”Well, Irovetti is technically already an enemy of ours, given that he is responsible for the conditions we just liberated Fort Drelev from. And until we establish solid roads and expand everything to encompass all in between there and the capitol, it’s likely he would try to attack it again at some point.” Vibenia points out.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Since the party has been told where the bog mummies are, the party goes to where the bog mummies are.
The party soon reaches the area where the Bog Mummies are believed to lair.
How are you approaching? Also make your Perception checks please.
Marten draws blade and shield as the team approaches the bog.
"Anyone see them?" he asks as he maneuvers Tracer through the muck. (Fortunately, the enchanted horseshoes help to overcome the slowness of traveling through mud.)
His sword dips slightly as he concentrates.
Siofra, who has unaccountably decided to accompany the team for this one, sarcastically says, "Maybe they're hiding under the mud, tin-hat."
Niadroub Kliip considers what he knows about Bog Mummies. Are they susceptible to fire as much as desert mummies are supposed to be.
.
.
Niadroub spots two Mummies hiding under the mud and plant life.
Marten detects that there's Evil in the area.
What now?
Sitting atop Mist, Vibenia keeps her crossbow ready as Dusk stalks along at her side, keeping a keen eye out for danger.
Bending in the saddle, she utters something in Sylvan, channeling natural power into Dusk as his jaws increase in power and strength
Mouse's nose scrunches at some horrid smell, making her look around for maybe a pile of dead fish and rotting mushrooms. Instead she sees the wrapped forms of two humanoids waiting to pounce on them.
The halfling slips her blade out of its sheath, and attempts to disappear from their view as well.
Mouse's keen eyes spot the third Bog Mummy hiding to one side, it looks like they wanted you to move among them before they ambushed you.
What are you doing now. The Mummies currently are still in hiding waiting for you to move closer.
Zelera didn't really know anything about bog mummies other than to assume they were an undead of some kind and she hoped Niadroub had a better idea than she did. There were some things she could do, the main one being the preparations she took every day.
[ooc]I plan to cast blade barrier between us and the two that are on the same side together. If someone moves into that area, then I will do that for the single one instead.
.
** spoiler omitted **
Niadroub Kliip explains that these mummies are susceptible to cold energy, and that they are actually resistant to fire and a bit to non-magical damage in general. Also, any protection against supernatural fear that is available would be good for the group.
Whenever the party is ready, Niadroub Kliip will start things off by casting icy prison on the nearest mummy. He'll try to coordinate the casting with Zelera's blade barrier.
Niadroub starts the ball rolling by encasing Orange in ice!
What is everyone else doing in the surprise round?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Marten casts bless weapon in preparation for fighting the undead.
Siofra starts singing extemporaneously:
"It's a jape in the bog
With the mud and the log
And the dead men that don't sleep!
While wizards and priests
and even little peeps
Release the bog from creeps!
And there goes the tin-hat
Riding on his horse-brat
To shout and rail and sweep!
Tin-hat! Tin-hat! He's a little tin-hat!
Here to save the day!
Tin-hat! Tin-hat! He's a little tin-hat!
If only he knew the way!"
Uttering another invocation in Sylvan as she runs a finger along her crossbow, imparting the power to infuse a bit of the pull of gravity on every bolt it fires
Mouse takes the opportunity to rush towards the isolated mummy.
The party except for Zelera can now act!
Marten glances over to his colleagues to see if he should maneuver Tracer around the blade barrier to engage the other two mummies, or stick close so that everyone can benefit from his presence.
Mouse's heart tried to freeze up suddenly, but the flagon symbol under her breastplate dug into her skin just enough to remind her there are things greater than a simple halfling and a bog mummy, and one is looking out of her.
.
.
What is everyone doing?
The halfing ignored the fear, rushing the rest of the way through the bog, and stabbed the mummy while it was still getting up from its hiding place.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mouse wounds Yellow badly, it looks to be barely unalive.
Next?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Niadroub Kliip has been studying up. He casts scorching ray, but he uses a new arcane exploit that he's learned to have the rays deal cold damage instead of fire damage. It's totally amazing if you know about arcane stuff.
What's not totally amazing, however, is his aim.
Marten waits for his team to deal with the mummy on the left, then maneuvers Tracer to the right side.
The mount, however, is terrified of the mummies, and Marten is forced to dismount.
Siofra continues to inspire Mouse from afar.
.
Orange writhes in its icy prison.
Niadroub blasts Red twice, damaging it heavily.
Zelera & Vibenia?
With an order from Vibenia, Dusk begins to charge forward to support Mouse but slams into the wave of despair as if it were a solid wall. Overwhelmed by the fear, he turns tail, running back to Vibenia’s side.
Frowning as she sees the creature’s effect on Dusk and Tracer, Vibenia holds her position, keeping Mist in her place as she fires to support her allies in melee, her first two shots targeting the mummy being approached by Marten, and the following two targeting Mouse’s opponent.
Vibenia's first two shots finish the imprisoned Orange. Her next wounds yellow, but her last misses.
Zelera?
Zelera, with only one mummy not engaged, cast a prayer and a barrier of whirling blades surrounded it!
Gunoke flew up in the air and flung a bolt of electricity at the mummy that Mouse was attacking.
Gunoke ends Yellow.
.
.
The bog mummy nuisance taken care of, Niadroub Kliip teleports the party back to Thornholme.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Back in Thornholme, Marten has two deal with two consequential things.
As the team is dealing with day-to-day administrivia, Marten is just leaving a meeting with Lord Colwyn and trying to address some small local problems when there is a sudden burst of magical energy and a swirling vortex forms out of nothing, deposits a person, and vanishes.
The deposited individual, apparently a human male, wears ragged blue clothing, including a cloak and trews, and has dark hair and a lean, scruffy appearance. He scrambles to his feet as petitioners flee the chamber and Marten reaches for Falling Leaf while concentrating his honed sense of those intending malice.
The arrival brushes off nonexistent dust and mumbles something about thinking that Marten would be taller before he puts his hands up defensively. "No, no, I'm not here to cause trouble! I came to, uh, to warn you. No, er, I mean, to help you. I'm from the future, you see," he says with a conspiratorial lean forward.
Skeptical, Marten keeps his hand on his blade and says, "I'll have to talk to Niadroub about preventing such entrances in our governing spaces. What exactly are you here to help with, and who are you, and why?"
The man bows with a flourish and says, "I am Dalsin Kerr, MASTER OF TIME!"
Marten continues to look skeptical.
"Well, I mean..." says Dalsin. "I mean I arrived here sort of by accident, but it was on my list, all right? So I just need to... um... let the clock wind forward and everything will be fine. Eeeeeverrryything will be fiiiiine. I couldn't possibly screw up the timeline more."
Marten shakes his head. "I'm getting Niadroub. You, come with me."
Marten goes to find his wizarding friend to try to make some sense of this.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Independent of other Problems, Marten stops in to chat with Lord Colwyn.
"I have a personal matter, my lord," he broaches hesitantly. Paladins are supposed to be immune to fear, but he seems nervous?
Colwyn waves a hand for Marten to get on with hid. The laconic lord is busy with lots of paperwork. Letters, mostly. Supplicants, requests, demands.
"I... I mean Tessara... I mean we would like to be married, and have a home of our own."
Colwyn glances up at Marten from beneath his shaggy eyebrows, and after several seconds he tilts his head in a slightly-ominous way.
"Do you mean to retire to the country, Marten?" says Colwyn at last.
Marten gulps and says, "Well... I should spend some time with my wife. And uh... if we wind up in the family way... I mean, I should be responsible about it."
Colwyn wags his finger and says, "You have responsibilities here! When you joined you knew that this country was not a simple problem that you can just flounce in, have some adventures, and then skitter off to who knows where to indulge your baser appetites."
Marten shifts from foot to foot and says, "Sire, uh, I understand. I have an obligation here and I mean to fulfill it. It's just, uh, Tessara also requires, um, fulfillment."
Colwyn finally breaks into a toothy grin and says, "I'm just joshing with you, lad. Of course you have my blessing. Some people say you can't serve two masters, but I find that really, the challenge of responsibility is in navigating multiple obligations at the same time. Come on, let's talk about where to have the ceremony."
Marten looks relieved as he says, "Well, Tessara wanted to see if we could renovate one of the old elven ruins. She's very traditional about certain things..." as the two of them wander off to discuss the event.
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Tessara pays an unexpected visit to Zelera. The elf woman is much more composed than her fiance.
"Zelera, you know that Marten and I plan to marry, yes?" she says, getting right to the point. "And have a family and possibly a tragic love story, since he's human and all."
"Anyway, I wanted to ask if you would perform the ceremony for us. Because I like you, and I think you would do something... memorable."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It was nice to be back again and Zelera did her usual routine, relaxed in her favorite tree, pull a few pranks, and eventually went to take care of any business that had come up from the local population, fey or otherwise. It was during this time that Tessara found here and brought up her request.
"I'm honored you came to me Tessara but I must ask, are you sure you want me to perform it? The Eldest hate the gods and Marten is a paladin," Zelera responded. Then, after a moment, a rather amused smile crossed her lips as she continued, "Having said that the Lantern King would likely enjoy the humor in one of his performing a wedding ceremony for a paladin dedicated to two of the gods with biggest sticks up their asses to be a rare chance to pull one over on them and get away with it."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It was nice to be back again and Zelera did her usual routine, relaxed in her favorite tree, pull a few pranks, and eventually went to take care of any business that had come up from the local population, fey or otherwise. It was during this time that Tessara found here and brought up her request.
"I'm honored you came to me Tessara but I must ask, are you sure you want me to perform it? The Eldest hate the gods and Marten is a paladin," Zelera responded. Then, after a moment, a rather amused smile crossed her lips as she continued, "Having said that the Lantern King would likely enjoy the humor in one of his performing a wedding ceremony for a paladin dedicated to two of the gods with biggest sticks up their asses to be a rare chance to pull one over on them and get away with it."
Tessara says, "One of the... challenges of our dalliance is that Marten is far, far more mortal than I am. He is taking this seriously, and it is a serious matter, but he needs to be able to laugh, to live in the moment, to take the challenges of life and turn them into treasured memories instead of angry rebukes that later become bitter regrets."
"I think that a god worthy of serving is a god who can laugh, and the worthiness of virtue demands less ego, not more."
After the snows melt and the green returns to the Stolen lands you are summoned the the throne room by Colwyn.
You arrive to find him looking remarkably diplomatic, there is a stranger in the room dressed in what looks to be some type of uniform.
He is a Pitax herald.
"Our guest here has come to deliver a most flattering invitation. He will wait a day for your response. " Colwyn says, seemingly pleased. Those who have adventured with him can tell he's not as impressed as the Herald thinks he should be by the invitation.
.
You all know that Pitax has been secretly maneuvering against your kingdom. Colwyn is currently pretending you don't know this.
What are you doing now? You can discuss this with Colwyn without the herald overhearing you.
The man bows with a flourish and says, "I am Dalsin Kerr, MASTER OF TIME!"
Marten continues to look skeptical.
"Well, I mean..." says Dalsin. "I mean I arrived here sort of by accident, but it was on my list, all right? So I just need to... um... let the clock wind forward and everything will be fine. Eeeeeverrryything will be fiiiiine. I couldn't possibly screw up the timeline more."
Marten shakes his head. "I'm getting Niadroub. You, come with me."
Marten goes to find his wizarding friend to try to make some sense of this.
Niadroub Kliip can be found in his distillery refilling his flasks in preparation for teacher interviews, which is probably the way it's normally done.
After Marten finishes explaining Daisin Kerr's tale, he takes a long pull from a flask of something terrible while giving the new mage the stinkeye.
"Hoow far een the future? And cen you proove eet?"
After the snows melt and the green returns to the Stolen lands you are summoned the the throne room by Colwyn.
You arrive to find him looking remarkably diplomatic, there is a stranger in the room dressed in what looks to be some type of uniform.
** spoiler omitted **
"Our guest here has come to deliver a most flattering invitation. He will wait a day for your response. " Colwyn says, seemingly pleased. Those who have adventured with him can tell he's not as impressed as the Herald thinks he should be by the invitation.
.
You all know that Pitax has been secretly maneuvering against your kingdom. Colwyn is currently pretending you don't know this.
What are you doing now? You can discuss this with Colwyn without the herald overhearing you.
Niadroub Kliip reads the invitation and doesn't react in any way other than a raised eyebrow as he looks around at the others.
After they return home, Vibenia spends some of the winter traveling throughout their domain, patrolling the wilds and better establishing the network of hunters and rangers that both feed and protect the population of their growing nation, taking time to connect with the growing village and training camp at the Thorn Ford.
Supplying herself for the trek, the ranger makes her way to the ancient statue of Erastil, feeling the deep resonating power of Old Deadeye in the place, since despite years of neglect, the site remained sacred to the god of the hunt.
She spends days thoroughly cleaning the stone statue, clearing the base a bit while maintaining the natural appeal of the place, and when finished, says a prayer to Erastil before it, feeling the power fill the area and a blessing settle upon her.
Embarking on a hunt in celebration, the Marshal of the Kamelands brings down an almost indescribably massive boar after a grueling hunt, honoring her patron and the natural world.
She begins the process of setting up a new lodge, a domain within the wilds and point from which to keep track of the southwestern edges of their Republic.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------
Arriving at the throneroom amid the warmer weather, Vibenia enters with Dusk loping alongside her, taking a seat as she notes the stranger in the room.
’Pitaxian, likely making gestures of friendship to cover some new underhanded action.’
Reading the invitation, she guards her visible reaction, though the soft exhalation that escapes her is as clear as a scoff to her friends. ”I’m assuming we’re all in agreement that there’s more to this?”