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As the others get to work good-naturedly questioning the patrons, Alem finds some place to sit where he can get a good view of the surroundings. What manner of person or creature waters themselves at a place such as this? Kelmerane was supposed to be abandoned. Instead, it is bustling with activity and seems to be under the sway of this Kardswann, who himself allies with one he calls the Carrion King. They might learn much about these forces if only they observed.
Alem speaks lowly among the others, not wishing for his words to carry among the throngs. "It seems we misunderstood the nature of our invitation. Everything is indeed different," he says, agreeing with Zoisa. Even Kaspar senses the tension among the party, crouching quietly on Alem's shoulder instead of threatening to lose himself among the crowd. "But it is best we do not dawdle overlong. If Almah's plans are to change, that is for Almah to decide. We had best use our time wisely; a better chance to explore Kelmerane we'll not likely get. Perhaps we might split up to more broadly conduct our expedition?"
I've never made it this far into Legacy of Fire before. Not sure exactly what I was directing, but this wasn't it. I guess we don't have to sneak around quite so much.
Hey, I'm trying to get back in the saddle on all my games after my absence, so I'm trying to resume regular posting by this weekend.
"That was some time ago," Alem intones, his eyes carefully scanning for signs of imminent attack. "Certainly it is deserted no longer."
That Patriots were staying at your hotel? What was that like? As for stealth checks, just play it up! Maybe she does her own stealth music?
Casting his staff out before him, Alem chants in the tongue of marids and thin streams of vapor arise slowly from the sands. Slowly, it coalesces into a thick haze, suitable to cloak their approach to the Battle Market. It should suffice for a suitably dramatic entrance.
Gotchu fam! Alem has Obscuring Mist. I might have to think of some desert-appropriate fluff for it, though.
That outage was painful. Sorry for that, everybody. I hope everybody's had a splendid holiday!
Sorry all, power's been out for a bit. I got an emergency charge on my phone, but I'm not sure when power will be back to normal. Hopefully this weekend.
"Our mistress Almah is a gambling woman. What say we consult the Coin of Fate?" Producing a silver coin, he holds it up for Arian to see. Far from being a typical piece of silver currency, it is decorated with the two faces of Nethys, one on each side. "I presume you know the game. Heads," he says, showing the half of a (presumably) white mask and one side of Nethys's mortal face, "we go with honor in full view of the city, hiding nothing. Tails," he says, turning the coin around to show the black half-mask on the opposite side and the magic-blighted visage of Nethys the immortal God-King, "we seek our advantage by stealth and cunning. Kaspar, would you do the honors?" The monkey scampers over from his now-customary place near Zoisa and takes the coin from his master. Seemingly familiar with his role, he grasps the coin between two paws and spins it on the table.
The coin spins on its edge for what seems an interminably long time before it slows, wobbles, and eventually comes to rest. When it does, the black-masked face stares all-knowingly up from the table. "And so it shall be. Arian, will you lead us as we take Kelmerane from the long cast of its shadows?"
"We have been invited into the city. I see no reason that we should skulk about like thieves. But I would sorely hate to waste such an opportunity as this. Perhaps we might split our forces? One delegation may stride boldly in while a second party continues to learn what they can of the the city?"
Rising to his feet and drawing himself up to his full height, Alem bows deeply. "Lady Almah, my master's debt is my debt. Your wish is my command. Let us not delay a moment longer!"
+1 to INT
Sorry, power went out for almost a week. I'll be updating shortly.
"Or it will be that easier to surround us and deplete our resources," Alem replies to Zoisa. "If there is a leader, the creatures inhabiting Kelmerane are far more organized than we had suspected. It would not do well to take such an invitation lightly."
Alem does his best not to wrinkle his nose at Faffnyr's coffee. Both too bitter and too sweet, it scalds his tongue and his throat. Without even being prompted, she's more than happy to answer his unasked questions. That would certainly explain it, he thinks to himself. He sips politely on his beverage, determined to appreciate the effort if not the results. Such a sad waste of precious beans... Instead, he steers the conversation to more neutral territory. "Who is your master?" he asks instead. Such conversation would cause much less fuss than the lecture on proper coffee extraction he sorely wishes to deliver. If he had access to his full library, he might have offered the half-orc a look at Qawah: Proper Preparations for Uses Mystical and Mundane, his favorite treatise on the subject.
Alem smiles wryly at the purple-haired gnome. "I find a cup of coffee fortifies my mind for studying. Would you care to join me for a cup?"
"It seems he was not the charlatan that so many thought him to be," says Alem. "I would spend some time in further study with that map when we are finished."
"I have a full report of what we have discovered so far," adds Alem, offering his journal. "There is still much of the city to explore, and there is a defensible position on the outskirts from which to stage our scouting."
The living pile of dirt and rocks throws a slow punch at the fleeing gnolls, but then they're gone. Sinking back into the ground, the stones return back to their normal, lifeless state. "The mist will cover our escape, but we have certainly been found out. Gnolls are cowardly creatures when they face an overwhelming force, but if they return with greater numbers they will be fearless."
As Alem finishes casting his spell, the ground next to Ffafnyr rumbles and comes to life as the very rocks beneath their feet stand to fight alongside the warriors. His spell complete, Alem shouts some commands in language with many hard, gravelly consonants, and the creature melds with the ground and slides along to attack the nearest gnoll.
As his elemental goes to work, Alem conjures up a cloud of mist to blind the gnolls and give Arian a chance to slip from out of her precarious position.
...I'm so lost in this world.
Nope, that's my mistake, we're definitely level 2. For some reason, my sheet has some level 3 info on there; I'm not sure what happened there, but Myth-Weavers was having a problem with sheets awhile back, and it may have something to do with that. Make that Summon Monster I.
Alem, staying farther back from the front lines of the conflict, abandons his premise of hiding as Faffnyr boldly proclaims the attack. The orb on his staff glows as he begins chanting his spell.
This is an update I'm posting to all my games. Cameroon is currently experiencing some civil unrest, and I happen to be living just minutes from the border with the conflict zone. The government has shut off internet to that region, as they'd done in the past. Currently, I have access; that may change unexpectedly. I would like to emphasize that I'm in no personal danger, but if I disappear for a little while, that's what's going on. I'm pretty mobile on weekends, so I absolutely should not be disappearing at any point for more than two weeks. Aside from that, I'm still here. Dungeon crawl and exploration have a tendency to bog PbP down. At this point, there's not so much going on in Kelmerane that I'm worried about losing agency, so I'm good with whatever is needed to quicken the pace.
Alem frowns at Zoisa's exuberance for flinging herself into harm's way. "I shall accompany Zoisa to carry the message," he offers. That way, one of us will actually be able to deliver it!
Never one for sitting still while others are about, Kaspar tags along. He ambles along quietly, his small feet making no noise on the sands.
At this rate, our scouting mission could take a week or more! While Arian and Zoisa move to the next building, Alem confers with the others. "We have seen very little activity here. It is possible that Kelmerane's current inhabitants are nocturnal, something we may never discover if we only strike out at day. Perhaps we ought make a camp for our scouting party closer to the city?"
"Kaspar, make yourself useful for once. Climb that tower and tell us what you can see," Alem commands his familiar, gesturing at the building with his staff.
Ouch! How you holding up? Since you can talk to animals, Kaspar really does become the perfect spy, as long as he can concentrate!
Kelmerane bears clear marks of a fire sometime after it was abandoned. Its cause is lost to the sands of time, but the charred timbers of buildings that yet stand bear witness to the loss. "Cave market?" Alem looks up from his notes at Faffnyr. He was no expert on half-orc body language, but she seemed tense. "Fear not, the snake will cause us no trouble," he says, misattributing the source of Faffnyr's unease.
Counter-clockwise from the south is heading east, not west. My bad. Zoisa, that's perfect for you!
Alem stays back behind his skulking compatriots, making careful notes in his journal as they approach. Kelmerane's defenses appear to have been constructed with great care. They yet stand many years after the denizens of the city have abandoned its walls. We are forced to traverse the outer limits counter-clockwise toward the west from our southern approach. Whoever now holds the city, they are not as organized as the former occupants. There is no sign of any guard patrolling the outer limits, though the the landscape is littered with the bones of abandoned buildings and may provide ample shelter for potential invaders. As he writes, Kaspar quickly grows bored of his master's studious note-taking and grabs at the quill playfully from his perch atop Alem's turban. "Kaspar! Stop this at once! Run along to Zoisa if you are going to make a pest of yourself," Alem grumbles as he wrangles his pen back from his familiar. Suddenly, he realizes his own accidental genius. Plucking the monkey from atop his head, he holds him out in front of him, delighted. "Yes! Kaspar, you mischievous monkey! You will be the perfect spy! Whatever lies ahead will think nothing of a mere monkey poking his head over the walls. Go on, help Zoisa and the others now and leave me in peace." Obligingly, Kaspar scampers off to Zoisa where his natural penchant for going places he oughtn't can be of more use.
Alem sighs in relief as the creature sinks back beneath the sand. "It would seem that our approach may be noticed despite our efforts, friends. Pray we should make haste. I fear that the sand worm was just a young, and I would sooner not be here when his mother comes to call on us."
Alem startles violently as the ground shift suddenly and the dust digger emerges. "By the gods!" Fearing for his companions, he runs off to join the fight at once, Kaspar scampering along at his heels and chattering angrily at his master. Getting as close to the creature as he dares, he raises his staff and incants a spell, gesturing with his free hand. His ray of frost strikes the creature but appears to have no effect.
Alem, quite content to let the others to do their skulking, investigates a nearby pesh cactus. Absorbed as he is searching to see if he can determine where the cactus flowers from, he notices nothing amiss even as Kaspar tugs on his sleeve. "Not now, Kaspar. Zoisa will return soon enough."
Alem chuckles at Zoisa's exuberance, an even greater display than normal for her. "If we send you off ahead, you might never come back to us! But perhaps you and I should collect some sample for further study?"
Alem ponders the task before them, rubbing his chin as he studies the map. "We know Kelmerane to be inhabited by any manner of creatures. It is quite likely that most potential enemies will have most excellent vision at night. If we go by day, we may avoid playing to that particular advantage."
HP: +6 (+5 roll, +1 favored class bonus)
I have a stable connection now! It's going to take me a day or two to get caught up, but I'll be back in the action ASAP! Personally, Gnoll always seemed like a language that was very much made of animal-like sounds. Yips, yaps, grunts, growls, and the like. But that doesn't really help you with what you're going for, does it?
Quick update, there is internet in Cameroon! I'll have a stable connection in another couple weeks at most.
Hey everybody, I'm in the last stretch before leaving for Cameroon! I'm flying to DC tomorrow, set to leave the country next Wednesday. I'm not sure what my posting schedule will be like going forward. I intend to get some more posts up before leaving, but if you don't hear from me for over a month, that means this is the last internet access I had. If this is goodbye, I want to say thanks to everybody for the ride! And if it's not, then I'll see you on the other side!
"Yes, indeed," Alem says, glaring at his rascally familiar. "Perhaps we might concoct a cure for you. We should return to camp soon."
With the strange ooze defeated, Alem goes back to examining the chamber. "Good job, Kaspar. Now bring those here." Instead of listening to his master, the monkey scampers over to Zoisa to present his spoils.
"I know not what foul creations these are, but they were imprisoned for good reason. Kaspar, take those," Alem says, gesturing at the magical items. Letting the greedy little monkey handle the treasure was a good idea for once.
Realizing that his usual spells won't be much use, Alem elects to call on the planes for aid. Raising his staff and addressing the sky, he casts his spell of summoning. "الوحش السماوي، وأطلب لمساعدتكم"
Alem is startled by the shattering of the glass jars and the oozing substance. Dutifully, he makes sure to stow the undamaged alchemical notes safely in his robe before entering the fray, stepping backward as he does so. Raising his staff, he thrusts it out toward the nearest slime and chants a spell, conjuring a green jet of acid at the thing.
Forgot about background skills. Corrected skills:
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