Legacy of Fire (Inactive)

Game Master dinketry

"WHAT'S THE HOUSE OF THE BEAST?!?!" Min shouts down at Razif. "AND DO YOU MEAN UZMA'S DEAD?"

Min waits nervously for a response....

Razif is at a complete loss for words for a while. It takes a while before he snaps out of it to respond, a lot less powerful than his other responses. "... I think he is, Min."
He lets out a deep sigh, devastated by the news. In an attempt to clear his mind, he starts answering Min's other question. He moves closer to the staircase, so he doesn't need to shout any more. "Master Alaf-laha mentioned the House during his tale... It was a big temple of Rovagug and the main base for the genie Jhavul while he tried to complete his plan."

Just then, the bright light of dawn shines through the wall of the mansion in a way that should not occur. Alaf-laha's head rises from his work at tending to Drael and he calls out: "My dear gnomes, Min and Rab-rab, you need to come downstairs immediately and join the rest of us. This mansion will be no more before much longer and I cannot summon its like again until after I have rested."

He looks at Razif and Layaali in turn. "Truly, this news is horrible and my condolences are with you for the loss of Uzma Mahdi al Kalid. Unfortunately, the time of this refuge is at hand. We must seek shelter from the blazing sun amidst the Brazen Peaks. I need to rest in order to best tend to your disease, Layaali, and to revive Drael. Then I must be on my way, and leave you to your destinies."

As the shedu speaks, you all notice the walls and objects within the mansion growing curiously transparent. The light of dawn shines forcefully down upon you.

"We have been imploring on your hospitality immensely, Master Alaf-laha. I understand I'm repeating myself, but you have my deepest gratitude."
Razif leaves the mansion and takes a look at how to best reach shelter.
Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
However, his fatigue, both physical and emotional, has taken its toll, and he's noticeably less sharp than usual.

Undrella steps up to Razif as he shakes his head in frustration. She cocks her head at the ranger.

"You are weak," she says bluntly. "You are of little use to us in this state." The harpy turns to the desert bustard following her. "Bird. Come here," she orders.

The bird waddles obediently forward. Undrella turns back to Razif. "Touch the bird," she tells Razif.

Undrella watches impassively.

Razif touches the bird, and, to his complete surprise, immediately feels healing magic soothe his wounds.
"Wait, you have... Why didn't you... Actually, nevermind. Thank you, Undrella."

He turns his head towards the mountains again.
Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
But to no avail. "I'm just no good this morning, it seems."

Min shrieks. "Ahh! Run Rab-rab! And drink your drink before it vanishes!" He quickly shoves one more bite of food in his mouth and hurries downstairs with Rab-rab.

Once they're outside Min looks at Undrella. "Oh, dear." He turns around and whispers to his sister. "Okay. Turn around, and lets hide behind some rocks as we travel. Her magic only reaches so far. And maybe if she doesn't see us she'll forget we're here to enchant!"

Min leads Rab-rab behind some rocks. They follow along really quietly while the group travels.

Then Min sees Razif has no idea where they're going. He sighs loudly. "I think they need your help, Rab-rab." Very nervously he creeps out from behind the rock to keep an eye on his sister while she figures out which way to go.

Rab-rab runs downstairs really quick and outside. Then she hides behind some rocks with Min.

When she sees Razif is confused she giggles. She pops out, looks around, and finds a safe way to shelter.

Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Tired and weak, Layaali stumbles out of the tower. At seeing the bird heal Razif she gives Undrella a nod of thanks, and at the sight of the gnomes slinking around she smiles gently.

It had been a long night. They had lost people. She had lost herself. And before this was over? They would probably lose more.

Her smile fades. Unable to help guide the group to safety she hopes that Rab-rab can find her way.

hello Layaali

Razif seems confused and lost as the motley gang trudges through the foothills. The gnome kineticist takes over trail-finding duties for the ranger, eventually leading the team into the shadow of a rocky tor. Razif and Layaali virtually collapse in exhaustion. Undrella and Alaf-laha have passed the march in tense silence, the latter's attention split between the harpy and the unconscious form of Drael.

"This will have to do," Alaf-laha pronounces. "I do not think we can travel much farther. You all need to rest but first, I need to tend to your illnesses."

Heal Checks: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 281d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 271d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

Alaf-laha expertly dresses the wounds of the infected as Undrella follows from a distance, cocking her bird-head at odd angles as she observes the healer in action. She backs away as the shedu rises, as if repelled by his inherent disdain.

"You will now rest. I will watch over you. ALL of you," he says in harsh reference to the harpy without directly referencing her.

Drael, Layaali, and Razif all need to make a Fortitude DC 18 check at a +4 bonus before continuing.

"Thanks! Good night!"

Rab-rab goes to sleep.

Fort: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 4 = 20
Is Drael conscious now?

Min cuddles up near his sister. Quickly falls asleep, and begins to snore.

Fortitude: 1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 4 = 10

We are still awaiting Razif's Fortitude roll at a +4 before we advance.

Constitution: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 4 - 1 = 16

That dang con damage...

As the sun sets on the desert, the gang stirs from their hideout under the rocky tor. Undrella is nowhere to be seen. Layaali and Razif look much worse for wear with painful red papules peppering their flushed red skin during their sleep. Layaali doesn't awake with the others. Alaf-laha murmurs sympathetically to Razif.

"Young champion, the demon fever has ravaged you during your rest. You need to sit still and let me tend to your illness. It would seem that Layaali has also succumbed to the ravages of that hideous demon," he gestures to the unconscious form of the oracle. "Now, be still please."

Alaf-laha spends the next 15 minutes tending to Drael, Layaali, and Razif.

The demon fever has been removed from both Layaali and Razif via two castings of remove disease by the shedu. He also cast an empowered cure moderate wounds on Layaali, He lastly cast restoration on Razif, restoring all of his constitution damage and the 1 point of CON drain that he had (though no hit points). I've spoilered the stats on Drael, Layaali, and Razif below.

After the ministrations, the shedu looks drained. He sits briefly, folding his forearms in front of him.

"The harpy Undrella has returned to Kelmarane so as to not trigger suspicion. She provided most of the watch during the day: I had to rest in order to restore my much-needed healing abilities. I think that you indeed have a powerful ally in the harpy - she left these behind as a token of her aid." Here, the shedu produces two keys with a troubled look on his face. "The first and larger key is to the north door of the battle market; the other is the key to the prison cells on the ground floor."

Alaf-laha hands over the keys to Razif.

"You must continue your quest, heroes of destiny. I have no further role to play in your story at this stage; the sands of time blow my fate to the north. I do hope our paths cross again."

As the group gathers their things about them, the shedu begins walking north, deeper into the Brazen Peaks. He turns once, holding his arm high in farewell.

"BYE!" Rab-rab calls out, waving happily. "Thanks for saving my brother!"

Min takes the keys and inspects them. Then he gives them to Razif for safekeeping. ”Talking to the harpy was your idea. So you should keep these.”

Then he looks at Drael. ”Also, we traded away your hand in marriage to Undrella in exchange for saving your life. So… you should probably prepare for that. Like… mentally. She really wants to marry you. And, you know, you’d be dead just like Uzma without her. OH! And Uzma’s dead. They killed him and peed on him.” Min nods. ”Which is horrible! And mean! Undrella saved you from that. I don’t like her very much, but I think she’s better than being horribly tortured, killed, and peed on. Hopefully you do too.”

(You’re welcome, Drael! Hahahaha).

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

"I have said this many times, but your generosity and hospitality have been a true blessing in these harsh times. Thank you, Master Alaf-laha, and may our group be able to repay your for your services next time. Farewell."

Razif looks at the keys and smiles, happy that the faith in his deity's code seems to have worked out perfectly well.

...traded away your hand in marriage to Undrella...
Razif snickers. Well, almost perfectly well.

With renewed energy, Razif addresses his companions.
"Friends, we're not currently in the best of conditions, but I feel like we've crossed a threshold last night. We survived through that pure misery, and I believe that we're ready to take on anything Kelmarane hides, be it the gnolls, Kezurkian, Kardswann, or anything else that stands in the way of our mission!"
He turns to the sunrise.
"Dawn is approaching. Where will we go next?"

Layaali bows in farewell to Alaf-laha. "Thank you for your care, hospitality, and aid. Until we meet again."

As he leaves Layaali turns to the rest of her comrades. At Min's words she pales. "We did?" She looks at Drael. "Oh... My condolences." After a moment she smiles at him sadly. "Although I admit to being glad the bargain was struck. We need you."

At Razif's optimistic attitude Layaali's smile slips a tad. "I pray you're right."

Drael shakes his head, groggy and confused as he is bombarded with a great deal of chatter.

First, I am not marrying the harpy. I don't care what you told her or what she did, that was not your promise to make. Second, thank you Alaf-laha for your assistance. Without your help no doubt none of us would have survived the night.

As Alaf-laha fades into the distance, he wipes his brow and clambers to his feet. Well, what's next?

As the sun sets on the desert...

He turns to the sunrise.

"Dawn is approaching. Where will we go next?"

He turns to the SUNSET - DUSK is approaching. You have been travelling by night.

Ah, dang, my head was still thinking about the dawn shining through the sanctuary just a few posts earlier. Sorry for being time-confused so often in this campaign.

Razif sits down and looks at Drael."Undrella... mostly filled in the blanks herself. The only promise I extended was to introduce her as your lover so no harm would befall her. I did that exactly once, but I doubt Alaf-laha truly believed it. I apologize for doing so, but I saw no other option to save you."

Razif then looks into the desert sands, trying to figure out their options.
"We've been out of commission for a while, it might be a good idea to report back at the monastery. Either that or try our hand at sneaking into the city again, but I wonder if we should first find some sort of way to get an edge against that schir..."

You are all fairly high up in the foothills of the Brazen Peaks overlooking Kelmarane; any higher would be classified as "mountainous". You are also a few hours from the walls of the city. You are closer to the hideout of the Three Jaws pack than anything else, though you're not sure what might be left of them.

"Was the schir not defeated?" Layaali asks in confusion. "Or is there more than one?"

At that point, Razif realized he didn't actually have an answer to that question.
"... Now that you mention it... I'm not sure what actually happened. All I know is that when I came to, he was nowhere to be found. Not even a corpse, so at the time I assumed he just left us for whatever reason, I didn't really think to ask. Rab-rab, were you conscious the whole time? What happened?"

"Oh. I killed him and saved all of you. I'm amazing. You're welcome." Rab-rab nods matter of factly. Eventually she adds, "Min helped too."

Min nods. "Yeah, I used that holy water and it worked. Oh! I forgot. I used your holy water against the demon, Layaali. It worked." He looks very proud that his sister admitted he was helpful.

Layaali checks her belt pouch to find her holy water is, in fact, gone. She smiles at the gnomes. "Would that I could match the heroism of the pair of you."

"I think we should go back to Kelmarane before they bind any more demons."

"No way, Min! I want to see the monastery so they know we're not all dead."

Razifs mouth opens in impressed surprise. "You managed to kill it? That's amazing! You two really are a force to be reckoned with... Provided the two of you can agree with each other."

"I agree with Rab-rab on this one, I think. We might benefit from just a little more rest before tackling the city once again."

That’s two for returning to the monastery and one for returning to Kelmarane. We need Drael and Layaali to vote.

"I understand your worry, but I feel we should press on. I agree with Min."

Looking to Drael she asks, "And you? What do you believe our course should be?"

Drael nods in agreement with Layaali, The longer we leave our enemies alone the more dangerous they may become, we should return quickly.

Rab-rab crosses her arms and sticks out her bottom lip in a pout. "Auw! I want to go sleep in a proper bed." She sighs loudly. "Fine. Let's go then. But King Jack-jack and I won't like it."

Min smiles at Rab-rab and adjusts his glasses. ”One day I’ll be able to make a magical tower for us to live in, just like Alaf-laha did. You just need to be patient.”

"Looks like we lost this one, Rab-rab." He sighs along with her, but doesn't complain for long, gets up and checks his gear. "Alright then, back to Kelmarane we go."

The gang slowly picks their way down out of the foothills of the Brazen Peaks back towards the city walls. As they spy the dark outlines of Undrella's lair and the makeshift gallows at the north end of the bridge, a breeze kicks up, bringing with it a light squall of rain that quickly dries up.

Welcome back! You're on the map again - please feel free to tell me where you'd like to go. It's just after midnight.

Hmmm. A quick peek into Undrella's place, followed by a quick peek into the buildings we've been in before. Then a thorough look-see at the first unexplored building we come to along the road. What was the furthest we got again? 7?

Sounds like a plan! I just checked and yeah, we were done checking out 7 when we got interrupted by a gnoll patrol.

The gang peer into the still-dark former dwelling of the harpy Undrella before crossing the bridge once again. They make their way up the incline towards the centre of town, coming up to the large three-story dwelling (#7) that overlooks the harbour. Having not had a chance to fully investigate the site further, the gang takes time to explore the largely-intact three-story dwelling.

GM roll: 1d10 ⇒ 8

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Min looks around. "Hmmm..."

Rab-rab looks around, too.

Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

"Huh! This place would be great for spying on the town! It's so tall we could even see into the upper parts of town from here! Come on, let's go look!"

Drael moves quickly to pass Rab-rab on the way to the building, sword in hand. Let's be careful, someone else may have had the same idea. They'll know we're in the area now.

Drael approaches the building, staring up at it with suspicion.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Drael, you are currently at 22/32 hp. You leveled up, but you didn't heal the damage that you had. Min, you have 2 pts of CON dmg, not 3.

The gang head up to the third floor of the unoccupied mansion and indeed fiery torches can be seen illuminating the open south entrance to the impressive battle market. It is a three-story circular stone fortress with massive stone doors to the east (closed) and south (open).

Side View of Battle Market (Slide 9)

"What do you see?" Layaali whispers to the others, unable to see far enough to be of any use.

While they look she keeps guard over them, crossbow loaded and in hand, watching the building interior, stairwell, and surrounding hallways.

Noted. Are those spoilers for my last perception check, or should I roll another?