The Forgotten God (Table 1) (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Yeah I always forget that there are some perfectly neutral chaps among them. The fact that they're all power-tripping jerks in the Emerald Spire campaign I play in I'm sure has nothing to do with that...

"Indeed..." Burkhardt mumbled. He detested paperwork, knowing that forms only beget new forms. He filled out one for Erstehund and then handed the other with pen to Midfoviing. "It's for you." As the girl looked on confused, Burkhardt sighed, filled out her form, then offered his inkwell to her tail. "Dip, and tap here." he said, pointing to the signature line.

"The girl can fit the definition of these forms, but she is her own master and can bear the liability for her own actions." Then to Hardan, he gesticulated in illustration of the man's flawless muscles and perfect posturing. "Is he too such a rippling, primal thing that he cannot be served by laws for men? Or may we now enter?"

"Now Burkhardt lets not keep this man by making his job difficult. The girl is my companion and friend we are responsible for one another already because of this, but if it suits your laws I will sign and fill out such a paper to move things along. We all have better things to do.

Hadran will take and complete the form. Smiling at Midfoviing. He leans in.

"We will not stay here any longer than needed."

In fairness, you can be a power-tripping jerk without actually being evil. A little bureaucracy and a disciplined life can lead to... behaviors.

Midfoviing tapped the inked tip of her tail on the paper - hard enough to crack the board beneath it.

"You're right - you won't stay here longer than needed. You will, however, stay that long. What is your purpose in Egorian?" the Hellknight asked impassively, sounding like he had all the time in the world. Well behind him, at the gates, you noticed one of the guards sighing slightly.

"I have never been here before. We came to see the capitol and all that it offers, but I'm sure you have other duties to attend to if there is nothing else?"

True, though those are slave-owning, halfling hating, power-tripping jerks :-P

Burkhardt shot back, "Now Hadran, the man seems to like paperwork; I was trying to make his job more enjoyable, not more difficult!" Having tested the man's temper, he was feeling rather playful about it all.

"Regardless, Hadran's got the right of it. I've heard there is much to see and do here, and we're seekers of novelty both."

"There is indeed much to do in this city. See that you do it without causing any problems." the guard said, eyeing your various pieces of gear. "We have a great many resources that can be put towards finding troublemakers."

He waved you along, and soon, your wagon was up at the gates, where the bored-looking guard you'd seen before just sighed, shook his head, and looked at Midfoviing. "Sooooooo... this your pet?" he asked, taking out some familiar-looking paperwork.

Hadran let's out an audible sigh.

"I am responsible for her yes, but she is her own person as we just confirmed. Are all visitors treated with such scrutiny?"

Burkhardt thought the absurd redundancy in getting through the gates not unlike the silly but deadly games of faerie-kind, and it was rather amusing to him. However, he pushed it no further and let Hadran handle the guard.

"Of course." the guard answered. "As members of the official guards of Egorian, it is our duty to check visitors and generate the paperwork so that we may have appropriate records." he paused for a moment. "The Order of the Scourge wishes to have its own paperwork and records, separate and apart from the official reports. Paralictor Elliendo does not appreciate interference in the Order's affairs, and Captain Ratarion has ordered that we... accommodate... them as much as possible. What is that weapon?" he asked, looking towards Hadran's Valiant Fang.

Burkhardt snuck Erstehund a bit of jerky while the guard grilled Hadran.

"Very well. I can appreciate rules and order. Oh this old thing? I thought it to be an ancient artifact, but the magic is faint on it. It came to be mine out in the sands of Katapesh. I have named it Valiant Fang. It has helped me through a touch time or two."

"Really? Because that looks like a moderate strength aura to me." the guard said conversationally. Despite that, you noticed a definite wariness in his words. "To say nothing of the... cheery... design. Does it have any holy properties?"

He glanced at Burkhardt a moment later. "Same question to you. Objects with holy properties, especially those that are or can be used as weapons, are subject to the Weapons Act of 4710."

Burkhardt pulled out his sling, short sword, and handaxe to show the guard. "Nothing of the sort on me, not even a bit of holy water. And," taking off and emptying his hat in a single flourish, "nothing as such in here, either."

Hadran smiles.

"Not at all, and yes you are correct. Forgive me I misspoke. The blade has gained power over the last few weeks." He pulls the blade and holds it out if the guard wishes to inspect.

"I thought the same. It certainly looks like an angelic blade of sorts." He then wonders what they would do to himself knowing all the holy power emanates from his being.

"I understand your concern, but we are not here to cause any trouble."

Yep that wasn't Hadran lying that was me forgetting it was a legendary weapon and not just a +1 keen weapon :)

Fortunately, I don't think it actually has a Holy property right now... XD

The guard examined the weapon for a few moments, apparently trying to detect what properties it might have. "I strongly recommend that you cover this weapon and leave it so for the duration of your visit to Egorian." he eventually said. "Merely having something that looks Celestial could draw attention to you... and I suspect you would not enjoy the experience." With that, he waved you into the city.

Hadran nods.
"Thank you for the suggestion." He will pull out one of his blankets and wrap up the blade before slinging it back over his shoulder.

Once into the city he will ask around to get pointed to an inn or tavern where they can secure a room. From there he will spend the evening eating drinking and gathering information or rumors running through the place.

Gather info: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32

Burkhardt if you had other things you wished to do before hand, feel free. I just didn't have any other business right now.

Burkhardt waited a moment in their room, performing a binding ritual before following Hadran in their quest to learn of more relics.

Verbose Binding Check (DC 19): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Gather Information: 1d20 + 16 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 16 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 22 | Nice.

Riding forward, the first thing you saw was what appeared to be a bustling slave market. Quite a few people called out to offer their wares, and almost as many inquired about buying your companion. Many of the buildings off the street looked small - proportioned for halflings more than humans. A city this large had plenty of accommodations, of course. There were cheap places near brothels and gambling dens, middle-class establishments catering to travelers and merchants, and luxurious upper-class areas where you could be seen and aim to impress others. As visitors, you were definitely being watched - and your choice of district to stay in would probably influence who would talk to you...

"Travelers and merchants are probably our best bet for information, but in a city like this the nobility are all about status and collecting items of power would have status associated with it. It may be wise to start there. I have a bit of coin still, though I know not what it will cost us. What do you think my friend."

"No better way to spend our returns from helping Zefiro than getting as close to the power as possible, I think. Let's rub shoulders with the who's who of Cheliax."

Moving towards the wealthy areas meant heading to Thorntown, at least for now. Much of this area appeared to be newer, perhaps because it lay in the shadow of the Imperial Palace, and the Egorian School of architecture (heavy on red and black Arcadian marble) was universal here. Eventually, you managed to come across a rather well-dressed young woman - the red-and-black matched the architecture and much of the rest of the city, and looked fashionable enough - and she raised an eyebrow at your questions. "Well, you've clearly got something going well for you." she said, eyeing your muscles, then your companion. "So, what is it that you do, exactly?"

Hadran doesn't really respond as he surely doesn't realize the woman is flirting.

"We are adventurers. We assumed the capitol must hold great power. We investigate rumors of items or places of power. Are there rumors or tales of such places or things here?"

Burkhardt is doubly astounded at Hardan's obliviousness and lack of tact. "Please, Hadran," he said with a diffusing laugh, "You make it sound like petty crime! But... he's not wrong. We do seek power, and we've yet to butt up against a challenge that gives us pause. Surely a woman of your status can relate?" He clasped the woman's hand in his and shook it firmly. "I am called Burkhardt, and he is Hadran. It's a pleasure."

"Adventurers, is it? Well, I certainly know a few good places to... have an adventure. Devil's Dance is probably the most interesting area for that - lots of wizards up there, since they think the roads make for easier summoning. You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for ancient ruins or buried treasure, though. Such areas in and around the city have been thoroughly investigated."

"Devil's Dance, you say?" Burkhardt choked down his disgust as he asked. "That is helpful beyond measure, thank you." Hands still clasped around hers and eyes locked on hers, Burkhardt tried his luck. "Now if I were seeking an adventure of another kind, who do you suppose I might ask to be my guide? You, perhaps?"

At first blush, this course seemed odd. While Burkhardt's dogma and sex wouldn't appear to have much overlap, healthy and mutually enjoyable sex requires those partaking to speak openly about their desires and limits before climbing in between the sheets. A quirk of communities that favored Burkhardt before his fall were that they featured better sexual education than comparable groups.

"Wizards huh? Alright sounds as good as place as any to talk to some people. Can you show us the way?"

"Do I look like a servant?" the woman asked, sounding somewhat offended. "There are people for that kind of thing. Or, you know, maps. If you can't even figure that out, perhaps you're more muscle than brain..."

That didn't come out right, and now she's worked up. "Aye, miss, that there are. Come on, Hadran, she's much too busy to waste the day on rough-and-tumble men like us."

Hadran simply nods, not wishing to get in any type of arguing with the woman. He follows Burkhardt away.

Going by the quality of her dress, that was probably true - but she was definitely watching you as you left, and didn't stop until, at the very least, you were out of sight.

Next?

Continue and ask casually on any on the street to be pointed to Devil's Dance

Agreed.

Getting directions was easy enough once you found someone in the garb of a servant - more affluent people simply sneered at such questions, clearly considering you unworthy of their time.

The area, just off of Riverside, was apparently named for an intersection that formed a pentagram, and a great deal of the city's diabolists were under the impression that such a thing made summoning spells easier and more effective. In fairness, they were right. Moving through the city, though, you were starting to get a good sense of the layout. The affluent areas appeared to be mainly in a triangle from Thrune Manor to the Riverside docks, then down and over to the Long Market area. Much of the rest of the city was... low-class as best, and rapidly devolving to slums.

"At least we know the inhabitants here seem to only care for power. It should help in any negotiating we have to do."

Hadran smiles looking for a positive in this awful place of evil.

"Yes, we can certainly hope it will." Burkhardt begins to ask around, and is sure to not overlook servants who may be less bothered by questions and less tight-lipped.

Diplomacy (Gather Information): 1d20 + 16 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 16 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 40

Any particular information you're trying to gather, or is it just rumors and random leads?

I don't think we have much specific to chase after. Rumors & random leads, with special attention towards anything that might hint at our portfolios.

Gather Info: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25

Yep rumors, leads.

Well, Egorian is pretty much what you'd expect it to be - rigidly ruled, trouble stamped out hard, and openly supportive of Hell itself. Even at your most persuasive, rumors were a bit limited - there were subjects people just flat-out didn't want to talk about.

You did, however, hear that contact had been lost with the Deepmar penal colony, and that was definitely a point of concern.

"A whole penal colony that can't be reached? Could be nothing... could be the result of some massive power. I'd rather like to look further into this. What thinks you, Hadran?"

Crazy site issues, I was not able to get on when I tried till today.

"Seems more trouble then it's worth. I don't like the idea of helping the state of this place, but there is no harm in checking it out if you desire too. Certainly not every lead or rumor will lead us to what we seek. Yes we shall go there."

Yyyyyup. It's been bad, but they seem to have gotten things under control.

Getting some more information, it seemed that Deepmar was to the northwest, across the Menador Mountains area. The most direct way to get there - barring teleportation magic, and really, who was going to teleport you into a prison camp? - was probably taking a ship across Lake Sorrow and up the river, then crossing the mountains on foot and taking another ship down to Kintargo before switching to something seaworthy. Alternatively, you could sail back down and around, the western coast of Cheliax, which was longer but probably more comfortable than the steep hike across the mountains. (Going around the mountains by land was a... much, much longer journey.)

No kidding; bumpy week!

Burkhardt discussed their options as they sat down to dinner. "If you want to wait it out Hadran and see what else we hear, I hardly see the harm. But it could be an opportunity to some good within the prison, even if it resumes its function as a result of our actions. If we're careful though, we need not let that be the outcome either." He took a big bite of his turkey leg, chasing it with ale. "I leave our path to you, my friend. My nature as it is, I specialize in good intentions; you're the better at doing good acts."

"I'm not sure we can get more, or better info from this place. Everyone is tight lip and keeps to themselves. I have to say I don't wish to spend more time here, so let us head out and make this place one of our last stops in this area. There is much more of this world to see. We may have got all we can from this land."

Traveling for work this week. Posting not as consistent. Traveling on Friday for the Holiday and will be in South Florida for the weekend, back to normal next week.

And how would you like to head out? XD

boat

"We should look into securing passage by boat. It is faster than overland travel and will help us to avoid any possible interaction with people."

Well there's boat + a brief hike + more sea travel, or boat 'round the coast. The first is faster, the second is more comfortable. Hydrophobia is the slowest option. I vote for option 1, the fastest.

"Very well. The sooner we finish up here the better it seems."

Asking around, it didn't take too long to hear about boats that headed up towards the mountains - apparently trade was fairly brisk, especially for the use of the marble stone popular in construction around here. They left on a set schedule, though, and the next one heading out would be leaving in two days. Until that left, you were going to have to stick around - and hope you didn't draw too much attention.

Any preparations you want to make before you head out?

Restock of rations is about it. I spent most of my gold :)