Otah bows his head, once again placing the glaive on his shoulder. He leaves with the rest of his party, feeling slightly better about this damned scroll-land.
"I do believe we've made a friend here. Shame we are like to destroy her."
"I do believe we've made a friend here. Shame we are like to destroy her."
Ami nods, then looks one last time to the dragon.
"Mr. Venema, did you want us to take your cat with us? We can try to get him out of here. We won't mind...and we'll take good care of him, I promise." Ami looks at Aldebert. "I'll take care of him, I promise. But we could use more cats around us. They are good luck."
Ami continues to scritch the cat.
"The cat does as he wishes." Venema's tone seems happy at the thought of the cat.
Pent doesn't bother correcting Ami on his superstitious tripe regarding cats and the purported luck they carry, considering their current conundrum that is the Kakishon corruption.
Pent waits for the others to finish their words with Venema, before politely excusing himself. "Please excuse the half's inability to sex you, Ms. Venema. He can't hear nuance, both of voice or argument, so your lilting, albeit dry, overtones are likely just outside his detections. I'll grant you it's a small oversight, and won't carry much offense as you head towards your final rest." The gnome waves his cap in the dragonskull's direction, before walking through the doors to wait outside.
Ami tries to coax the cat into his lap...on Yeen. He hopes the cat will understand, and he knows it might take time for the cat to understand things.
"C'mon little guy. We need to get you out of here. We need to get you someplace safe," Ami coos.
Handle Animal
If the cat will come, Ami is ready to go.
Mahdi bows deeply to Venema before taking his leave. "Is the great archmage's body actually here, if I may ask?" he says with a little nod at the sarcophagus. "I wouldn't dream of disturbing it, but I am very curious..."
In any case, he makes his way out behind the others with his hands clasped behind his back, his chin sunk in thought as he tries to relate what he knows about shaitans to Aldebert and the others.
"They're earth, of course, and my own affinities lie towards fire, but..."
"But?"
The cat needs little encouragement to follow Ami. The island offers no surprises as the group makes their way back out of doors.
"Aw, Ami, you've made a new friend!" Aldebert smiles, glad they're saving the life of the little innocent - though he's sure the little cat will wander off before they're done. Still, there's hope for the little guy.
He moves back toward the ship. "So where to now?"
"But I was just gathering my thoughts. Shaitans are genie lords from the plane of earth; they tend to be lawful by nature and are not inherently either altruistic or cruel, just middle of the road sorts. Of course individual exceptions may exist. They can't be harmed by electricity; they can move through solid stone, and they naturally have the sort of abilities that us mere mortals must study for decades to master-- spells, especially earth based spells. They're certainly formidable combatants, and I would rather reason with one than try and fight one, personally."
Mahdi regretfully leaves the sanctum of Nex behind.
The 3 Cats of Sarenpocalypse.
Ami makes room in his lap for the time being for the cat.
"I think his name is Spooky. And that's a good name, don't you think, Aldebert?!" Ami seems very happy to have a second cat friend. Ami scratches both the head of Yeen and Spooky with his tiny halfling hands.
"To the ship...then back to the main island? We have to go confront the shaitain. Probably with force."
Ami continues to scritch and tend to both is cat friends as they travel.
Pent makes his way back to the boat, intent on seeing their time spent efficiently finding the Nex-t port, and inquiring with fresh denizens or shaitans or egg lenders. He's losing his interest in the taskmastering for the egg lenders, gathering up worthy creatures for departure, but he presses on, nonetheless.
"Let's get gone from here, and back to Oberak."
"Sounds like my kind of fellow."
Otah walks with the rest of the party back to the boat.
Several of you recall the Protean and Dilix mentioning Obherak.
The sounding horn breaks the silence of the island and in due time the now familiar vessel can be seen in the distance. Upon boarding the vessel Dilix’s overview of Obherak helps to select the destination.
Pent points the pinnace in the appropriate direction, commanding them sail away from Nex's resting place, to Obherak's likely resting place, as obstinacy and his group have a way of sorting things out terminally.
"Mahdi, looks like you're the one to engage with Obie once we get there. You up for it? Genie lord versus Fire lord? Your pride gonna get in the way? Is his?"
Ami continues with the party towards Obherak.
"Brother, are we going to try to be peaceful in our approach? Or will we see the Golden Bowl under threat and at arms?" Ami asks his brother as he rides. "I don't mind which one, but need to try to keep Spooky safe."
Ami looks back at Mahdi. Then down at Spooky. He slows down on Yeen until he gets close to Mahdi.
"MAAH-DEE, look, it's a cat!" Ami tries to introduce Mahdi to Spooky. "Spooky, this is Mahdi. He's my tallest best friend so you can trust him."
Handle Animals
"MAAH-DEE, what should I do with Spooky if there is fighting? Would you want to hold Spooky if we are attacked? I don't want to put him in danger if we are attacked. And since you never fight, Spooky might be safer with you."
"Oh brother, I think we should be peaceful if at all possible. It is too easy to treat everyone hostilely, and there is much we can learn here - if we allow for the opportunity."
He too worries about 'Spooky' and thinks of ways he might aid in the little cat's protection.
Khandelwal’s shoreline is easily seen as the boat approaches. Though there is a small clearing around where the boat makes share, the surrounding area appears dense wit green and pleasant, groves of fruit trees and palms interspersed with towering shrubs and vines. Among the dense canopy monkeys large and small can be heard and seen as well as fisher birds who also frequent the reedy inlets and tidelands at the water’s edge. In contrast to the island’s shore, the sandy interior exhibit light undergrowth interspersed with small trees. The island itself is relatively small, but offers little sign of where exactly Obherek might be found.
"Any suggestions?" Aldebert asks the group.
Shrugging his shoulders, he tries calling out,
He turns to the others, "You know, just to be polite."
Aldebert seems content to wait a while, maybe even up to an hour, just in case.
Only the sounds of the monkeys in a mimicking reply can be heard among the rustling leaves as Aldebert's voice fades into the dense green. Beyond the foliage blowing sand calms momentarily, revealing several sandy dunes.
Mahdi arches an unimpressed brow look at Pent saying he's the one to talk to Obherak. "Why? Because I know about elementals? I'm hardly the silver tongued one of the group. I do speak his language but so do you, don't you? Terran."
He looks with vague irritation at the cat Ami keeps thrusting up at him. "Yes, that's nice. No, I don't want to hold your cat. I have my own pet and I doubt they'd get along. Just put him down if there's fighting, I'm sure he'll run off and climb a tree and be safe, that's what cats do."
He listens for any response to Aldebert's call, but the leaves seem quiet and the sand ahead looks still. Mahdi's lips purse, and he tries his own hand, in Terran, the tongue of the earth lords.
"Master Obherak: we wish to talk with you. We understand you are a being of power in this place. We may have mutual interests; will you speak with us, as it please you?"
Mahdi is not as patient as Aldebert; if there is no answer within ten minutes, he shrugs and says to the others:
"Well, we'll probably have to wander about until we get ambushed. I don't like that sand ahead; a shaitan can cast numerous spells on the earth, make it quicksand beneath us, that sort of thing. I ought not have used my spell of flight already I suppose."
Aldebert shrugs when there's no answer to his call. "I can talk to the genie, it's a genie right?, when the time comes. Mahdi, teach me the Terran word for 'greetings' so I can at least start in his language."
He moves off into the island, suggesting a sweep of the shoreline first before the delve deeper in. Unless they find a path of some kind.
Ami puts the cat down near Mahdi for a bit, to see how well the man and cat get along. Besides, Madhi just said that the cat will be safe.
Ami waits with his brother and listens in on the language lesson.
"Yes, brother, you're the leader. You talk and I'll help you," Ami says proudly because his bigger brother is the best.
Ami is happy to sweep the shoreline, ranging on Yeen to and fro, scampering in the dunes and wind and waves.
"Why? Because I know about elementals? I'm hardly the silver tongued one of the group. I do speak his language but so do you, don't you? Terran."
Pent nods his yeah-yeahs at the reluctant fire mage, letting him vent and cool off before answering him. "I just figured you'd go 'schoolboy' over Obie, just like you did with Nex. Might make Obie feel puffy-chested and bulgy-panted if you fawned over his superior magical acumen. That would give us an 'in'." The gnome brings his hands up to demonstrate what an 'in' looks like, using the universal gesture of 'stick-stirs-the-kahve', or 'weasel-works-his-way-into-the-rabbit-hole'.
The gnome keeps his distance, watching for pseudo-greeters to shore.
"Well, we'll probably have to wander about until we get ambushed. I don't like that sand ahead; a shaitan can cast numerous spells on the earth, make it quicksand beneath us, that sort of thing. I ought not have used my spell of flight already I suppose."
"You're not making me feel any better about this."
The dwarf starts to walk towards where he would guess the center of the island to be.
"Of course," Mahdi says in response to Aldebert's request for a few basic catchphrases. He's not the sort of person who intentionally provides false translations, so, he rattles off a few genuine Terran words of respectful greeting, the guttural tongue sounding thick and halting.
He simply rolls his eyes at Pent and his words of schoolboying. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was 'fawning' to show respect to the greatest wizard to have ever lived. I don't feel the same sort of respect for this Obherak, even if he is a powerful entity. Nex is.... Nex is like if you had met the herald of your precious Sarah, or something like that."
He shrugs at Otah's question. "I'm in the business of burning things, not providing reassurances."
Also, there's a cat trying to rub against his legs. Mahdi irritably shakes his robe to flap it at the cat, and glares at Ami to the usual complete lack of effect.
"Let's go."
Mahdi takes his usual place at the rear of the group as they stride into the heart of the small island.
Like Aldebert's call, Mahdi's is met with only the sounds of the animals among the leaves and undergrowth. The shore line proves to differ only in the shape of the sand, rock, and water lapping against the land. Similar trees and undergrowth can be seen, occupied by the sounds of similar birds and other creatures.
"Let me explain what I can of Obherak's forces that will await you on Khandelwali. Most of its shoreline and the area around the central area are green and pleasant, with groves of fruit trees and palms interspersed with flowering shrubs and vines, and inhabited by monkeys large and small, as well as fisher birds who also frequent the reedy inlets and tidelands at the water’s edge. This is all very different from the island’s sandy interior. Gargoyles are common among these craggy rocks. You could approach the bowl and attempt to penetrate his lair. You could also approach with an offer of peace, that at least would get you into his lair."
Pent grows tired of the half bellows and the mage mewls.
"Uh, shouldn't we find the Golden Bowl, like Dilix instructed? It's all nice and good you choose to practice on the monkeys, but Obherak might not be as amenable to your words if he can't hear them."
Pent shooes the others forward, expecting them to find the sandy land, and from the dune, find the Bowl, and from the Bowl, find the Lair, and from the Lair, find the Obie.
Ami nods, agreeing with the gnome. He leans down to whisper into Yeen's ear.
"Let's go find the Golden Bowl, Yeenoghu! C'mon, let's go find it," Ami tries to get Yeen excited....and they begin to scout.
Cartography
Perception
Ami and Yeen will begin to outride, trying to find the Golden Bowl.
"Good memory Pent, I'd all but forgotten that. Surely the crater is in the center of the island, so let's try that."
He waits to see if his brother has any leads and follows, heading into the middle of the island.
Otah looks around for any dunes, while the halfling scouts about.
As the group breaks through the brush nearby dunes provide a much better view of the island interior. The Golden Bowl is easily spotted.
Aldebert points off into the distance. "See there, I think that's a trail in the sand. We're meant to be peaceful, so I say we take the path that is given, and announce our presence again when we're a little closer. Agreed?"
Assuming the group supports his plan, he rides off, keeping a slow pace for the others, toward the path. When they get closer to the Bowl, he'll again call out, announcing the party with the Terran phrase Mahdi taught him.
Ami *very* reluctantly confines himself to the path, unhappy about not being allowed to run and sprint in the sun. It's b!~~$@+@. Stupid path.
Ami rides on Yeen with Spooky also in the saddle.
As Aldebert's words seem to be buried in the dunes, moving over and around these sandy hill the trail becomes difficult to follow. It is also clear that gargoyles are beginning to become more prevalent overhead.
"I think the path is this way..." says Aldebert pointing to a tree.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Ami tries to help Aldebert stay on course.
"Brother, don't walk through that poop pile...this way..."
Survival
With Ami's guidance the trail is located.
Perception:
(normal)
(low-light)
(darkvision)
Aldebert says, "Good eye Ami, Gretiem thanks you." he chuckles.
He follows the trail as his more skilled brother points out and continues on ahead, occasionally calling out ahead so as to be polite.
Pent makes sure to avoid the dung piles, while looking skywards to take in the growing number of gargoyles. "Well, we're likely to have some company, with all those stony creatures flying about. I suggest we not tarry overly long, for fear of attracting unnecessary attention."
The gnome presses on, hoping to find an entrance into the Bowl, so they can put the gargoyles' behinds them.
Ami moves along, trying to keep an eye out for trouble.
"MAH-Dee! Those stone birds! What are they?" Ami points to the sky.
Otah continues along the path the halflings point out. Worry about the circling gargoyles furrows his brow every time he looks towards the sky, which is often.
"Who wants to bet a gold piece we have to fight one of those before we make it to Obherak?"
As if intending to spoil Otah's wager, the gargoyles fly toward the group before anyone can take the wager.
Initiative
(with Yeenoghu)
Mahdi squints up at the 'stone birds,' one hand shading his eye. "We've run into creatures like this before, remember? They're called gargoyles."
Mahdi touches at his cheek briefly, where there is no visible scar but where he remembers a gargoyle's claws raking deep. He smiles nastily. "I seem to remember they burn just fine."
However, it's not fire he sends roiling up, but rather, enchanted speed among his friends.
"No MAAH-dee, those were statues, not birds. Completely different," Ami replies. "These flying things cannot be the same, can they?" Ami squints at the sky even as Mahdi's magic fills him, Yeen, & the Spooky.
Ami sends Spooky to hide behind Mahdi's legs.
Pent always positions himself to be on the opposite side of the dwarf, when danger presents itself. With multiple sources of danger, the gnome weighs the probable strengths of each enemy, and positions him proportionately to be more skewed to opposite from the strongest enemy, without completely opening himself to another, weaker enemy, who shouldn't be given a free and open alley to the gnome, just because he's reasonable in his demand to have partial cover from the dwarf's position.
A duo of gargoyles swoop from the sky toward Aldebert.
(miss)
(miss)
Mahdi aims upward-- points-- and grins a bit maniacally as fire explodes mid-air over the four airborn gargoyles.
"They're gargoyles," he says with a shrug to Ami's protest. "I don't know how much clearer I can be than that."
One of the four manage to avoid some of the blast, but the rest are engulfed in flame. All manage t stay in flight. One of the burnt gargoyles flies off toward the rocky cylinder shaped formation near the center of the island.
Round one: Aldebert now acting.
, , ,