Thron's Rise of the Runelords Campaign

Game Master Thron

"I said nothing of leaving this place, merely resting before we continue on..." Eugeni mutters to himself. He backs off, letting Rilee and Zoli have their moment, glad that someone with more capacity for empathy is handling the situation.

To Setsuna he whispers, "Why Heaven? What advantage would abandoning this place bring? Do you require more material components to heal Zoli?"

"Yeah," Setsuna answers Eugeni in Aklo. "Since there's actually structure there, Heaven would probably have a store where we could get 5,000 gold pieces worth of diamond dust. It'll take a full Greater Restoration to heal Zoli's soul in a timely fashion. With just the standard version, it'd take at least two months for a full recovery. Maybe the Greed wing has what we needed..."

Setsuna sighs.

"As for leaving, I thought that we could do a supply run as well. Unfortunately, I just remembered that stupid dragon destroyed one of those key statues, so that entire plan is a bust. How about we enact our contingency one?"

DS Veil - Success on 2-20: 1d20 ⇒ 5

Setsuna disguises herself and Eugeni (if he accepts the spell) as small insects. The smallest she can think of!

"We should go make ourselves discrete. With Zoli asleep and Rilee still blind, they won't be able to hurt anyone immediately. We still can. Could you keep an eye out for Delvahine? I actually need to sleep to change my Dreamed Secrets."

Setsuna offers her Tears to Wine to assist Eugeni with said task.

It was extended, so TtW is good for the next four hours at least.

If nothing else happens, the Oracle then finds a nice, secluded hidey hole, activates her turbo sleep ring, and passes out.

@Thron: Does Paragon Surge reset with rest, or do the choices last for 24 hours after casting it? "The first time each day that you cast this spell, you must select a feat and make all the associated choices that come with it. Once that choice is made, it is set for the day and additional castings must make the exact same decisions."

24 hours.

24 hours pass.

A day passes, or as best you can estimate in this place, as you still feel no need to eat, drink, or sleep. It is uneventful, save for sons from Zoli and whimpering from the man in the cage.

Everyone want to wait 24 hours? I personally intend to move out after three. I'd be ready because of my Ring of Sustenance. However, I'm also fine with waiting for the full day; that frees up Paragon Surge and the Revelation Quill.

Assuming Ryllibelle or someone carries Zoli's sleeping body to our resting spot...

Zoli sleeps for eleven hours straight, tossing, turning, and occasionally moaning or muttering but without regaining consciousness.

Finally her fist rubs the sand from her eyes, and she--weakly--props herself up. Her skin still has an ashen, hollow look to it, but her expression is more one of sadness and exhaustion than terror.

For a long minute she sits there, stroking Lion as the little rat nuzzles on her lap. Then she looks over to Ryllibelle with a brief smile. "Thank you."

Waiting 24 hours let's all of us refresh and prepare our spells. Also, Zoli gets to make her Fort saves to throw off the negative levels. We potentially could help Zoli with that by making sure she has buffs up. My time to prepare spells should be well in advance of Zoli's spells, so I could probably have something like bear's endurance on her at the very least. Making sure she's wearing the best cloak of resistance in the party will also help when the time comes.

I think getting rid of her negative levels will take a Greater Restoration (and 5K Diamond Dust), or 8 castings of Restoration (and 8K Diamond Dust). I think you only get new saves for temporary negative levels...and even then, it's the DC of the original NL, and these are automatic (no DC) if you get kissed by a succubus.
.
Does anyone have any Diamond Dust on them? I know Eugeni has Stoneskin memorized, so he might...
.
Alternately, we got a LOT of gems from the dragon's horde, but I don't know if the exact quantity was listed. Thron, any chance we got 5000K worth of diamonds there, out of the 16K of jewelry?

No...stoneskin is another leftover from when I still had blood money before.

Dreamed Secrets Selections: See Invisibility, Locate Creature

Proposed Paragon Surge: Magic Circle Against Evil, Dimensional Anchor

Immediately after Zoli awakens, her soul sister materializes by her side.

"Hey, Zoli," Setsuna says softly as she sits beside her smaller friend.

The Oracle holds out her hands and reveals a handful of several tiny diamonds.

"I double checked the dragon's treasury, and I found enough diamonds that work with the Restoration spell. If I act now, I think I actually fix the soul drain that you took."

After Setsuna gets Zoli's approval, Desna's Champion wastes no time in healing the damage inflicted on Zoli's soul.

"...I hope that helps. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

Once the Revelation Quill is ready, Setsuna uses it with the intention of tracking down and killing Delvahine.

Assuming that Delvahine isn't hinted to be hiding somewhere in this wing...

DS Roll - Locate Creature: Delvahine: 1d20 ⇒ 6 Pass.
DS Roll - See Invisibility: 1d20 ⇒ 18 Pass.

Before she starts talking, Setsuna casts See Invisibility and Locate Creature: Delvahine, spawns her wings and cloak, and then does a sweep of the area.

Unless she's under the effects of Mind Blank, Mislead, Nondetection, or a Polymorph spell, Setsuna would know if she is with 560 feet.

If she thinks that the room is safe, the Oracle explains her plain.

"Here's what I have in mind. We use the Quill to approximately pinpoint her location. We buff up. I will cover everyone with a Magic Circle Against Evil, which is basically Super Extended Protection from Evil. They will last over two hours and make us immune to the worst of her tricks. Eugeni will disguise everyone as fruits flies via Veil.

"With a Paragon Surged Dimensional Anchor ready and Locate Creature and See Invisibility up, I physically pinpoint her location and then return to collect you all. I then sneak ahead again and nail her with Dimensional Anchor; that's absolutely critical. Once you hear the noise of casting and combat, you all swoop in and kill her."

Zoli gives a surprised yelp when Setsuna materializes.

After the oracle casts her spell, Zoli sighs with relief. "Ohh my, I'm...I'm myself again, I think.

"How long...Setsu, do you have any spells that would wash the memory of her out of my head? And of her hands on my body? Of the things she made me feel, and do?"

Earlier,
Rilee's spell wears off and her world goes much quieter. She sits in her darkness for a while, gently stroking the hair on her former daughter's head. But ultimately, she casts a spell and her sight is restored. Heal

She remains vigilant over Zoli until she finally awakes. She kisses her forehead, then steps away from her.

When Zoli thanks her, she shakes her head sadly. "You shouldn't-- I mean, I don't deserve it. I've failed you again."

Rilee shifts back to her aasimar form and turns away, walking several paces from her. She tugs at the frayed-yet-still-refined hairstyle until her wispy, lightning-bleached locks are loose and waving in the static electricity.

"I was such a fool. This body, so young. So young and full of... youthful desires and passions."

She leans heavily on her staff. "I have lived thousands of lives. It's time I started acting like it, and not like some stupid girl reading penny romances."

Setsuna seriously ponders Zoli's request.

"...Maybe," she answers slowly. "If we had a way to pay for it, Eugeni (or perhaps me not too far from now) could use Limited Wish to mimic Modify Memory, which... might be able to fulfill your request. The main issue is that it would be an ongoing effect, which would make it subject to being dispelled."

While she wishes that she could only tell Zoli good news, Setsuna that being honest with her friend is for the best.

"I'm also sorry. I made several mistakes that ultimately..."

Not casting Freedom of Movement on you. Not casting Protection from Evil on anyone. Not staying hidden. Not picking Dimensional Anchor from my Paragon Surge options. Giving you the speed that...

Setsuna shoves those thoughts aside.

Setsuna's sweep turns up nothing of note.

What does the Quill say? The goal is tracking down and killing Delvahine.

When she senses the time is right, Rilee goes through her prayers to nature and the unseen Wheel.

With her spells and abilities refreshed, she shifts her form into that of a dire bat to take advantage of its natural blindsight.

Quill:

Runeforge bound
Despite her might
Allies found
In unified plight

Edit: as for loot...
Each daughter (4 total) had the following: masterwork ranseur, belt of mighty constitution +2, bracers of armor +3, jewelry worth 8,000 gp.

The cages hanging around the chamber are also quite valuable, each worth 1,000 gp, but clearly appear quite heavy. The four incense burners in the first room of the pavilion are minor magical items as well, they never go out or run out of fuel, and can be commanded to emit any number of pleasant and mildly narcotic scents. Each are worth 500 gp. Strewn about the final chamber are dozens of exotic, bejeweled toys and devices of decidedly erotic natures (some of which are uncomfortably freshly used...). The functions of some are obvious, others less so at first glance.

In the room of beds, you can find a handy haversack containing:
Tome of Understanding +1
6 potions of cure moderate wounds
Potion of remove disease
Potion of remove paralysis

I know that the Quill can be vague, but what was given to her is really not what Setsu was thinking. While useful information, Setsuna didn't care about allies. She wants to track down Delvahine to a specific area and kill her. Runeforge bound seems a little too wide for that goal. Where in the Runeforge? With what was given to her, she basically has to randomly pick another area, which only delays her from accomplishing her goal. Surely the Quill can spit out another two words for say In Greed/Pride/Wrath/Gluttony/Sin, allies found?

If only she had found allies in just one wing...

Setsuna starts to yell angrily at the Revelation Quill.

"Piece of junk!"

She shows the information to her friends.

"I wanted a hard, physical location, and it gave me this nonsense! Talk about useless! It just said the she's found some allies! I wanted to hunt her down! I could care less about what allies she might have! Useless, useless, useless!"

Setsuna calms down and takes a look at the words again.

"...I suddenly get the feeling that she's probably assembled a... variety of allies."

The Oracle sighs.

"...Let's at least check out Greed next. It is Karzoug's own wing. As I said, I'd personally like to go under a Veil. Given how buffs work, I don't know if that'd be wise for the whole group. Rilee, I plan to summon some troops and have them clean the place out. Mind joining me?"

Buffs: Delay Poison, Extended Tears to Wine (which Setsuna will insist that everyone drinks), Freedom of Movement (on myself and Zoli), Magic Vestment on Zoli's buckler, and Ward the Faithful. Everyone gets a Paragon Surged Magic Circle Against Evil before we leave this current area.

Zoli frowns. In a wary voice, she replies "Not useless. She's still alive, and around, and she has new allies now. I'd rather have heard that she was alone. Or gone forever...but I guess we needed to know."

Zoli shivers. "Karzoug's wing sounds fine. Just...just don't leave me alone, OK? I mean ever. At least until we know she's dead."

Moving on. Post any further preparations ASAP.

The group makes their way back to the central chamber of Runeforge, then on towards the wing marked with the Thassilonian rune for greed, behind the statue of Karzoug.

Continuing on into the wing of greed, the group notes a change in the decor. The floors, walls, and ceilings are made of well polished wood. A large iron door studded with dozens of colorful gemstones stands in the eastern wall at the end of this corridor. Although the door appears to have no latch, a depression in the center contains a keyhole.

1d20 + 20 ⇒ (19) + 20 = 39

Zoli--more alert then ever after recent events--points out, "See those footprints? Folks have definitely been through here since our last time...coming and going on multiple directions it looks like."

Zoli takes a moment to see if she can tell what Halls have (or haven't) had recent traffic.

Poking around, Zoli says, "Hmmm, looks like no traffic in or out of Sloth, Greed, and Gluttony.

"Hey, maybe we should try gluttony next. I wonder if they've got anything good to eat down there. I could use some Katapeshi spiced goat." The harried Swashbuckaeologist pats her belly.

"Any of you see any magic on that door? If not, I'll check it for traps."

1d20 + 19 ⇒ (5) + 19 = 24

Of note: Rilee and Zoli feel uncomfortable in the Greed wing, and have a –2 penalty on all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.

Okay, hold up. I wouldn't have wild shaped yet if we were still conversing about which wing to enter.

Rilee casts her spell that lets her detect tracks through the air, and uses that to get a sense of who and what passed through before going into any of the wings.

Survival (track): 1d20 + 28 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 28 + 5 = 38

"I see them too, (plus any creatures that flew through the air)"

Rilee studies the size, type and nature of the tracks for a few moments, to see if she can ascertain what creatures Delvahine has recruited to her cause before allowing anyone to go further.

Aerial tracks lasts for 14 hours, so I can take 20 for a 53 if need be. What do I detect?

Humans, and something you've never smelled before. Mostly from the Wrath wing.

"Hmm. These are mostly human. Plus something else."
The mystery track, is it big? Small? How many legs?

Rilee leans on her staff again. "This changes our plan. It's very likely that Delvahine has charmed or dominated a variety of wrathful individuals. If we can break her enchantment on them, she might just have to deal with several very angry humans."

She shrugs. "Plus, they're not in this wing! If we seek to hunt Delvahine, this is not the correct wing. And I feel... uncomfortable in this section. I wonder if we should consider trying another wing. Sloth and Gluttony also appear to have had no traffic. Then again, since we know Wrath is depleted, it might be an opportune time to investigate there and clear out way out."

I've peeked under Zoli's spoilers since I can't miss the Perception DC. Can I tell which wing Delvahine went into? It's probably Envy, if people from the Wrath wing left to go someplace else. (Process of elimination, unless they went into a wing we've already been in.)

Medium, 2 legs. No scent of Delvahine.

"I'm fine with killing her now. Are there any tracks going into Pride or Envy? Those places probably were empty."

Are there any tracks going into Pride or Envy? Given her spell and how her Survival is, Rilee should notice them.

I don't have book. At work. There are tracks going into the wing you guys previously cleared. Pride I think?

Correct. We cleaned out Pride and took everything of value in there.

So...what wing?

Zoli says, "If she--or her allies--have gone down the Pride wing, we should hunt them there. Under Eugeni's veil, perhaps we can catch her by surprise...or at least cut off her allies from her."

I vote Rilee follows the tracks, with all the buffs running that Setsu mentioned, including Veil.

Just a quick OOC post to say that I'll cast the veil on us, to make us look like gnats once everyone has agreed on which wing.

Retro before we head off:

Eugeni makes sure to take the time to offer Zoli a hug, if she feels like being touched. It's clear he wants to support her, but doesn't have the proper words for his feelings.

I second checking out Pride. With most of the traps disabled, we should be fine. Setsuna will activate her Ring of Invisibility before entering and scout ahead. Since all that we've done is talked and then gone from one wing to another, she should still have up See Invisibility and Locate Creature: Delvahine. Just to be safe, she will avoid looking at any mirrors until she reaches that main room where the giant Peacock was.

Stealth: 1d20 + 24 + 6 + 20 ⇒ (5) + 24 + 6 + 20 = 55
Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (11) + 20 = 31

"Before we go, who would like to have echolocation cast on them? It would probably be best on someone who can light up the invisible foes with glitterdust. Eugeni? Setsuna?"

"Isn't Echolocation a personal spell? And Eugeni has Glitterdust prepared and the ability to spam it. With my See Invisibility, I'll be able to point out targets for him."

"Ah, yes; I keep forgetting that."

She draws in a breath to start casting, but she pauses once more. "Hold on. I detected no sign of Delvahine with these tracks. While that probably means she is teleporting around, let's think on this." Rilee glances around. Take 10 for a 44 Perception

Assuming she doesn't notice any hidden creatures or scrying sensors, she leans in and lowers her voice.

"Delvahine knows you can move about unseen, Setsuna. How could she prepare for that? She's gathered allies, but would she stand with them? I think it's unlikely. It's too much to hope she's so enraged that she'll make foolish choices, but she fled while her daughters were being crushed to death.

"I know she can cast freedom of movement on herself, since she slipped so easily from my vines. And it's a moderate-duration spell. It'll probably last two to three hours for her. If she has lots of that spell, she may have cast it on her new allies to protect them from my dinos and vines. If we have any tricks we've not used on her, we should consider them."

"I might sound arrogant, but I doubt that she has any way to actually pinpoint me besides good raw perception. Divination was not held in high regard by the Thassilonians, so it's unlikely that this place would give her easy access to such magic. We found no spell books, so it is likely that she isn't a wizard, which means that she has no easy way to prepare for me. Besides that area of effect Confusion spell, her enchantment magic requires line of sight, and she showed no abilities that allowed her to easily find me yesterday. Factoring in my ability to belt out Protection from Evil, all the magical resistances I get from outright divine protection, and my Elven resistances to Enchantment, quite frankly, I'm certainly her worst opponent on this team; in theory, I could strike at any time. She always has to be ready for me."

"As for her allies, she either fights with them or fights alone. A major reason that she escaped yesterday was because she was so busy wasting time killing her minions. I doubt that she would last very long by herself."

"Dimensional Anchor and Feeblemind care nothing for Freedom of Movement. Neither does Battering Blast or just plain raw damage. So we need to tag her fast. Moreover, we have our Protection spells up, so that nullifies her worst powers. As for finding her, that's why I plan to scout ahead and use the spells I Dreamed today. If she isn't present, then we can just summon some stuff to kill her allies."

"Very well. Let's see what surprises she has in store for us."

Then something catches in her mind. "Evocation. Isn't that the matched school of magic with Wrath?"

She finishes casting echolocation on herself, then casts resist energy (fire). She uses her pearl of power to restore that spell into her mind once more.

With a tired sigh, she gets ready to go with the rest of the party under Eugeni's veil.

Eugeni weaves his spell, and soon the group is veiled in the illusion of being a hardly noticeable cloud of gnats. "Let us commence our search," he suggests.

Sounds like your going back into Pride:

The group returns to the Shimmering Veils of Pride, looking for further clues. After a thorough investigation, they determine that the same scents/tracks seem to have came here, rummaged around everything as if looking for something of value, and then left.

Next?

Wouldn't my Survival tracking have learned that they left?

I presume the tracks have somewhat intermingled, and given these are mostly stone floors, the "trails" are very minimal at best, mostly amounting to disturbed dust and such.

Yeah, but... +33 to track. Take 10 and that's a 43. So... can I tell where they are?

How long was 'thorough'? Setsu would probably push everyone to look elsewhere after like fifteen minutes tops.

"Good thing we cleaned this place out; we should probably investigate Wrath then. Odds are that she's probably there."

Setsuna will renew See Invisibility, her Ring of Invisibility, and Paragon Surge before we enter Wrath. Everything else should be running.

DS Will: 1d20 ⇒ 13 Pass.

Stealth: 1d20 + 24 + 6 + 20 ⇒ (10) + 24 + 6 + 20 = 60
Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (17) + 20 = 37

All scent trails seem strongest and most recent at the wing of Wrath.