ZEITGEIST (Inactive)

Game Master Whack-a-Rogue

Outside
"Well said, Ellie!" says Alice, patting Ellena's shoulder. "Like caterpillars, they can't become butterflies unless they struggle their way out of the cocoon or something."

Inside
Alice swirls the goat's blood inside the keg. "It's only going to become weirder, right? Oh well. I hadn't considered the cold, though, some blackfire clay would've been perfect. Perhaps one of us should make a run for it and grab some camping equipment?"

"Az will go get some clay and some camping supplies, but think it would be best if someone comes along, just so no one is alone. Is unlikely something will happen, but you are never knowing."

"I am glad for these amulets and other anti-ghost gear. I am not expecting peaceful night...it is seeming like any mission we set out on is going sideways."

@Corynne: The amulets possess strong anti-curse and anti-possession magic, but they only hold half of the required magical energy. Based on what you've heard about Cauldron Hill, the rest is supplied by an intricate lattice of wards placed on the Hill to keep the spirits from leaving the immediate area.

As it turns out, Macbannin has some supplies he can loan you, as he understands that you're on a bit of a timetable. "No sense in making Nevard wait if all you're lacking is some firewood and extra blankets," he chuckles.

If you don't already have them, there are bedrolls, blankets, firewood, matches, kindling, and climbing kits available. Also, don't forget that Nevard's strengthening ritual wears off in (now) less than 24hrs. He can function without it, of course, but movement will be significantly slower.

Trying desperately to think back to those wilderness pursuit and evasion classes she'd nearly failed, Ellena gratefully accepted a grab-bag of mixed supplies and did her best to look ready to go.

Az follows suit, taking the gear that he thinks he's going to need to be as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances they are about to find themselves in, strapping it on as best he can.

Alice bows gratefully before stuffing a backpack with supplies and one of the blood kegs. "Many thanks, Mayor. We'll be back tomorrow."

"Thank you." Corynne says gratefully accepting the supplies.

I'm back! Let's start the spookiness. XD

Looking down as you ascend, you have a spectacular view of the city. A gray smear of smog covers almost the entirety of Parity Lake (as usual), while the upscale Central district is clear and bright. Nevard, however, looks ever upward. A warm breeze blows his robes and beard, and he smiles at the clear view of the sky above. Cauldron Hill's peak is long, narrow, and relatively flat. The slope east is traversible fairly easily, but the other three sides have perilously-steep drops of at least a thousand feet.

A little scouting, and you find an area that has your best chances of setting up a good camp. There's still a few hours until nightfall, so you have plenty of time to prepare for the long night that's coming.

Map is updated. You'll need an area approximately 50ft in diameter for optimal goat's blood coverage, but you can set up the campsite wherever you want. Let me know when you're ready (the map's editable).

It seemed like a prudent idea to check the hilltop before Night fell and made moving difficult, dangerous and potentially lethal, and so Miselle did just that.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

I'm probably going to regret this.

As Miselle scopes out the area Corynne does the same, first performing a normal cursory scan, before activating her more supernatural senses, scanning for magic of the presence of the restless dead.

Spending the full 10 minutes meditating to divine forMagic, , then doing the same to Divine Undead, then Divine Force

Divine Force

If you possess the Telekinesis sphere, you may divine the presence or absence of creatures with the incorporeal subtype. For the purpose of this ability, creatures such as unseen servant and other similar creatures of force are considered to have the incorporeal subtype. This ability will not not reveal the general location or direction in which the incorporeal creatures are, it will however give you knowledge of the incorporeal creature’s aura utilizing the same table as chart: animals and plants.

Emanation: The divine ability is an emanation, meaning the divination will gather information on targets within the area at the completion of casting, as well as targets who enter the area while the effect is still active.

Overwhelming Auras: Whenever an individual divines or senses an aura whose strength is overwhelming, from a source whose HD or CL is equal to or greater than the caster’s character level + 10, that individual become stunned for 1 round.

Huffing for the trek, Alice whirls the grappling hook to the leftmost hill's summit, bracing against the wall to climb it. "Yes, nice and cozy. Spooky, are you making the circle? I'll splash a bit of blood and set some firewood on the other one."
Grappling hook: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 and taking 10 to Climb.

Finally reaching the top, Ellena drops her bag and runs to the edge to take in the view. She'd never been this high up before, it was incredible watching the city turn into the sea. She could even see the battalion, a tiny brick-red complex in the distance.

Az follows the others, climbing up the hill with some effort, turning around at the top to admire the view for a moment alongside Ellena. "Is nice view, but not much time for admiring." he says aloud, though mostly to himself, before he goes to help the others get the main camp set up.

Miselle finds scattered old bones of what appear to be human fingers, and a small black cauldron caught in a tangle of brush. While the design implies it's hundreds of years old, the cauldron has almost no rust. Corynne identifies it as a magical cauldron of brewing.

Now's a good time to tell me exactly what you're doing to prepare. Use the Discussion tab and the editable map to set up. To save time, here's what happens over the next few hours....

The sun descends brilliantly, gleaming off the waters of Flint Harbor, though the light is dulled by a haze across the city. Buildings far below cast long shadows in the streets. The darkness grows, consumes the city, and for a moment the mountain top is the only thing still illuminated. Then the night claims it as well.

City lights smear out far below you, but the stars overhead are brilliant and clear. "I need to study the stars for as long as possible. In the morning, I will sleep," says Nevard.

Within an hour, the air drops from the warmth of a tropical summer to a soul-chilling winter freeze. The wind fluctuates wildly, sometimes eerily still, then bursting with gusts that shake every tree on the mountaintop. Moans slide across the peak like waves, and when the wailing wind quiets, you can hear suddenly-dry leaves crackling underfoot, and erratic bursts of malevolent laughter further down the slope.

@Corynne: You can hear voices all around, but their sound is muted, like a party down the street.

As the night continues to grow colder, you begin to see shadows moving in the trees, creeping upward towards the peak. Wispy white spirits circle and swoop lazily to the silent music, and though they don't appear to see you, more and more slowly float by, as if attracted by a scent.

Then the actual monsters show up. First something that looks like a semi-transparent legless man, its head just a bare skull, crawls hand over hand towards your camp. It's hard to make out details in the dark, but it stops when it reaches the ring of blood, and then it turns to follow it. Eager, maddened chuckling comes from the thing, like it's excited about an imminent meal. Then a crowd of foot-high goblin-like specters approach from the opposite direction, cavorting and jumping in wild circles like it's a celebration. They suddenly stop when they see the ring of paint at the false camp, and they start to follow it, gibbering to each other in a forgotten demonic language.

Within minutes, the legless man is joined by a growling lion, whose head is framed by a cluster of writhing snakes. The goblins are joined by bat-winged rats whose screeching rattles your heads, and more - all of them barely visible, like they're pressing up against a veil trying to reach into this world. None of them cross the blood rings, but within an hour, both campsites are surrounded on all sides by crowds of monsters, all of them mindlessly tracing endless circles in search of something to devour.

During the night, there are three threats you'll need to overcome. Creative solutions are fine; alternately, I'll include a skill check.
1) The night is bitterly cold, but your fire provides warmth (Fort DC 5 or take 1d6 NL cold damage)

2) You're well-hidden, but there are a LOT of spirits out there (Stealth DC 13 or risk detection)

3) The howling wind and endless cacophony of wails threatens to erode your mind (figure out how to combat this or be shaken until the spirits leave)

Fort: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

As the night progresses, Alice gets increasingly pale, from cold and from fear, sitting still and silent. She doesn't fear what can be fought by steel, but these spirits disturb her beyond imagination. Among the phantoms and monsters and specters, the phantoms from her own mind intermingle, remnants of those left in Yerasol and a lost ship. A whimper almost escapes her mouth, and she bites her lip, drawing blood.
They are beyond. We are protected. It's all in my mind, in my imagination, I need a distraction. But I can't move, so no dancing, no exercise, no sparring... Ah.

With the tip of a dagger, she slowly, carefully traces a eight-by-eight grid on the ground before placing, just as slowly and metodically, twelve bronze coins on her site and twelve silvers on the opposite one. "Draughts?" she whispers to her companions.

Can each individual mix-and-match saves and being creative as needed?

Yes

Az will suggest to the group that they pair off and double up on the blankets, allowing each person to utilize not only their own body heat but that produced by their partner as well, hopefully helping to further stave off the cold and keep them from suffering the worst of the night's chill.

He also removes as much of his gear as he can, leaving in place only his armor, firearm, and bandolier, with the rest nearby on the ground, hoping to make himself lighter and present a smaller profile to any hostile presences. Not knowing how well these ghosts can see into the physical world, he also gathers handfuls of dirt and detritus from off the ground to rub into the blankets and otherwise try and make them match the surroundings a little better.

When Alice offers a game of checkers, Az slips over across from her, eager to do something that takes his mind off the sounds of the night.

Any of that stuff do any good to the DCs?

Sitting shivering off to the side, Ellena doesn't even look up when Alice whispers and stays staying at the parade of grotesques in front of them. She holds Fabian in her lap, drawn, taking comfort in the sword's sibilant whispers and quiet focus - sometimes, she swears it actually spoke. Others, she knew it was all in her head. It'd be years before she had the kind of connection to her sword her father and grandfather had to theirs. Anyway, listening to it gave some comfort against the wailing of the wind.

Fortitude: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Shivering against the chill and huddled in a blanket, Miselle began to hum show tunes to drown out the ungodly dirge of the spirits beyond the thin barricade.

Sadly, she got a little carried away...

Far more familiar with the supernatural than her companions, Corynne watches her companions reactions, continuously scanning with her supernatural senses, studying the dark entities hungering for the life sensed within the circles. She can sense Alice’s fear, understanding that while their defacto leader was utterly fearless in the face of blade and bullet, it was the things that she couldn’t fight physically that unnerved her. Silently, she slips her hand into Alice’s for a moment, giving the other woman’s hand a silent squeeze of understanding and reassurance.

As the unearthly dirge of supernatural wails increases in intensity, the inevitable occurs, as Corynne's entourage of spirits responds in kind.

Fort: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 (Sorry guys)

Sorry about the brief delay; my internet went down right after I posted yesterday.

@Azaghal: I'll still need the Fort/Stealth rolls, but you can add a +2 circumstance bonus to both.

Alice's game and Miselle's singing provide just enough of a distraction to keep the spirits' otherworldly wailing from driving you insane. You're rather noisy, but Corynne's ghosts help disguise it, and while a few monsters look up and sniff the air suspiciously, they never do more than glance inside the blood ring.

As the time passes, you occasionally feel unnaturally drowsy, but the feeling doesn't last long. Other times, you see identical duplicates of yourselves sitting around a fire at the decoy campsite. Then an apparition manifests in the center of your blood circle: a velvet red curtain hovers in the air, looking completely solid, glowing as if hit by a spotlight that doesn't exist. The curtain sways, and there seem to be figures on the other side. Then Nilasa steps out, a hushing finger to her lips. "The man who killed me is coming. His face is scarred, so he hides it behind many faces." Then she raises a featureless black mask to her face. When she puts it on, she fades away, as does the curtain. The air is suddenly thick with the stench of burnt engine grease.

Shortly thereafter, the stars overhead seem to streak in lines as time stretches out, and then to the north, down by Parity Lake, you see a building catch fire with dreamlike swiftness. Suddenly you find yourselves standing between two factories, watching two tongues of flame leap from one to the next, like a pair of burning dragons. Screams erupt from the people trapped inside, the conflagration consumes the factories, and the charred buildings collapse to reveal tomorrow morning's sunrise. A blackened sign sits in the ash, reading "Sechim's Alkahest & Etchings." Then the vision ends with a snap, and you're again on the black peak of Cauldron Hill. Nevard, still looking at the stars, gives a knowing hum. He points up at a red star. "Jiese, the plane of fire, is brighter tonight than usual. Its light reflects off the lake. You saw it, didn't you?"

It's still unclear whether you're awake or dreaming when a man cries out for help from the dark beyond the ring. It sounds like he's been set upon by monsters, but Nevard shakes his head and warns you not to step out of the ring.

There's a fair bit of stuff in this post, so I'll pause here. We can stay here as long as desired, as the events herein take several hours. When everyone's ready to move on, give me Perception checks.

"I...she...wasn't she..." Shaking her head, Miselle stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Was that truly the spirit of Nilasa, speaking from beyond the grave? And what was that smell?"

Considering, she then asked, "And the fire at Sechim's...was that a prediction of what would happen? At sunrise?" She glanced at the stars. "This sunrise?" If so, that was going to be a real problem, getting down in time to stop it...

Fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Stealth: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 2 = 16

Thankfully, the precautions taken by Az help him to stave off the worst effects of the setting, though he does remain rather unsettled because of all going on around them.

The specter of Nilasa sends a shiver through him, the vision leaving him confused and uncertain. "Az is unsure...if it was, is probably wise to heed her warning and be on our guard. Smell was burnt engine grease...is one Az is familiar with, working so near to machines."

He almost jumps to his feet when they witness the fire that brings Sechim's to the ground when he realizes that the stars streaking out as they did probably indicates some future event and he calms a little. "Is not certain. If it is tonight, we could not get there in time to stop it. Is no way..." he trails off, though his voice isn't as sure as his words.

"Yes, she was. Trying desperately to help us catch her killer, though she still fears him?" Corynne says quietly, clearly used to the strangeness of those communicating from the other side. "Time is....difficult for the dead, the present and past sort of flow into each other."

Rolling the coin that she had been planning to move, Alice ponders the visions they all had. "It could be this hill playing tricks with our minds, but the scarred man matches the description LeBrix gave us. And I think... I have a feeling that the factories will burn tonight, if they aren't already."
She gazes at the red light of Jiese. "Perhaps if the Mayor has a horse, I could sprint fast enough... Revered Skyseer, do you have a way to contact your nephew? Some sort of spell, maybe? And if I ran out without touching the circle, would you all be in jeopardy?"

"You are NOT leaving this circle while they are out there!" Corynne says to Alice in the most deathly serious tone of voice she's ever heard her use.

"Aye, Az is agreeing with Corynne. Is too big a risk. Vision could be happening now, could be happening tomorrow, could be happening in year, could not happen at all. Is no way to tell right now. If factory does burn down, chances of getting there in time to stop it are slim, and that's if you could get past all the ghosts unharmed! Az thinks we should stay at least until the spirits are gone."

"Leaving now is brave, but pointless," Miselle agreed with the others. "We do not know which morning, unless the Skyseer has more insight." Considering, Miselle added with a sigh, "But we also don't know it isn't this morning. If we must leave this place early, let the midnight wane first. As I understand these things the closer to daylight the weaker the things will be, or at least the less time we must spend to avoid them."

Not one to be easily dissuaded, Alice stares back at her companions, calm and determined. "I will do what I have to do to save Risuri lives. Oh, I don't like it one bit, but there's a chance it's tonight, and a chance I can make it in time. I'm the fastest of us, and I'm somewhat protected. If it doesn't put you in danger, I'm ready to gamble on that chance."
As she speaks, one hand on the hilt of her rapier, a subconscious part of her shifts its focus, enhancing her awareness of the surroundings.
Spending 1 spell point to activate Foreshadow, for a +1 to AC, +2 to Reflex and initiative for 1 hour.

"And what happens if you get there and find someone to fight, alone? Is difference between being brave and being foolhardy! If you truly are set on this, you go without Az. I am not fast enough to keep up with any of you."

"I'm not suicidal, I won't get in any fight I don't think I can walk away from! But I can get them to clear the building, you heard the screams in the vision too, didn't you?"
Her lips pressed, Alice pauses for a few seconds before adding a last remark, in a smaller voice. "I've taken many lives. I'd like to save some."

"'The man who killed me is coming.'" Ellena quoted quietly from the corner. Through all of the visions, she hadn't bothered to stand. "Coming here. If we had a way to relay a message... but you're about to run into haunted woods in the dark with a killer waiting nearby."

She swallows, looking up sadly. "Some people you can't save, and you can ruin yourself trying. Can you even see the path?"

Nevard shakes his head. "I have no way to relay a message to my nephew."

Your ascent took approximately an hour. In the dark, it'll take longer than that to get back to Macbannon's manor (assuming you want him to purify you), and then another hour or so to get to Heward's factory. That's not factoring in the hundreds of spirits, of course. In terms of time, it's currently around 11pm.

"Corynne, you can talk to spirits. Is there any way you could convince one of them to relay a message to Sechim? Perhaps even the spirit of Nilasa herself?"

Knowledge Religion(odds of Alice making it more tthan 10 ft outside the circle): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Knowledge Religion(What would it take to convince Nilasa's spirit to relay a message for me to someone she knows): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

@Corynne: There are A LOT of spirits milling around outside - many of which are directly outside the circle. Just leaving the campsite would entail passing through a literal curtain of spirits who are actively hunting for prey. Without a very good distraction, this would likely be suicide.

Nilasa's spirit faded away after she gave her warning. With the sheer number of spirits outside, it's impossible to tell if she's even still on the mountaintop.

"Fine" sighs Alice, slumping back on the ground. "I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us."

"Is better than spirits coming front to bite you."

"There's now way to tell if Nilasa's spirit is even still there, she fled before the others came. We'll have to wait for sunrise." Corynne says somberly.

"Look, we cannot stop you," Miselle added, "And shall not, either. But wait a while. Perhaps another vision will strike, giving greater clarity, and if nothing else the longer we wait the fewer of these things shall await whoever leaves. You can both wait and still reach the bottom before dawn."

Corynne looks at Alice. "We will get there on time, but it isn't worth your life.....not when it won't make a difference or save anyone."

"I get it, I get it." mumbles Alice, rubbing her legs against the supernatural cold. "I just hate doing nothing."

Alice: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Azaghal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Corynne: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Ellena: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Miselle: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Shortly after midnight, you hear an almost imperceptible sound above the cacophany of spirits - the crack of a sunrod against stone. Then, a brilliant glow lights up the mountaintop, and all the spirits turn to look. A humanoid figure holds the sunrod, its body almost inhumanely angular, its skin featureless and black like a silhouette. It sprints to the near edge of the rise - and then hurls the sunrod. The glowing beacon arcs and hits right in the center of your camp. As one, the monsters surrounding the blood ring lock eyes with you and attack.

Map has been updated. I've cropped it so that everything's a bit easier to see. Place yourselves inside your blood circle, and let's get this show on the road. XD Nevard's currently inside the tent but can assist if needed. Sunrod's near the campfire. Assume you won initiative.

Let's say the rapier is not drawn. I still have Forewarned on.

As the Faceless Man shows itself, predatory, animalistic rage takes over Alice's mind. Her teeth bared, her nerves steeled in a hunter's focus, her muscles tense for a fight, she's a moment from sprinting. But she's a soldier before being a warrior, and one tasked with protection. Logic and tactics win, and she steps towards the nearest foe, unsheathing her weapon and striking at the nearest ghost in one fluid motion. "Spooky, get rid of the sunrod! Az, Miselle, snipe that bastard! Princess, defend! Risur and Victory!"
Fear was still very much in his mind, but now it was overwhelmed by battle-lust and adrenaline. And at last, she could fight with steel, the way she knew.

Cold Iron Rapier: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Move action to move and draw, standard to attack.

With a silent nod, Corynne begins to act, her eyes glowing as she commands one of her spirits to take the sunrod, racing outside of the circle with it.

Standard action: pick up Sunrod with telekinesis move it 20 ft to just outside the circle.

"Merde," Miselle muttered, raising the gun to her shoulder and focusing on the dark figure. If they were going to try and kill the constables of the RHC, they could at least have the courage to do it properly. She moved as close to the wall as she could, trying to keep the figure within her guns easier range.

To Hit (Touch if Within 50ft): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
2d10 ⇒ (5, 8) = 13

"If you say so!" Az says, though in truth he feels like there are bigger (and closer) fish to fry.

Musket Attack (Touch): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Musket Damage: 1d12 ⇒ 9

Stumbling to her feet, Ellena holds Fabian between her and the monsters with trembling hands. As they rush into the firelight, her foot slides back into a fencing stance.