First off I am not evil. Second, since you asked us as a group about Lorm it seems only fair any of us can reply. Each person has there own mind and can speak for themselves.
So what can you tell us about what confines the Earth Goddess here, and what we can use to break her out of her confinement? What can you tell us of the Green Man?
The monk laughs; not evil; of course you are; are you not dark skinned; are not not a drow; everyone knows that sylvan elves are brown because they are neutral; high elfs are fair skinned because they are good; and drow are black as they are evil. It has long been written in the scrolls of Xian Hu that it is thus; when a high elf becomes dedicated to evil; he turns dark and the night...like you.. and when a drow, like one I have spoken of in a letter from the holy cities from a peer, one noble Drow named Lori; well; she is getting very fair skinned; her completeing a difficult and noble quest to aid and save the Marshal of Paladins was a task told in worth tales.
so come now; not evil; your kind is spirit; thus you wear it on your very existance.
The confinments of the Earth Goddess; well; she is held in a bowl and well gaurded; I believe Master Ronin will speak of her tomorrow and his plan.
As for the green man; that is two questions; but I feel it is not my place to answer the first; so thus; which Green Man do you speak; there are many of legend.
The monk laughs; not evil; of course you are; are you not dark skinned; are not not a drow; everyone knows that sylvan elves are brown because they are neutral; high elfs are fair skinned because they are good; and drow are black as they are evil. It has long been written in the scrolls of Xian Hu that it is thus; when a high elf becomes dedicated to evil; he turns dark and the night...like you.. and when a drow, like one I have spoken of in a letter from the holy cities from a peer, one noble Drow named Lori; well; she is getting very fair skinned; her completeing a difficult and noble quest to aid and save the Marshal of Paladins was a task told in worth tales.
so come now; not evil; your kind is spirit; thus you wear it on your very existance.
The confinments of the Earth Goddess; well; she is held in a bowl and well gaurded; I believe Master Ronin will speak of her tomorrow and his plan.
As for the green man; that is two questions; but I feel it is not my place to answer the first; so thus; which Green Man do you speak; there are many of legend.
Well isn't that a narrow view of things. Judging people by the color of there skin... There is suppose to be a part of the Green Man near here. The one from Egyptian Legend. Correct me if I am wrong Erkholt.
the Monk replies: that would be true of humans; it would be nice if we too could be so easily distiguished; yet you are spirit not soul; thus like yon fey <points at Grymbl> for you both are spirit and spirit tells true. Do not demons and angels look apart; thus spirit? Have you never considered why the spell from a priest of "raise dead" does not work on your kind? From what I have read; it is only that you are native outsiders who came to this world long ago; and through eons spent, your resistance or rather your attunment to this world has changed.
you are but a child among your kind; perhaps such truths have not been related to you yet; but no matter; from what I hear all three great races of elf shall be no more if Emperor Sebastion has his way; for I have on good condition that he has spoken to Correllian about fixing that which was broken now that the Evil Spider Mistress is no more. He seeks redress of old wounds. Something about in "the fractured state of the Elven Kingdoms, we are sorely pressed against the current threat of the returning Snake Gods and their prodgeny".
It is but the Truth I tell you; hard though it might be; you are stronger for it, for all evil is but a shadow of the Truth.
<gm: by the way; this really is how it works in game mechanics, has always been that way; any elf who becomes dedicated to evil turns dark; any evil elf that becomes dedicated to good becomes light; takes about 500 alignment points to change.>
The monk continues:
I know not of some legendary green man, unless you speak of Osiris. But perhaps I can lead you to one who may know more; among the undead ruins within these catacombs is repuded to be an Egyptian Outpost; a haven for good souls; they ward it upon pain of death that no evil enter there; I have heard they are strong, ancient soilders and magi from from failed mission of long ago.
<gm: by the way; this really is how it works in game mechanics, has always been that way; any elf who becomes dedicated to evil turns dark; any evil elf that becomes dedicated to good becomes light; takes about 500 alignment points to change.>
Val
...
<gm: by the way; this really is how it works in game mechanics, has always been that way; any elf who becomes dedicated to evil turns dark; any evil elf that becomes dedicated to good becomes light; takes about 500 alignment points to change.>
Val an OOC question: is this true for birds too?
Val
kk; keep in mind that before the world war; race, color and creed were widely used to denegrate other populations; since the war is more codified Law vs Chaos; that has largely dissappeared.
<gm: by the way; this really is how it works in game mechanics, has always been that way; any elf who becomes dedicated to evil turns dark; any evil elf that becomes dedicated to good becomes light; takes about 500 alignment points to change.>Val
** spoiler omitted **
no; only spirit beings like fey, elves and many outsiders. Human undead dont seem to have that same distinction. Bird are the color of the species; like a crow is black; an outsider crow would be black; no white crows please; lol. For shapechangers and animals of spirit realms; when on this plane; they exibit horns or spikes and like that if they are more evily aligned; bat wings rather than bird wings; ect.
Val an OOC question: is this true for birds too?...
<gm: by the way; this really is how it works in game mechanics, has always been that way; any elf who becomes dedicated to evil turns dark; any evil elf that becomes dedicated to good becomes light; takes about 500 alignment points to change.>
Well, she would never be completely nude; she is calm and washing; nearly ritualisticly, but she has roving partial nudity; which is even more sensual and would drive lesser men mad.
She does give you a few sensual glimpses, not overtly, but definate.
You do notice Llvenoc looking at her a bit more than he should; Aahz ignores her; Kenembi is staring; but trying to look away; only to stare again; Nebibit is probably embarrassed for him and his lack of propriety; the monk ignores her, iron willed monk you know; probably has vow of chastity or some such; Namaste is trying to emulate her; Kalona looks all fresh bird bathed and with his beak open; looks like she is laughing at all of you like only a crow can; head turning this way and that for better perspective of each of you, occassionally hoping about eating a few fallen bits here and there. Kosan is ignoring everyone and is getting fairly deeply aquainted with his brew cup and the smell of strong brew pervades. Erkholt seems to be mostly watching the monk and drow converse and shaking his head.
remember all of you; the more you look at Decidio; the more she looks more and more like your perfect dream girl taking on traits in your perception of that which you find most lustful; beautiful; desireable and like that... only with true loving eyes or true sight could you see her as she really is; none of you can do that yet.
Val
** spoiler omitted **
kk; females are more or less immune; but if you look at her much; you would grow more envious and feel less female and less beautiful around Decidio though you could, like namaste, try to harness her femininity and try to harmonize with it; might rub off on you.
Kalona listens to the monk/Llvenoc exchange, apparently expressionless but not really (though her head nodding tends to parallel Erkholt's I think), occassionaly shaking her head in agreement with the monk and gigling at the 'maleness' of the group.
tattoes are fairly common in your homeland; but nothing like this or on this scale; you have heard of some men that are highly tatooed; but they speak a strange sing song type language, also; the Huarikai (you are not sure of pronounciation) are all tattoed monks; but they are much, much darker in complection and much heavier and wield the power of the Blood of the Earth. The tatooes on this much are definately magical and elemental in nature.
Lory; you have not heard of; but you did hear a funny tale about some party looking for a flower to save the Paladin Marshal; something about a dwarf; a human; a half orc and a elf and a halfling (story told by a halfling) go into a swamp to find the flower; they find the ruins of a city and see the flowers needed among the ruins; but there three black dragons sleeping in the ruins and they have many slave trolls working their fields and getting tribute; the halfling offers to sneak in a get a flower, but that is deamed to dangerous; the dwarf offers to fight as do the orc and elf and get the flower; but that is deamed foolhardy and unlikey to be successful; then the human, a mage, offers to polymorph himself into a troll and go get the flower; so they decide that the best option; they make him up to look like the other trolls; and the mage sets off to get the flower.
well; he bends down to pick up a flower and as he snaps it off the vine; the nearby dragons eyes open and it lifts its head.
"Troll, that is my flower"
troll responds " excuse me mister dragon, I didnt mean to take you flower; you can have it back; may I have one from over there please?"
The dragon quickly scoops up the troll in a massive claw and sniffs him and holds him close "what are you really" <for no troll is ever polite>
the troll reponds "a human mage; there is a party of adventurers over there in the jungle who made me into a troll and sent me in here; they are waiting to kill you and all your kin"
Dragon; "really" cranes his head and looks.
Those waiting back in the jungle not very far away; gap in astonishment; and sneak and flee away deeper in the jungle.
<various themes can be taken from this; ie; dont trust a human mage; or humans make bad trolls or whatever you can come up with>
Kalona listens to the monk/Llvenoc exchange, apparently expressionless but not really (though her head nodding tends to parallel Erkholt's I think), occassionaly shaking her head in agreement with the monk and gigling at the 'maleness' of the group.
** spoiler omitted **
<gm note: truth is stranger than fiction; this more or less really happened; the mage was named .... nope; not Lorm this time, not Fystor either hehe>
The monk continues:
I know not of some legendary green man, unless you speak of Osiris. But perhaps I can lead you to one who may know more; among the undead
Thats up to Erkholt. For its his quest, and I would not know what else to ask. Though I will accompany him if he likes.
Kalona begins giggling a bit, then harder then out right laughter. After a moment she collects herself.
"My apologies, I just remembered a tale, or joke involving this Marshal of Palladins and a group of bumbling misfits that thought they were hero's. Its quite funny. Just one of several collectively known as 'The Misfits, Adventures in the Lower Lands' some of the story tellers have aquired. Quite popular amongst the children and make for a enjoyable evening of laughter around the campfire. They all have some common themes, usually a half-orc, a dwarf, a mage (human mostly) and some version of an elf (they seem to change more on that one for some reason) are invovled and bungling something up. Some folks say these are real people, but most just think they are part of some comedy tales travelers like to talk about over the campfire. Some of the more superstitious folk even believe its a sign of bad luck to be in a group with this combination.
"Look"; she reaches under her wing an pulls out a small amulet pouch. "This was made just for that instance by some wonderful children I know. It said to ward off such...bad influences." Looks around the room, Giggles some more. "I could tell this tale if people would like."
"ooh, I like stories; do tell" says Aahz who looks on in wonder.
Kemnebi does stare,... occasionally, at Decidio. As she begins to look more and more like June, even his youthful libido realizes what is happening, and he deliberately, and firmly, looks away once more.
Seeing the look that Nebibit is giving him, at first he blushes, then he shrugs, and attempts not look back at Decidio, and instead immerses himself in the conversation once more.
"Yes, please Kalona, tell us the tale. I for one am relaxed, for the first time in a long while, and would enjoy an amusing tale." He says, echoing both Aahz's request and his youthful, infectious grin.
"We can, and will, continue to come up with a strategy. But for this moment, a tale! If would be so kind?" He grins, leaning forward in almost the same position and look on his face as the young Aahz.
'June, I hope you are safe,...' The thought drifts through his mind. Perhaps there is a small flicker of his thoughts upon his face, if one were to be looking for it.
"ooh; I hope there are lots of warriors and plunder; good stories have lots of warriors and plunder gained from vitory spoils against overwhelming odds."
"this should be interesting" she says in a fairly flat voice; sits closer to Astinos and puts her head on his shoulder while looking to Kenembi to relate a story.
Astinos reflexively, in a chaste manner, puts his arm around her waist, she snuggles a bit closer.
They both watch Kalona expectantly.
Namaste moves to the side of the room and sits in the lotus position and begins a deep trance meditation.
<the monk will have left before this story; so if you had any other questions; they will in game time line; before Kalona relates the story.>
The Barbarian flexes his muscle and postures abit; learing at Decidio; but seen no interest; rolls his eyes and looks over the other ladies; sighs looking at Namaste, gives a cryptic look at Nebibit; sighs.
looks over at the dwarf drinking from his brew mug; sighs larger; hangs his head.....
Gathers his stuff and leaves the room.
in the hall you can all hear this exchange.
unknown voice "where are you going"
Barbarian " away"
"you cant leave yet"
"Watch me or not your choice"
"uhm, your group is supposed to rest"
"That aint my group"
"you came in with them"
"no I didnt; they followed me"
"your the leader"
"no...you idiot; look; I gotta go"
"Master Bob and Master High Priest of Dark Goobers Balfic Grah says I gotta go; I gots some place to be; and it AINT HERE!"
"oh; why didnt you say so, let see your papers"
"Papers?"
"yeah, your orders"
"I aint got no papers; cant read no how"
"they would be for us to read"
"well that would be stupid, our enemies can read"
"thats why we use a code"
"well I cant read no code either; so papers are useless"
"so I gather you have no papers; why should I believe you"
"Cause I got this"
"Thats a sword"
"yes it is, works real good too, I trained with several sword masters as well as Kojan, Balfic, and his knight -the muther of darkness, you now; my friends."
"you did"
"sure did, want to see it"
"no...uhm...thats ok, not my place to...uhm...stand in the way of Master Balfic or Master Bob, does it always glow like that"
"no; only when its feeling friendly"
"friendly?"
"you know, wants to come out and play"
"ah...this way please"
"Wow, Balfic was right; people are reasonable if you just tell them what you want; Kojans way is faster though"
"Whats his way"
"well, he usually says friend or foe; or says something once; than kills anyone who gets in the way or doesnt agree"
"yeah, I have heard that"
"yeah, he dont talk much; now Balfic talks so much that....."
voices get out of range.
The Barbarian flexes his muscle ...
"Thats a sword"
"yes it is, works real good too, I trained with several sword masters as well as Kojan, Balfic, and his knight -the muther of darkness, you now; my friends." ...
"Wow, Balfic was right; people are reasonable if you just tell them what you want; Kojans way is faster though"
"Whats his way"
"well, he usually says friend or foe; or says something once; than kills anyone who gets in the way or doesnt agree"
"yeah, I have heard that"
"yeah, he dont talk much; now Balfic talks so much that....."
voices get out of range.
He never would have gotten past the "Friend or Foe" part and been dispatched post haste.
Also I do not just say "Friend or Foe", I also throw up a blade barrier behind 'em, Lift my patch and see who they really are, then I attack. If Ye can't be figgerin if ye be a friend or foe in the span of a few seconds don't blame me If I hit ya, Hard and repeatedly.
<yes, Kosan has met this barbarian; he was the silly barbarian who told Bob to shut up and other notorious bad mouthings and one of the few one time pc's who actually left the gm speachless one time, the guy was with the party for some time while you were down South(alabama way); and as I figure pc's practice and spar and stuff in their off time to keep skills sharp; your character would have taught him; hehe he was more or less stolen by master bob and ram rodded into tracking down the one time Paladin in the party who went north to find the army of Donblas, but he keeps getting lost with a lot of help from Bob and his greater Hole>
like I said before; twice, there are no cots; just the ground and some thin pads; I imagine you all have sleeping rolls or such.
Nebibit tiring of all the talk curls up and begins to sleep.
sure; you can have a plain brown robe if you like
Nebibit tiring of all the talk curls up and begins to sleep.
"ooh; I hope there are lots of warriors and plunder; good stories have lots of warriors and plunder gained from victory spoils against overwhelming odds."
Kemnebi looks at Aahz with a sideways glance, thoughtfully. After a moment he nods slowly in agreement.
"I don't know about 'lots' of warriors. I always thought that the tales with a small band of heroes defeating the armies of the great villain were the most exciting. Treasure is always good though. I'm particularly fond of the 'ancient magical artifacts', of course."
"Me, I always wanted to be the one to rescue the princess, actually." He adds in a loud whisper to the young power.
I Go to sleep (where the cots would normally be) with my sleeping mat and blanket. Hammer in hand with my back to the wall.
[before the monk leaves]I move towards the monk and quietly ask him for directions to these undead he speaks of. Any help I can get to find the green man would be most welcome. I will endeavour to track this information after we have secured the captured goddess though. I neither wish to further weaken out group by going off alone on my quest, nor do I wish to tip off our enemies that we are searching for them.
[During Kalona's story] I settle onto one of the mats, unrolling my bedding and removing my armour (again hehe). Settling into the comfortable clothingthat Ronins people provided for me, I get comfortable and prepare to rest.
"When ye are done Kalona, I could regale ye with a tale o' dwarven bravery meself. Me folk believe in repayin' the tellin' o' tales with ones o' our own. Ifn' the folk here are willin' ter let an old priest such as meself tell it that is"
I settle in to listen, hoping to remain wakeful long eough to fulfill my own promise.
the monk replies to Erkholt:
"I have not been there myself; but most undead fear it and dont go there; any informed necropolitan here should be able to tell you and i believe there are signs up as well, though they might be in Eygptain Heiroglyphs. I am sure this guild knows...perhaps if you asked nicely, I believe it is Master Ronin's intent to help you; as he has kept you safe and gave you a member to inform you; as your other member fell entranced, I believe Master Ronin will give you another informant to assist you very soon.
Ok; we have a new rogue joining to take the place of Thoronhen who shows little interest in the game; I dont intend to have him join the party until the morning; like at breakfast time where Ronin will give you the current plan
our new rogue:
you can sit outside this room with the monks and rangers and listen to them converse all eve and night to get a informed feel of what you are going to be dealing; the challenge hehe.
Just a reminder; you can take a 10 in non rush; non stressful situations and sometimes take a 20; this is a good take a 10 situation whereas you will come out with a 13 which is good enough for most things and is especially good over long periods of time like this so that you dont have to post a bazillion rolls.
nice to have you in play.
Sounds good, I'll take the 13 :)
"I would greatly enjoy a dwarven tale, it is very uncommon to have dwarven story tellers from whence I come."
the Palladin Marshal is stricken by a horrible poison that threatens his life. All the clerics powers of the land and those of their apothecary counterparts are unable to save his life, but manage to temporarly stave off his death. In a vision while solemnly praying for guidance the high priest identifies a flower that can save him. But it is hidden deep within a swamp said to be ruled over by 3 ancient black dragons far away.
The knights of the land, ride forth, but all fail with only a few returning. The Palladin Marshal forbids more attempting the cause, for he can not afford to lose any more valiant knights with the war currently going on. So the call goes out for adventurers.
Enter Moe, Curly, Larry and their drunken elven amigo. Well shaken with added halfling for flavor.
And the story begins...The seriousness of the situation quickly deteriorates into the typical 3 stooges humor with a couple of extras...and ends in Vals post here. Suffice to say the group does not succeed and one could almost here 'Sir Robin's song...Monty Python...' humming on the halfling's lips as the exit stage left', short one mage (still with the dragon I believe).
ok; as it is the end of the day; and pretty much the end of the pre adventure as tomorrow (game time) Ronin will introduce you why your all here; to rescue the diety and save the seal and possibly follow the Osiris thread. So...am posting the much awaited roleplaying exps on the discussion board.
no; it is poking fun at a mage called Abraham; remember him; the guy who sold out the party to the black dragons in the swamp? and you know how halflings are; always poking fun at all the tall races, this story is told from halfing to halfling to halfling and you can imagine what that has done to the story.
not sure what you mean cohort; Kalona's people do quite a bit of trade with Halfling Caravans in the South.
as the party settles in for the night; eyes get droopy; the storytellers keep telling stories quietly; Aahz; clapps and chuckles now and again like any young child his age; generally things settle in as the weariness of the day takes hold.
a small mist suddenly forms around Grymble and many many arms grab him amidst Fey laughter and he is pulled out of the room into...somewhere; the room turns back to normal in no more than a couple seconds; only the smell of wildflowers is left and a diminuative little man in forest green doublet; yellow hose; bowler cap with a silver buckle in the middle; he has flaming red hair dashed with yellow; like maple leaves turn in Autumn.
for those who notice; spot dc 25; sleep doesnt come easy as no where is really safe; are the arms coming for you?
in a very quiet voice; listen dc 22
"ah; laddies and lassies bed down fore thee night, sweet bliss of dreams as it were, tiz truth in certain; like the world in frosted sleep does it stand with the time of Dreaming to return; Nightmares as it were for the Mortal Realm. Ah; the creative dreams of mortal get; I can see now why the Elves are nervous as it were"
Spot
Listen
Apparently Nebibit sleeps like a log since she doesn't seem to notice any of it.
<Narrative insert
On the surface the war between the living and the dead rages; the heroes of old lay waste with powers most potent and devestating; the earth erupts and shakes; entire city blocks frozen hundreds of feet thick in swaths of ice; light burst forth in a dazzle of blinding Light of Creation vaporizing mass surges of undead; the very world twists and churns as the power of pure Chaos warps all things to change; and amonst it all the vast powers of arcane and divine power eruptings as might Kojan and Stoic Baelinor call upon Divine might of cleaning fire and other spells and above it all can be heard the singing warcry of Kojans Red Runic Weapon and the Crunch of rock as Baelinor lifts streets and building parts to crash them down on his enemies; amongst it all the terrible precision casting of the true Archmage Fystor. Amonst the shadow do creapith the hordes of Cera and the snick snack of his dread Sword of Chaos; yet nothing rivals the sheer might of the to mightly Colassal Beasts; the Bone Dragon vs the Champion of Darkness, even amonst this titanic battle their voices can be heard above all.... yet the undead come on; in numbers uncountable; the dead of thousands of years of war and death hungry to steal the lives of the living. Zoom away and it can be seen the armies of the Greek and Romans surrounding the city in constant warfare as mortal might tries to match that of the walking dead.
look up; three diefic angles await; looking North; gaze that way and a constant dull drumming; wrong; twisted; evil beyone the ken of mortal existance; it comes this way; She Comes; The B*otch With The Bone seeking her mate.
<end of surface events narrative>
no; it is poking fun at a mage called Abraham; remember him; the guy who sold out the party to the black dragons in the swamp? and you know how halflings are; always poking fun at all the tall races, this story is told from halfing to halfling to halfling and you can imagine what that has done to the story.
Enter Moe, Curly, Larry and their drunken elven amigo. Well shaken with added halfling for flavor.
Thats why this was included right?
Spot:1d20+4=14, Listen:1d20+4=8
Kemnebi listens to the tale with rapt attention. Hathor crawls from where she has been inspecting the room, and curls up in his lap, purring contentedly. Kemnebi absent-mindedly strokes her fur. After the tale, he dozes off, and wakes briefly to find himself curled up on his side, curled up around Hathor. He blinks blearily, sure that something is asking for his attention, but seeing nothing, he gives a feline yawn and lays back down,...
I am outside so I won't be able to see, but I am listening intently, or at least trying to: