KC's Age of Worms

Game Master Kobold Catgirl

"...I vote for pretentious writing, personally." Eben finishes.

"Cool! Let's do it."

Astraden finishes reading after puzzling out a few more anagrams. "Well, if you can spell RUDD from the second line . . . it really makes sense that she's talking about Olidammara here. I think we can trust her."

Eben blinks a few times, then shrugs. "Yeah, Alright. Astraden's logic totally lines up here. I say we do this, besides vanity it could give us something to brag about and get in with the nobles at the feast."

"Yeah! And when we inevitably return to free the city from Zeech's tyranny, people will think of us as heroes!"

"I wonder what it's going to be rated..."

Carina sighs. "Okay, I'll admit having a play written about us sounds like fun."

"But I'm pretty sure you're exaggerating, Eben. Tanith and I haven't had sex for days, at least."

Tanith grumbles unintelligible to the affirmative.

"Yeah, well, regardless of that bit of waytoomuch information, thanks to our buddy Korush the legend of Spiny's Six is firmly entangled with you two being... firmly entangled."

"Oh - you'll tap Korush as the director, right?"

"I don't know that we want to use the verb 'tap' in conjunction with Korush, here, given that firm entanglement..."

Astraden's crows feet crinkle.

"Well, should we march back in there and talk to Miomay now? I think 'Most Advanced' means 'soonest.'"

Cuetzpalli nods along, ready to enjoy some benefit from their travails other than more worms and death.

"Do we get to act in the play too?"

"I think they're just going to consult us for information on our most... well, notorious exploits, Farrukh." Carina shrugs.

"They'll probably tone some of them down a bit to make it more accessible to the public, but... I think it'd be a fun diversion nevertheless."

"They might let us pick our actors though! Maybe that bewigged hobgoblin will audition."

"Well, it's a matter of talent. I bet I could act for myself. But that would mean having to stick around Alhaster for rehearsals until the performance... Also, it might look tacky."

"Yeah, we don't want any big egos ruining our play." Astraden leans back against the wall, picking a piece of popcorn kernel out of her teeth. "So, about this Korush directing thing, I'm wondering if there's some way they could also get him to simultaneously play you, Tanith, and Farrukh. They can do a lot of things with illusions, y'know."

"I dunno if I'd be comfortable on stage. What if I forget my lines? Everyone would laugh at me..."

So do you guys go straight back in the way you came?

Unless there's another way we can go to meet with Miomay?

Yeah we go straight back in and look for Miomay.

Give me a Diplomacy check, a Knowledge (nobility) check, or, I dunno, something else that you feel would be relevant to finding your way to Miomay (and persuading people to let you get to her).

Diplomacy?: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (8) + 20 = 28

Carina starts asking around the theatre for the best way to go about meeting the lady Miomay.

Eben sees Carina's discreet inquiries, and decides upon a more bold approach to finding one's way to a playwright at a post-premiere reception.
Well, you left it open-ended, so...Perform (act): 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (13) + 22 = 35
"Where is M'amselle Mimoay? I simply must speak with her about the social relevance of her work, and the clear influence of the legendary Seuloise dramatist, Dafyhd Mahamet!" Eben says, excitedly accosting various well-dressed people milling around snacking on hors d'oeuvres.

Astraden tries to recognize any of the previous actors from the play in the crowd.

Perception?: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24

The party reenters the rapidly emptying theater and promptly sets about employing two rather opposing techniques: Carina politely querying theaterworkers, Eben loudly demanding to see the Playhouse's eponymous owner. They meet with surprisingly similar success as each is answered by a bald man with bone-white skin and startling blue eyes who directs them up a spiral staircase and down the hall to Miomay's office.

The hustle and bustle of the chambers below are contrasted sharply by a deathly quiet throughout this half of the Playhouse. Every now and then, a stagehand or half-costumed actor rushes by and gives the party a strange look, but there is an air of quiet urgency in the halls of Miomay's Playhouse.

A familiar face stands at attention at the door to the office: The blue-wigged hobgoblin from earlier. He nods respectfully and gestures for the adventurers to enter, nonchalantly rapping his knuckles against the door behind him as he does so.

The interior of Miomay's office is a strange mixture of lavish and extravagant and...well, the kindest descriptor for the decor would be "eccentric". Newspaper clippings line the wall on the half of the room where the writing desk sits, and the desk is covered by a large white sheet. Etchings and portraits can be seen amid the clippings. Colorful string ties them all together, creating a strange web of people, events, proclamations, architectural designs, and obituaries.

The other half of the room is, in some ways, like a bizarre mirror image. It is largely taken up with multiple hatstands, a walk-in closet, several half-dressed mannequins, several disturbingly realistic and barely-dressed mannequins, and a second desk that seems to serve as an impromptu makeup station. The walls are covered with clippings of newspaper articles and portraits, most about or depicting the lovely Miomay Aristatli. A dusty violin sits in the corner, along with a few other, even dustier instruments. The ukelele has cobwebs on it.

Miomay herself sits at the makeup desk now, powdering her cheeks to hide a slight discoloration—she seems ill, or ill-at-ease. She spins around dramatically as the party enters, a wide grin on her face. "Ah! This is the sort of Punctilious Attendance I would have expected only from the Fabled (in the Modern Sense) Gentlefolk of Good Fortune and Cautious Advance known as Spiny's Six! I hear you put on quite the Extravagant Palaver regarding my good man Grin's little, ah, Gesture of Generous Discretion!" She rises from her chair and bows low, her elaborate hairstyle bobbing slightly as she does so.

Astraden smiles, looking around the room and nodding. "Really Unanticipated Dese Decorations." She winks, repositioning her holy symbol of Olidammara in clear sight.

Carina gives Miomay a little curtsy. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Miomay."

"Yes, it was a little unfortunate that we had a bit of a misunderstanding regarding your invitation, but we sorted it out with no hard feelings." She tilts her head at the playwright. "Is everything alright? My apologies if I'm prying, but I noticed you don't seem to be feeling that well..."

"Did we start calling ourselves that and I missed it?", Tanith whispers to Carina after introductions are made.

"I don't think so." She replies out of the corner of her mouth.

Eben returns the bow, the curls of his own hair doing the best they can to mirror Miomay's own coiffure's bounce. "M'lady, it's an honor to make your acquaintance. Apologies on our misconstruing your associate's... delivery of your invitation for anything more than the theatrical game it was." He rises from his bow, brings a hand to his chest, and gestures outward, as if offering his heart. As his palm opens, his wayward journal appears in it, as if by magic. "No harm done, clearly."

Sleight of hand: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (3) + 17 = 20

While the gesture is perhaps a bit clumsier than his normal standard (the journal being moved from his pocket to his chest is easily discernible for anyone paying attention...), the actual 'offering you a suddenly appearing item from my heart' is a signature move of his from his 'street performance' grifting days in the Free City, recognizable to anyone who took notice of his 'act' back in the day. "And might I say, your play was a delight to behold. Your writing shows more than a bit of grace in its presentation."

Cuetzpalli offers a rustic bow. "I do not know what you just said. 'M Cuetzpalli, pleasure to meet you m'am."

Miomay's eyebrows arch as Astraden delivers her not-so-subtle coded message. "Ah, then you have noticed my Rudimentary-yet-Unappreciated Designs toward Destiny!" She throws her arms wide. "It is the Sorry Plight of the Artiste that she must forever Watch the Woeful World around her with War-Worn Eyes, taking from the world that which can No Longer Survive Reality's Harsh Bite." She winks at Carina. "It is that sickness—the sickness of Oerth's Weight upon my Frail Shoulders—that dwells on my pallor and renders me an Abomination Beside the Reflection of My Face in Health."

She then turns to Eben as he unleashes his panache. Her lips quirk slightly at his elaborate display and praise of her writing. "Yes, well, I write the Truth I Behold in the World, and we do so like to see familiarity."

To Cuetzpalli, she smiles and bows slightly again. "The Cursed Blight of the Artiste is that I'm not sure I do, either. Please! Sit down!" She opens up the walk-in closet and pulls out a surprising quantity of what appear to be artisanal chairs—some made of precious metals, some of darkwood, and one apparently made out of lace that is probably not actually made to be used.

Miomay sits back down in the chair, fingers steepled, a crafty grin on her face. She is silent for a moment, considering the party. "There is a gift to being a playwright, you know," she says, adjusting her hair slightly. "You learn the power of words, and learn how they travel. And words have traveled about your, ah, Speckled Coterie. The Kordians have noted your most curious goodwill towards them. It has rendered me Up-To-My-Neck Drowning in Questions. You make strange party guests."

KC's Disguise Woes: If the party has yet to openly help out the Kordians under their real identities, just scratch that bit. It's not pivotal.

I think Tanith specifically wanted the Alhaster goth-up for his most recent visit to the Temple, so it seems like we haven't gone there in our real forms yet. For what it's worth, though, veil is NOT active currently.

Astraden tests out the stability of the lace chair with a hand and then opts for one of darkwood. "I wasn't kidding - real fine place you've got here."

"So what Truth do you want to know about our adventures? Can't you just ask Korush for the privilege of adapting his accounts?"

Carina sits down and purses her lips.

"...Can't you just ask Korush for the privilege of adapting his accounts?"

"That's not to say they're entirely accurate, but..."

"Isn't the whole point of plays and stories and whatever that they're not completely truthful? Nobody wants to hear about the time that the brave adventurers ate bad fish and spent three days in the outhouse."

Cuetzpalli manages to understand 'sit down' and does as he's told. He views Miomay with the slightly veiled suspicion usually reserved for the clinically insane.

"Well, naturally, we could consult Korush...if we were solely concerned with the Harrowing Account of a series of Aberrant Arena Fracases. But I'm rather more interested in the full story." Miomay pats the shoulder of one of the mannequins fondly. "As a playwright, I am Frequently Beset by questions manifesting as Inner Demons—demons which can only be sated through the Holy and Axiomatic Light of Answers. For instance, from my limited understanding of your Historical Exploits, you seem like Admirable Characters—adventurers of a high caliber, intrepid Agents of Nobility."

She wheels her chair around, nearly crashing into Astraden's chair as she does so, to reach the other desk, and quickly ducks beneath the white sheet. After a few rummagy noises, Miomay emerges clutching a yellowed newspaper, and tosses it deftly to Eben. It is the Free City Gazette—one of the more prominent publications in Greyhawk. "Gaze beneath the fold, and you will discover the seedlings that sprouted into the sapling that now form the roots of my Incessant Questioning."

The front page is dated the 7th of Wealsun—the day the party left Greyhawk for Diamond Lake, nearly three months (and one festival) ago. The upper page is regarding investigations into Raknian's illicit dealings—in particular, his connections with Greyhawk officials and the apparent reveal that Okoral, a man whom even the cleverest of the party may only narrowly remember, was responsible for the string of high-profile assassinations which had momentarily left Greyhawk devoid of high-powered clerics, paving the way for an undead apocalypse had Raknian's plan not been foiled—but the article below the fold strikes a very distinct tone. It takes the tone of a scandalous reveal as it delves into Spiny's Six's "controversial ties to lizardman terrorists" and their efforts to persuade the Directing Oligarchy to "sacrifice the Free City of Greyhawk's ability to protect human landowners adjacent to or building within the Mistmarsh from the depredations of barbaric tribes squatting in the region".

"I must say," Miomay says, putting a finger to her lips, "something about your record does not strike me as the sorts to ordinary patronize our...humble city. Or if you'll pardon my speaking more plainly, Alhaster does not seem to be entirely in-keeping with your Refined Moral Palettes."

"Well, we can't say it's a day out at the fair. But one seeks friends where one can." Astraden looks around with a bit of evident paranoia. "Could we get the door closed?"

"That is... a sticky question, really." Eben says, his smile fading more than a bit. "Perhaps you're unaware, but Spiny's Six actually boasts a seventh member these days. Now, don't go looking around, she's not invisible or hiding. Rather there was a dispute over some of the finer points of the law and she is... temporarily, we hope... residing in the Aerie."

"That did not go unnoticed," Miomay says, as the door slams shut. "The Questionable Correlation between the Sinner's Savagery and the Noted Absence of your retainer is, in part, why I wanted to Engage in a Formal Meeting prior to the Anniversary Banquet."

She wheels her chair back to the beauty desk. "So I shan't resort to Mincing, Dicing, or otherwise Re-Hashing my words. I believe that we possess an Interest that is Common. I believe it with an Elemental Fervor sufficient to lay myself bare and vulnerable in my Unfettered Intent. There are ways in which I am of the most Arrogant Assumption that I can help you, but as the roc helps the princess in the Tales of Scenalia (abridged), so, too, I must ask you for stories.

"Are you here to show the Raven King the respect he deserves? Or, if you will pardon me—I have only recently returned to Alhaster, and lack the Mainstream Parlance to Speak Falsely—are you here to topple the wicked Prince's throne and put an end to his Great Project?"

"Zeech's Great Project? I don't remember if we heard anything about that..."

Carina looks down at her lap in thought.

"Zeech's Great Project? I don't remember if we heard anything about that..."

Carina looks down at her lap in thought.

Lashonna, of course, has said she will attend, though Eben gets the sense everyone is a bit anxious about that. Rumor has it she's been arguing with Prince Zeech lately about the Great Project—some sort of construction project, as Eben understands it—and some worry she might decide against attending. Eben also gets the sense that these rumors are more linked to the general adoration for Lashonna than any real likelihood; Lashonna has never missed a date before.

"I mean. That's why we're here now. But you gotta understand that Zeech has got us in a sticky situation and any action we take will have to be covert until Zalamandra is safe and sound."

Pretty much lost at this point, Tanith takes a seat alongside Cuetzpalli. He looks to Eben and Carina for some kind of confirmation that things are going well.

Eben looks appraising, then looks like he's made a decision. "Honestly... we're not fans of the way things work here, I think you can guess that much. But when we came here, we had- have- much bigger, literally world-threatening items on our agenda. This was just supposed to be a fact-finding stopover, with a note to come back and take a long hard look at the politics later, assuming there's a world left."

"But if there's a way we can accomplish our original goal, and also free Zalamandra . . ." Astraden shoots Eben a look as she continues, saying "Seems like if we only worry about the big picture of 'rooting out the Triad,' we're not doing anything more for the world than Zeech himself. We gotta help people along the way."

1d20 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18

"I agree with Eben that we have bigger fish to fry but if there's so.ething we can do while we hunt our next lead we should do it. Or at least put a plan in place for later."

"Zeech's Great Project? I don't remember if we heard anything about that..."

Carina looks down at her lap in thought.

Miomay blinks. "Oh, that's right. Well, that would make the Blessed Angels glad to hear, I expect—their Endeavors to Rot the Seeds of Awareness have been Fruitful Indeed. The Great Project is a...it's one of those things one must See to Believe. A construction on the southwest end of the peninsula. I...I cannot Convey the Numerability of those unlucky souls cast onto the streets by the efforts of our Prince to see the monument through."

The playwright seems a little demoralized by the party's explanation, though she takes it stoically. "Well, I suppose I probably should have guessed that you would have more...Mammoth Mackerel to fry. World-ending, you say. I'd be Dreadfully Distraught if the world were to end, you know—I have several friends living in the region. If I might Boldly Inquire, what are the facts you hope to find? Is there anything my colleagues and I could do to help your efforts to Slip Beneath the All-Seeing Evil Eyes that Survey our Every Effort? You might be surprised at the tricks we find amongst our Scarf-Stuffed Sleeves here at the Playhouse."

"Iunno honestly. Is there any way you can steal a sorcerer out from under the noses of probably several Blessed Angels if not Zeech himself?"

Try to have fun guys, that's the point after all!

I hope everyone else finds good games! I feel kind of bad about taking up a slot with all the cool concepts you guys made.

As one who has had to do the same thing KC did in selecting players for a PbP game, I know how hard it is to select players. Though I am disappointed about not making it into the game, I will wish the lucky (?) players good luck in this game!

BTW...I have been toying with the idea of running another PbP here, and since I have been through this adventure already, I could give this AP game a go. All who did not make it into his game would be allowed into mine. I will wait until KC gets his own game going before I pull the switch on here since there may yet be some dropouts.

Aw, shucks. Well, I'll be reading the adventures of this intrepid group regardless, so I'll try to avoid feeling too jealous. Have fun, guys!
Eric- count me as interested if you go ahead with that!

Robert Melechant wrote:

Isnt zuoken a psionics god?

He is the god of self-perfection, to include psionics.

thanks, I couldn't remember.

Damn, lost out again.
but seriously, have fun playing guys.

Gratz to everyone but please don't ask me if I want to play in your game. I am not interested. -+