Heal check to Treat Disease - grants a +4 to next Save vs. Disease if it exceeds the disease's DC
1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
As Alvaster chews the clove, he concentrates his energy inwards, focusing on his swadisthana chakra at his navel, he feels a warmth and knows he is forcing the foul pestilence from his body.
Relieved, he stands after a while and stretches his legs. But as he turns to greet his mates with a new found vigour, there is a gurgling as the sickness mounts a counterattack, and he rushes out of the ivy choked aviary, fumbling with his breeches as he anticipates a major expulsion....Gotta roll 2 saves against Filth Fevah! Yer feelin better but now you gotta roll a reflex save to not mess yer britches!
ROLL THE DICE!
Forrest lies back on his bedroll and quickly falls into a deep slumber. After what seems like moments he is woken by a voice in his ear
"Wake up sleepyhead!"
The light is shining bright into his eyes, a figure stands over him silhouetted by the sun
"Piss off Magnun, gimme another 5 minutes"
"Don't be so lazy, Fion. My friends are waiting to meet you"
Forrest sits bolt upright "My elvish name, how did you....." there is something not quite right "what in the hells..."
The thick vines and flowers seem to have disappeared, allowing sunlight to shine into the room, instead of dust and broken furniture, the young elf finds himself lying in a silk hammock in a finely furnished bower.
Of his companions there is no sign, standing at his side is a strangely familiar, apple cheeked young girl with mischievous eyes. She smiles cheekily and pops a berry in her mouth
"A bit old, but it's the thought that counts. Come on, lets meet my friends"
Forrest climbs put of the hammock, to his horror, in place of his fine clothes he is clad in a simple hempen smock, cinched at the waist with a silk belt and curious bronze buckle.
"Ach! I look like a godsdammned peasant! What kind of sick mind would do such a thing!"
"Oh, quit being such a ponce" The child slips her hand into his and leads the confused elf along the covered walkway
He is led into the room recently guarded by the water elemental. The pool of water is gone, the beautiful patterned floor seems as bright and new as the day it was made. Standing solemnly in a semicircle are three figures, a regal older man in blue, a hooded figure in green and a beautiful maiden in white. As the young girl enters the room they bow deeply.
The child acknowledges the bows with a dip of her head "Fion these are my friends, lore-master Parmanen.."
The man in blue steps forward and bows. It is hard to guess his age, he moves with grace and vigor but his piercing green eyes seem to hold the knowledge of many centuries. His robe is made of simple material but is richly embroidered in gold thread and his hair is held in a topknot with a beautiful silver comb.
"Hunt-master Roime..."
The hooded elf steps forward and bows. His face is concealed by the hood but piercing blue eyes seem to glow in the shadows. His robe, although having clearly seen heavy use, is richly embroidered with copper thread
"and Lady Ithelwen.."
The maiden bows her head slightly in acknowledgement. She wears a flowing white robe, richly threaded with silver thread and a silver torque around her neck. Her violet eyes are mesmerizing. Forrest is captivated instantly by her unearthly beauty.
The little girl turns to Forrest
"My friends have been waiting for you to come for a long time. They have much to teach you.. if you are willing to learn"
As the least vestiges of sleep fade away Forrest begins to understand the nature of the situation.. the girl.. the berry...
He kneels in front of the child and bows his head
"My lady. I do not know why I have been chosen for this but I thank you. I am willing to learn anything you can teach me"
"Then let us begin"
Forrest looks up to find himself alone with the old man. He extends a hand to help him to his feet and leads him through the treetops to a study cluttered with ancient looking books and scrolls. There is a ceiling of fragile latticework, holding aloft panes of glass which open the room to the heavens above.The lore-master sits, and gestures for Forrest to do the same.
Without preamble Parmanen begins reciting the legends and wisdom of his people
Whilst the language seems to be mixture of sylvan and ancient elvish Forrest seems to be able to understanding intuitively. For what seems like an age he converses with the lore-master, whilst much of what he hears is strange to him he learns many secrets of the forest and the history of this place
Forrest's bardic knowledge trait allows him to add half his bard level (+2) to all knowledge skills. He also adds 1 point to K History and 2 to K Nature.
As the conversation progresses Forrest gains the confidence to ask more questions, gaining a deeper understanding of the customs of these people
Forrest adds +1 to his diplomacy
The conversation seems to take place in a timeless instant, many days or weeks could have passed but Forrest's curiosity does not weaken. Eventually the lore-master runs out of stories and all of Forrest's
questions have been answered.
Parmanen leads him back to the tiled room where the hunt-master awaits. They press palms together for a moment then Parmanen takes his leave. The hooded elf springs lightly onto the tree trunk bridge and silently indicates for Forrest to follow.
Forrest is led down from to a grassy meadow amongst the trees. Roime produces an ancient, intricately carvedongbow and nocks an arrow, and draws it back with an unusual crook to his arm. The arrow is loosed and flies across the field thudding deep into the bole of a darkwood. He draws his bow again, this time a stone at the base of the tree is shattered.
Forrest has never seen such force applied to an arrow with such accuracy. The hunt-master indicates that Forrest should try. Forrest draws back the bow and attempts to imitate the technique but it is difficult to maintain and the arrow flies wide. Roime patiently nocks another arrow and looses it. it strikes a low hanging branch and smashes it into splinters.
Forrest tries again and misses. Roime silently demonstrates his technique again.
So it goes for what seems like hours, but Forrests arm never seems to tire. Eventually, after what seems like a thousand arrows, he combines accuracy with power and his arrows flies true, thudding deeply into the darkwood next to Roimes. The hunt-master nods in approval.
Forrest takes the rogue talent weapon training - he gets +1 to attack when using a longbow.
Forrest takes the feat "Deadly Aim" He can take -2 to attack to add +4 to his damage.
The hunt-master beckons for Forrest to follow him - he runs up to the arrow studded darkwood and uses the bolts as a ladder, leaping up into the branches without a sound. Forrest gulps and tries to follow. Roime leads him on a wild race through the treetops, It takes all of Forrest's concentration to keep track of him whilst maintaining his balance. The hunt master dances through the trees spiraling to ever greater heights. They seem to be going for hours but Forrest does not tire, it seems his feet get lighter and his eyes sharper with every step
Forrest gains a point in stealth, a point in acrobatics and two points in perception
Eventually they break through to the treetops, Roime skips across the slender branches towards the surrounding cliffs. A waterfall leaps gracefully from the cliff tops to the pools below, Roime stops at a ledge at the edge of falls and waits. Forrest leaps onto the ledge but finds Roime is no longer there.
The sound of a woman's voice softly singing drifts out from behind the waterfall. Following the singing he finds himself in a small cave, illuminated by a shaft of sunlight. The maoden, Ithelwen, sits on a stone, picking at a harp and singing. She smiles as Forrest enters and invites him to sit with her.
She continues to sing, Forrest senses the song is ancient, even for these elves. As he concentrates, he notices threads of magic woven into the words.
Gradually Ithelwens outlines begins to blur, as she moves it seems her movements are followed by ghostly afterimages. The song changes pitch, Ithelwen seems to fade away to nothing. The song stops and Forrest is
alone.
Suddenly he feels a light touch on his shoulder, and looks up to see Ithelwen smiling serenely
"This is but a small part of our magic, I think it will be of great use to you"
Forrest gains a point of spellcraft. He learns the ancient elvish spells of Mirror Image and Invisibility.
She starts another song but, before Forrest can begin to analyse it, the cave blurs and he finds himself in the tiled room once more. The little girl chases a butterfly in the sunlight, giggling with delight. Seeing Forrest she stops her game and puts her hands on her hips, the butterfly lands daintily on her shoulder.
Well, Fion? Did you learn something? Is your legendary curiosity sated?"
Forrest kneels before her "My Lady, I cannot begin to thank you. I am not worthy of your grace"
She turns her nose up at the elf "Oh stop grovelling. It's very unbecoming. Anyway, this knowledge comes with an obligation..."
She turns and stares up the village, watching shadowy figures flit from hut to hut
"These people left their home, left our world, many many years ago but the connection they have to their sacred groves remains. The evil in, this forest pains them, even when they are so far way. They believe in you Fion, I believe in you, you and your friends can stop this."
"My lady, I..." He splutters.
Forrest's head spins, the world fades and becomes indistinct, the outline of the child seems to merge with the butterfly on her shoulder. Three shapes appear behind her their arms raised in farewell
"Fion, Forrest. You came here for a reason, though you did not know it at the time. Honor the memory of your teachers. Fight this evil, cleanse the sacred sanctuary. This we ask of you, it is your destiny."
The world blurs, Forrest’s eyes close and he falls into a deep sleep
He awakens, blinking in the morning sunlight. A butterfly lands daintily on the end of his nose, delicately flaps its wings and flits away, dissappearing into a beam of light.
Forget about that gey sh!t, let's see Is Alvaster gonna crap he pants
Is Alvaster gonna crap he pants?
Awakening from his lucid dream, Forrest considers the motes of dust floating through the light which filters into the Ivy choked aviary.
His blissful pondering is suddenly interupted by a hollow razzing, and looking to its source he spies Alvaster crouched, ashen-faced in the doorway."Im terribly sorry!" The quivering Cleric spouted, and with his pants around his ankles he clutched an ancient terracotta amphora to his rear and sprayed black foulness into the priceless antique.
With a small groan, he concluded his gastric encounter and pulled up his breeches, carefully placing the vase back in its place by the door.
Much later...
"So," announces Alvaster, "the plan then is light out for the swamp and approach under cover of darkness..."
He scans the room.
"No immediate rush to get going then."
"Ranger - know you any woodcrafty means to get through the swamp? I don't much fancy wading through muck at any time, let alone the black of night...
He eyes the pile of broken furniture and rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps I can throw together some wooden platforms to lash to our feet - clumsy going, but wider distribution of weight reduces the chance to sink into the mire. Just as it is written the Mammoth Lords do, when the snowdrifts grow fearsome deep."
He looks pretty doubtful about this idea though.
"Ahem, well, how about a little ah, morning constitutional eh?" Magnun added to progress the awkward scene, he stepped cautiously around the sniffling Cleric and through the doorway. "If im not mistaken there was a curious room adjacent to yonder hall where we slew that Air spirit."
Soon the party retraced their steps back through the empty wooden platform, where a faint breeze carried with it the scent of tree sap. Sure enough over a slender wooden bridge from the Hall there was another wooden platfrom, seemingly grown out of the Darkwood giant, and with wooden petals extending out on several side. This new platform was no doubt once some kind of food garden, as it now was overgrown and absolutely abundant with berries, fruit, and nectar.
Edging cautiously along the bridge, it came to Magnun's attention that the centre of this cornucopia was inhabited by a large honeycomb, which was being worked over by a huge swarm of bees.
Not daring to interfere with a foe which could possibly get the better of him, the Elvish fellow instead concentrated on the plump Puku fruit hanging within the swarm and utilised one of his cantrips to levitate a small bunch of the prized fruit past the bees and into his sack.
Forrest was quick to point out the presence of heirloom lembas wheat and insisted on aquiring for himself a small fistful of grain for further contemplation.
After they had gathered some of the delicious Elven delicacys, they realised the only avenue for further adventure was above, in the grand looking platforms they could see high above them.
They returned to the aviary and with rope and hand clambered up the ivy which grew thickly around that particular Darkwood. Alvaster feels a unpleasant cramp in his guts but hauls himself up on his nancy boy spider slippers anyway. At a simple call, his monstrous undead thrall flew up on tatty leather wings to join them.
At the top was another platform, with a curious slatted design to its walls. As they climbed inside they made out tatted wisps of silk hanging from the ceiling, and strange words written in a strange hand around the inner walls of the room. They investigated with due caution a wooden chest covered in dust, its only treasure being a delicately carved wooden tapir, seemingly ancient. Forrest deduced the words around the walls were infact some ancient poem, written to celebrate the precious yet fleeting childhood that each Elf knows in only too fleeting a fashion.
Curiously, the party noted the rope that spanned the gap twixt the dormitory they were in and the grand looking haul in an adjacent Darkwood. The rope was not of the fine silk of Elven make but infact a cruder, hemp rope, only a few years old. Idris claimed ignorance as he'd never been this far into the sanctuary, Aeglos, as it was known aeons ago.
Scrambling all across the rope, they entered a large, intricately crafted great hall. Its strange, spanning crossbeams more like hardened spiderwebs than hewn and shaped Darkwood planks. A large hole in the ceiling allowed in precious little light, it would seem a large crystal prism had collapsed in from the roof to lie amongst debris in the middle of the hall, perhaps it was the original light source, refracting light in a curious fashion no doubt. A large carved Darkwood effigy, not unlike the one that was seen earlier in the tunnel, of Desna, stood vigil over the room, a melancholic smile on the ceramic face of the diety that had no doubt been standing alone here for some time.
The party searched about and discovered most of the furniture and ancient elven decor had been stripped to use for firewood, indeed by an old firepit at one end of the room, they discovered a skeleton of an Elf, who would seem to have been here half a dozen years or so. The bones were surrounded by bottles, and it appeared the Elf had broken its back and clambered here to perish perhaps. Nearby, etched into a wall was also several names "Junior, Neinei, Mate, Taonga".
With closer inspection of the statue of Desna, Alvaster concluded that it was a source of strange warping of their magics. Indeed he figured that non agressive magics were somehow extended due to the ancient Juju of this place.
It was indeed an eerie place, but looking from the second door to the hall, Forrest exclaimed as he spotted across yet another gap between the trees, the strange glass ceilinged room from his dream, Parmenan's study.
Without much effort a rope lassoo was made and Magnun and Forrest easily traversed over to the new room. Idris and Kimi followed them over, Kimi showing little concern as she shimmied over the rope, a hundred feet above the serene pool below.
Forrest was in awe, he looked about at the ceiling, a strange pattern of latticework and glass, still whole after all these many centuries. Magnun inspected a painting of the horizon, which circled the whole room, with strange place names and symbols, it was curious to note that Fenrirs Crag was not obvious on the illustration.
Idris was inspecting an odd device, an orrery of sorts but seemed to be a bit out of his depth. The rooms once precious scrolls, books and knowledge were now nowt but a thick layer of dust. Forrest was dissapointed, but reached up and took down from its ornamental rack, a masterfully forged elven blade, which he proudly slung over his shoulder.
"Check this sh!t out!" Hollered Kimi as she wiped the dust off a strange spout that erupted out from the wall, "It's like a horn or something!"
"Dont touch anything girl!" Interrupted her father, the ranger Idris.
Forrest approached and took a long, lingering look at the tantalizing horn. They all concluded in their investigations and made ready to once again cross the rope back to Alvaster and the great hall. Forrest couldnt contain his passion, and licking his lips took a great inhalation and blew on the ancient horn!
AAAAAAAWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The noise came booming forth from the horn that coiled like a butterflies tongue beneath Parmenans study like a volcanic explosion. The sound echoed throughout the forest and the huge bass sound continued even after the Elf had stopped blowing.
Forrest goofily looked out the doorway over to Alvaster who was framed in the door of the great hall. The sound of the horn still seemed to be reverberating off the surrounding mountains and trees.
"Aue!" Idris stalled a moment, and his eyes glassed over, pupils suddenly resembling an eagle in flight. "There stirs something from the swamp!" He murmured, seeing through the eyes of his eagle companion. Suddenly with a shriek he dropped to one knee clutching his head...he seemed unable to continue.
Looking in the direction he had spoke of, the party was dismayed to see several large shapes rise from the wide swamp, Timutimu, a few kilometres away.
Alvaster, realising the danger, urgently beckoned the rest of them back into the great hall, a place of obviously superior defensibility.
Magnun ran across the rope with great dexterous haste. Forrest followed and finally Kimi roused her father and they too crossed over to what seemed like safety.
Alvaster stayed, peering at the looming shapes approaching. Three manticores he picked out at first, followed by another larger shape, a very big Manticore he concluded, with another figure astride it. He was not exactly delighted when he picked out the face of the rider, a beautiful yet intense countenance, belonging to one tall strange beauty called Ava, Ava Blackteeth it would now seem, his close aquaintance of a week past and ultimately the foe whose insidious danger they had fallen afoul of.
"Bulllllllllsssshhhhhhiiiiiiitttttttttt!" Whispered the cleric
Quaffing pots, and making ready, the adventurers scurried about to more tactical positions. They waited impatiently, and before long the sound of snapping leather wings and feline snarls were heard.
All remained silent, as yet they were undiscovered. Alvaster noted the curious yelping made outside by one of the wo-manticores, and looked to the drooling face of his undead bodyguard.
"They smell the scent of this beast!" He whispered urgently to his mates. "They are kin and they are calling to each other!"
Magnun, taking advantage of their as yet undetection, worked his magics and with a flick of his argon hued energy, span several webs to block the two doors at either end of the hall, leaving only the hole in the ceiling unwebbed.
As they sat in silence, waiting their fate, another strange noise was heard, and they looked up out through the roof to see the huge shape of a dark blue Wyvern fly over. It would seem to have been drawn to the area but for some reason was unable to spot the Elven sanctuary, and danger afoot therein.
Peeking through the webs, back out to Parmenans study, Alvaster watched as Ava landed the huge black and yellow striped Mantikahn, on top of the thick glass of its roof. She seemed to be looking about in wonder at this strange new place.
Alvaster sensed an oppurtunity that would be regrettable to waste and using his foul magicks, summoned a spiritual hammer infront of the mantikahn, and it immediatly swung to clout the huge beast right on the noggin.
Sure enough, as Alvaster predicted, the odd mewling of the Womanticores crept closer, somewhere outside, till suddenly there appeared a great hideous face at one of the doorways...they had been discovered!
The Womanticore pressed in against the webs, desperate for ingress, but became quickly entangled in Magnuns magical web. Not waiting on for introductions Alvaster quickly set about on a family reunion and set his undead Manticore against its enwebbed kin. Forrest shot two arrows in quick succession at the intruder and they flew to their mark with a thu-thud!
Two more Manticores appeared snarling at the hole in the roof, behind them stalked Ava astride her great beast, the hammer was spinning about in the air, still menacing its foe.
As she looked down into the dim room, she picked out the noseless face of Alvaster peering up.
"YOU!" She shrieked, it seemed she wasnt entirely surprised. She gestured in one hand with an ancient looking ebony staff, carved in the semblance of an emaciated man. "Alvaster I had hoped you wouldnt be behind all this, the death that begets death! I would have spared you from all this!"
"Spare us your gossip b!tch!!" Yelled Idris, half crazed from his wavering psionic link with his eagle, "Its time you found out all about death!" With those choice words the ranger raised his bow at the witch.
"Oh please! Dismissed Ava and with a wave of her free hand her eyes glowed emerald green for a moment "WHY DONT YOU BE A GOOD LAD AND GO FETCH ME A NICE BOUQUET OF FLOWERS!"
This suggestion made quite the impression on Idris and he dashed off to obey her command.
Goldie Hawn, the undead womanticore, set about her living pride-mate and tore the creature apart as it hung entangled in the magic webs, its death rattle releasing a gout of gore from its ruined jaws. No sooner had the monster been despatched than Idris took a running leap thrtough the webs, in a effort to escape the room but instead became also well entangled, much to his confused dismay.
The two other Womanticores leapt down into the fray as Kimi ducked behind the statue of desna, which slightly wobbled as she crept around it.
One manticore cornered Magnun, he had fled but been suddenly cornered by a web of his own making. With savage blows and bites the sorceror was laid out. Alvaster quickly invoked his skeletal god and raised the other womanticore from the webs, to be his new thrall. He set it after the womanticore savaging Magnun.
Forrest waved his hands in a precise fashion and from the ether popped several simulcrims to surround him. He stepped foward and fired more arrows at the other womanticore. Alvaster rushed behind him to seek cover.
Ava leant foward as the Mantikahns great spiked tailreared up behind it and it let loose a volley of cruel missiles. Several of Forrests mirror images shattered and both the Elf and the Cleric took a palpable injury.
As the womanticore contnued to worry at Magnun and rend his flesh, out from the shadows behind it sprang the newly formed Womanticore, Donatella Versace, who employed vicious talent to shred the life from the menacing (living) womanticore. Magnun lay on the ground coughing blood in agony.
Forrest pointed his fingers up at Ava and as his magicks danced about his head like a corona he attempted to charm the Witch. She responded by brushing off the glamour like it was a pesky blowfly.
She pointed at Alvaster with deep emotion , "You kill my dear Nana, then you kill my babies, just to raise them against me? You know only cruelty and death!" Green sparks fired from around her hair and out of her mouth as she seemed to fill her chest with a deep inhalation, She then screamed so loud Alvaster took a step back and covered his face with his arms. Forrest, standing right next to him could her nothing of this curious spell, but the cleric stood bravely under the audio assault and withstood the majority of its violence.
Goldie Hawn came dashing back to leap on the back of the remaining living Womanticore and despatch it without a shred of emotion for its former kin. No sooner had she realeased her undead fangs from the corpse when the Mantikahn dropped down from above onto her like a tonne of cruely teethed bricks. Goldie was torn apart with unmatched violence. The spiritual hammer of Velsharoon followed the Mantikahn down and continued its incessant buffeting at the beasts head.
At this point Idris struggled free from the webs and leapt onto the rope outside, only to break it with his lack of grace and he wound up swinging from it 20 feet below the action, calling piteously for a nice arrangement of anemones and daisies.
Seeing the ferocious Mantikahn so close, Kimi renewed her effort to tip the statue, but could not find the strength.
"Dont feign your ignorance Ava!" Shouted Alvaster over the din of the Mantikahn, "We found your Wickermantis's, we know of your own unfounded cruelty!"
She snarled and pointed at Forrest "LEAVE US ELF! GO JOIN YOUR FRIEND!" Again energy crackled around her head as she attempted a charm on Forrest but with no luck!
Alvaster took advantage of the Witch's distraction and ran to the aid of Magnun. He dashed up the wall utilising his spider slipper, and at the same time dislodging from his Robe of bones a skeletal wolf! Unfortunately the dog once materializing, set upon the Cleric and leapt to bite the seat offa Alvasters breeches!
The Mantikahn snarled and Ava shifted in her seat, maintaining her cold gaze on Forrest, "Fine! If you shall not do as I bid, then you shall not even look upon me! Her hand raised and a green cloud appeared in her hand, spinning like a thunderhead. "BE BLIND!" the cloud shot across the room to hit Forrest square in the face and steal from him his sight! He deftly retreated to the wall and vanished from sight!
ALvaster reached the other side of the web to see about healing his fallen comrade, with a gentle caress life again flowed through Magnun and he blinked back into conciousness. There was no time for a soothing reassurance as the bone wolf leapt between strands of webbing to attack Alvaster!
Donnatella left the fallen corpse of the womanticore and pounced on the Mantikahn, delivering grevious injury. Ava struggled to stay astride but after a final spinning blow of the spirit hammer, the 'Kahns skull was caved in and with a feat of acrobatics the Witch managed to leap free.
With a final effort, albeit too late, Kimi pushed the statue over and it fell on the dying Mantikahns body and with a great CRUNCH splattered its head apart.
Ava suddenly seemed to take on a look of panic, and with a nervous cackle, rose a foot off the ground. Alvaster managed to speak a few arcane words in frustration to the disobediant Wolf skelly and it rushed off to harry Ava.
Magnun struggled up to his feet but once again took stock of the situation.
Donatella laid into Ava, as she tried to talk down the corpse of her once prized and pampered pet, but the beast shredded her flesh without blinking a milky dead eye. The spirit hammer spun about but missed her.
Magnun and Alvaster rushed out to face her as she was cornered, "Theres nothing left but your Doom! Its time to give up Ava!" Shouted alvaster but it was too late for diplomacy.
Ava shot up into the sky as if on invisible wings, Magnun immediately began shooting a barrage of magic argon missiles after her and Alvaster sent the lumbering Zombicore in pursuit.
The hammer swung again and with a pop vanished back whence it came. Donatella charged and again renewed her onslaught of claws and fangs on she who was once her Master.
Ava, her fabulous black onesie now shredded and dripping with blood, turned with a shriek in mid air, tears running down her face she looked at the moment of absolute defeat. She manovuered so that she could point her evil staff back towards the hall. Mouthing some evil spell there was a ray of sparklig black light that shot from her staff and envelop Magnun. He feels his life being sucked from his body and howled in pain, his life force travelling along the beam of dark light back to the witch.
Forrest stepped from between the shadows and let off some wildly aimed arrows, coming close but ultimately missing.
Ava then turned to fly away but as they flew from sight the Zombicore tackled its target and there was the sound of a distant crunch.
The party looked about at each other and took stock of the situation. No fatalities, good. There was a shouting form outside and Idris was hauled up, all in a fluster. He took a proffered ciggie and seemed well pissed.
With a clumsy flapping Donnatella returned with grey blood dripping from her snout.
Forrest revealed his crippling disability and Magnun gave him some comfort. "Please Magnun, my friend, there is a body to loot but I fear I have not the power. Loot for me will you?"
Magnun reassured the Elf, who sat down to meditate on his predicament.
As it was only midday, Idris, Kimi, Magnun and Alvaster went to locate Ava and her treasure.
After returning to the foot of the cliff, they noted more passive Mandrakes circling the sentinal Puriri, but steered clear of them. After bashing through a great deal of supplejack (The task made more difficult due to the hulking form of Donnatella) they located a strange splatter up on the cliff. Underneath was several broken branches and a small crater. Within the crater was a puddle of the datk witch blood, and several battered magical items. Next to a severed toe, Magnun was pleased to find a ANKLET OF PERFECT POSTURE. Alvaster investigated a fine wooden mask, like an Owls face, but unfortunately smashed beyond use for the nonce.
Idris couldnt track where she had gone, "Flown outta here I reckon," He said irately, obviously eager to away and find his Eagle companion. But on noticing the toe, he gave it further consideration, "Looks like the bones are iron, I've heard of this. There's Iron Hags that Ive read about, Iron Hags of Chattanaguri, , bad news they are." He dropped the toe back into the puddle.
They left the scene and followed Idris through more of the supplejack. As the afternoon shadows grew long, they reached the edge of the swamp, and saw a cluster of trees out in the middle, dominated by a large, odd looking tree . A slight trace of smoke rose from amongst the copse, this was no doubt where the Hag had retreated.
Idris took cautious steps down towards a fallen log at the edge of a billabong and retrieved his Eagle, which seemed fine except for a nasty gash along its broken wing.
The adventurers returned to Aeglos, and rested. Alvaster returned to Forrest his sight, ad they concocted a plan for the final assault.
"So," announces Alvaster, "the plan then is light out for the swamp and approach under cover of darkness..."
He scans the room.
"No immediate rush to get going then.""Ranger - know you any woodcrafty means to get through the swamp? I don't much fancy wading through muck at any time, let alone the black of night...
He eyes the pile of broken furniture and rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps I can throw together some wooden platforms to lash to our feet - clumsy going, but wider distribution of weight reduces the chance to sink into the mire. Just as it is written the Mammoth Lords do, when the snowdrifts grow fearsome deep."
He looks pretty doubtful about this idea though.BTW Alvaster has an idea to convert Gomez the skeleton wolf into an kamikaze firebomb using Craft: Contraption, if our GM is receptive...?
PHEW!
Having reacquainted himself with his restored sight by watching the sunrise, Forrest steps back into the room and surveys the wreckage.
Gingerly picking his way through the gory remains he assess the toppled,blood-smeared statues of Desna.
"Hmmm, not damaged but I can't leave her like this...'
He glances over at Kimi who is breaking her fast on waybread and fresh kereru eggs
"Kimi, dear. I cannot fault your tactical nouse in battle but I wonder if the best way to start your adventuring career is to desecrate an idol of the goddess of luck.."
He rubs his hands together in earnest, tilts his head to examine the statue from another angle, spreads his legs wide and attempts to lift the statue. Keeping one eye on Kimi, he really hams it up - eyes bulging, face going red - the whole deal.
He stops and draws a delicate silk handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket to dab the sweat from his forehead.
" Kimi, will you be a dear and give me a hand? I am but a feeble elf and you are strong young ranger. If we can do it quickly maybe Desna won't notice - us adventurers need all the luck we can get..."
Diplomacy roll to improve Forrest's relationship with Kimi
Is she particularly s@@*ty with Forrest - I mean he did chew Alvasater out after Teedum was killed
Gimme a strength check to lift the statue, Ye will probably have a hard time lifting it up with just the 2 of you...and Kimi doesnt have much strength to lend anyway
"So," announces Alvaster, "the plan then is light out for the swamp and approach under cover of darkness..."
He scans the room.
"No immediate rush to get going then.""Ranger - know you any woodcrafty means to get through the swamp? I don't much fancy wading through muck at any time, let alone the black of night...
Magnun ponders this plan. "I'm not so sure that we should travel in darkness. The Wickermen do not see, and nor do they need to; they are as deadly in darkness as in daylight. Indeed--they have set upon us as readily at night as during the day."
He looks at the human cleric, with his clumsy armour and his conventional vision, and continues, "No--our danger is escalated at night. Stumbling through woods and swamps at night we will make more noise, will move more slowly, and run the risk of falling into bogs as we go, or getting separated."
He eyes the pile of broken furniture and rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps I can throw together some wooden platforms to lash to our feet - clumsy going, but wider distribution of weight reduces the chance to sink into the mire. Just as it is written the Mammoth Lords do, when the snowdrifts grow fearsome deep."
He looks pretty doubtful about this idea though.
Magnun continues:"I like the idea of making a contraption for crossing the bogs!"
Gimme a strength check to lift the statue, Ye will probably have a hard time lifting it up with just the 2 of you...and Kimi doesnt have much strength to lend anyway
Being an old Carnie, and having had to help disassemble the odd marquee, Magnun can see the odds. "My good friends! Many hands make for light work!" He takes the cetral position, and calls out, "Come Idris! Let us set the idol to rights." He looks to Alvaster. "I quite understand if this particular task is outside the remit of a loyal servant of Velsh'roon."
Gimme a strength check to lift the statue, Ye will probably have a hard time lifting it up with just the 2 of you...and Kimi doesnt have much strength to lend anyway
Forrest cracks his knuckles and attempts to hoist the effigy.
Pfffffff....
Kimi finishes her rations and wipes her hands on her grubby leather jerkin. She maneuvers herself between Magnun and Forrest and each grab hold of the Idol.
"Right, on three eh?" Announces the young ranger with an air of authority, "one.....two...THREE!"
Strength check for Kimi
Her face purple, eyes crossed and bulging, Kimi heaves with all her might. There is a sudden sound of material tearing and the three of you drop the idol back to the ground....It would seem you could still do with an extra hand to upright this large statue.
"C'mon Pop!" She calls to Idris, who is doting on his injured Eagle with its broken wing. "Come givvus a hand!"
She glances at Alvaster who is investigating the comparitive lengths of wood from the pile of broken furniture. Without betraying a skerrit of emotion she blows the hair out of her face as Idris walks over to help, Once her father has a decent grip, Kimi renews her effort.
"Again fellas, on three!" She takes a mighty breath and sets her lip firm, "One...two...THREE!"
Roll for heavin' strength!
Roll for Idris strength!
Magnun and Forrest ROLL THE DICE!
"Again fellas, on three!" She takes a mighty breath and sets her lip firm, "One...two...THREE!"
Roll for heavin' strength! 1d20
Roll for Idris strength! 1d20+2
Magnun and Forrest ROLL THE DICE!
Ugh!
Alvaster fails to pick up on the social aspect of this endeavor.
Instead, he glances over his colleagues' efforts with a critical eye.
"You'd do better to tie a rope under her armpits and loop it over one of those branches," he comments offhandedly. "Then all four of you haul on the other end. Like a pulley. Better yet, rig it up and get the girls on the other end of the rope, save yourselves a hernia."
His attention turns back to the pile of old trash he's fossicking through.
Magnun ponders this plan. "I'm not so sure that we should travel in darkness. The Wickermen do not see, and nor do they need to; they are as deadly in darkness as in daylight. Indeed--they have set upon us as readily at night as during the day."
Alvaster draws breath to reply, then pauses to consider.
"That -- is an extremely good point. Very well, let us proceed by day."
BTW Alvaster has an idea to convert Gomez the skeleton wolf into an kamikaze firebomb using Craft: Contraption, if our GM is receptive...?
The party right the statue of Desna, and Forrest offers the Goddess some words of prayer.
They all agree that there is no time to waste so do not tarry long in the Elven Sanctuary, instead gathering their effects and making haste down to the wide and foreboding swamp of Timutimu, in an effort to root out the devious hag Ava Blackteeth.
Backtracking through the cavern, cliffs and forest that provide camoflauge for the ancient Elven haven of Aeglos, they take a note that indeed this is a worthy place to visit in the future.
Eventually, they reach the outskirts of the wide open bog, and at there feet already is pools of brackish water, stained brownm with tannen and of no currently determinable depth.
Idris holds out his arm, where sits perched his mighty Pouakai, a great eagle recently healed of its grevious wounds. With a sweep of its big wings it darts up into the sky to recconoitre the swamp.
Channeling his animal companion, Idris concentrates, his pupils becoming soaring eagles.
"The copse, in the middle of the swamp.....its a big garden! I see the wicker man....it is standing across from that wierd big tree. I see the woman, she is in a swing, hanging from the boughs of the strange tree. She seems calm...."
Alvaster interupted the Ranger impatiently, "All well and good, but how best do we approach? This menace must be stamped out before further trouble arises. I like not this 'wickerman'."
Idris continued, "We can come from the east, it would seem to have the firmest footing, and we are out of view of the b!tch in her tree."
The party agreed to ferry over astride the Wozomticores, Alvaster on one at all times to guide the undead beasts.
With Forrest and Magnun both hiding out on the marshy island, a stones throw from the unnatural growths of the hag's garden, Alvaster returned for the Eavewalkers.
Idris clambered up onto Sophia Lauren, grabbing a handful of once cared for braids and dreadlocks. With the other hand he pulled up Kimi to sit infront of him.
"F*ck this thing stinks!" Pouted Kimi and her father immediately chastised her for running her mouth.
Sure enough, Alvaster observed the once finely groomed pelts of the two zombie womanticores were now dank, mangy skins, befouled by gore and filth, not unlike the carpets of a few more unsavoury taverns back in the big city.
"An adventurer makes sure to use all resources at his disposal, to achieve his goals..." Lectured Idris to his constantly bitter daughter. "and don't expect everybody to utilise only the conventional resources." Alvaster looked up from affixing the crude rope riding harness to see Idris addressing him with a strange look.
When the cleric was atop his mount, he willed on the lumbering beasts and with a snap of their leathery wings they took to the air.
They flew low, just a few feet from the stinking marsh, with hope to arrive stealthily at their destination.
Alvaster clung low to his mount, avoiding clouds of midges and flies that hung in the air, momentarily he looked back to his other undead ward, Idris had an expression of fixed determination on his face, no doubt predicting an unevitably violent afternoon. His arm was wrapped warmly around his daughter's belly, and she clung to his arm tenaciously. Alvaster reflected on their tumultuous relationship a moment before realising Kimi's intense glowering which was fixed on the cleric. He snapped his gaze away and concentrated on the task at hand.
IN a few moments they arrived at their destination, seemingly undetected, and with the party whole once more, they proceeded on to their conclusive encounter.
As the party advanced towards the Witch's grove, they started at the numerous mandrake forms that sprouted from amongst the flax and raupo.
Alvaster sucked in his breath and swiped at one with his shileleigh, it exploded apart like a cooked potato and not like the warped things that they encounter several nights past. Magnun, still cautious of the tuberous totems rubbed his Elvish bracelet of Tane Mahuta and it glowed a warm amber colour as across the halfelf's skin crept an armour of thick bark and root.
Creeping through the long wet grass as quietly as they could, they saw a huge effigy, made of thin braches and wicker , peering over the tall plum and pukufruit trees. Making every effort to advance in stealth, Magnun advance towards a curious looking scrub, which upon his approach suddenly lashed out at him with a long frightful vine. A small bell attached to the plant rang with its flailing, and no doubt the party knew then that the cover was blown.
The plant writhed in some some strange arcane fashion and all around the adventurers the flax bushes began grasping at groping at them, thralls to their new vege master.
Thinkiing quick, Forrest leapt across a muddy trench to escape the spell but as he landed gracefully on the other side he was immediately buffeted by a grasping flaxbush. Idris leapt to Forrests side to aide him but was also wrapped up by the now sentient plant.
Magnun struggled to avoid it but was quickly grappled by the vine, its coils wrapping tightly around his legs. The sorcerer blasted it with a bolt of argon electricity from his eyes but it seemed to have no effect on the vicious vine.
The alarm bell still rang noisily and from the direction if the Witch's grove, several mandrakes emerged and aggresivly advanced on the party.
The vine attacking Magnun tightened its grip but his armour of bark shed a few layers to allow the crafty fellow to escape from its leafy clutches.
Kimi jumped into action, but missed her target with several fired crossbow bolts.
Alvaster cast a prayer to his grinning skull god and commanded his undead Manticores into the fray. Each of the ghastly beasts set upon devouring with ease the slow moving mandrakes.
Shooting magic missiles from his fingertips Magnun also dispatches a mandrake in a shower of 'sploded plant matter, as a zomanticore wrassles furiously with the assasin vine beside him.
Forrest cartwheeled from the flax grip and peppered the advancing mandrakes with the deadly efficiency of his bow. Slaying one of the creature, he stepped foward into a garden bead to retrieve an arrow from his falen foe, when beneath his feet the dark soil began churning and heaving. Forrest had a moment to leap backwards to the edge of a water channel when from the ground erupted a huge explosion of earth and vegetables. Looming before him was a giant beast, a swarm of thick ropey vines surrounding a wide gaping maw that snapped hungrily with a frightful sucking of air. The behemoth swiped at Forrest and be;ted him bodily into the river. It's jaws snapped at him but he evaded its grasp by flashing into invisibility and escaping from the faR bank of the muddy water.
Idris bravely stepped in to slash at the beast with his longsword, and he was joined by the Zombticores who had dispatched their foes.
Spying the new danger that emerged from the ground, the cleric praised again his dark god and was imbued with unholy strength.
As they struck repeatedly at the plantzilla, its wounds almost seemed to heal up faster than they could hack at it. Idris set again his blade at the beast and as he slashed, for a momewnt his gaurd was down and the great beast grabbed him in its hungry maw. His body torn by its twisted wooden fangs he struggled to free himself but dissapeared down the things gullet.
Kimi shrieked, shooting wildly and the undead beasts of Alvaster renewed their efforts to dismember the towering tuber...
You forgot about the burning skeleton wolf!
and there's a burning skeleton wolf whats all up in mr tendriculoses sh!t
Gomez, the burning skeleton kamikaze wolf bomb continued to worry at the roots of the Tendriculos. Flames belched from twixt his ribs with every bold leap and caper, and Alvaster struggled to project his necromantic energy to heal his thralls. While Gomez battled on, the dark energy kept him in the fray but didnt prevent him from seconds later exploding in a ball of flame, enveloping the zombie Manticores but moreso to the giant plant monster that had swallowed the ranger Idris.
Nonplussed by the flames sluggishly devouring their once fine manes, the Zombiecores set to tearing the Tendriculos to shreds like it was nothing more than an old cat toy. The things great thick tendrils wrapped about one of its foes and lifted the undead abomination into its ravenous maw, but the Zombiecore was not to be merely some canape at the wake of brave Idris and with the unholy strength of Velsharoon it latched its claws onto the plant monsters viney lips and with a surge of strength tore the top of its head off with ease. There was a spray of green chloraphyl and a great writhing before the creature fell back into the mud as lifeless as the kumaras amongst which it lay.
Our heroes had not a moment to celebrate their victory before from the treetops emerged the Witch! Hovering in the air, noticably injured she dismissed the dead tendriculos and boasted of her bumper crop, as more Mandrakes staggered out form amongst the bushes and to the exasperated horror of the party another Tendriculos came slithering out from the direction of the Wickerman. Ava set to a menacing cackle, her revenge was so near to completion, she gloated and from a macrame shoulderbag produced a large globe, filled with the dark green liquid that had been hurled about with terrible effect at the wisky creek camp. Attempting to hurl the device she winced at her injuries and the thing tumbled from her hand as she tried to throw it.
The Party, suddenly not so certain of a victory, looked about to percieve perhaps an avenue of quick escape. But at that moment a dark shadow passed across the sun and from the heavens came crashing, like a meteor, a huge dark blue Wyvern, with ferocious great talons and a large knobbly head covered in bone plates.
As it landed on the muddy bank, it roared ferociously and addressed the cleric in Draconic, commending the "Kobold King" on crushing all who oppose his Reign.
While both fluent in Draconic, neither Forrest or Magnun could discern wether Dragonkin were particularly fond of sarcasm, or rather if the Wyvern was in fact quite dim.
Nonetheless, the great beast had come seeking the Mantikhan, its long time rival for supremecy of the Darkwood Vale. The Elves confessed that the Mantikhan had indeed been slewn whilst under the spell of the Witch but still some recompense could be had by exerting its violence upon her and her minions. With that said the Wyvern gleefully swooped into action against the new tendriculos and set to dismember the thing.
Ava Blackteeth's expression soured to one of horror as she watched the Wyvern make short work of her minions. Alvaster in turn also directed his spiritual hammer of Velsharron towards her, plus one of his Zombicores. Magnun buffeted her with his argon missiles and Forrest harried at the approaching madnrakes, dropping them with ease.
Panic setting in as again she realised her approaching defeat at the hands of these murderous madmen she became enveloped in a summoned cloud of choking black smoke.
As the party attempted to root out their enemy, it soon became apparent that the great fat tree, that seemed so out of place with its unusual appearance, began to move of its own accord, pulling with it the wickerman as it was attached by a rope. Goaded on by his chums, Forrest drew back his bow and whispering a word of hope let loose an arrow which severed the rope, leaving the wickerman standing at a jaunty angle yet still standing.
They rushed in amongst the trees to the witch's clearing, making short work of the remaining mandrakes, they were then confronted by a strange apparatus, constructed from some ancient elven henge and nodoubt somehow the source of the plantmen. They watched as the Wyvern took to the sky and swooped down onto the escaping great tree as it advanced out into the flowing river. As it landed it commenced with fearsome shrieks to rend and rake at the top of the tree, sending branches and manticore nests flying aside into the water.
By this point Kimi had recovered from the gut of the dead tendriculos, her father Idris, who lay very dead in her arms and perhaps compelled by some emotional debt, Alvaster proceeded to help her in extricating the corpse to a more dignified position on the riverbank. The cleric offered some kind words of support, which Kimi acknowledged between great sobs of grief.
Magnun proceeded to free the inhabitants from the wickerman, somewhat surprised by their cheerfullness, it seemed they hadnt been particularly mistreated, rather they had been used as some sort of bait to lure out Woodenheads overly ambitious adventurers so she could reap her misconstrued revenge. The last man to be freed was none other than Nigel, bosom buddy of the late Neville Teedum. He was quick to point out that the huge moving tree was as hollow as a barrel and in fact the portable living lair of Ava Blackteeth.
With this knowledge the adventurers wasted no time in transporting themselves on the back of Zombicores to the tree as it waded deeper out into the muddy river. Leaping into its branches they employed all means of violence to attempt to break open the puckered sphincter which seemed the closed aperture into the trees interior. Alas their attempts were powerful but insufficient to provide ingress. Forrest and Alvaster beat a retreat as the water lapped at their feet, the Wyvern too realising the futility took to the wing, but like a man possessed, Magnun clung to the branches as the thing submerged and like an eel continued to zap with his potent argon electricity, in the hope of at least cracking the nut to drown the witch inside. Before too long Magnun resurfaced, spitting out water and dashing his fist in the river with frustration.
Their prey had eluded them.
Now the men were free, Nigel instructed them to gather up all supplies of fruit, brambleberrys and kumaras for the long walk home. Their effects were soon discovered in a rusty pot and with thier weapons returned they seemed to be in fine spirits, all things considered.
With great sorrow, the adventurers then proceeded to bury their comrade Idris, not a perfect man, hardly, but a brave and competent warrior nontheless. Alvaster offered some words of comfort and sanctified the body asd they buried it in the garden, surrounded by nonsentient flowers and shrubs.
Kimi saw no problem in taking the weapons and armour from her fathers corpse, and distributed them amongst her companions, taking for herself Idris's heirloom Tiki and longsword. Nigel and the other 'jacks offered to escort her home, she thanked them but expressed her want to continue on the path of adventure. She made amends with ALvaster, understanding now that death was a huge and ever present part of the adventurers way.
Forrest continued his enquiries with Nidhogg, the great blue Wyvern, as they both inspected the now disarmed mandrake device. The Wyvern noted that this part of the world was where the fabric of the planes had worn thin, hence perhaps why unforseen mysterious danger was a palpable threat at all times. He also mentioned that this was not the only place where he had sensed such a magic, and that infact his lair was another such place. But when Forrest pressed the subject, the Wyvern seemed loathe to discuss such a subject with one whom he thought of as a mere lacky of the "Kobold King" Alvaster.
When ALvaster was brought up to speed on the topic, the Wyvern spoke of how there was a powerful magic, that was beyond his grasp, and since the party had done him the solid of vanquishing the mantikhan, he could return the favour by sharing with them the treasure that seemed beyond his reach.
Reluctantly the group agreed, though obviously wary of this powerful beast.
Clambering onto its back with Kimi, Magnun seemed quite at ease sitting between two large bony spines, having minutes earlier scoured the swamp from Nidhoggs back, searching in vain for any sign of the evil Witch Blackteeth.
Soon they took to the air, on Wyvern and Zombicore both, as the gang of lumberjacks headed out across the marsh, south in the direction of Woodenhead.
They flew high and fast, towards Fenrirs crag as the sun glowed orange on its way down to the horizon. The vast perilous forest that they had spent so long trudging through now sped away underneath them with every beat of the Wyverns long blue scaled wings.
They neared one end of the long deep gash that scarred the earth at the base of the Crag and Nidhogg plunge down into it like a eagle swooping on its prey. The two mounted on the Zombicores followed suit and they soon passed by Droskars crucible, which Alvaster and Kimi recognised from their previous adventures, yet now instead of being a lonely abandoned ruin, their seemed a small camp of greycloaked figures who dashed away to hide as the flying beasts passed them.
In the dying light, the adventurers could make out the barren volcanic floor of the abyss, steam rising from sulphuric vents occasionaly masking their view. As the end of the chasm reared up with a short forested steppe, it became apparent that there was a geat open doorway, carved by hand rather than the elements and flanked on either side by collosal stone Dwarven figures
In a great booming voice that echoed off the stone walls, Nidhogg pointed out in his draconic tongue that their lay a great Dwarven city, home now only to a great perilous curse, the inhabitants long dead and forgotten. With that he shaply banked and turned back to fly directly toward the cliff. The Manticores lumbered after them and it seemed Nidhoggs destination was a small cave which lay almost directly under Droskars crucible.
Kimi shrieked and clutched her head to the spine atop the Wyverns back but Magnun, not unlike a drunkard on a rollercoaster, cursed with excitement as the beast shot like an arrow into the cave.
Flying at speed through the narrow passageway, they could make out the cavernous rock walls abruptly becoming hewn stone and in a moment the Wyvern slowed and stopped to stand in the darkness and allow his passengers to alight.
The Manticores soon joined them, having entered the tunnel at a much more sober pace. Alvaster summoned a ball of light and the there surroundings were made apparent.
They stood in a medium sized room, a great carved bronze disc dominating the floor and flanked by four statues of Ancient Dwarven heroes. Branches and bones, debris of the Wyverns past meals and victims, were scattered about the room and facing them, opposite the tunnel they entered was a huge pair of ornate golden doors. They also made out in the gloom two ceremonial anvils on either side of the bronze disc and beyond that the walls seemed solid bronze and decorated in such a way as to depict the ancient ones performing all matter of heroic act.
"You see, oh illustrious regal King, my lair..." Boomed the Wyvern, "None have seen this place and lived to tell the tale!" The monster laughed, a terrible noise which sounded like boulders rolling down a mountainside. "But we are allies are we not? Both Kings of this realm, and ever open to new sources of power to smite our enemies..." The Beast lay down on the bronze disc and carressed its carvings with his great boney head, making a curious sound as his horns scratched the cold surface... "This place has made me grow powerful, I am the strongest of my kind and my enemies indeed fall away before me like burning trees, yet I feel the pulse of energy about this place, and know there is more to be harnessed. Find a way to unlock this power, oh great King, and we both shall have our foes driven ever before us!"
"Lord Velsharoon, I beseech thee, charge mine eyes to pierce the veil of the mundane!"
Detect Magic!
Leisurely sweep of the whole joint plz...
"Lord Velsharoon, I beseech thee, charge mine eyes to pierce the veil of the mundane!"
With eyes closed to deter any distraction, Alvaster instead opened his minds eye to the flow of magic within the room.
It became clear that this Wyverns nest was indeed some cap on a great well of mystical energy. The great beast himself was wreathed in a flickering flame that illuminated his deep blue scales and huge boney head.
Like the Aurora of the northern wastes, colourful magic danced in abundance across the carved bronze disc upon which the Wyvern was laying. Its embossed Dwarven Smiths, lit up with energy from within, seemed suddenly ready to strike their irons and again commence their metalwork.
Casting his hands about the room, such as a lighthouse's beam would pierce a moonless night, the Cleric also observed a corona of magic around the old ceremonial anvils that flanked the bronze disc.
Okay...
1) Alvaster maintains the Detect Magic and attempts to decipher the specific potentcies of this magic.
Spellcraft to ID magic auras... GM's roll? Spellcraft at +9
2) Nosey can speak and read Dwarven, if there's any script on the bronze disc or the anvils, or the walls and door for that matter, he will check it out
3) Regardless of what if anything he figures out, Alvaster will take a closer look at the anvils.
4) Is it possible that we are on the other side of the "Earth Node" doors that Alvaster, Knoggz & Coco found in their last adventure?
Maintaining his magic technique to discern the nature of the strange flow of energy through this eerie place, Alvaster concludes that whatever is emananting through the bronze disc is powerfully transmutative in origin.
Looking to the great gold doors infront of him, depicting Dwemer priests hard at work at their forges, the Cleric is pretty sure it is the same gate that barred the progress of Coco, Knoggz and himself on their previous adventure...therefore they must indeed be close to the mysterious Earth Node. Surely it must be the node which is radiating this mystical energy.
He shuts his eyes and clears his mind, opening them after a moment to look once more on the physical realm.
All around the great disc are shed scales, filth, dust and debris from the countless years the Wyvern has made this place his home. Nonetheless, Alvaster manages to discern a few Dwarven runes embossed above a scene showing two blacksmiths hard at work.
"Ahem....'WITH HAMMER AND TOIL DO WE GIVE OUR PRAISE TO TORAG'" Read the Cleric as he examined the runes. "Singular..."
Chewing on this current revelation, Alvaster steps over to one of the ornamental Anvils, where Forrest and Magnun are examining it closely to find perhaps any loose gems to be prised off the artifact.
"These old Dwarves cant have been the sharpest arrows in the quiver see..." Mentioned Forrest as he rapped on the Anvil with his knuckles. "Thing's jolly well hollow innit, couldnt smith on this thing"
Indeed, while being carved no doubt by skillful hands, exquisite filigree shining in the light of Alvasters magic (Which also spookily illuminated the eyes of the two Elvish chaps), the Anvil was truly hollow, its curious design decorating a cavity inside which could easily fit a whole pumpkin.
Kimi, poking through the sticks and detritus of the cavern, suddenly pulls from the rubbish an old leather boot. Her horror silently showing on her face as long slender white bones poked out from the shoe, which she dropped and briskly scurried to join the others. As she walked through the dim light over to the anvil she suddenly tripped and fell hard on the ground, sucking in air through clenched teeth and clutching at her foot.
"Desnas t!ts!" The young girl wailed dramatically, "Ive done a bloody mischief on my toes!" But her wailing was cut short as she examined the obstacle that had curtailed her shuffle. In the dimness she could just make out a small stone brick, about a foot long, half as wide and half as tall, with a strange circular hole right through the top...
By way of experiment, Alvaster knocks firmly on the top of the anvil with the pommel of his dagger.
"These old Dwarves cant have been the sharpest arrows in the quiver see..." Mentioned Forrest as he rapped on the Anvil with his knuckles. "Thing's jolly well hollow innit, couldnt smith on this thing"
In the dimness she could just make out a small stone brick, about a foot long, half as wide and half as tall, with a strange circular hole right through the top...
"Methinks this is the head of a hammer" Forrest proclaims as he lofts the brick with a grunt"Friend Alavaster, could you fashion a shaft for this with some wood or bone?" He hands the brick to the cleric and wanders over to the anvil
"A failure as smithing device but most singular as a gong" He kneels down to examine the hollow within "My knowledge of acoustics is rudimentary but I suspect this cavity serves a resonating chamber"
He draws his sabre and strikes the top of the anvil with the pommel
"Praise Torag, and all that"
"I think we need more oomph." He leans against the anvil and nonchalantly cleans his nails with the tip of his blade "How is that hammer coming along....?"
Alvaster applies himself to the task of finding the handle, or rigging something appropriate from the detritus around. Perhaps also his shillelagh might serve, with a little whittling of the gripper's end...
So are we all in Limbo till next year or will the story continue through the forums?
Alvaster applies himself to the task of finding the handle, or rigging something appropriate from the detritus around. Perhaps also his shillelagh might serve, with a little whittling of the gripper's end...
While Kimmi & Alvaster rummaged the detritus of the Wyverns lair, Magnun attached the ornate dwarven hammerhead to Teedum's darkwood staff.
Together, He and Forrest (who had discovered another ancient sledge) swung their hammers down simultaeneously on the large anvilbells.
*BBBBBOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!*
The deep note reverberated through the adventures bones and seemed to echo from beneath their feet.
After a moment the great bronze disc on which crouched the Wyvern Nidhogg began to rumble and slide open to reveal a hidden room. Without hesitation the great beast dived into the opening, snarling a draconic oath.
Upon peering over the lip the party espied a spiral staircase descending down to a narrow aperture, from which a queer glow emanated. The Wyvern scratched furiously at the portal, evidently to large to pass through.
"Oi dudes, check this out!" Whispered Kimi, as she pointed at a long human legbone, which protruded from a leather boot amongst the branches and straw of the Monster's nest.
The Adventurers exchanged glances and licked their dry lips before descending into the stairwell, ever anticipating any sudden move of the big blue serpent.
< "Mine! Mine!" > Growled the Wyvern in his guttural draconic language. As the party aproached him at the bottom of the stairs he turned and snarled, turning his spiked, bony head from Human to Elf to Elv-ish to Human. < "Ah mine pretty King! Thou hast come to this mine hearth, as emmisary of your fine lands true. Your Eminence I beseech thee to retrieve what lies beneath in yonder darkness...> At this the Beast snorted hot breath and his tongue licked about at knife-like fangs. < "But know that what findings below belong to my nest, tis true, and thieving brigands shall not go unpunished!">
<" Great Wyrm, noble Lord of the wind, we humble few respect thine wishes and shall swear on our honour to leave your furnishings unmolested!"> Gushed Forrest to the great beast, turning subtley to one side to wink at Magnun.
The wyvern cogitated for a moment, clacking its jaws and flexing its talons on the cold bronze steps. <" Very well, Elf, tell your Master he may pass below, to seek that what is mine, and return it, so our friendships can last long till our deaths!">
One neednt speak the foul language of the serpent to recognise his menacing intent, and without further dallying, they passed throiugh the hole into a wide darkened chamber below.
The cavernous square room seemed hewn entirely of bronze, and its walls depicted huge carvings, of Dwarven kings long dead. In the centre of the room, atop a small ziggurat, there hovered a strange orb of light which glowed faintly with an eerie light. From this sphere, there emanated some magical field, a strange tuneless vibe, which pulled at the chakras of those that were magically inclined.
They all descended the stairs in silent awe, and approached the "node". Behind at the top of the stairs, one tattered folding wing at a time came the two undead womanticores, rotting flesh scraping off in turgid hunks as they squeezed through the aperture.
While the auras of the blokes were imbued with the mysterious static of the earth node, Kimmi, being deaf to such senses, ran to the top of the ziggurat, leaping triumphantly through the magical atmosphere with a slight crackling unsound.
Alvaster waved his hand, and with a word to his dark god he attempted to interpret the nature of the spinning globe. It radiated some sort of transmutation energy, which was of such an incredible potency it seemed to make the clerics legs wobble momentarily.
Magnun walked as though in a dream, up the ziggurat to the node...its energy called to him and seemed to reach out with static sparks and dance about him in a queer unlight. Forrest and Alvaster both stepped up so all 4 of them were standing around the glowing node.
The Sorcerer started to see a vision within the node, as he stared at the thing in wonderment. He began to feel the sensation of electricty within his veins, slowly reaching out to currents within the orb, that spread further and further, beyond the dark bronze chamber, beyond the ruins and further past the very land itself. He took a deep breath in amazement and felt down inside his chakra a blossming of some new sense, as the node seemed to reach back through the current of his aura and kick open a locked door within his mind....
Magnun gains Detect Elemental Node!
Use 1/day Divination
Use once per day to detect an elemental power node anywhere within 100miles of the caster.
" I can see....I can see a door, I can see a switch! I just need to grab it...such power" Murmured the Sorcerer as he drank deep of the Nodes magical vibe.
Forrest looked back to the staircase from whence they had entered, to see the slavering jaws of Nidhogg poke and thrust, thwarted in its attempts of ingress by the narrow aperture.
"Do it! Do it my good fellow, theres naught to be had in our current pickle" Motioned Forrest over the buzz of the node.
"Yes Magnun, do it! Push the shiny button!" Hollered Alvaster
There was a flash of light that illuminated Magnun as he mastered control of the node, and the platform atop the ziggurat began to glow beneath the adventurers boots. Suddenly they begin to sense the room oscillate and fold at its edges, lines of glowing energy zapped along geometric lines and angles around the ziggurat and they felt their bodies to seem stretching out to thin slips, and sliding between the layers of reality. The node began to swell and with a huge blinding flash engulfed the party as they vanished into the unknown hands of fate!
CHAPTER III: THE EYE OF OBLIVION
Seconds stretch out like hours, hours seem like days....but what is time within the infinite? You seem to be everywhere and yet nowhere at all, but where is here and where was there if here is nothingness?
You sense a rushing, soaring sensation and find yourself confined to a narrow beam of light , hurtling along a radiant tunnel surrounded by thousands of burning sparklers. You can barely discern the overwhelming nature of this cosmic teleportation
You struggle to maintain an idea of identity within these dazzling and overwhelmingly alien sensations....
Such as a pilot may stay vigilant at the helm of a great warship, you seem to streak along the current of energy such as if it were a flowing river, with your companions tumbling behind in your assured and benevolent wake. You are aware of the current of electricity on which you travel and can sense all around you a myriad maze of other pathways, yet you are unable to tear away your focus from the energy beam on which you steer your party, for any disruption could seemingly cast you and your friends out into the sterile unknown.
You feel more than a master of the electricity on which you ride, but instead one with it entirely, at this moment you forget about the biological anchor of your physical self and are rather a bolt of lightning, stretching from the energy node below the Wyverns lair and beyond to the strange destination you can detect at the furthest reaches of your conscious.
As soon as you become aware of this mysterious sense of destination, you hear a loud *POP* and are all again aware of your faculties...you can feel the electrical wave on which you ride flicker like a dying candle and yet before you in the cosmic nothingness rushes foward an immense orb, reflecting the cosmos on its surface. You are aware of the current still flowing through you but it seems to divert considerably moments short of arriving at this strange place....you feel a disgusting sense of mud and water rushing across your skin and yet still you seem to be hurtling through this unknown.
You have a moment to utter a bloody oath, before you tumble headlong into the orb and crash through its membrane into whatever is beyond!
Please roll a WILL SAVE!
You envision a morepork soaring over darkmoon forest, you sense the deafening silence of solitude as it glides on the current of the nights breeze. You feel yourself swooping along, one with the beast, as it hurtles at height above the treetops.
You struggle to recollect your mission, your friends and what it was that brought you to this wonderful instant...but you can sense as you sweep along, a real feeling of destination and purpose.
Looking to the horizon, you see the moon great and luminous, shining directly over Fenrir's Crag, its shining light setting the mountains snowy mantle aglow with magnificent beauty.
As you fly along, the Moon seems to grow larger and larger, you feel you could almost fly to its mysterious surface and it becomes your entire focus...its light enveloping your entire awareness...
You snap from your dream at a sudden start from a familiar voice...Magnun! Memory and purpose flood back into your mind and you realise you are rushing headlong along an alien bridge of sparkling light, surrounded by nothingness. You look about to your comrades and suddenly spot the great shining moon! Wait! That's no moon but a huge orb, reflecting the stars and cosmos like a carnival crystal ball! The energy beam on which you hurtle seems to head directly towards it yet flickers worringly as it tapers towards its conclusion...
Suddenly you feel a fleeting sensation of disgusting mud and slime across your skin and you have half a moment to babble an outrageous oath before colliding with the huge bauble!
Please roll a FORTITUDE SAVE!
You blink and feel yourself spinning, like a beetle trapped on the end of a dangling strand of spider’s silk. The intense light of the tunnel dims to inky blackness and you become aware of a chilly sense of absolute isolation.
As you continue to spin ever downward, a tiny glimmer of white becomes present ahead, and soon looms into view, growing ever larger a great
skull, bleached white. As you spin, transfixed by this great grinning thing,fat yellow maggots surge out of the empty eyesockets and crawl about the ghastly ivory visage. Horrificly, they disgorge rotting flesh, and even more disturbingly, the gobs of gore connect together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Before your eyes, hair and features sprout from the skull and an altogether familiar faces becomes apparent....that of Neville Teedum! .
The maggots finish their job of pasting sweating flesh across the blackguards face, and crawl into his open mouth. Teedum chews with exaggerated violence as you spin ever closer to his now huge disembodied face, and as he opens his mouth again you see a swarm of bluebottle flies climbing over each other to escape and dart out into the darkness. An all too familiar scathing voice, emanating from the buzz of insect wings reaches your ears.... “Treacherous scum! I will be waiting for you! There is no escape!!”
You try to backpedal as his face looms up, now like a huge greasy plain stretching out for miles...his open mouth now like a great abyss that threatens to swallows you up!
Suddenly a familiar voice barks a bloody oath...Magnun! You regain your senses to see the tunnel of light once more. But it flickers like a dying candle and ahead looms not a great horrid face but a mysterious huge orb which reflects the cosmos, like a scryers crystal ball in the darkness of a carnival tent!
The sensation of disgusting mud and slime suddenly crawls across your skin and you have half a moment to babble an outrageous oath before you collide with the huge bauble!
Please roll a FORTITUDE SAVE!
Forrest pinches his delicate nose and braces himself...
Alvaster turns his shoulder into it:
You have a moment to utter a bloody oath...
By force of will alone, Magnun guided the party through the mysterious membrane of the cosmic Orb.
With a *POP* they were inside the cavernous bauble and sliding down it's slippery glass-like interior. Forrest having bitten his mouth quite savagely on entry, he stemmed a trickle of blood with his soiled shirtsleeve.
Looming above them they started at the sight of a huge bronze monolith, of Dwarven design no doubt. It towered a full 100ft above them and slowly revolved on an axis of twisting purple energy. Through the exterior of the globe, they could clearly see the purple tendril extend out through the gulf of space to a collosal celestial body, like an entire mountain range floating through the darkness. It would seem this unusual ancient polyhedron was in some way anchored to the giant dark shape.
All at once Kimi called their attention to a corpse lying supine at underneath the lower point of the huge rhomboid. An oddly-garbed Dwarf lay, seemingly of fresh expiration yet of a nature of antiquity as only seen in bas reliefs and carvings . Looking up, ALvaster could deduce the fellow fell from a balcony opening at the base of the monolith, some 20ft above them, where a small apparatus extended over the lip. As well as a pinch of snuff, small penknife and curious tool, the body seemed lying atop of a smashed spyglass...unfortunately damaged beyond repair.
Feeling the aches and pains of a hard day of battle and adventure, the party were determined to get away from danger to recuperate. Their only real choice of direction was up into the rhomboid, using the balcony as means of ingress.
Forrest deftly whirled a rope and grapple around his head and flung it up to find purchase above. They all clambered up the rope, taking it with them explored the balcony. Their seemed a door set into a square column in the centre of the balcony and on its back a hatch, seemingly screwed on and without the correct tool, unopenable.
With all stealth, Forrest rendered himself invisible and inspected the doorway. Inside was a stairway, spiraling upwards, which he followed a short distance to a room, around 25 feet square with a small step on each wall that lead to four sturdy looking doors.
Sensing an undisturbed air and secure place to hold the Elf called up his mates and they repaired to the small landing to take stock and rest.
While the adventurers recuperated, they investigated the four doors, each bore a small simple design of singular design.
One a small Droplet, one a Crate, another with a Crown shape and the final one, which gave off a small amount of heat, with an Anvil design.
Oh yeah and when Forrest woke up after a small rest, his teeth all fell out to be replaced by greasy FANGS!
Oh yeah and when Forrest woke up after a small rest, his teeth all fell out to be replaced by greasy FANGS!
"Velsharoon's jittering jaws, man! What's happened to your teeth!?"
Presumably Forrest is staring in shock at several of his gorgeous pearly whites, cupped in his hand (that's what I would be doing).
"Gods' grief!" Alvaster swears again, and hands Forrest a mirror.
"A singular transformation, highly singular! But what provenance? A curse? A disease? Or could it be this unnatural plane itself can warp our bodily forms?!"
He taps his chin thoughtfully.
Alvaster recalls of a mage in Absolom, who, whilst tampering with planar gates and the like, sent four test subjects(Turtles)through an experimental portal. The questionable stability of the gate resulted in all four test subjects becoming randomly mutated and that summer the streets of Absolom were awash with the cowabunga's and bodacious hijinx of those hideous mutants. The scholarly conclusion towards the curing of mutations is for the subject to re-mutate themselves and hope for the best, or for the more wealthy, the use of a wish or true resurrection spell.