Alphonse Veritas, Oathkeeper |
Alphonse grimaces. "It's possible, but sadly unlikely. My ability to channel God's light is limited, both in quantity and efficacy. If they've been dead longer than a fortnight, maybe less, there is nothing my skill can do for them, and I can do it no more than once without exhausting almost my entire supply of Light."
"Sometimes I regret that I cannot do more, but I was called to be Heaven's vengeance made flesh, not an immaculate savior of lives."
Mwikali |
'I know not about your Gods' gifts but The Orisha can aid me in restoring the deceased form the dead within reason?" Mwikali says as she looks at them knowing Kiku and Mother Africa had granted her that ability.
Ihrin Ardlean Dracul |
She stifles her tears and raises as she looks at the others her demeanor changing as she looked at the others."Seems my brother decided to restock the catacombs. We don't know where the others are down here as is the pope. Whatever we do we need to do it fast"
Alfonso V the Magnanimous |
Wiping away his tears with his cloak: Besides coming down here to back you up against the evil imposter, we came to tell you that a mob is growing outside the Vatican! The Roman people are demanding to know what has become of their Holy Father! We tried to explain, but I'm afraid we may have only caused panic and confusion...
Johann Kaltgeboren |
"Alphonse, if you would like to take care of the crowd, me and Foxy could hunt down an old friend to scry for this phylacter-thingy. Quinlan never left Rome I don't think. He could use the magics. Right Fox?"
Michael Johnson 66 |
"Alphonse, if you would like to take care of the crowd, me and Foxy could hunt down an old friend to scry for this phylacter-thingy. Quinlan never left Rome I don't think. He could use the magics. Right Fox?"
Tracking down Quinlan can probably best be accomplished with Johann in giant cobra or dire bear form using scent to track the tiefling wizard down through the streets and alleys of Rome. Starting at Palazzo D'Borja might be a good start, as his scent would be there to pick up...
Johann Kaltgeboren- Dire Bear! |
Johann and whoever likes to come makes his way to Palazzo D'Borja, homebase for the Crusaders whenever they were in Rome.
"Ah Foxy... place still feels like home, but it is an empty home without our lost and departed friends. Grrrr... Still... sniff sniff sniff. Quinlan was here with us for weeks; and perhaps he has been back. I will hunt for his scent."
survival/follow tracks: 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (16) + 25 = 41
perception: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (6) + 19 = 25
Michael Johnson 66 |
Johann and whoever likes to come makes his way to Palazzo D'Borja, homebase for the Crusaders whenever they were in Rome.
"Ah Foxy... place still feels like home, but it is an empty home without our lost and departed friends. Grrrr... Still... sniff sniff sniff. Quinlan was here with us for weeks; and perhaps he has been back. I will hunt for his scent."
[dice=survival/follow tracks]d20+25
[dice=perception]d20+19
Johann sniffs around in the guest room at Cardinal D'Borja's palace where Quinlan stayed, picking up the tiefling wizard's unique scent.
Following the strongest trail takes the Werebeast of the Black Forest on a hunt through the ancient cobbled streets and alleys of the Eternal City.
Quinlan GM bot |
Johann Kaltgeboren- Dire Bear! wrote:Johann and whoever likes to come makes his way to Palazzo D'Borja, homebase for the Crusaders whenever they were in Rome.
"Ah Foxy... place still feels like home, but it is an empty home without our lost and departed friends. Grrrr... Still... sniff sniff sniff. Quinlan was here with us for weeks; and perhaps he has been back. I will hunt for his scent."
[dice=survival/follow tracks]d20+25
[dice=perception]d20+19Johann sniffs around in the guest room at Cardinal D'Borja's palace where Quinlan stayed, picking up the tiefling wizard's unique scent.
Following the strongest trail takes the Werebeast of the Black Forest on a hunt through the ancient cobbled streets and alleys of the Eternal City.
It is dusk by the time Johann tracks his elusive former companion down at a tavern at the eastern edge of the city, drinking ale and dining on fish stew and hearty bread. Quinlan is momentarily surprised to see his old friend The Bear poke his snout through the tavern door and sniff in his direction, as are the other patrons, some of whom seem a little alarmed at the sight of a giant brown bear entering the tavern...
Ah! Johann, old friend! cries Quinlan, grinning and waving Johann over. To the other patrons in the tavern, he gives assurance: Fear not, noble Romans! This is no common wild beast, but rather the brave hero and Crusader of the Catacombs you have no doubt heard of, Johann Kaltgeboren, shapeshifting woodsman from the Black Forest! He's a good fellow, and is not here to eat anyone, right, my friend?
His smile fades... What brings you here, Johann? Is everything alright?
Michael Johnson 66 |
As Johann and Ogon Fox leave to track down Quinlan, a mob of confused and frightened Romans grows outside the Vatican. They are demanding to know what has happened to Pope Eugenius IV, and becoming more agitated by the minute...
Roman man: Che cosa è successo al nostro santo padre !?
Roman woman: La Bestia di Armaghedon ha davvero conquistato il papa !?
Ihrin Ardlean Dracul |
"He was a good man, he loved me and raised me to form a mere street waif who defended him and his son in a tavern. I learned the ways of court and to fight. I have done so much for him and god, but now I am here and my brother..My brother.." she says crying a bit as she shakes her head and turns from the two men to look at the bodies. She was concerned for Vlad but even more so for Nero and what he had done here!
Cosimo Giovanni de’Medici |
"He was a good man, he loved me and raised me to form a mere street waif who defended him and his son in a tavern. I learned the ways of court and to fight. I have done so much for him and god, but now I am here and my brother..My brother.." she says crying a bit as she shakes her head and turns from the two men to look at the bodies. She was concerned for Vlad but even more so for Nero and what he had done here!
The Duke of Florence slowly moves to comfort Lady Ihrin, gently resting his hands on her shoulders. Please, my Lady Ihrin... You have served your father well... A father could ask for nothing more... As for your, er, brother... He seems bewildered. You and your friends have done more than anyone else has to stop his career into madness and evil... He embraces Ihrin Ardlean and wipes her tears away with his cloak. Now, we must discover what this means... That you have forestalled the plot of the Antichrist... Has Armageddon begun? Or is it been forestalled?... Is it poised to begin? Has the seventh seal been broken, and the trumpet sounded? A tremor of fear shakes Duke of Florence, and he searches Ihrin's face with tears welling in his own brown eyes.
Paladin of St Peter's Basilica |
Outside the Vatican, a crowd is growing. News travels quickly in Rome, and the townsfolk fear for their Pope.
Papal paladin guards do their best to keep the throng at bay and maintain order, but the wild rumors are making things difficult.
Stay back! As soon as we have word from the holy father, we will let you all know! Back!
Johann Kaltgeboren |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Well we aren't sure he always was. Back when he was helping, he might have been himself, eh Foxy? But the AntiChrist is powerful and could have kidnapped him, and certainly did take his place. But Quinlan-- we defeated him! Back in the catacombs, where this also started. Now people are all worried about some phylacter thing and I don't know what that was but we need to find it. We need a wizard's help."
The Ogon Fox |
The Fox nods in agreement. "The battle we won today will mean little if we don't find and destroy the lich's phylactery. Do you know a diviner wise enough to assist us in this task, Quinlan? Perhaps you, yourself, have grown enough in your abilities?"
Quinlan GM bot |
If the Church were an apple, Nero would be the worm that tries to corrupt it from within. Very insidious... Quinlan rubs his horns...
Yes, of course I can help you, my friends. My powers have grown greater with each day since we parted ways... The old gods show me strange and wondrous visions in my looking glass, or in the entrails of a rooster...
Slurping his mug of ale, he wrinkles his sigil-tatooed brow... Ye know... The Pope's attitude toward me changed shortly after you all set sail for Africa... He went from polite tolerance to warnings that my pagan ways were of the Devil...
Michael Johnson 66 |
Quinlan takes the party to an inn room he's been staying at, and locking the door, prepares the material components for several divination he casts regarding the location of the lich's phylactery. Of course, the information is magically guarded, but some clues do reveal themselves.
The ring of keys found on Nero unlock a portal to an extraplanar safehold where the phylactery lies. The copper, silver and gold key each unlock a different lock in far flung locations...
Johann Kaltgeboren |
"An whoseitwhatsit safehold? How can we possibly get there, Quinlan? Can you magick us over?"
Quinlan GM bot |
The copper key unlocks a lock in the lowest level of the Catacombs. declares Quinlan after further divinations to pin-point specifics...
The silver key unlocks a lock in the lair of the ancient green dragon Grunrreaver, in the Black Forest... Quinlan winks at Johann. Looks like you're going back to your old romping grounds, Meister Bear!
Holding up the gold key and staring at it, he says, And the gold key lock lies in the lair of Wormwood, Dragon of Revelation, in Mount Vesuvius that blasted Pompeii and Herculaneum!
Lord Perpireen McGibel |
Lord P offers
"You know I could get us there fast, but you would have to walk the bright ways of the fey"
He waves his arms to make a door way in the air that shines with scintillating light.
[b]"Just step throw"[b]
Michael Johnson 66 |
The shimmering gateway Lord Perpireen has opened beckons the adventurers enticingly...
On the other side, a vista of primordial natural beauty opens up as far as the eye can see: majestic mountains tower over rolling green hills, meadows, verdant forests, sparkling pools and waterfalls, and drifting cloud islands on which spires and turrets with fluttering pennants can faintly be seen...
Herds of unicorns frolicking in the meadows can be descryed in the distance, as well as flocks of butterfly-winged faerie dragons, pegasus, griffons, and hippogriffs soaring among the peaks and cloud islands...
The landscape seems to subtly shift and change, even as the heroes watch it, blossoms blooming and unfurling, vines running helter skelter in a riot of primal growing and hallucinatory metamorphosis...
Johann Kaltgeboren |
"Lord P, will this be faster than a teleport? Can you promise it? We are in a hurry and can't get lost."
Lord Perpireen McGibel |
"You can risk teleporting if you like, But think would not Nero have wards in place to stop ones such as us just skipping there. Evil ones that would make an end of us. But the ways of the fey are hard to stop because in our lands time is not the same. A day there is but a moment here. Its may seem a long time getting there but little time should have past here. And who knows you may find things there that can help you with this fight"
He bows his head and points the way, looking up a twinkle in his eye.
Desert bandersnatch |
As Lord Perpireen attempts to convince his party mates that there is absolutely nothing that could go wrong with his brilliant plan, a herd of unicorns can be seen galloping at full speed across a meadow in the distance, chased by the desert bandersnatch...
Faintly from through the portal comes the weird, eerie cry: Wakka wakkaaaa...
Johann Kaltgeboren |
"Uh...how many enemies EXACTLY have you sent to these paths?"
Cardinal D’Sforza |
As Sir Alphonse Veritas, Alfonso the Magnanimous and the Duke of Florence do their best to quell the fear of the Roman throng, Cardinal D'Sforza emerges from the crowd with a sober expression on his face.
He looks around at the mob and then looks for Pope Eugenius in vain. Turning to Duke of Florence, he inquires about the holy father and Duke D'Medici informs the cardinal of the situation, causing his face to darken and fall.
May God have mercy on us all... I bring more bad news, I'm afraid. Over in England, the rogue company of adventurers now calling themselves the Company of the Beryllium Dragon has assassinated Cardinal Beaufort at Westminster Abbey, apparently with the English crown's blessing! It is like the martyrdom of Saint Thomas A'Beckett all over again! Those English dukes must be reigned in!
Cardinal D’Sforza |
Your Majesty, I have heard only outlandish rumors... That they are somehow allied with both the evil turquoise dragon Grossevapour and the good copper dragon Kupferflügel, and introduced the two dragons... Which first began fighting, and then, um...mated... The infamous wizard Rumplestiltskin has apparently taken an interest in the company's potential for mayhem... He might be behind the assassination of Cardinal Beaufort...
The Ogon Fox |
"Quinlan, my friend, we must re-join our companions. If you can assist us again by teleporting us as low in the catacombs as possible, that would be a great aid."
Quinlan GM bot |
I have clear memory of the green slime pool and rotary bridge on level four of the Catacombs... Will that do?
Johann Kaltgeboren |
"That is better than starting from level 1, Quinlan. Come, let us gather our friends, and then you can take us there. You do not have to stay; I did not come here to pull you into danger."