GM Tealk's - Core - Cradle of Night

Game Master Tealk

Aiyana looks at the party for help, unsure of how to suddenly proceed after such accusations.

Does Will's initial diplomacy not help here?

Diplomacy, aid: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 uh oh

We didn't bring them here, per se. They've obtained a powerful artifact and we're trying to stop them from becoming too powerful! We just wanted to ask you some questions.

The Reborn... We certainly had nothing to do with them coming here. I assume the Reborn has a reason to send those assassins after you. We have our misgivings about The Reborn, so perhaps we could help one another? Will continues.

new diplomacy, if required: 1d20 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 17 + 2 = 32

"Friends, you say?" A saultry voice echoes across from the caverns. Before you are able to make out where exactly the sound came from, a beautiful lampad woman steps forth from a darker corner of the cave. Tears stream from her eyes, forming small puddles where the stands, her lustrous ebony skin and silver hair are almost striking. "The same friends who anger The Reborn to send assasins after me?"

"WHAT!? WHERE!? I DON'T SEE ANY." Pietro looks about the area for invisible things.

Does Will's initial diplomacy not help here?

[dice=Diplomacy, aid]1d20+5 uh oh

We didn't bring them here, per se. They've obtained a powerful artifact and we're trying to stop them from becoming too powerful! We just wanted to ask you some questions.

The text probably matches the roll, lol

"I am sorry you think we intended to bring them along." Darven says placing his sword back into the scabbard. "Our eyes may have adjusted to the darkness, but seeing those who are naturally invisible, is still quite a task"

Seeing you all lower your weapons the woman eases up her shoulders and steps back, "I see. Then, I take it, you are here to stop the encroaching darkness. Follow me." The dark lampard woman ushers you to follow, and quickly leads you down and around the corner to a shallow pool for dark water. You can see in the distance the water connects to a large body of internally flowing stream, but the waters in this alcove are completely still. "This pool has long been graced with the energies from the Age of Darkness. The water allows me to focus my senses, and hear the whispers of Lyrudrada, echoes of the then, the now and the tomorrow."

She kneels, touching the water with her hand, feeling the chill on her skin. She looks back at Aiyana, a sad look in her eyes, "The Reborn are quickly gathering their forces. Thelamistos has already learned that you have arrive in Lyrudrada. They stole The Cradle of Night, from right under your nose... how could you let this happen?"

Telos shifts nervously as she casts doubt on the group.

Well... our noses had only just come over the Cradle when they were taking it. It's not as if we had it at home at left it out. We failed to impede them once, but we're still in the race with them. We just need your help.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

"Then you must act quickly." The woman turns away, and wades slowly into the water. She does not submerge herself completely, but waits for you to ask her more questions.

Is there anything specific you wish to ask her?

The halfling continues quickly, so as to avoid the mystical woman disengaging from the party.

Yes, well, specifically: We're inquiring about the whereabouts of the Reborn so that we can root them out directly. Do you have an knowledge of where they keep base, or other operating locations?

The seer dips her arms into the frosty waters of the black pool, a thin streams of steam rise around her. "Veilisendri lifts the veil, amidst the Fane where all our Ancestors lie."

Anything else?

Seeing you all lower your weapons the woman eases up her shoulders and steps back, "I see. Then, I take it, you are here to stop the encroaching darkness. Follow me." The dark lampard woman ushers you to follow, and quickly leads you down and around the corner to a shallow pool for dark water. You can see in the distance the water connects to a large body of internally flowing stream, but the waters in this alcove are completely still. "This pool has long been graced with the energies from the Age of Darkness. The water allows me to focus my senses, and hear the whispers of Lyrudrada, echoes of the then, the now and the tomorrow."

"I SEE." says Pietro not seeing at all.

She kneels, touching the water with her hand, feeling the chill on her skin. She looks back at Aiyana, a sad look in her eyes, "The Reborn are quickly gathering their forces. Thelamistos has already learned that you have arrive in Lyrudrada. They stole The Cradle of Night, from right under your nose... how could you let this happen?"

"WELL, YOU SEE THAT'S QUITE A LONG STORY...." begins Pietro before Telos jumps in.

The seer dips her arms into the frosty waters of the black pool, a thin streams of steam rise around her. "Veilisendri lifts the veil, amidst the Fane where all our Ancestors lie."

"YES, WELL, I SUPPOSE THAT CLEARS IT ALL UP THEN. RIGHT?" says Pietro looking about to see if anyone understood what the lampad just said and hoping that the watery tart might throw a sword his way that might allow him to wield supreme executive power.

"SO THIS VEILISENDRI DOES A BIT OF DANCING AT THE LOCAL WATERING HOLE WITH SEVEN VEILS THEN, DOES SHE? WE HAVE SOMETHING SIMILAR IN THE WORLD ABOVE." says Pietro speaking as an experienced witness to such events.

Telos leans over and whispers to Aiyana, Did that mean anything to you? Sound like any places you know?

Aiyana looks at you plainly, trying to come up with an answer. "..." She ponders for a moment, also giving the rest of you time to think.

"Sounds like it must be a locations in Lyrudrada." Have a look on the map first, and see if you can figure it out. If not, I will drop another hint. :)

Telos thinks on it and continues whispering to Aiyana Somewhere on Ancestor Isle... is there something about a "Fane" there?

Aiyana quickly turns to the halfling, "The Ancestor Ilse, but why would they..." her face quickly turns grim as she realises something, "They have been hiding under our nose this whole time! How dare they desecrate such a holy site!"

Slowly, she calms down, and explains further. "You all saw the massive stone column that rising from the center isle in the cavern’s ceiling hundreds of feet above. The Forsaken Fane dates back to the early days of the Age of Darkness when the enigmatic Forsaken first reached out to the survivors of Calignos. It even withstood Haramil's invasion of Lyrudrada...the Cradle!" The woman gasps, almost feeling a little faint.

Quickly, the seer woman in the water picks up her train of thought, "Yes, my dearest. Image, all of those angry souls festering for centuries. Now they have an artifact which can cast this great city into perpetual darkness. A beacon for those souls to be cast into this plane from the eather."

So like, you're in the darklands where it's already pretty dark...right? Now like, image it like...getting even darker. :)

So like, you're in the darklands where it's already pretty dark...right? Now like, image it like...getting even darker. :)

I just can't see it myself. ;)

So, go in bow's blazing? Will asks.

Aiyana frowns, "I don't know, they might have an army in there, and now that they know we might be coming, they will be on alert." She thinks for a moment, "If we could somehow free the Council, perhaps we could use their resources to build an attack on the Fane. But that might take time..."

Nomianna quickly interjects, "...time which you do not have."

Up to you guys what you decide on doing. (a) Assaulting the Forsaken Fane right away, or spending time (b) on rescuing the Council from the Reborn, note that you do not know their location yet.

It seems time is short. We'd need to go talk Shevarimarr for info about where the council is being held, and that may still be a telegraphing move allowing the Reborn to fortify their position at Ancestor Isle, expecting us. I think we should go directly there, perhaps after a sufficient rest.

is Telos' vote.

"I do not know. Going in hard and heavy may be the fastest way to the boneyard." Darven says rubbing the back of his head, "and I am not in a hurry to go back there."

"I say we locate the council, free them, and use their resources to mount an attack. They will owe us that much"

Darven votes B

"WELL I THINK WE SHOULD FIRST FIND ANOTHER WATERING HOLE. THIS ONE'S A BIT OF A DIVE--NO OFFENSE. I THINK BETTER WITH A BEER OR THREE IN ME."

Sorry for the delay from website troubles

We'd need to actually find the council first, which means hitting that information broker and more delay, which Nomianna feels may not be warranted. I'd tend to agree with Telos.

Aiyana looks confused towards Pietro, "So a drink, and then...?"

Sorry for the delay team, i am good to proceed, just need to figure out which way Pietro is voting haha. So far, 2 votes for A, and 1 vote for B.

Pietro votes for C (i.e. taking a break for some eating, drinking, and carousing).

Okay, so in that case please level yourselves up, and we can proceed with the final section! We will rule that you would get the XP, but not the gold rewards as you are not saving the council. You will get full rewards on your chronicle sheets though.

Nomianna wades deeper into the water, waving as she goes, "You can use this lair to recover your strength, and plan your attack." fully submerged, the lampard is almost invisible in the dark waters of the rockpool.

While planning, i will also give you the benefits of receiving up to two (2) spells per level as buffs she will cast on you before you leave, as she is a seventh level oracle. So you can get (2)-(2)-(2) up to third level spells as buffs if you wish.

Aiayanna nods, "Thank you, old friend. Your charity will go a long way." Turning to the rest of you, the bard tries her best to encourages you, "I know you've followed me this far into the unknown world of the darklands. I understand this is not your home, and I have no right to ask you to fight for it." The darkness around the pool is almost eeiry, and with every breath you take down here, you feel it weigh on your body and pollute your mind. She continues, "But we have to stop them - the Reborn. We have no choice. The Cradle has the power of unleashing evil into this world, and ushering a new Age of Darkness."

Thinking for a moment, she puts her hands together decisively. She passes a look of worry towards Darven, "I understand that death might be on your mind right now friend. But a far worse fate will befall us if we let them get away with using the Cradle. Telos is right, if we strike quickly before we give our enemies a chance to militerise themselves properly, we might still stand a chance."

"We would need to secure passage across the city's central lake, if not to exhaust our magic. I'd hate to suggest it, but perhaps we could use the Ferryman's services once more this eve."

Okay, so in that case please level yourselves up ...

Done. Telos took the "Wall of Force" spell at his new spell level, and spent much of his gold upgrading his bracers of armor and ring of protection (still under his fame item cost limit). Is it kosher to assume that could be a stop-off along the way?

While planning, i will also give you the benefits of receiving up to two (2) spells per level as buffs she will cast on you before you leave, as she is a seventh level oracle. So you can get (2)-(2)-(2) up to third level spells as buffs if you wish.

Does she not have a set spell list? Oracles don't get to pick from the full divine list daily.

Telos thinks on the Ferryman again, asking Aiayanna Do you trust him to not broadcast having interesting "customers"? Also, is there a purveyor of magical items along the way?

Only mentions that Nomianna is a powerful oracle lampard, that has the power to grand 'blessings' on the party. You may choose from the oracle/cleric spell list what spells/buffs you would like, and I will let you know if they are okay.

Aiyana shakes her head, "Your best bet for any legitimate market would be Traders Rift, heading back to my estate. But perhaps a fishermen there might accept some coin to take us across the lake."

Up to you, but it would add time obviously, depending on how long you spend here in the cave. I am assuming you will spend the 'night' resting here, and go tomrrow after you have regained all of your power.

"You won't spend the time to rescue others, but to go shopping or to drink?" Darven says, letting his frustration show. "You want to lead on to the assault then let's not waste time. We should strike in the morning."

With that, Darven begins to strip off his breast plate and settle in for a night's rest.

Darven has been leveled. The player does not mind if we spend the time to go shopping. Darven will follow along begrudgingly though.

"YOU CAN'T GO RESCUING PEOPLE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH, NOW CAN YOU?" replies the cleric.
Leveled up and ready to roll with charm monster and breath of life today.

I'd rather not skip an entire section of the adventure if it is assumed that we go that way. Is it too late to say we go try to rescue the council?

Haha, not too late, but i guess Pietro is the tiebreaker.

Telos looks surprise at Darven, not sure who he's addressing.

Food, drink? No, just better equipment for the assault.

The player doesn't care if the tie breaks the other way. He's just been spurred to urgency for a more final resolution by Aiayanna. Rescuing seems like a whack-a-mole sub-quest: fix one small problem just to let another arise.

I'd rather not skip an entire section of the adventure if it is assumed that we go that way. Is it too late to say we go try to rescue the council?

We don't know where they are... But then again, we haven't really asked asked anyone so it seems carousing in a tavern is once again a viable option! HAHA!

Let's go carouse in a tavern! In character Will is the same as Telos, he was definitely spurred to action.

carouse it is :)

"YOU THERE! NO! THAT OTHER FOOL! THE UGLY ONE!" Pietro bellows from across whatever hive of scum and villainy he has found himself dining in. "WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS 'BEAK-STONED COUNCIL'!? IT'S ONE OF THOSE SECRET SOCIETY SORT OF DEALS. HUSH, HUSH AND ALL THAT. MY LITTLE FRIEND HERE" he says gesturing to Telos, "WILL MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE IF WE CAN KEEP THE DISCUSSION PRIVATE--IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN...." he adds with a wink.

gather information: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27 hours (before he is kicked out): 1d4 ⇒ 2 This of course assumes he can find some "civilized villains" who speak the sunlit Common Tongue.

Telos turns a rare shade of pale in fright at Pietro's gesturing to him in the hive of scum and villany. Gah! What are you promising you bumbling cleric?!!?!

Then, after moment with a look of resent and resign, Okay, if it gets us the info, FINE. But it'll entail mage hand from a distance! This had better be worth it...

Traveling: 1d100 - 10 ⇒ (29) - 10 = 19

Reluctantly, Aiyana takes you to the location of yet another tavern. Getting across town is quite easy, but along your way you think you spot a few shady individuals who watch and follow you for a few streets. Different looks, to the ones you normally get, these are suspicious and threatening. As soon as you decide to make a move on them, they disappear into the shadows. Even Ayiana comments, "We are being watched. Wouldn't surprise me if the Reborn are tracking us." The denizens of the shadowlands know how to use the darkness to their advantage.

The tavern you make your way to is even dingier than your last, Diggers Delve being a popular destination for the working class of Lyrudrada. As soon as you enter, you are given strange looks. Even Aiyana is not enough to diffuse the situation. A group of burly looking deugars size themselves up with Peitro, "'E dot 'ke yar 'ind 'roond 'ere. Git 't!" Although Pietro is human size, these delvers are nearly his size in both height and width. "Wot es 't t'ya 'niway? I' 'eard 'ay all 'it slaughered."

You don't feel like you will get any information out of any commoners around trown. The feeling you get is that most don't want to even deal with you because you are not from here, and the rest, too scared to open their mouths.

Will tries to see if they're being tracked.

Some kind of check??

You can roll me a perception check.

Telos backs out of the dingy tavern slowly, never turning his back to the "locals."

Um, let's head out Pietro. Nice and slow. I don't think we're going to get the help we want here.

-------------

One outside, the halfling suggests Maybe we should just head directly to see Shevarimarr.

Will tries to spot the people following them.
perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 33

Telos backs out of the dingy tavern slowly, never turning his back to the "locals."

Um, let's head out Pietro. Nice and slow. I don't think we're going to get the help we want here.

-------------

One outside, the halfling suggests Maybe we should just head directly to see Shevarimarr.

"Hmmm. MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT. LET'S GO SEE SHEVARIMARR. I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION... WHO'S SHEVARIMARR?"

Supposedly a well-informed denizen of this city. I had hoped to get more out of Nomianna, because approaching him seems like it would be obvious to the Reborn. We'll just have to do our bet to be subtle about meeting with him.

"LEAVE IT TO ME!"

Will tries to spot the people following them.

[dice=perception]1d20+16

Will spots a group of armed caligni from a distance. But he thinks that approaching them would be unwise.

I will use @Pietro's diplomacy roll as the same roll for what you needed to get regarding information on Shevarimarr.

Aside from the rude service from the taven you are in, you do manage to find out some useful information.

The cloaker sorcerer Shevarimarr is something of a curiosity in Lyrudrada - he runs a curio shop in the Trader’s Rift district, but this shop primarily serves as an ill-disguised front for his more lucrative business as an information broker. Shevarimarr is something of an expert on all things regarding the Shadow Plane, which often surprises his caligni clients.

Not far from Digers Delve, Shevarimarr’s brokerage is a series of chambers cut into the wall of an isolated arm branching from Traders’ Rift. Its recessed door is an arching construction of ancient wood taken from some uplander sailing ship of unknown provenance, and next to it the mounted skull of a cave raptor clutches a signboard in its mouth painted with the words “Always Open” in both Dark Folk and Undercommon. The shop itself is a smoky, shadowy, claustrophobic place filled with a clutter of indescribable objects, dimly glowing incense burners, and the unpleasant odors of mildew and decomposition.

Making sure you are not followed, you make your way inside.

This chamber is cluttered with an eclectic array of strange metal devices, chipped sculptures, and general junk. An archway leads to a wide passage leading south.

I will update the maps when i can, but for now use your imagination. You can roll me appraisal, and perception checks in this room. Let me know if you proceed through the archway into the next section.

Telos enters quietly, knowing that at any moment Pietro may make a boisterous announcement anyway. He looks to see if there is, in fact, anything of value in this place at all or if it's strictly just cover.

Perc: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Appraise: 1d20 ⇒ 15

At first he does nothing more than nod hello to the shopkeep, assuming that it is in fact Shevarimarr. But maybe not, perhaps the visible desk attendant is cover too.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14