Doom Comes to Dustpawn

Game Master shrodingerscat

Linndell's Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Linndell's Fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Blue's Fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Bart stares in awe at the ship they were looking at, or what he presumed to be the ship. It takes him several moments to realize someone had asked what they said. "I... uh... I don't have enough experience to translate it. It was a name though, I think. Someones... Glory?"

He shrugs his shoulders awkwardly, making no bones about the fact that he had learned a good chunk of a language in couple hours. After frowning for a moment down at the ship and the woman nearing it, Bart walks over to Blue and then Alar, casting a protective spell on both. This time the celestial armor that surrounds Alar does so with Blue as well, and though it fades from sight around blues form, maintaining an invisible protective presence, Alar continues to look like a Lion born of the stars, now with armor similarly fashioned.

Then, with a hop, the lad was rushing down the hill, Alar running along side him, to join the batwoman. "Des... re dey et vas do?

The bat-elf woman continued to walk towards the site, looking up into the sky at the circling vultures and flaring her large nostrils. Her pace slowed some as Bart and Alar caught up to her, but she did not stray. She seemed to be walking pointedly towards the fissure in the object.

Without looking at the curious boy, she replied,

The Bat-elf-woman continues to move towards the wreck, and is now 200 feet from it.

Bartholomew wondered if maybe her broken mind was making it harder to learn the language. It would make sense. She spoke in broken sentences so he was learning to. Thankfully he could adapt, but it'd still take time. "Jee... Jes re don ro nes, vetra nas? Met ve destara?"

While Bart speaks, Alar keeps an eye out, his attention on their surroundings as much as on the batwoman his ward was speaking too. Dangers had a tendency to spring up around people dealing with dark gods, even their enemies.

Perception: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (20) + 19 = 39

Ayreth is transfixed at the incredible image in front of them. She suddenly starts, finally breaking her concentration. "Should she be doing that?," Ayreth wonders aloud before she moves forward to catch up to the strange woman. As she does, she looks for anything out of the ordinary, including tracks and casts Guidance on herself.

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Sense Motive: Batgirl: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

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No change, just including it every now and then.

Linndell gets to about 150 feet from the crash and watches the vultures.

Ayreth continues to follow after the girl. Her gaze cycles between the girl, the vultures, and the crack in the side of the ship.

Linndell heads back to the party and relays the info about the vultures.

There is something about those birds. I can't put my finger on it....

I really hope getting close to the ship doesn't make our hair and teeth fall out!

As they walk towards the crashed vessel, Blue internally recites prayers to enlightened spirits who have gone before as her hands flash in various mudra.

All the while she keeps a careful watch on the ship and what surrounds it.

Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34

"Fear is the first killer. We need to enter the ship and conquer that gnawing beast."

Gii nods. "It does not appear overly dangerous... no more than any other strange place we've been in the last few days, at least," the Nethian states. "But let us be cautious. No one ever died from being careful."

@Blue: How close are you getting to the wrecked ship?

For everyone, if you plan on drawing ever-closer with caution (and maybe some semblance of not being seen/heard), I will need stealth checks, please.

And wow, look at all those nat 20's on perception ... let's hope the dice gods don't turn fickle anytime soon. ;)

Stealth: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1 CLANK CLANK CLANK.

From the top of the crack, one of the giant vultures turns its large head in Gii's direction and menacingly stares at him. But for now does not move or attempt any other gesture.

Stealth: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Another of the giant vultures turns its large head, this time toward the direction of Ayreth and stares, hard and long. It does not move at this time and it seems to be watching her.

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The elf-bat-woman sniffed at the air and raised her wing to shade her eyes as she stared toward the wreck in the distance and the committee of vultures.

In a sing-song voice, in her strange tongue, she began to croon,

Even with her soft-sing-song voice on the wind, she does not draw the attention of any of the vultures.

I don't think those vultures are going away anytime soon. I hope wew don't have to fight our way through them. It might get messy. I can try to take out a few with my bow, but they would still outnumber us greatly. Anyone have any ideas?

"The fight against evil is often messy. Those plumes coming from the crystals don't look healthy. Avoid them if you can."

Blue Heron is approaching the ship warily, but she is making no great show of stealth.

Ayreth nods in acknowledgement of Blue Heron's warning and continues to stay close to the girl.

Botting Bart briefly

Bart relays the message as best as he can to the others regarding the elf-bat-woman's words in Aklo.

"She's saying something about the birds and the Eye watching again. Be mindful of the vultures."

Focusing on Linndell, he replies "The arrows will only warn them of our approach. We shouldn't annoy the birds. I don't like how some of them are staring this way."

The group moves forward another 120 feet and now are at 80ft from the ship wreck.

The elf-bat-woman has been moving, keeping to cover, and as quietly as possible lest the vultures notice her, even though some that travel with her are not taking the same precautions.

Okay, so you're all now within 80 ft of the ship and vultures. What are your plans? And, it would help you all if you could work together. Linndell asked the group for plans or ideas or whether he should shoot his arrows at the birds and no one replied and simply moved forward. It doesn't bode well for the group if you're not communicating IC.

Also, I have asked numerous times on the board and have yet to receive an answer. If you say you're moving forward, please tell us how far forward you are moving. And what is your marching order, please? It is important. Thanks.

"Not liking the way something looks is not enough reason to shoot it full of holes," Ayreth offers lightheartedly. "Our job is to investigate the ship, not to kill the admittedly odd wildlife." Ayreth smiles at Lindell. "For now, we should follow her," Ayreth continues, indicating the girl. "She seems to know more than we do, though we should stay cautious and watch for the cult members. Any chance that you might ask her name, Brat?"

Gii nods in agreement. "They're just birds. It's the ship that we should be focused on."

Is that a pet name for "James" or did you typo, Ayreth? :3

Linndell watches thebirds carefully as the group approaches the ship. He has his bow in one hand, rapier in the other, ready for any transgressors. He glances over his shoulder to see if anyone is trailing them.

perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

-Posted with Wayfinder

As the group steadily moves forward, the vultures become more animate. The largest of them caws loudly and the smaller ones ruffle their feathers and shift in their positions slightly.

Ayreth starts mentally reaching for the energy that has infused her life since that night. She looks to the ground underneath the vultures, trying to decipher what creatures' bones lay beneath their perches.

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Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

@Ayreth: from where you are, getting closer, the bones are definitely humanoid, though there are other smaller ones mixed in them. You can see deep lacerations in them, and marks that could easily be beak and talon marks.

I just had a thought....maybe we should approach with no weapons drawn. The lead bird just cawed, which might mean they perceive us a threat. Perhaps we should try it?

Linndell sheaths his rapier and puts his bow away, still approaching...but slowly.

Ayreth surges forward, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder to get her attention. She also motions to the rest of the group and then points to the bones. "I do not know if they came from inside or out, but those bones look humanoid. And they do not just looked picked over, but as if they were attacked."

Ayreth looks around suspiciously. "Do you think the ship or vapors did something to the birds. As I recall, most carrion birds wait for something to be dead or dying. Did it do something to her...you?," she queries, indicating the girl. "We assumed it was the cultists, and it still might turn out to be the case. Unfortunately, I don't see how else to proceed other than approaching the ship. I may be able to distract many of the birds from our presence if you wish me to try."

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Edited my last discussion post for clarity.

Here is a map of the current area,Crash Site.

Please list the coordinates you would like to be on.

Thinking N-11. If we were willing to run in to the ship to bottleneck them (if they attack), how hard does that task seem? Climb, difficult terrain, etc? It's certainly a risky move going into the unknown, but I wonder if it's an option.

The site is in a small valley between two hills, and the land is relatively flat, but because of ship wreckage and bones scattered, there is a good chance of tripping up on the debris. In other words, yes, difficult terrain. You're certainly welcome to try going directly into the ship, but it would probably be risky.

Gii will be at M:10.

O-11 please

Botting Bart to keep the game moving at this point.

Ayreth continues, indicating the girl. "She seems to know more than we do, though we should stay cautious and watch for the cult members. Any chance that you might ask her name, Brat?"

He just wanted to give her a nickname as he had with this others in the group. However, Bart translated as best as he could to the elf-bat-woman, hoping he had the language straight.

The elf-bat-woman fidgeted and stared at the boy with her dark, bat eyes before slowly speaking her name in the Aklo tongue.

The creature pointed at her chest with the index finger of her good hand and repeatedly responded in her sing-song voice.

Bart listened and attempted to comprehend the sounds and the syllables and it suddenly became clear in his mind. Excitedly, he relayed the name to the others in the party.

"Her name is Sonarisa."

P 8 or 9

"The birds will attack. Be ready."

Less than a second after Blue Heron offers up her warning, as if by providence, the Vultures all begin cawing in a great cacophony. Beating their wings and shifting in place, they face the party, their odd large eyes fixating on various members of the group. Then, at once, the four giant birds perched on the crashed ship take flight...and as they rise into the air, their talons scrape along the surface squealing like chalk on slate, almost as if they don't want to leave their positions. They fly at the party with menace in their avian faces, enraged or hungry, perhaps both, and the smaller birds follow suit...

ROUND 1!

The PC's have won Initiative so you are all first...what will you do?

Gii moves towards the ship and begins incanting, as dust and smoke begin to billow from his hands. When he gets about twenty feet from the craft, he stands his ground and spreads his arms wide. A wave of magical mist bursts forth from his hands, engulfing the area. "Into the ship! Hurry!" he calls, hoping the others can find their way, even with reduced visibility.

Gii moves to 0:9 (move action) and casts Obscuring Mist (standard action).

Here's a little visual for you guys to gauge your actions by, including Gii's obscuring mist: Mid Round 1 map

"Sonarisa, sha re des Gii!" Bart says to the woman they were with, pointing toward the doctor as he entered the ship.

After that he turns toward the vultures on the left and grabs his amulet on his neck. Alar's starry main bristles as the vultures begin flapping their wings, but before they can take off Bart begins pulling stars out of his amulet. Instead of normally, where he would pull one or two and throw them like missiles, he began pulling... a lot. Dozens. Miniature stars flowed into his hand and began circling his palm in the shape of an orb. The orb condensed into a single point of light, then shot forward at a gesture toward two of the nearer ones.

It exploded in brilliant light, and though it didn't burn as his normal stars might, they shone ever brighter, as if all the energy of the spell was going into their light. They shone so bright that their light pressed in on the mind of the simple vultures.

Alar waits nearby, ready to defend both Bart and Sonarisa. If the woman were to move, Bart would also follow as fast as he could, both of them attempting to lead the woman -into- the mist to get out of sight of the birds.

Bart, all the birds have flown up into the air, including those in the trees (the 12 normal sized vultures are currently 20 ft off the ground and the 4 giant vultures are 15 ft from the ground). What are you targeting with glitterdust at H:3, please?

Here's another pic for flavor, it's not exactly set up they way the PCs are experiencing it, but I think you can see the terrain and the ship.

Flavor Pic

I was aiming for the two large vultures originally at H3 on the ship. If they're just 15 ft in the air, using Glitterdust between them would get them both in it.

There were two giant vultures at I-J:2 and K-L:3 before they took to the air before you guys attempted anything (they were already airborne). None at H:3.

Were you casting it on the actual ship? Because H:3 is on the ground.

The coordinates you listed work, I misread the map. As far as Glitterdust being in the air, there's nothing saying it can't be. It has a... Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) and a Area creatures and objects within 10-ft.-radius spread. The spell descriptor itself doesn't say anything about it being on the ground either. Spells like grease and entangle specifically say ground as limiations.

Ayreth rushes forward when Gii calls out. Anticipating darkness in the ship, she casts a light spell on her ring. Taking a moment to reflect on how the birds rose into the air, she calls out,"Are they being compelled?" Unable to see, she hopes the group is able to make their way safely.

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Move: 15' to N-8
Std: Cast Light

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