GM Woran's Rise of the Runelords

Game Master Woran

To avoid botting Oskar for an entire nother fight, maybe he can go back to Sandpoint to update them? It's been a couple days since we left. Maybe then they could send back the Slayer ^_^

With the website having been on its ass so long, that might be a good idea. In game it would give you a few days rest as you wait for Shalelu to leave with Oskar, and then come back, but at least we wont have any botting going on, and hopefully we can pick our momentum back up

I've built my character as level 4, but I can easily downgrade to 3. I'll do that tomorrow.

I'm good for a Woran narration followed by a Quentin introduction, followed by an Initiative Roll. Anyone else?

We're in the last minute stages of con prep over here. 31 august, 1 sep and 2 sep is our con, so expect us to be a bit quitet over the next few days

The bone weariness of the fight sets into your bones. The battle in the shrine took so much out of you. Physically and mentally. The wounds sustained, the lives lost.... Questions and 'what ifs' chase each other trough your mind like a dog chasing its tail.

With the threat and promis of thistletop going even further down, something inside you sags. Its too much at the moment. You need rest, for your body and soul.

Using the chairs and table in the room, you barricade the secret door.
Going back upstairs, you barricade the stairways again too, just for good measure.

Collapsing in the throne room you discuss your options. After a long debate its decided that Shalelu and Oskar will return to sandpoint, and come back with some extra help.

Shalelu and Oskar leave emediately. Both being less dependant on light, they figure they could make it at least untill the edge of the road before nightfall.

The next few days are tense, as you set alternatively stand guard and try to relax.
Several of you wake during the night, convinced there are whispers in the walls. But once you are fully awake, you dont hear anything.

Just as sun is setting during the fourth day, Shalelu returns, not with Oscar, but with another man in tow.

So... In the four days of 'rest', what do you do with the horse in the courtyard?

The man follows a few steps behind Shalelu, then steps forward to introduce himself, but then stops, hesitating. He looks at Shalelu, then at the group, clearly uncomfortable.

Shalelu takes a look over her shoulder. "Oskar opted to stay behind. He was physically a mess. Apparently some kind of reaction to being embiggened. But Eoghan here volunteered to come with."

Shalelu shoots Snowflake a look. "Everyone was relieved to hear you were all OK. Ameiko send a heap of food with me for you all."

Dayo's face pales.

"Reaction?" he half-askes in Justin's direction. "Y-you don't think anything will happen to me, do you?"

Once that interaction concludes, Dayo greets the new-comer with a smiling happy face.

"Hello, new friend! You've missed some terrible experiences, but there's probably more in store for us below. Would you like some rabbit?"

Dayo gives Tongue Tongue a good scratch behind the ea-... Head.

Eoghan pales a bit at the promise of danger, but takes a moment to calm his nerves and steps forward. "Hi, my name is Eoghan," he mumbles. "Shalelu told me you were in trouble. I'm not sure how much help I can be, but she insisted I'd be useful. Last time I heard that, it..." Eoghan's voice trails off, and he looks glassy-eyed into the distance, then snaps out of it. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts, then continues.
"Anyway, nice to see you're still safe. I hope we can keep it that way."
As he says that, Eoghan clutches a holy symbol around his neck.

"As for the rabbit, no thanks, I've already had breakfast. I'd rather not impose upon you more than I already do."

The giant gecko licks one of its eyeballs and looks intently at the dead rabbit.

I imagine at some point in the last few days Dayo suggested that we feed the horse some of the rabbits.

"Eoghan, I'm sure you will be helpful. So far we've always been outnumbered. You'll probably get a few cuts, bites, and be knocked unconscious a few times."

...

...it *seemed* like Dayo was going in a positive and encouraging direction with that speech.

He continues to practice with Tongue Tongue, throwing a black origami fly at pieces of rabbit.

Tongue tongue is focused, and snatches the pieces of rabbit up with great accuracy.

I hope someone dissuaded dayo from feeding rabbits to the horse.

maybe the goblins were right about horses...

Everyday, Snowflake has been scrounching the keep for more tarps, curtains, and sheets,smoked them out with fragrant herbs and wrapped the dead body of his sister with them, with more herbes between the layers, making sure that in the end, it's airtight. He walks in, after one of those session, and is taken aback some when he sees the stranger.
"Hi, my name is..Vy Baro

Vitro's been spending the days hacking away at the thistles, trying to clear a path to the bridge so we don't need to go through the whole maze. Don't want to go through that again.

As he sees the stranger approach he stands up, wiping some sweat off his brow. "Greetings. I'm Vizjietroczenon, but most people just call me Vitro."

" Hi . I'm justin. "Rat" is fine. "AHHHHH a rat!" is not "

Inner dialogue:
"Well, that's a rather... lukewarm welcome."
"What did you expect? A ticker-tape parade? Heralds lauding your arrival?"
"No, but-"
"Oh, shut up. Not like you did anything to warrant anything other than the reception you got."
"Fair enough."

Eoghan's shoulders sag, he looks down at his feet and sighs, then composes himself again. "Hello all. I hope I can make myself useful. Oskar told me about the troubles you faced, it seems quite an ordeal. I've got some big shoes to fill, it seems."

He looks down at his feet again, then realises something. "Oh, right, nearly forgot. I've picked up some tricks. Don't be scared, it tends to be quite unnerving at first, but it's harmless."

Eoghan focuses for a few seconds, and then his shadow rises up from the ground, forming into a semi-solid exact likeness of Eoghan, mimicking his every move. "My mistress (as in female master, not lover) taught me some defensive abilities, in order to prevent history from repeating itself. So far, it's proven to be pretty effective."

This is an at-will, full-round ability that lasts for two minutes, or until the image is hit. GM, assume I always have one on, refreshing out of combat if needed.

Vitro's eyebrow perks up a bit, and he subconsciously slides into a lower, more defensive stance. "Yeah, that's a bit unnerving indeed. Well, it takes a special someone to become an adventurer so can't hold that against you." He grins then, and relaxes a bit again. "I'm glad for the help though. There's some pretty nasty stuff going on down there." thumbing in the direction of the water fort.

"So, what's your preferred fighting style?" He motions to the expensive-looking sword he's using as a hedge trimming implement. "I know how to work with this, but my heart's more into throwing magic at things. I don't have enough magic to keep that up all day yet though so I got bow and arrows as well. But lately we've been pressed in rather close so that didn't work out."

Eoghan points to the array of weapons on his back and side. "I'm an up close and personal kinda guy. I have a variety of weapons, but I prefer the scythe, as it's my Lady's preferred weapon. Apart from that, out of necessity I've been dabbling in trapbreaking." He fishes out some lockpicks and twirls them around his fingers. He suddenly looks a lot more confident once he's in familiar territory again.

I think the Eldest are a fair bit more obscure than that actually.

Vitro looks at him a bit blankly. "Eh, I see. Well, a scythe should make an impression on these goblins. Or into them really."

Tongue tongue looks disappointingly at Eoghan. There is hair on Eoghan's head.

Shalelu gestures at the brambles. "Nothing noteworthy on the trip back to sandpoint, or back here. Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Thankfully birds and crickers...crikees? The chirping insects that have a lot of protien. "

Kn.Religion: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

"Fireflies?"

"Anything that lights up to let you know its there is probably poisonous if its not luring you off to your doom "

Shalelu carefully keeps her face neutral. "Crickets. They are called Crickets. And they are indeed high in protein. Make a good snack."

Shalelu drops her pack on the ground and starts unloading some bowls and packages. "Ameiko gave me a lot of food to bring to you. How about we have a good evening meal, then a good night's rest, and in the morning we see what is down in the celler?"

I think the Eldest are a fair bit more obscure than that actually.

Eh, contextual bonuses, let's say.

During dinner, Eoghan keeps to himself and doesn't really interact with others unless directly addressed. He might also eat less than you'd think, as to not impose himself on the group.

Awwwe, he seems lonely.

Cr.Origami, masterwork paper: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 2 = 14

Dayo spends the evening crafting a white origami lily. After everyone's eaten, but just before laying down, Dayo creeps quietly towards Eoghan.

Mind you he's like 6' 6" so he's not really subtle.

Whispering, he hands the paper flower to the Half-elf, "I'm from a small island, so everyone usually knows everyone, but occasionally someone might go a while without speaking to someone, too. When that happens, they'll usually pick a pretty flower and present it as a sort of 'Thinking of you' gift. Since there aren't any flowers here, and we've only just met, I thought I'd do the same for you."

Snowflake checks if his sister's head rests comfortably on her pillow, and lights a candle near her head so she won't have to be afraid in the dark, before he crawls into his sleepingbag, without saying a word

Eoghan looks at the lily and seems to consider something. Eventually, he takes the flower and carefully puts it to the side.

"Thanks," he whispers back, "I know I'm not the most sociable person, but I appreciate the thought, I honestly do. I..." His voice trails off. He seems lost in thought.

"Screw it. No use not telling. Might work out better for both of us. I've failed my friends before, and it cost them their lives. I hope I'll do better this time. And I hope you understand why I'm hesitant to suddenly accept new people into my life. I tend to disappoint them."

Eoghan glances back at the flower and his eyes glaze over again.

"Nobody here is really much of a people person. Dayo left his island ahead of being eaten by a dragon, snowflake left ahead of an angry torch and pitchfork mob, and I... well i get sent off with a going away dinner. "

There's a small chirp and the sound of crunching

"These definitely need red wine, not white.. "

Vitro looks pensive and sympathetic at Eoghan. "Yeah, I think we've all lost people in the past. Bruised but we're not broken. In time the pain will fade a bit. Meantime, we have a town to protect in the here and now. When we're done with breakfast, shall we go down there?"

Let's GOOOOO

After finishing breakfast and packing up your gear, you head back down to the lower level.
Opening the secret door further, there is a long stair going down, ending in a door.

What would your marching order be? Ive all placed you on the map for now, but feel free to adjust yourself

In general, let's go with Dayo, Eoghan, Vitro, Vy, Justin

Vitro refreshed his Mage Armor before everyone went down the stairs. After coming to face with a door to undoubtedly another hallway, he asks "So Eoghan, checking for traps is one of your specialties? Want to take a crack at this door?"

Eoghan nods, makes a copy of himself again, then looks at the door.

Perception for traps: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12

"Nope, seems clear to me."

Eoghan nods, makes a copy of himself again, then looks at the door.

[dice=Perception for traps]1d20+11

"Nope, seems clear to me."

aaaaand we're off.

Justin will give Dayo a mage armor and +4 dex reduce person " There, now you're almost a proper height..." tries to stand on tippy paws but is STILL a goof bit shorter than dayo

Opening the door, you see a large chamber. Two pillars support the ceiling. In many places the stone walls, floor, and ceiling are caked with ancient grime and soot. Alcoves in the north and south walls contain partially damaged statues of a man in robes clutching a book and a glaive.
The entire room is canted toward the west, and whatever ancient upheaval caused the complex to tilt knocked the statues from their bases so that now they lean against the western walls of their alcoves.

While Eoghan checks the door, Dayo checks for any trip wires or hazards at his new height.

Perception for Traps: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

If they find nothing, Dayo will cautiously enter, broadsword in hand.

Since Eoghan is an unknown factor to Vy, he connects his life link to Dayo

Dayo enters the room. He doesnt spot any traps.

Noting no immediate enemies, Vitro strides into the room as well and casts Detect Magic for a quick sweep.

Eoghan carefully steps into the room, looking around for things that might kill him and/or the rest of the group.

Perception, +1 for trap-related stuff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

Yeah, that seems about right. Two natural ones in a row is kinda fitting for this character.

Detect magic reveals a faint transmutation aura.
You also notice that the air quality in these chambers is surprisingly good, despite the fact that you are quite a ways underground now. The temperature is also higher then you would expect of a cave surrounded by the sea. You estimate the temperature to be round a comfortable 60º F (16 ºC).

"Hmm, some magic at work here, but I think it's just for living conditions. This might be the swanky part of the evil lair."

Vitro marshals people in front of the next door and inspects it.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Perception on door: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Assuming no traps or locks, Dayo will try to open the door quietly.

Stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

Finding no traps or locks, Dayo quietly opens the door.
The short hallway rises in a slope to the east. Five feet from the western door, the floor is polished and shiny, unlike the dusty floor elsewhere. A pair of stone statues depicting stern men wielding glaives stand in alcoves north and south of this section of the hallway. At the eastern end stand two stone doors, their faces carved with strange runes. Just past the doors is a third alcove in which a partially collapsed statue sits. The top half of the statue is missing, leaving behind a ragged stump of a torso.

"Statues," Eoghan grumbles, "One of my previous party members got decapitated by one. Statues are rarely just statues. Be careful around them."

Perception, +1 in case of traps: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

Eoghan does indeed think the statues are trapped. He's not sure what will happen, but there is a pressure plate between the statues that has caught his eye.

Dayo seems genuinely perplexed.

"It's so clean and polished, though! You wouldn't think the pretty one would be trapped. Should we just jump over it?"

"Better take care of this, first. Say we need to retreat and forget it's here, then we get a glaive in our back. I know, I've seen it happen."