks at her; his eyes widening somewhat as he pictures her as a little rabbit. He shakes his head, as if to clear it from some thought, but he says nothing else until she's done.
"Maybe you're right..." he says with a shrug.
"Sometimes I get excited and I like to make guesses and tell tales; it actually makes me happy... Hell, I should have been a bard with all the tales I like to tell, I reckon... Oh well, bad luck," he says, as if recalling something.
"Anyway, no worries; I got it."
"It does not mean that your idea has no merit. Even if the trap did end these men's lives, someone reset the trap."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Gii checks the barrels while Paul theorizes. "Whatever the case," he suggests, "we must be careful if we are to continue on. This place is obviously more dangerous than we expected. I would hope that miss Leeara has good intentions, but we must be prepared."
He turns to Ayreth at her question. "I don't believe so, no. The bodies would have been crushed more if the log had done them in, and they probably would not have been left there," he says, motioning to them with his staff.
Blue Heron lays a hand on Paul's shoulder. "You searched for traps. We all know you did. The merit of an action is independent of its success. This failure was no great crime."
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He turns to Ayreth at her question. "I don't believe so, no. The bodies would have been crushed more if the log had done them in, and they probably would not have been left there," he says, motioning to them with his staff.
"We have eliminated one possibility. I suppose that is progress. Thank you for checking, Doctor Gii."
"Ow." Is all Bart really had to add to the conversation. That -hurt-. That hurt a lot. He was used to pain, so it didn't take him more then a couple moments to push himself to his feet, but it wasn't until after the wave of magic swept over the lot of them that Bart was able to stand straight and tall. He failed to realize that his hat had been knocked free by the log, and for all to see there was a Magical, glowing Mark on his forehead that matched on one Alar's head perfectly. Alar was already at his side, his expression worried and his thoughts concerned, providing a perfect chance for people to see both marks. Glowing stars in a circle, appearing to be a very small piece of a star chart held in a circle.
Bart knew that if the Lion had his way, the lad would have stayed back in that town, but Bart also knew he wasn't as useless as he seemed. He reaches out and touches the Lion with his hand. He pulls shadows from the nearby corner, sucking them into the lion's dark, ethereal form.
The shadows coalesece around Alar, and then begin filling in the gaps in the creatures form that the log seemed to have chipped away at. By the time Bart is done a few seconds later, the Lion looks almost whole, to the point where there's only a single dent in the creatures magical force armor. Bart smiles at Alar and hugs the Lion gently, then says, 'Don't go at Paul. Not his fault someone hid a trap that well.'
Alar grumbled in Bart's mind but the kid only laughed and shook his head, as if he were hearing a part of the conversation that no one else could hear. He walks over to Doctor Gii and the others and points at them all, casting a quick spell to keep them linked up. He had done it several times already, but was insistence on doing so. Communication in a group was important. Even the fictional stories about heroes had something about that. Then he says, "No one but the one who set the trap is at fault. I think the better question, rather then worryin about how ya missed a trap designed ta be sneaky, is who set it. Ain't the guys who are dead. Might it be the ones that killed em? And why are these Brotherhood's here in the cooks cave in the first place? Too many questions and none of em are gonna have good answers, I think..."
Bart turns to Doctor Gii and says, "Thanks for showing me how ta look at the wand, by the way. Maybe you ain't so Stuffy. Got anythin better I can call ya?"
Bart reaches up to fix the hat that wasn't on the head out of habit, and when he realized it wasn't there, he got a look of panic. In a moment he was rushing back to the wall where he had been knocked against it and grabbing his hat. Another had him putting it on his head tightly, once more blocking from view the mark. He strolled back on over, muttering to himself for a moment before looking at the rest expectantly, waiting for answers to his questions or other ideas as if nothing strange had just happened.
Bart- Hp 30/39, 2/day 1st level spells, Re-activating Message, Healing Alar
Alar- Hp 46/49, AC 27
"'Gii' will suffice," he says, noticing the similar markings on both Bart and the lion, but choosing not to say anything about it. "James, was it?"
Bart tilts his head to the side, then looks over to Alar for a moment. Nothing suspicious about that at all. "Yeah, James is good for now." He adjusts his hat again, disliking the lie this time. He reasoned that if he hung around them long enough they'd learn the truth eventually but until then...
"No one but the one who set the trap is at fault. I think the better question, rather then worryin about how ya missed a trap designed ta be sneaky, is who set it. Ain't the guys who are dead. Might it be the ones that killed em? And why are these Brotherhood's here in the cooks cave in the first place? Too many questions and none of em are gonna have good answers, I think..."...
Paul glances at Bart.
"Look - it were a tree big enough to have hit folks strung out over thirty feet, that's pretty long... Meantime, there ain't too many big trees just outside the cave; just reeds and marsh for a bit."
"So that means that someone left the cave, swam across a river, walked at least fifty of sixty feet to the swamp - then they found a tree in the swamp that was that big, cut it down, hauled it all the way back to the river, eased it across the river, forced it into the cave, mounted it up on the side of a wall and connected it to the sacks on the barrels."
"That tells me it was made by someone who really, really wanted their stuff protected, because something like that takes a long time to get set up; more than a day at least... So maybe they set stuff up in the time that the cook was back at town... Like in the last two weeks... Then maybe she came back a few days ago and found all of this here..." he says.
He glances at Bart.
"Whoever put that damn trap there took a hell of a lot of time to make it... It could have been the girl, but as of now I doubt it," he says, scratching his chin.
"She's a local girl; she knows the swamps - and she's a bloody cook, besides!"
"The way I see it, no cook, no local, and no swamprat would be dumb enough to leave bulk foodstuffs - especially grain - just inside the opening to a cave that borders a river... The damp from the river would rot the grain and then there'd be bugs, maggots and rodents coming for it..."
He shakes his head.
"Nah, I figure a local and a cook would know that much... I'm betting the basterds that got killed there put the trap to guard the food... They're outsiders; they may be dumb enough to store food that way..."
"But they got killed; I don't figure it was the trap, though..."
"I'm betting there's more stuff deeper in the cave that belong to these inked boys that the girl may have got mixed up in - that said, ya'll want to get going and check out the rest of this cave?"
** spoiler omitted **
Paul picks up the stuff in the sacks and examines it, especially the gems.
Blue Heron begins guiding them deeper into the cave.