oh; the room behind the altar is a like an office, perfectly circular about 30' in diameter; orderly and neat; but spartan, but with some trophies or interesting things presumably from Baelinor's travels; while made of ice; heavy wooden and comfortable looking stools are provided.
there are no other obvious doors; a small gesture from Baelinor with his Gauntlet and the hallway in fills solid with ice; why the air remains pure is a mystery.
Until Baelinor posts <post monster keeps eating his posts>
he basicially sits you all three down; tells you there are a great many dangers in the world. The foremost is dreams of power, fear and uncertainty of war and rumors of war; any excessive emotions. If you are to remain as a group; you should sleep or stay near the paladin when you can; and those like him; as that will offer you protection and limit the access that some really bad creatures will have to you. The true enemy we struggle agains cannot be named; has no face; is fed by worst sort of dreams and fears of humanity, elves, and dwarves. They do not feed on true chivarly; dont know love or kindness; charity is foriegn to them. All dreams of power; dominance; magic and the like will feed them; as you grow in power; they will come to notice you and their allies will act; enticing and twisting until you no longer are even recognizable by those who once knew you.
Thus; let us consider the quest of paladin Rama; I will grant your request and enter into agreements with mighty Pharoah; this will generate hope and calm some number of worriers; but thus; you must do a quest for me, by the Pharoahs hand, and also be a symbol of hope. This is your lucky day Paladin; for today you take the steps to restore your order though I doubt even you know how or why.
Priest of Moradin; things I could say; the time is late; the world draws toward war to decide the very survival of this plane of existance; for one has come to judge and time is short. I can tell you of the green man; I know of him; I know of his plight and how you can help; this is a heroic task beset with the worst dangers and craftiest enemies. But know you; your task and that of Lord Rama are one in the same; for your green man is his Green Man, the God of life and champion of growing things and hater of evil and corruptions of life. Dumathions priests are mostly dead; their task must not fail lest we all fail; the world fails; ther Green Man is a champion and ally of the task of ancient, silent Dumathion; Moradin's brother. I know this and more I will not say from my friend and Dumathion's High Priest Kojan; I will not say more; but divinity of dwarves and man see this need; do this task and be proud of your life's work.
Thoronhen; These two I trust; but you have symbols familiar to me; allies who are lost and deluded. Beware that you do not fall into the traps that took them. If you are like some others who I have seen from that guild; you could be very helpful to these two; very, but also a dread champion of evil and promote destruction if you are not very careful and true to task. This paper says I can instruct you in what to do next; that you will do it; I say; aid these two and any others that join to restore the Green Man.
With that; lets get down to business; I have spoken to Amber; a ship awaits you to take you to some allies who have found a piece of the Green Man's puzzle; your task you three; is to go to the greek continent and......
great magic begins to swirl around Baelinor; is last words resound over and over <spellcraft rolls if you like> lights and swirls abound like fireworks, but very quickly.
spot rolls please.
the fireworks increase and a magic harmony begins; the lights are very hypnotic
Will saves please.
a terrified squeel from the corner behind the shield; the ball of cloth rolls out and quickly sputters:
Behold the coming of Blarney Joe! Feared ruler of the Sidhe; second to the Queen's of Fairie and ruler of the central region of Fey; tremble at the power of Light and Darkness!
Harold squeeks and quickly retreats to a little ball of fluff and rolls to the sheild which rolls to Baelinor who by habit picks it up.
An ancient and somewhat stooped leprachaun appears; wearing robes of dignity; a smoking pipe in one hand and smoking mug in the other.
he appears in mid air; but some of the swirls circling hte ceiling detach to swirl down and form a piller of stars and swirls high enough for him to sit eye to eye with everyone.
"Top O Da Morn to you Baelinor old Laddie; what be this I hare bout yea sending more planet breakers ta me fare lands; last time dat learned me a ting er two and da whole bleedin world bout ended in a sorely matched constest of whobegone ancient and viril magics. Da Queens did set me ta task.
What say you Taskmaster of "those who destroyed my field and crushed me dwellings". Long have I kept an eye on yea and those yea send out by our pact and agreement. What be the import of this hare disasterous agenda? What might I tell da Queens ta back dis folley?
Bealinor looks Blarney Joe straight in the eye; grunts; digs out two little pouches; one of smokeweed the other looks like honey; Blarney Joe stuff his pipe quickly and takes a few puffs; fine Southern Halfling tobacco; the good stuff; the other he pours far more into his mug than should fit; sips it; says "ah; clover honey in fresh dairy milk fermented just right, thought I smelled some a' viking."
Baelinor simply states; Greetings Joe; it is needful that these three and what worthy compainions who will; go forth to the central lands and retrieve a part of ...the...GREEN.... MAN.
Joe stares back; ah; good show then; fer that Greek mother earth lady diety things of humans; is all tortured up good right about there n her blood be drippen to weaken you know whose dat we aint sayin; all sealy doom cause dem stogy dwarves of yours clan didnt get it done.
Well now; true heroes are they; my pooper is sore just thinking how this could get messed up; well; here's me trade <his eyes gleam and he rubs his hands together> yea kin do it; but one oes mine be alone with you fer yer quests; deal?
Baelinor says; which court
Joe; Summer mostly; been a war; lots of peeps feeling skuttled
Baelinor: must be good; and not opposed to law; a good guy
joe; yeah yeah; she is all dat
Baelinor: fighter or magic
Joe; This babe is a right good scrapper; solid magic; you;ve got a need
Baelinor nods
Joe nods
they both pull off a glove; spit in the palm; and shake on it; looks silly and weird; but the magic of it is a seal that anyone can hear.
Joe yells; Girly; get out here and meet yer mates; yea be a questing spirit of joy and beauty now; so git a move on n get cracking; world needs saving before it gets blown to hell in a handbag.
The swirlies all decend on Joe in a tight bright circle; <spellcraft and arcane lore if you like> then all the lights and swirls along with Blarney Joe dissappear; and a small, yet very very beautiful fey is standing on the ground; perhaps a bit intimidated, but radiant.
great magic begins to swirl around Baelinor; is last words resound over and over <spellcraft rolls if you like> lights and swirls abound like fireworks, but very quickly.
spot rolls please.
the fireworks increase and a magic harmony begins; the lights are very hypnotic
Will saves please.
Yes your Grace I will take on this mission and make sure it gets done in the quickest and most efficient manner possible.
a terrified squeal from the corner behind the shield; the ball of cloth rolls out and quickly sputters:
Behold the coming of Blarney Joe! Feared ruler of the Sidhe; second to the Queen's of Fairie and ruler of the central region of Fey; tremble at the power of Light and Darkness!
Harold squeeks and quickly retreats to a little ball of fluff and rolls to the shield which rolls to Baelinor who by habit picks it up.
I relax back into my chair as the introductions get finished.
Caran and Gaius,
bodies of ghouls, humans, gnolls, orcs and goblins are evident. the lay of the bodies is strange; seems like the orcs and goblins are fighting the gnolls and ghouls and the humans; the humans are also found fighting both groups but things are strange, but without tracking it would be difficult to determine more information.
what will you do at this point; check the bodies; some; all, a few; go through the battle area or skirt around it.Note; there is much blood and gore; sure to attract....things. the smell of death and is heavy in the air; fetid smells. Also; you can see some scorch marks and wounds indicative of magic use on all sides.
At this point no one has approached very closely to any bodies; this can all be seen as distance less than 100 yards.
I cast detect magic and then crouch beside Eruanna and scan the battlefield looking for residual spells or items magically enhanced. “The smells from this battle will bring predators, if they haven’t already… we must tread carefully. It is possible we could be tracked by them (predators) even if we skirt around this.”
Knowledge Nature = 30 (roll of 14 plus skill 16)
Listen = 24 (roll of 9 plus skill 15)
Spellcraft = 28 (roll of 16 plus skill 12)
Spot = 26 (roll of 11 plus skill 15)
Survival = 31/33 (roll of 18 plus skill 13/15(aboveground natural))
Erkholt stands in the background as the introductions are made, slightly awed by the company he's currently sharing. He flexes his left knee gently, working out the stiffness from the cold climb earlier. The old axewound still gave him pain in the cold weather.
At Baelinor's discussion of the green man and his mention of the mission he's been assigned, the dwarven cleric nods his head solemnly and states " Aye Great Lord, o' course I'll take this mission. Twas assigned by Lord Moradin and his Brother, and I am not one to question the will o' the gods"
As the magical effects begin to swirl and the fey appears, the dwarf steps back slightly to see what unfolds, wisely staying quiet until all is revealed.
Spins around twice, stops, stands on her toes and then down, whisks away some hair from her face, courtseys in her lovely purple and white dress, nods, and speaks......
"Alas, I have arrived. Greetings and the top of the day to ya all. Tis most honored to meet ye. Lshay be mine name. (Quickly places one hand behind her back) I tis most honored to meet ye all. Blarney Joe, would ye be kind enough to introduce these fine chaps to me so as I may become a bit more acquinted with them. I'm most anxious to get to know the lot of them."
Twirls her necklace around her finger, eyes each guest in turn as if she's considering them for something, gives a half smile and says in a quick and slightly snotty tone....
"What, ya never seen a girl before? Ye eyes are as big as buggers!"
remember those in the pryamid; I need some rolls. For those who gave rolls ahead of time; just apply your bonuses and read on; I dont mind if you read other spoilers; just dont let that knowledge come into the game.
here are the rolls that are applicable:
Arcane lore for first magical effect; each +5 bonus of spellcraft will give you a +1 to this roll. this is very difficult as no spell was cast here; it is a very high level spell; and is not mortal magic.
Initial spot of the fireworks.
Will save vs hypnotic magic effect of fireworks
Knowledge Fey; add +2 sinergy bonus if you have +5 or more diplomacy and another +1 if you have +5 or more of bluff.
Spellcraft for cast spell by Fey; +3 if you made the first roll; +2 if you have knowledge Fey; +2; Arcane lore synergy bonus of +1 for each +5 added to spellcraft.
Arcane Lore; DC 30
Contingency spell triggered by Baelinor speaking of sending X to the greek continent; Summon VIII Fey.
Initial spot
DC 15
the fireworks are really fireflies burning brightly in lots of colors
DC 20
the fireworks are a horde of brightly lit little people with dragonfly wings
DC 25
the fireworks are a horde of various fey armed for war with swords, axes and armor that are brightly glowing; they fly on wings but with no discernable pattern.
DC 30
The horde of fey have warpaint; some have wounds and bandages; they have their warfaces on and will fight much like a school of piranha and targeting one of these very tiny and nimble individual is likely to be really hard.
DC 35
[spoiler]
These fey have been recently to war; they are all veterans and elite; they appear to be King Joe's personal war gaurd; he probably has many many more troops on standby....wonder what they were fighting; you see no blood on their weapons or armor.
Will save (each round but doesnt matter in this case since your not fighting them
DC 22
failure equals dazed effect; second consecutive failure; fatigued effect.
Knowlege Fey
dc 15
Fey love to make deals
dc 20
fey need to make deals with mortals; and usually get the better of the bargain
dc 25
fey must make deals with mortals and must tell the truth; but they are tricky and evasive and deceptive; breaking a deal with a High Sidhe is a deadly proposition for any mortal involved.
dc 30
the more you bargain and cooperate with fey; the more they get their hooks into you and the more their magic affects you; they have many weaknesses; mostly emotions like laughter or great beauty can stop them in their tracks; then again; iron cuts through their spells.
spellcraft
DC 26
Plane shift to Faire on plane Happy Hunting grounds.
hehe I have been running this game around a table since about 1980; so yep; lots and lots of history; lots of players; all that stuff; and thank you.
rolls; I just carry a d20; roll how you like; I trust everyone till they prove they cannot be trusted; after all; rolls just help the story unwind in new and exciting ways; sometimes it is actually better to fail; there will be some stuff in the game you wont want to save from and it will save your sanity hehe. I always say; there are things is the game worse than a clean death.
I'll work out how to link them (smiles)
.
one of the last things to leave the departing swirling mist of fey; is the face of Blarney Joe; it dissappears in pieces the last thing to go is his wide laughing smile; very chesire cat like :)
his last words: not to much mischeif wit deez mortal lassie; day aint nottin special; Harold, my errant boy; you keep yer trap shut on dis one; each o yall make like sport n get aquinted. introductions hehehehehehehehhahahahah
<pc's please do the introductions thing>
Baelinor: I am Baelinor; High Priest of Donblas the Justice Maker; ,he looks sternly at everyone; dont tell her you full name, ever, or you could have serious consiquences; like wake up with the face of a donkey. <grunts> Baelinor is massivly armored; nearly as thick as he is tall and very very very hairy; average height for a dwarf.
Amber: I am Amber, High Priestess of Isis; conjure with it at your own risk little one. Perhaps you have heard of me; I have had stern words with two of your queens. Amber is in half plate that glows and has magic sigils that scroll around it; she has lots of silk of the colors of her holy order. she is about 5'3 and slender.
<gm role play note here - Amber is beautiful and radiant; calm and powerful; but mortal - the fey is a thing of spirit and nature; her beauty is part magic as it is for all fey to one degree or another.>
The name I use is ThoronHen which means Eagle Eye in Elvish. A rough translation at best but works and no its not my True Name so I have no worries from this fellow fey lass. Greetings.
An average height and weight for an Elf. With the hood of a pelt cloak thrown back you see fairly close cropped sandy brown hair. Benith the cloak seems to be the standard travlier's type clothing and as I bow you can see through the neck of the shirt the sparkles of finely elvish made chain shirt. Across the chest I have a bandoleer with finely made daggers and at the bottom of it hangs a quiver full of quarrels to fit the hand crossbow also hanging there that is also finely crafted. My hands are covered with a finely made gloves that fit snuggly and on my feet are a pair of shoes instead of heavy combat boots. Even sitting at rest it looks like I am ready to move in any direction at any point of time but still seems at ease.
hehe want some combat; ok; that can be arranged :)
"Now Baelinor surely you wouldn't be expect'n the worse from someone so wee as me? Tsk, me feelings are hurt that ye feel the need ta tell the others ta be on guard."
"And Amber, now ye ain't got no get tough and all ruffled with me. Perhaps we could be best friends, No?" (places hand behind her back).
"ThoronHen, I say, never have I seen such a group of mistrustin mortals. Surely ye faith be misplaced. Looks like ye off to war are ye? And a nimble warrier I bet ye be."
"So tell me, what all has me Blarney Joe told ya? Something about I quest I hear."
LeShay I be no more mortal then you are as I am of the fey as well. But never you mind that we all have are allotted time here in this plane then we go to the next. Even one such as you has an allotted time be it longer then even us elves but may it be far in the future as it seems that you will be a part of our quest to have Sir Rama's patron be made whole.
Oh, I am not a warrior but a trapsmith who knows how to defend him self. Even yon Cleric on Moriden(sp) with the aid of his god could beat me in a stand up fight, let alone Sir Rama's skill at arms and the warriors outside.
Thronhen; careful here
[you will be a part of our quest to have Sir Rama's patron be made whole]
using player information in game as character information; this has not yet been discussed though a few clues that might or might not be this have been given. For example, there are currently three beings that might be the Green Man; the old party met one, two are dead. Not being as familiar with Eygptian mythology; your character probably does not have the background for this specific a extrapolation. As far as I can see you dont have knowlege religion or Eygpt; no biggie; just take a little more care.
also; Giantish in my game is different for some giants; frost; fire speak individual languages; cloud and storm speak the same; titans speak Greek; hill,ogre, giantkin all speak the same as well as some others that speak giant tounge; stone giants speak a version of that mixed with earth tounge. Choose your giant tounge under your languages.
thanks
err was just useing the info given hereThronhen; careful here
[you will be a part of our quest to have Sir Rama's patron be made whole]
using player information in game as character information; this has not yet been discussed though a few clues that might or might not be this have been given. For example, there are currently three beings that might be the Green Man; the old party met one, two are dead. Not being as familiar with Eygptian mythology; your character probably does not have the background for this specific a extrapolation.thanks
Thus; let us consider the quest of paladin Rama; I will grant your request and enter into agreements with mighty Pharoah; this will generate hope and calm some number of worriers; but thus; you must do a quest for me, by the Pharoahs hand, and also be a symbol of hope. This is your lucky day Paladin; for today you take the steps to restore your order though I doubt even you know how or why.
Priest of Moradin; things I could say; the time is late; the world draws toward war to decide the very survival of this plane of existance; for one has come to judge and time is short. I can tell you of the green man; I know of him; I know of his plight and how you can help; this is a heroic task beset with the worst dangers and craftiest enemies. But know you; your task and that of Lord Rama are one in the same; for your green man is his Green Man, the God of life and champion of growing things and hater of evil and corruptions of life. Dumathions priests are mostly dead; their task must not fail lest we all fail; the world fails; ther Green Man is a champion and ally of the task of ancient, silent Dumathion; Moradin's brother. I know this and more I will not say from my friend and Dumathion's High Priest Kojan; I will not say more; but divinity of dwarves and man see this need; do this task and be proud of your life's work.
Thoronhen; These two I trust; but you have symbols familiar to me; allies who are lost and deluded. Beware that you do not fall into the traps that took them. If you are like some others who I have seen from that guild; you could be very helpful to these two; very, but also a dread champion of evil and promote destruction if you are not very careful and true to task. This paper says I can instruct you in what to do next; that you will do it; I say; aid these two and any others that join to restore the Green Man.
and some deductive logic.
Once everyone is in;
“Please, make yourselves comfortable. What I have to say is not something that only those who have prepared themselves can truly accept. For the world is not what most suppose it is.” He pauses, while everyone organizes themselves.
“Tis hard to find a place to begin this tale, for its length spans back before time itself and many of its details are now hidden from mortal and immortal eye. So understand that what I say is only a part in the grand story of this world. ”
“There are…creatures…that exist beyond the reach of mortals, bound by powerful magics to remain in a deep sleep. These creatures vast evil and corruption, even bound such still leach out into the world in the form of nightmares. Such is their power that nothing in this world, nor even in the past has the power to destroy them. Only bind them deep within their slumber. Unfortunately, this leaching is not truly one way, for they feed off the fear and evil their nightmares…or those created by others. As such things become stronger their own drifting consciousness begins to take notice of the source, like an instinct they are drawn to their feeding hole. This again promotes more horror in our world and leads them to pay more attention. The cycle completes with their awakening which would doom not only this world by all dimensions.”
He pauses and studies his audience.
“This obviously, cannot be allowed to happen. So those that did the bindings long ago as well as others put several things in place to prevent it from occurring. There are the prophecies of alignment, those that mention such items as this gauntlet and belt I wear. The Golemaxes, great statues of power met to fight or more likely defend. And as an even more drastic recourse the powers that did the binding placed themselves in a deep slumber, set to be awaken should the bindings weaken to the point that the multi-verse is at risk.”
“Such is the state of affairs now, with the Drow, four horsemen, demons crossing the boundaries, the awaken snakemen and the invasion of the otherworldly ghouls, that the binders have awaken. The binders themselves care not for this world, it is but one of many made to contain the evil that lurks within it. If they take direct action, whether they win or not will be unimportant to us, for the battle will obliterate this world.”
“And that is our current…predicament.”
He voice is calm and steady as he continues.
“In parallel with this knowledge came a quest I did place myself under. For though many are aware at various levels of the war, the focus of such has taken on one of Law vs Chaos. As such, many beings have claimed alliance with me, for it was not in their interest to see this world obliterated. However, through my travels I begin to see an unnerving pattern of events unfolding, one in which it appears others have not seen.”
“What was missing, was that of Good. For in all my travels, I could not find that which is Good battling against the great menaces this world now knows. True to tell there be various mortals and gods but still there seemed something missing when compared to that which is Evil, Lawful or Chaotic. It was in fact a time when I held chaos in my hand, accessed the winds of time in the other and law beneath my feat that I did discover…or rather feel a most startling realization. Law and Chaos do not truly war with each other.”
“Though they be opposites, they nullify the other or create something else, perhaps even greater than either. It is to their creation ability that this world stands built both on the foundations of Law and Chaos and it is why this war does not exist on the boundaries of Law and Chaos. This war is clearly one of Good vs Evil.”
Again he pauses and studies the group.
“The ancient evils that lie in slumber did reach out into some other being or beings mind, to create a vast illusion that has trapped the paladins of the holy cities as well as other good creatures. They hid their evil intent behind the illusion of a war fought on different grounds, one of Law vs Chaos. And behind this illusion they wreaked a havoc on Good such that this world had not ever seen. Those of evil bent, though they may do what they can against the ancient evils always fall unto their plot and ultimately fail, causing situations that ever get worse. It is this trick that has led us down this path and it is this trick that I strive against.”
“For I am attempting to restore unto this world the Good that has been lost or destroyed, it is by bringing back the Good that the balance can be re-established and the creatures who sleep shall not be awaken and it is by this means that the world which we live in will be preserved.”
“To that end, the God’s providence did bring you to me. For in my search did I find a secret, one hidden from all but the highest levels of Egyptian clergy. It is only with the High Priestess’s permission that I speak now.”
“There is no easy way to say this, so in true dwarven fashion I will be blunt. The great God Osiris, also known in ancient times by humans as the Green Man has been destroyed, or rather His power sealed and bound within artifacts of His own body and scattered across this world.” He looks straight at Rama. “The power that currently exists to support His followers is being maintained by the rest of the Pantheon.”
He pauses again, letting the words sink in then raises a hand to hold off any questions. He smiles then continues.
“It is His Good I seek to return to the world. And through this message, sent to me by my friend the Priest of Zeus, though wrought with ill tidings, does hope shine through. For within the boundaries of the land he calls home, is none other one such artifact of Osiris, It lies within the grasp of foul undead creatures attempting to corrupt its power for their own evil.”
“It is this calling to restore the God Osiris, also know in ancient times as the Green Man that the fates and providence have brought us together. And it is this quest that I give unto you Sir Rama, Paladin of Osiris. Will you not set forth and aid your god in his most direst need?”
“And you good Priest of Moradin. Will not you take the words of Moradin upon yourself and bring forth His will?”
“And ThoronHen, though you serve not a diety, by your ties of organization I note upon your words and self, tis none other than the will of the High Priestess Amber that you do follow in this task. Will you not honor your allegiances and seek to restore that which can save the world?”
Lfey; you still get to hear this from King Joe's spell of listening which would give him and any he wishes the last 15 minutes of spoken word and since he is sticking you with this task; you need this background; whether you believe it or not is up to you.
"Now Baelinor surely you wouldn't be expect'n the worse from someone so wee as me? Tsk, me feelings are hurt that ye feel the need ta tell the others ta be on guard."
"And Amber, now ye ain't got no get tough and all ruffled with me. Perhaps we could be best friends, No?" (places hand behind her back).
"ThoronHen, I say, never have I seen such a group of mistrustin mortals. Surely ye faith be misplaced. Looks like ye off to war are ye? And a nimble warrier I bet ye be."
"So tell me, what all has me Blarney Joe told ya? Something about I quest I hear."
"Nay fair Lshay, you have the blessings of Blarney Joe and a loveliness all your own. But these mortals understand not the ways of fey and I would not have them transgress over a misunderstanding. Such is the will of Donblas." He smiles with a twinkle in his eye.
"Joe has not spoken with us, though from the brief comment he made, I take that it is not only the Green Man that the undead have taken but the Goddess Persephone as well?"
"Aye Most Noble Baelinor, this task I will take on gladly. Too much evil permeates this land o' ours I'm thinking. About time somethin' good was brought to bear against it. Anything that takes on the foulness that is undeath I will certainly place my strength of faith and might of arms to help along" He bows low and formally, acknowledging to the powerful dwarf his acceptance of the quest.
"Now as for you lass," he says, turning to the fey who has entered the room "better 'n I have fallen to the charms o' the Fey by revealing the power of their true names. Those here who have met me know me as Erkholt Grugn. Me clan name and heritage name I'll be keepin' to meself at this stage. If'n the Grand Lord Baelinor over here has vouched for ye' then that is good enough for me. I welcome you as a comrade, but I'll be warnin' ye lass, don't try none of yer feminine and fey wiles upon me or I'll take Umbrage, have no doubt"
The cleric of Moradin realised he was sounding quite gruff, but he was only just shaking off the effects of the dazzling display of earlier. If there was one thing Erkholt hated and feared before all things, it was losing control of who and what he was, and the fey magic was reputably able to do just that to one even as strong willed as he was.
The Priestess of Isis speaks
well; that is all settled then; we are allies true; the blessings of the goddess be upon you all each and every one.
The task then, seems simple; meet with this Priest of Zues; get his directions and location of the artifact; penetrate the evil lair without attracting to much attention; seize the item; and return; help other you find as you are able.
What then can be provided has been as Baelinor and I knew this day would come:
here are five extra healing potions and three to restore you from certain draining attacks of the undead; and two of cleanzing most poisons.
This is a scroll with four magic weapon spells (+5); as it may be needed and two of repel vermin and one of break enchantment. Take these freely with my goddesses blessing.
"We knew this day would come...Ah yes of course we did. Um, excuse me for a moment." Baelinor looks about for a moment. "Ah yes, here we are." He reaches into the ice as if it were liquid and pulls out a shield and sets it down. Then, walks over to another location in the room and performs the same trick, this time pulling out a crossbow. This continues for a few more minutes, a rod appears, some scroll cases and a few potions.
"Yes, yes, this ought to do." He smiles to himself. He then gathers the items up into one location and picks up the shield. Walking over to Rama;
"Sir Rama, this shield bears upon itself the true disposition of its wearer. Its power is to protect against those who share a...different view point. The more different, the stronger its protection. Please accept this for I am sure it will serve you well.” As you grab the shield you feel a magical tingle and then the blank surface begins to shine and a single arrow similar to the one Baelinor wears about neck appears on a white background. Baelinor just smiles..”As if we didn’t all know that.”
He then walks back to the pile and pulls forth a rod.
“Erkholt, Priest of Moradin., please accept this. Twas held not only by my hand but by the great mage Fystor as well. It holds great power against magical constructs and beings not from this world.” The rod is solid metal, mithril possibly, its weight is comfortable, similar to a heavy mace. It has no apparent seams and flairs to a ball shape at the opposite end, where on various magical sigils are inlaid.
And then back to the pile. He pulls forth a crossbow.
“ThoronHen, there was a time a fancied myself a fair shot, but a certain…person…friendly mind you, was a bit too big for her britches and tried to pull off a quite amazing stunt and now my aims a bit off. Well, that is the short of it anyhow. I came upon a couple of these with some comrades but never got much use out of it. I think it might serve you quite well. Hmmm, don’t quite remember how to work it, but you’re a smart elf, so I am sure you will figure it out. Just don’t go pointing it at folk even while not loaded, likely hurt someone.” The crossbow itself is of the light variety, though there are several mystical symbols along the wood as well as a few buttons near the trigger.
He turns to Lshay.
“Lshay Le Fey, now it wouldn’t be right to leave out such a pretty lady. So, a friend of mine, Bob, a halfing of some repute did drop this off some time ago. Said that if ever a fey should stop buy I should make sure to pass it along, wouldn’t do any good just sitting around. Never thought that would happen, but knowing Bob…well, never mind that. So being a dwarf of my word;” Baelinor stoops down right in front of you and pulls a twig like object out of the ice wrapped in ivy that seems still alive. Magical symbols adorn the wood and ivy, yet as time goes by there seems to be subtle changes in these patterns. Baelinor leans forward and whispers a command word in your ear. “Now, the last time I tried something with that wand, it was shooting flame, seems stable at the moment too, but then again, I’m not fey.”
“Oh, and by the way that druid and the she who wields chaos, Cera, they did indeed complete their tasks. Let Joe know when next you see him. Hmmm, I guess I should warn you about Cera, she isnt a bad type, but well, she tends to bring chaos where ever she goes, no literally chaos itself. Anyway, never know what might happen, or when she might appear.”
Finally he goes back to the pile and grabs the rest of the items. He moves over to Erkholt.
“Now these I made, I trust you will use them wisely. This one here, he hands you a scroll case will ensure you are well fed and healed. Don’t be using it for scratches mind you, it’s a full feast. And this one will make sure those types that like to transport themselves away can’t. Never did like those types to run off with out settling things.” Which reminds me, he reaches into the ice and pulls forth another scroll case. “Now this ones special, if you see one of those undead out their, a Wight, with a throwing axe, probable still stuck in his back. Well that axe is mine and I want it back. This will keep him from running off again, so be sure to grab it while you can. You of course can make use of the axe while your out there. I tell you even after these years that still gets me going. Damnable undead, running off with your personal items.” Baelinor stomps a bit, and grumbles under his breath everyone can feel the tremors though nothing serious. He grabs a two more scroll cases. “Now if you end up doing something not so smart and someone dies, these will bring em back, but do it before the undead get a hold of them. No fun fighting friends.” Finally the last scroll case comes up, he eyes it thoughtfully. “I hadn’t planned on handing this over to you, but the thought that the Goddess Persephone might be trapped there makes me think you will need some aid to get her out. This is for that, should the need arise an ally sent by Donblas himself will appear. We cant allow the undead to just run around capturing Godess’ now. Wouldn’t be right.”
“And here is a couple more potions, 3 for breathing in water should the need arise and 2 will aid in protection from the plane undead gather their powers.”
“Now once you get the artifact, bring it back here, and be careful. No telling what they did with it, it might need purifying. Me and the Amber will handle that once it gets back.” Baelinor becomes very serious and looks at everyone. Now, likely as not, there will be folks both undead and other interested in grabbing it, as bad as the undead are, the abominations…things with tentacles or any of the snakemen. Especially those that work for” He looks at Rama, “I think you know the great evil of your Pantheon, saying his name here is intolerable, but I think you know. They are much, much worse. It would be best if you avoided anything like that.”
His smile returns and seriousness drops from his face.
“Okay, the High Priestess here was nice enough to arrange passage to the Greek Lands and the Priest of Zeus is waiting on the other end. So I think its time to get going.” He turns to the priestess; “Bet still on?” She nods. Baelinor smiles; “If you all would gather here please.”
Does everyone gather?
"These are mighty gifts indeed Most Noble Lord. I'll do my best to live up to them." Erkholt states with a broad grin, placing the rod in his belt loop next to Grolfnir and placing the scrolls in his bandoleer.
"Aye then, there's some arse kickin to be done out there, let's get about it while this enemy you speak of dinnae know where a comin' "
"I tis most honored and thanks ye kind sir for these gifts indeed shall bring about the end of such vile and ghastly creatures as well as keep ye party safe from the terrible trials and trubulations most certain to come. With that, let ye journey begin."
Yes these are very mighty gifts from you both thank you. If you don’t mind ill take one of the enchant weapon scrolls as well as one of the potions for cleansing of poisons as that would be good for me to have even verses some traps if I become fumble fingers and trip it while disarming it. I also look forward to experimenting on how this crossbow works. Do you by chance have any quarrels that fit this size of crossbow? The ones that I have are only able to fit this small hand crossbow.
Baelinor assembles everyone into an area lacking any furniture, he gently nudges the silent paladin, with a look of sympathy as only one who follows a god could understand.
“Bolts, hmmm, I am sure there are some around someplace, I will send them shortly after. Well then its time to get started. Don’t fret now, I have been setting this up for sometime.” And with a wave of the gauntlet icy symbols appear in the air and suddenly the floor beneath everyone leaps up to envelope the group. Within a heartbeat of that lines of power flow out from Baelinor’s feet crackling with energy they strike the globe and various geometric patterns of incredible complexity form on the surface.
For those within the globe, its as if time has stop, though you can still see and hear everything outside through some mystical means, you cannot move even in the slightest.
“Well, that looks quite good, don’t you think Amber?” then without waiting for a response. “Those that spy about look deep within the mystical pathways and those abominations I mention are quite adept and interfering with magical transports and such. But this, will get you well on your way and there isnt so much anyone can do about it.” He winks, then grabbing his oversized mace in two hands takes a mighty swing at the globe. “Look ye for the ship the Sea Fury, with that one the High Priestess made arrangements.” He says as the mace strikes.
Great powers collide at his strike and the globe is sent flying straight towards an icy wall. Impact occurs before anyone could gasp, even if you could gasp. However, no impact occurs, its as if the walls themselves open a passage for the sphere to pass through and pass through it does with great speed, crossing 100s of feet of ice (no rooms beyond the one you were in are seen for those thinking of such matters) in a matter of moments and then quite suddenly you are out of the temple and flying through the air.
Your trajectory takes you higher and higher, below you can see the various encampments and places you have traveled as well as the pyramid growing ever more distant. Oddly enough everyone inside the globe is quite calm. It doesn’t take much thought to understand that this is an effect of the magic Baelinor used. After a surprisingly short time the globe begins to descend from its great height and the sea as well as the Egyptian armies ocean landing area comes into view, tiny at first then growing quite large as you can see 1000s upon 1000s of tents and makeshift camps set up.
Eventually the sphere strikes ground with a thud on a beach a mile or so from any inhabitants of the army. It bounces for a bit then rolls into the ocean. As it touches the salty water it you find the magic holding you static fade away and slowly then more rapidly the ice melts till all are standing in ankle depth sea water.
Looking about you can see that this is not the first sphere that struck this area and in fact the area seems to be roped off, for quite some distance. The impacts are scattered all around and even at the ropes edges you can see a few beyond it. It occurs to you that Baelinor did in fact mention his aim wasn’t so good these days…
Shortly there after another sphere of ice, smaller appears on the horizon. It follows a different trajectory than the one you took, though it will still land within the corded off area. Within it you find various bolts, arrows a couple of quivers and even a few javelins. A small mouse runs out of a quiver straight a ThoronHen, it drops a wadded up piece of velum at his feat then scurries off.
Opening the paper will reveal a hastily scrawled note in elvish…you will note that the elvish is also a bit difficult to understand it appears some of the characters are not used much anymore. But even so, it can be understood well enough.
‘This is what I could find in the time I had, hope it serves you well---Baelinor.’
I pull out a journal and jot down the name of Sea Fury and note it as the ship that the Priestes Amber has booked for us. Then I pickup the quivers for the light crossbow and then say: " Well looks like Balinor did find some quarrels for the crossbow as well as some other items pick what you want and ill carry the others for later." I then place one quiver on my back along with the crossbow and then place any spares in th portable hole.
"Ugggg.....Well I should say I don't feel particularly well. Most definently not a proper way ta travel. Excuse me.....I thinks I'm going to be ill."
ok; you can read any scroll that the diety who powers that scroll will answer; it doesnt have to be on your spell list.
All: keep in mind that this stuff is all Baelinors personal stuff, I know what it is and where he got in and all that because I gave it to the party years ago. I give experience for learning about magic items; somethings like Rama's sheild is going to be fairly straight forward; something a lot more difficult is like the wand that was given.
I will get a game mechanic list of the scrolls and pots as they are labeled you would know what they are; so for game mechanics i will just tell you when I confirm a few things.
How you guys split up stuff is your own business; I stay out of it.
you have 600 arrows in 100 arrow bundles wrapped in treated leather; you have 100 light xbow bolts. You have 20 javelins; but 4 looks very special; have lightening bolts on them. There are dried foodstuffs for 10 people for 30 days. There is a big block of ice, about 30 gallons of water worth. There are 5 daggers; three hand axes and two long handled axes for woodcutting; there is a heavy bent peice of metal rod about 3ft long with a hook at one end and a taper at the other. There are 5 large leather sacks and a small empty chest with mystic sigils on it. There are 5 five firestarting sets of flint; steel and dry wool strands rubbed in charcoal and some wood shaveings wrapped in a leather kit. three are two cord wrapped bottles of ink; one black; one green; about 6oz each.
I pull out a journal and jot down the name of Sea Fury and note it as the ship that the Priestes Amber has booked for us. Then I pickup the quivers for the light crossbow and then say: " Well looks like Balinor did find some quarrels for the crossbow as well as some other items pick what you want and ill carry the others for later." I then place one quiver on my back along with the crossbow and then place any spares in th portable hole.
boat ride. You can redo your spells the first day on the boat.
HEHE do you feel like a golf ball or like being in a snowglobe in the hands of a seven year old?
:)
something to consider is the titanic strength involved in doing this feat.
"Ugggg.....Well I should say I don't feel particularly well. Most definently not a proper way ta travel. Excuse me.....I thinks I'm going to be ill."
ok; there are many seamen here and porters carrying thing to and fro; four seamen in green and yellow stripped sturdy pants and broad brown sashes at their waist, from which hang varoius accoutrements, and wearing no tops which expose their dark, swarthy tattooed torsoes accompany a well dressed man wearing the same colours but in silk and wearing a vest yet, all his wardrobe is lush, colorful and with flourish.
Under the light of Ra, I greet thee; your party is expected, says the colorful man. I am Captain Buikhu-Manu (those who speak Egyptian know this means "best harbor"). My first mate is Khenti (leader) and my bosun is Kiwu; I invite you aboard the true love of my life, my queen and lover; The Sea Fury.
he gestures to a very large colorful yellow and green sea barge with square sails and a great many rowing oarlocks; let me know if you count them. There is a aft structure with a large drum and central structure; the fore has a very small area for cooking and fire with lots of sand in buckets; the fire would be in a shallow but very wide screened bronze disk; and about it hangs a large kettle. Most of the upper deck is exposed and has bench seating for rowers. This vessle has a cargo hold under the first deck as well as some rooms for the officers.
We have no cargo this trip; but do not fear; I have been well compensated, he smiles, therefore you have the cargohold for your use; if it please you; we leave in 47 minutes when the tide goes out; if you miss it; we leave tomorrow (he appears very stern at this time).
So; board when you are ready; my first mate awaits you and will introduce you to the bosun who will show you your quarters and instruct you about the ship and how to not get into trouble; this is pleaseing to you yes? Good, I must attend to business; these men will carry your goods as needed; good lads; with this he walks off and the four men look at you.
One asks in broken egyptian; "we carry yes?" Anyone who has Greek or Egyptian knowledges or about hte sea; shipping; merchant fleets or anything similiar can make a knowlege roll; anyone can make a knowledge roll if they like though the dc will be more difficult.
so; you what does the group do?
If I understood you correctly we could make a Knowledge check even if we don't have the skill and it is trained only. If this is the case, I roll a 16 +3 for Int bonus = 19.
I hand the men my backpack and spear so they can carry it for me.
"Tis most kind of ye to carry me belongin's. Might I get a clean and open area on board ta make me'self comfortable?"
I then take flight and encircle the area from about 50' up just to look around to a several seconds. Do I see anything interesting or unusual that might catch my attention?
ok; with your roll you can tell that the captain and most of the crew are not Egyptian; but something else; this ship also is designed a bit different than most of the Egyptian ships; though most ships here are Galleons and this is a merchant barge; this barge seems a bit more smooth and advanced.
Most of what you see up here is seagulls and other birds; they dont bother you; some like pelicans and kingfishers are going after fish - which there seems and abundance; out to sea you can see many fishing vessels with nets; the Egyptians are doing a lot of building here; they are building a floatilla of docks for their big ships; most of the beach has grounded vessels of one type or another; their are tens of thousands of people at work here as well as many thousands of soilders; on the you also see many thousand chariots on the beach awaiting the building of a massive road that is under constrution through the swamp. The road is being built by a dwarven engineering task force and the Egyptians are providing a whole lot of labor.
nothing seem particulary interesting or out of place; most of these vessels are military vessels so very orderly; the fishing fleet is just boats, nets, men and fish; lot of singing going on though from them; sounds like a prayer; it has a certain rythym.
please make a spot roll to notice anything special :)
If I understood you correctly we could make a Knowledge check even if we don't have the skill and it is trained only. If this is the case, I roll a 16 +3 for Int bonus = 19.
I hand the men my backpack and spear so they can carry it for me.
"Tis most kind of ye to carry me belongin's. Might I get a clean and open area on board ta make me'self comfortable?"
I then take flight and encircle the area from about 50' up just to look around to a several seconds. Do I see anything interesting or unusual that might catch my attention?
Spot roll result is a 13.
hmm; would it be better if you take a 10? you can always take a 10 in these situations and sometimes a 20 if you take extra time; can you see invisible; please fill out your character profile sometime.
hmm; would it be better if you take a 10? you can always take a 10 in these situations and sometimes a 20 if you take extra time; can you see invisible; please fill out your character profile sometime.
Its been so long since I have even thought about D&D much less look at a book that I forgot about those rules. Its also easy to forget when you not sitting at the table playing like normal.
Ok, I'll take 20 if I have the time. If the sailors are rushing to quickly to get our equipment onboard, then I will make it 10. My bonus if you need it is +3 for Spot.
hmm; would it be better if you take a 10? you can always take a 10 in these situations and sometimes a 20 if you take extra time; can you see invisible; please fill out your character profile sometime.
I left a post for you on the discussion thread so as not to go into rule questions here.
Sure; you can take a 20 sometimes and you have the time; but my impression is that you were only going to look for a few seconds from your original post. It is nearly an hour before the tide goes out and the ship is very nearly loaded; they are just rolling on casts of fresh water and bins of charcoal at this point.
you see a large block of somewhat orderly mean wearing the ships colors coming towards the ship; about a hundred of them. They are about a 15 minute walk in the sand away from the ship.
hmm; would it be better if you take a 10? you can always take a 10 in these situations and sometimes a 20 if you take extra time; can you see invisible; please fill out your character profile sometime.Its been so long since I have even thought about D&D much less look at a book that I forgot about those rules. Its also easy to forget when you not sitting at the table playing like normal.
Ok, I'll take 20 if I have the time. If the sailors are rushing to quickly to get our equipment onboard, then I will make it 10. My bonus if you need it is +3 for Spot.
Sure; you can take a 20 sometimes and you have the time; but my impression is that you were only going to look for a few seconds from your original post. It is nearly an hour before the tide goes out and the ship is very nearly loaded; they are just rolling on casts of fresh water and bins of charcoal at this point.
you see a large block of somewhat orderly mean wearing the ships colors coming towards the ship; about a hundred of them. They are about a 15 minute walk in the sand away from the ship.
Taking a few seconds was the original idea, I thought you were giving me the option of taking 10 or 20, sorry for any confusion. I'm assuming you meant "Men" not "Mean".
Do they look like they are armed? Are they walking in formation or rather casually? Do they appear to be soldiers or some other sort of people? Do they look like sailors? If so I'm expecting they are here to row the ship.