GM Samy's Strange Aeons

Game Master Samy

Jassminder relay's Saiya's report to the others. "She says there's nothing out there and she's going to head inside - she must have found another doorway. We should get ready to move so we're not too far behind her."

Looking out at the torrential rain and the sickly yellow clouds, she adds "better to wait in here for now though."

Through the spell she talks to Saiya. "We're ready to follow you - let us know when."

Saiya:

Broken lanterns and several battered doors line this cold, rubble-strewn hall. To the south, a pair of swinging doors lies shattered upon a 4-foot-high heap of wrecked furniture clogging a broad doorframe.

As Saiya emerges from the courtyard, there's a shout from the south.

“Whoa, there! We got more here!”

Saiya can see some movement to the south, where some kind of barricade has been constructed to block the hallway. The hallway is dark, but that is not a problem to Saiya due to her fetchling darkvision.

"Don't move or we'll put so many bolts in you you'll be half wood!" the voice comes from the barricade. There are figures moving around behind the barricade, but she can't make out an exact number quickly.

Saiya freezes, thinking hard for a second. Can’t quite tell how many of them there are. They're threatening, but not actually attacking yet, so these may not be enemies. Just paranoid survivors of...whatever the hell happened here. She grimaces. Probably a good thing I scouted alone. A group of eight might have been seen as a threat and attacked immediately.

”Hey. I’m really not sure what’s going on here. I just escaped from a cell in the basement. So, uh, I’d appreciate not being shot.”

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Under her breath, she mutters to Jassminder. ”Found some people, not sure how many. They’re jumpy and threatening to kill me, but they’re giving me a chance to talk first. The door into the building was to the west of your location; these people are past a barricade to the south.”

I did say I’d give as much information as I could before dying horribly...

With that roll, here might be a good time to remind the GM that attacks against Saiya in dim light have a 50% miss chance.

"Please, we come in peace!"
DIplo: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
"We are hurt, we are hungry, and we do not know what to do!"

Should I assume that Miyuki is following Saiya into the hallway, or speaking from where Saiya left the group? Separate scouting situations are always a little tricky because they require players to remember that characters are in different locations. As I understood the situation, only Jass hears what Saiya says, everybody else is in the first room and has no idea what's going on? Please correct me if I misunderstood.

I thought Saiya was scouting alone and everyone else was staying put for now.

That was my understanding too.

Jassminder frowns as she hears the scouting report. "It seems that Saiya has encountered non-hostiles but non-friendlies. It sounds as though they are willing to listen before attacking."

She whispers back to Saiya. "Do you require backup?"

In the distraction of using the unfamiliar magic to communicate, she doesn't immediately notice one or more people slipping away.

Leaving it open for Matsu - or anyone else! - to do their thing :-)

For future record, this is why I disrecommend splitting up the party. ;)

I want Miyuki to clarify what location she is speaking from, before I speak further for the NPCs.

But splitting the party is fun... it gives the GM plenty of options to kill us one at a time... er, I mean, gives us plenty of options to discover cool things. ;)

The drow woman forms a rapier-like blade once more in her right hand. "I don't like this. I still get the feeling that I should be avoiding others in general... the ambient surroundings are not giving me reason to think otherwise."

Her grasp tightens on her blade's hilt. "Even if they aren't hostile, perhaps it would be best for me not to be the first to pop out into their barricades."

Sorry, missed that scouting part. She will be silent.

Okay, ignoring Miyuki's Diplo post; Saiya is alone in the hallway.

As a few more seconds pass, Saiya can pull together a clearer view of what's happening. There are maybe four or five figures total behind the barricade to her south -- probably human or near-human, all pointing crossbows right at her. "Stay *right there*, don't move one muscle!" one of them calls out. "Don't come *any* closer!" another voice demands.

After a few tense moments, yet another voice calls out, "I don't know you, I don't recognize you, I'm gonna give you one chance to get the hell out of our sight before we pepper you full or arrows." Pause. "Get the hell out of here, don't come back!"

"They're bolts", another voice at the barricade quietly points out.

Think Saiya. You didn’t see any other exits from the courtyard. There haven’t been any branching paths so far. Meaning the others will have to come through here. Meaning if we don’t want a bloodbath, you have to talk these people into letting them pass.

Saiya keeps her hands visible and tries to look as non-threatening as possible. ”Okay, okay. Not approaching, got it. But as for the ‘getting out of here’ part, I've got some people back there that were also being held prisoner. There isn’t any place for us to go that doesn’t require passing through this hallway. If I promise none of us will approach the barricade, can I go get them? Then we’ll...” She looks around, then points in the opposite direction to the barricade. ”Go that way, I guess. Honestly I have absolutely no idea where to go. I don’t even know where I am!”

To Jassminder, she says ”Don’t approach yet. I’m trying to get them to agree to let us all pass through this hallway without shooting us. I’ll come get you if they do. If they don’t...we’ll have to think of something.”

Jassminder listens and passes Saiya's complete message onto the others. "Does anyone have skills in negotiating with people?"

To Saiya she responds: "Understood. If anyone here has experience negotiating, I will let you know."

Malarra raises her chin in thought. "No idea, honestly. I can't remember anything, and the book I found seems to be just prayers, not a journal. I keep having the inkling that I avoid people though... perhaps I could scare them off if it comes to it?"

Malarra has ranks in intimidate, but that is it 'persuading wise".

"Fine, but if you take one step toward us, it'll be your last!" the barricade voices answer to Saiya.

Hands still visible, Saiya nods. "Thank you. I'm just going to go get my companions now, and we'll come back through in a couple minutes. No one will go near the barricade."

Turning, she slips back the way she came. Dismissing the spell as soon as she's back with the others, (the echo is annoying, and she can always recast again if necessary), she glances around and sees that everyone made it up.

"Good, we're all here. Unfortunately I didn't make it too far. There's only one way out of the courtyard that I could see, and that door leads straight to a bunch of paranoid people with crossbows. They said they'll let us pass so long as we don't approach their barricade. Maybe someone better with people than me can get some answers out of them. Or maybe they'll recognize one of us and be more friendly. Regardless I don't think they'll shoot unless we do something threatening." She shrugs. "It did look like there were a few ways to go from the hallway, so even if we can't get help from those people we can try somewhere else."

"Did they look like the 'doctor'? Or did they look more like the..." she asks gesturing towards the unconscious fellow.

"Looked like us, far as I could tell. Although that doesn't mean much when the doctor could look like anyone. Which probably is part of why these people are so jumpy."

Saiya considers for a second. "Honestly, the main reason I think they're like us is because they were trying to get me to go away. There I was, all alone, potential prey dropped in their laps. If they'd invited me in for tea and biscuits, I'd have run screaming in the opposite direction. But they seemed more scared of me than I was of them, which implies they're not the predators here."

Malarra shrugs. "I suppose that is possible. But it is also possible that they are just a lower rung of predator smart enough to know not to hunt what is marked by the apex predator." Despite her outward calm, the drow shudders in memory of the tatter-man from their shared nightmare.

"At any rate, unless we have need to go into their little slice of... somewhere... or unless they decide to unload their crossbows in our general direction... well, I have no qualms about leaving them to it."

"I was more thinking of were they prey like the other one we rescued? He was", she glances at him, shrugs, and continues, "or rather is an orderly and the other was labeled a doctor on their nametags. That's why I was asking, I was wondering if they were orderlies too. If they were, perhaps we can ask them what is going on. We can ask them from afar so they don't get panicky and shoot you."

"Fair question. I don't know. Didn't really get a clear look at their clothing. I'm all for asking them questions, as long as someone else is good at talking. I'm apparently not."

Saiya opens the door to the courtyard, shivering slightly at the sight of the unnatural yellow sky. "Everyone ready to go?"

Assuming no objections, she leads the group back through the door into the hallway. As she does, she calls out to the people at the barricade. "It's just me and my companions, none of whom will approach you. So, uh, please continue with the 'not shooting'."

"Correction." Jassminder responds to Erisa's statement. "He looks like an orderly. Just like the doctor looked like a doctor... until she didn't. For all we know, they're both shapechangers who were having a fight with one another."

Malarra shrugs at Jassminder's observation, allowing the rapier blade to dissipate back into the shadows. "Maybe so, maybe not. What is known, though, is that the 'doctor' being seemed intent on performing similar 'operations' on us once she was done with him, as evidenced by her comments upon noticing us awake and her reaction to us getting out of our cells. And he, whatever he is, attempted to wake us from that lovely nightmare we all were sharing before she could do so... albeit with the express purpose of saving him."

The shadows form around the drow woman's hands, taking the shape of a dagger once more. She tests its balance, adjusting the blade slightly as she continues. "Now that does not mean that he is necessarily still friendly toward us, I will grant. But I would say that it means that we owe him a chance to make his intentions known before we pass judgement." Malarra takes a test throw, the dagger bouncing off roughly the spot she aimed before scattering like an inky cloud and reforming in her hand once more. Satisfied, she nods at Saiya and follows about three or four people back.

Erisa points to the name tag on the orderly, "It clearly calls him an orderly and the doctor's name tag called him a doctor. They are nicely labeled. Now, whether or not they are an orderly or a doctor or a face sucking evil creature is another story."

As the group moves past the people clustered behind the barricade with crossbows pointed at them, she asks, "Can you tell us what is going on here? And what are you defending yourselves against?"

"Can we leave. I just to be gone from here!"
Miyuki shakes as she looks around the bedlam house, feeling insecure and frightened.

As the group moves past the people clustered behind the barricade with crossbows pointed at them, she asks, "Can you tell us what is going on here? And what are you defending yourselves against?"

It's difficult to make out exactly what the figures behind the barricade look like because the hallway is dark, and there's light behind the figures so they're backlit and silhouetted. You can make out their outlines, there's four or five people behind the barricade, human-sized and pretty much human-shaped, pointing wicked looking heavy crossbows right in your direction.

"Oh, as if you didn't know. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on *me*!"

"Get going before we change our minds. My finger's getting awful itchy."

Malarra blinks at the people behind the barricade. What the...

Shaking her head, she merely snaps her fingers a few times to get their attention.

"Hey. Don't take this the wrong way, but if we have met in the past I, at least, do not remember it. Or anything else for that matter. So if I said or did something to offend you, you have my apologies for what it is worth. That said, I have two... no, three... questions for you. First is where on... whatever plane of existence this is... are we? And the second is do you know the man being carried by our red-headed companion?"

Here the drow woman points to their unconscious fellow being combat carried by Vixen.

"Final question: is that the way out of wherever here is?" She points to the door previously indicated by Saiya as the one they would leave by.

"They think we may be shapeshifters like the 'doctor'", Erisa sighs, "That means there are more of them wandering around here and we're on the wrong side of the barricade - the side with the killers."

How did the doctor bleed? Same colour blood?"
If it was another colour Miyuki will move forward and cut herself.
"You see, we bleed red"!

Miyuki: if it were that straightforward then shapeshifters would be easily spotted, is my guess (alas).

Jassminder shakes her head at Erisa's words. "Correction: the shapeshifters are on the wrong side of the barricade, trapped in with me." She checks the tension on the string of her longbow.

(In a parallel universe,someone clicked the mechanism on a pump-action shotgun)

"I'm armed, armoured, I've woken up in a bad place with most of my memories missing and apparently surrounded by hostiles in need of killing. It must be my birthday."

Some might say Jassminder has unresolved anger issues - but they'd best not say it to her face.

She looks around. "So come on. Are we going hunting, or what?"

Correct, can't spot them by blood color, that would be too easy. :)

Drawing the people's attention to the man carried by the Vixen produces the most fruitful results of everything you tried.

"I know that guy, he works here."

"For all we know it's not really him anyway."

Your other lines of effort/inquiry do not produce any results, as the barricade people seem to focus on the unconscious guy.

Saiya rolls her eyes, the relentless paranoia beginning to annoy her. She understands it, she's feeling more than a little paranoid herself, but she feels like these people are taking it to unreasonable levels. "He was being held prisoner down in the basement. We killed the shapeshifter that was torturing him and healed him as much as we could. He just needs rest. Is he one of yours? We could leave him with you while we," she gestures to Jassminder, "apparently go off and hunt more shapeshifters."

The Vixen can’t help herself as the people pointing loaded crossbows refer to the man in her arms.

She is a gifted speaker...
Perform Oratory: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
...though apparently average-at-best at crossbow-point. She barely conceals her nervousness.

”The man in me arms lives as a result of a daring rescue. His last words before passing out from being tortured were ‘thank the gods.’ If he’s a friend o’ yers, the only gratitude I ask o’ ye is to not point weapons at us that can accidentally discharge—at least not while we clearly ain’t attacking or approaching.”

She tries to calm herself. Think, Vix...! And it occurs to her—

”—ye just said the man in me arms might not be yer friend. Which means ye know shape-changers’re the enemy.

“...which is the Vermilion Vixen, by the way. Vix or ViVi for short.”

She clearly expects the others to tell their names. And not shoot her to shut her up.

”And you are?” she asks. Then lifting the unconscious man a little higher, she adds, ”Or can ye at least tell me this guy’s name, since I’m apparently gonna be lugging him around a while?”

Miyuki moves forward."We really are not evil. Please, how can we prove you that we are just regular people like you?"
Bluff: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

"All right, we'll give you a chance to prove that you're not one of them." As Saiya pretty much predicted, it involves doing just what she anticipated. "Bring us *three* shapeshifter bodies. Not two, three. You do that, I'll take it into consideration that you're not one of them."

As to the unconscious man Vixen's been lugging around, "Sure, you can leave him here in the meanwhile."

"Sir, what if that guy's one too, and is gonna pounce on us when we least expect it?"

"Okay, we'll tie him down and keep him under guard while we wait for these guys to get back."

Malarra shakes her head in exacerbation.

"So I have a question. How do we know that none of you are these shapeshifter things? For that matter, how do you know it?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Surely you must have developed some test, otherwise you would... or more to the point, should... be worried that one or more of your number might not be as he seems. Yes?"

"Haha, nice try, but I'm not that stupid. I'm not telling you what our tactics are to a bunch that might be out to kill us."

To be fair, Saiya was reacting to Jassminder's statement about going hunting and didn't anticipate anything.

Saiya manages, with a great deal of effort, to refrain from saying the first thing that pops into her head. If we were out to kill you, you'd be dead. After seeing how quickly her new companions handled the 'doctor', she's pretty sure a flimsy barricade and some crossbows wouldn't be enough to stop them.

"Sure. Why not. I'm sure we'll end up killing some more shapeshifters regardless. Especially since we've got at least one person," gesturing to Jassminder again, "who's already plenty eager to do just that. Might as well drag the corpses back and see if then somebody will finally tell us what the f%!% is going on."

Despite how casually she says this, Saiya is keenly aware that whatever she was in the past, it wasn't a fighter. But then, what else were 'friends' for? Whatever the redheads and Jassminder had been, it had definitely involved fighting. Probably Malarra too. It'll be fine. Just stay behind them and let them work. Maybe poke something if it gets close enough.

"Back to transferring the unconscious guy. Can Vix approach to hand him over, or should we just dump him here and you come get him?"

"Just leave him there, we'll come get him once you're safely away."

You get the feeling that there's nothing further you can milk out of the barricade for now. :)

The hallway expands straight northwards from the barricade (Google Slides updated). There are two doors on the west side and two doors on the east side, labelled doors 1-4 on the map for our OOC convenience. Further down the hall, beyond all four doors, the hallway looks like it opens up into a bigger space but there looks to also be lots of rubble and debris.

What do you do?

"Fine." Watching Vix place the body on the ground, Saiya glances around the hallway. "Shall we clear out the rooms as we go, or just head straight down the hallway? I'd vote for clearing the rooms myself." She looks at the barricade again. "Can we go into that first room, or would that be too close for your comfort?"

To be clear, Saiya is voting to step through Door #1 on the map. If Door #1 is too close to the barricade for our trigger-happy friends, she'll change her vote to Door #2.

Door number 1 is indeed too close for our trigger-happy friends. "Uh-uh!" they call out if anyone approaches Door 1.

"Then let us take the other one. Sorry!" With the apology to the trigger happy ones Miyuki points to door number 2

"I'd agree with finding out what is behind each door before we advance beyond them. There could be enemies, friends, supplies, or an escape behind any of them and all of those things would be something I would want to know about." suggests Erisa.

"Okay, next door it is." Jassminder nocks an arrow to her bow, wincing as her damaged muscles and sinews protest the movement. She grits her teeth and moves beyond the pain.

Ready when everyone else is - let's find out what's behind Door 2!

The door is quiet and unassuming. It does not open by itself. It looks like it has no problem waiting however long is necessary for someone to open it.

"Seems we're all more-or-less in agreement." Saiya reaches forward and opens door #2, peeking inside the room for obvious threats.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

If she doesn't see any, she steps inside for a closer look.

Mighty iron boilers crowd here, their pipes piercing the walls and ceiling. Shadows and rust fill the narrow gaps between the cold tanks.

Google Slides updated with the layout of the room.

Saiya notices a faint glow emanating from beneath a boiler toward the rear of the room.

Taking a look closer Miyuki tries to detect magic.

Detect Magic does not register any magical auras in the room.