Reign of Winter (group two) (Inactive)

Game Master Whack-a-Rogue

old sinister? young sinister? jusr sinisiter sinister?

His paw immeadiately went to his katana and he looked about about ears laid back and tail lashing.

"Show yourself voice!

He half growled out looking for the source.

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

"Because ya might try but you'll fail." Hobbes says drawing his bow.

@Silence: evil sinister - and definitely not human. Also, you're positive that the voice isn't a spell or illusion - there's definitely someone invisible in this room, although you're unable to pinpoint her exact location.

"Threats mean nothing when they come from injured, powerless fools. Why are you intruding into my sanctum?"

By the way, from a meta standpoint, this is one of those plot-significant areas I mentioned a while back. This can be resolved peacefully or through violence, but - more importantly - you FINALLY get a chance to RP with an NPC for as long as you want. :-)

"Apolgies for intruding upon yours'. We are quest for Dearest Grandmother from Rider of Deepest Midnight." Neverhome responds.

I'm back!
"Yup, we definitely didn't mean any offense, or that we were intruding somewhere private. "

There's a surprisingly-lengthy pause, before your unseen interrogator responds. "You're servants of Baba Yaga? Prove it, and I'll consider letting you live. If you're lying, I'll make your deaths slow and painful."

When we got the constant endure elements from the Black Rider did it come with any identifying marks or anything?

Not explicably - although the Dancing Hut appeared to recognize you when you approached. It was an immediate shift from Hostile to Friendly.

Can't we show her Ered's Blackblade?

... Yeah, we might neee to start carrying that around with us.

That's a really interesting and creative idea. :-) Time to add an item to the Loot List - although it will remain unsellable. The party's now in possession of an intelligent Lawful Neutral +1 frost scimitar. :-)

He didnt want to motion that there was indeed something or some one in the room, after all they were watching them. Ears twitching straining for any sign or where they were he seemed to relaz though he was in the unltimate of concentration.

How often have you... ran across those willing to make such a claim? Never the less we are what we claim. The Quiet pause one moment before the pounce upon ones prey, in a cool winter evening with a slight wind blowing from the east, though you may call my Silence...yes yes, whom am I addressing friend?

He began taking a seat leg over leg in a meditative position.

diplomacizing: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

Sigrun remains silent as she listens to the exchange between her friends and the....entity in the room with them.

Not being able to think of anything else at this point Neverhome simply shrugs and retrieves the black blade that Eredhaias always carried with him.

An invisible hand snatches the blade away from Neverhome. A long pause follows, before a dark-skinned otherworldly woman materializes. After taking another long moment to size you up, she returns Ered's sword and retrieves a bottle. "You are not Riders, but because one is willing to vouch for you, I will pass on my message as instructed." She then smashes the bottle against one of the menheirs, conjuring forth a voice that can only belong to Baba Yaga. "If you hear these words, my own blood has betrayed me. Jadrenka has one key; the other lies in the Eon Pit. Follow my trail!"

Night Hag

"Eon Pit?" Neverhome asks, not even batting an eye at the Hag's appearance.

"It lies deep in the heart of Artrosa and possesses incredible power, for its presence is a key part of this fortress' binding ritual. Anyone who dares to brave its depths must endure the curse of aging."

Neverhome bows in appreciation. "And who is Jadrenka?"

The hag chuckles. "The warden, of course!"

"Ah, da. We have already met."

Ya. She was a little off, but not a bad lady.
Say, what about gnomes? You say the Pit contains a curse of aging. Gnomes don't age. What happens to us?

Sigrun raises an eyebrow at the discovery that gnomes failed to age the way others did.

Gnomes do age, by the way - just SUPER slowly like Elves.

The hag cackles. "They bleach!"

Only if we're bored! So I'm immune to the aging effects then! Because I'm not bored and you can't make me that bored in a place like this! Ha!
Pretty points at the ugly hag and does a little dance.

I'm pretty sure gnomes are effectively immortal as long as they keep their boredom in check.
Bleaching
Still, if you want to say otherwise I won't argue. :)

Of all the civilized races, only elves live longer than gnomes, giving rise to the popular misconception among other races that gnomes are immortal save for the Bleaching. In truth, gnomes age the same way as the other humanoid races do, only more slowly, growing older and weaker until they finally succumb to disease or failing organs.

I didn't learn this until earlier this year.

I stand corrected. Consider Percy to be slightly misinformed as to her own physiology. :)

The only way forward is to reach our mortality that much quicker then? If we are not riders to aid the Yaga Baba yes yes why do we rush to aid her?

He growled in a slight fit of feline annoyance. He rose to his feet and glared at the night hag. He began to pace in the place clearly annoyed with things here.

No worries guys just this is so not Silence's element dont worry about the tail lashing kitty >^.^<

Crow listens to the hag, before crossing her arms and tilting her head. "What about outsiders, tough? I'm fairly sure I don't age: would the well still do something to me? Or, suppose we send some kind of golem or something down there: would it rust away, or the well affects only living things?"

"I didn't think I'd live to old age anyway... How bad is it?"

"There's only one way to find out. "

Although when you consider the" all loot drops for a reason" principle and the Migrus Locker, the answer should be obvious. ;-)

First person who tries to sacrifice Noise gets tossed down the stairway -_-

Well then Old Man Hobbes it is then unless we have a better plan.

Crow the Sparkliest Outsider That Doesn't Age?

Unless something worse happens to crow instead.

Link to the stairway effects

So we have to have someone sacrifice their age, or have them run it? I forgot what was the plan.

I think only zses can do the ritual, our that's what I understood. Meaning the rest of us have to run it? Can the ritual be done to someone and therefore this hag could help us out?

One of the underlying themes of Book Three is "witches are special snowflakes." Therefore, only those with levels in the Witch class can conduct the staircase ritual.

Does Noise have any actual purpose otherwise?

Is a Kitty.

A migrus locker has no explicit purpose, but there's a whole host of creative ways to use a creepy regenerating feline construct. ;-)
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The door at the end of the hall is locked, but with a bit of effort, Hobbes is able to open it. Inside, a withered cornfield extends in all directions beneath a waning moon in a starry night sky. Dozens of dead ravens lie strewn on the ground among the shriveled stalks. Three doors lead out of this room: two to the south, and one to the north.

A bent and aged crone stands in the center of the cornfield, leaning heavily on a staff. She looks remarkably similar to the strange woman you met in the mausoleum - perhaps her mother?

Old Woman

Neverhome's eyes drift quickly back and forth between the odd and tell plants overtaking this room. Eye's finally resting on the woman Neverhome calls out to her. "Are you Warden as well?"

The old woman crooks an eyebrow at you. "As well? Look here, sonny, there's only one Warden, and that's me - Jadrenka!"

"And have we met before grandmother?" Sigrun asks in a deeply respectful tone.

Sorry about the delay; my sister got married over the weekend.

The crone looks vaguely offended, although it's possible that there was a brief twinkle in her eye. "Are you sayin' all of us old folks look alike to you?!? I don't have time for dumb questions. What do you want?"

"We need key of Eon Pit, erm... other Jadrenka gave us other key."

1d7 ⇒ 4

The crone looks shocked. "I - She did WHAT!!!" Her hands fly to the necklace of keys and scrabble through it. When she touches something gold, she relaxes - then starts laughing in genuine amusement. "Ha ha! You're a clever one, aren't you! Hows about I give you this one instead?" She tosses a brass key to you.

Key - D4a

"Okay." Neverhome quips as he catches the key, trying his best not to let his confusion show.

Even if it wasn't the specific key they needed he still liked getting it. He had always liked keys. They opened things. Freed things.

"Thanks. Can we go now?"

"Sure! Do whatever you want. Leave, stay here, doesn't matter to me. Don't worry - the ravens won't animate and attack you. Probably." Then the crone vanishes.

There's an unlocked chest in the room. And three exits (North, South, and South). And a whole bunch of dead ravens.

Alternately, there are several other routes you can take (detailed in a previous post).

Is the ground dirt or stone?