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The return message a while later, again delivered by cat, read- I believe it was a specialized Sending delivered to "Liches in the area" or something of that sort. I will need to check with Jiator to confirm. It is entirely likely that this person does not know exactly who received the message.
Next, Anaxian sent the Catsuit, possessed by his familiar, to the site of Meridian's half-finished Cathedral. Green eyes looked up at the Drow priestess. It opened it's mouth revealing the end of a scroll. When she took it and pulled it out of the cat's throat, it read- House Shraen has contacted me. They are attempting to influence our diplomatic relations with the ghoul city.
"-gin the research now." the catsuit said finishing the small dragon's sentence seamlessly
The cat was currently riding inside the Graveknight's chest cavity. It poked it's head out at the base of the Graveknight's neck just above the armor, took a look around and stared at Illia for a moment. Creature was a Neolithid. The cat said telepathically to Illia. Powerful. Like Zhu Da Tusha in many ways. They colonize with Charm effects much like Deliliath. There are likely more, and they will likely have controlled slaves of varying kinds. Anaxian will want it's corpse.
The now black-eyed cat looked at the armored dragon and nodded.
"I will put another of us on researching the tectonic stability of the area and the thermal flows. For now, begin construction. We will move the thermal vent to it's proper place once we know how to avoid flooding Escarra with lava."
"We will have a geothermal map of the region completed in approximately four days." The purple in the cat's eyes vanished. The inky black replaced it a few moments later.
"Draw up a full architectural plan of what we will begin construction on now. Draw up a second set which details your long term goals for satellite labs and other infrastructure. We will designate those areas off limits for civic planning. Now is an ideal time for this project as few buildings are under construction yet."
"You and I are going to talk further..." the cat intoned mentally. "Anaxian, helping this construct built the preparations for it's generator is your priority." The cat returned it's attention to the construct. "We can shape a thermal vent to the specifications of your generator designs. Pick a location. Anywhere you like. We will bring a lava flow to you."
The cat's black, inky eyes cleared. A few moments later they became a glowing, vibrant purple.
Tell us more. a telepathic voice issues from the strange cat.
As loath as I am to part with treasure, I am even more adverse to drawing attention to myself. A thousand gold coins is trifling and he has earned his share.
I would like to start with this. If the information I receive seems inadequate we can check elsewhere.
Sir John, I have an idea for a mount for you- Anaxian can cast Lesser Planar Binding to summon an Advanced Nightmare and force it to serve you as a mount. Its a little on the weak side so it might get shredded in combat, but if that happens then it just gets banished back to Abbadon and Plane Shifts back the next day. Best thing about this, it's free!
A scroll is fine.
"Can you make a scroll of this spell? I have a wizard." Oh, do you now... Anaxian said, more amused than upset.
John, do you have any additional information?
That was not information we were provided. We know he left Escarra with the intent to cross the ocean to the west.
Little, beyond the fact that it was partially made of elephants. That may be enough.
From his own stomach pouch Anaxian retrieved a small, rolled up bundle of fur with a cat's head resting on the top. It unrolled itself and Anaxian donned it like a cloak, the animated skin adjusting itself around him until the tiny dragon was gone and in it's place was a house cat.
Now, now. Don't threaten him with a good time.
Also, don't forget that Mal and Anaxian spent the majority of the pre-dungeon time (while everyone else was scouting and charming the locals) digging out Drow graveyards and animating uncontrolled Burning Bloody Skeletons. They vary in hit dice, but at conservative guess there's a few hundred of them poised for release on the city. (4-6 castings a day, at about 40ish hit dice per casting for about 5 days). All that needs to be done is to have Ananxian's diggers punch through the ground in a few places and let them out into the sewers and catacombs. Their hunger for flesh will do the rest.
Ilia:
Your support for my ruse is appreciated. It seems I need not keep it up long though. The creatures here are quite perceptive. I may need to improve on my disguise. The cat tagged along at Ilia's heels, seemingly unconcerned with the flood of spiders or the oddness of its surroundings.
: His presence was quite useful. Unfortunately his loyalty to his god made his disappearance inevitable. Oh well. Anything I could do with him, I can do without him. It simply takes a bit longer.
A small white cat sat near the winged woman's foot. It licked one paw and then wandered off to inspect its new surroundings. : Something is rather strange about that cat. It's eyes glow a bit and it seems like it's skin doesn't quite fit right.
It still leaves it alive. I prefer plans which leave usable corpses.
These demons Plane Shift at whim. They are ambush hunters. If they seem outclassed, they will simply retreat to the abyss and return later. They are no mindless vermin either. If we are to draw it out, it would be better to use its nature against it. Using Drisquar as bait while the rest of us hide would bring it more effectively than fire. Then when it attacks. Drisquar can use his wind form to escape the webs as the rest of us reverse the ambush.
Stop Anaxian says, halting the group as he looks closer at the webs. This is not the lair of any terrestrial spider. This was made by a bebilith, a demon. They are bred to hunt the enemies of the abyss. If we do not deal with it, and it catches the scent of Illia or Driquar, it will attempt to ambush them.
Cute Anaxian intoned mentally. Some of the shields began to glow faint green around the edges. These are illusions. Others glowed in red. These we are taking with us. Someone collect them please.
The cat walked on ahead with a swish of its tail.
While the Succubi are fawning over each other Anaxian slips the orb into one of their new pet guard captain's pouches.
The cat seemed to manifest a small marble and began patting at it. It knocked it off the table and began chasing it about the floor.
The cat hopped up onto the table and gave a bored dead stare up at the demoness before sitting down. It's skin moved like it was breathing and it's whiskers twitched. The only indication that it was not alive was it's eyes, which were made of smoked glass lenses.
Anaxian didn't mind being thought of as a pet. He did mind that his careful wards against scrying and divination had apparently been breached, at least partially. That was a small slight, one that made him question his own thoroughness. Further measures would be necessary. More importantly, it was the kind of slight that brought forth remnants of emotion. It is a common misconception that the Undead are incapable of feeling. In point of fact, some undead, like ghosts, banshees and bodak, are creatures of raw, untempered emotion. It defines their existence. Others, like zombies and wights, still act in accordance with emotions that can best be described as 'remembered' even if new emotions are beyond them. Liches, mummies and vampires are more unique. They can still feel everything they did in life. The emotions are merely dampened. They are slow to well and weak in power. They are something to be mused upon rather than overwhelmed by. Anaxian was a dragon. Dragons are primarily defined by pride. This small breech of his disguises was enough to cause a welling of spite that was surprisingly potent. It was not enough to cause some sort of fit or outburst. It was simply enough for Anaxian to decide that he would prefer the world without this particular city in it. The spymasters of Lavosha would likely never know it, but that one instance of revealing what they had learned was what sealed their fates. It does not matter how their information was obtained. There are many ways. Speculating on them would be folly. Better would be to act quickly. They have revealed they are aware of us. Our timetable is significantly moved forward.
Well, I'm here for as long as I need to be. I am in enough games that checking the boards has become a daily habit. I'm not going anywhere and I'm patient. Take the time you need and If you still feel like running this game when everything is sorted out, you'll definitely have at least one player still here. I'm sure there will be a couple others with similar thoughts. Anyone who decides this isn't the game for them we can do without or replace. (no offense folks. I know slow games aren't for everyone)
Ok, alternate plan (which is way more awesome and terrible) The Disguise skill is actually more versatile than the disguise self spell. Using magic to enhance a mundane disguise gets big numbers fast. With my current skill, plus disguise self, I can take 10 for 39. The penalty for trying to look like a different race is only -2. Anyone trying to notice that I'm not a normal cat would have to make a DC 37 Perception check. I'll go with that. So, my cat disguise is actually mundane (augmented by a little illusion magic, but that is not the primary effect. defeating it requires checks instead of saves). It's made from a real cat. I wear it as a suit. It is essentially a taxidermied cat skin treated with Unguent of Timelessness, with a frame made of small bones inside to help it retain shape, animated as a 1/4 HD undead. It can move around on its own, but it's primary purpose is to wrap itself around me and hold on when I want to be a kitten. Fun with necromancy. :)
Ok. One last question and I'll stop pestering you about your character... How are you turning into a cat? Just Disguise Self (via hat of disguise). I'm not actually a cat. I just look like one. :)
The cat walked into the house like it owned the place and immediately disappeared into other rooms to look around the place. "This will do nicely."
The cat padded along, looking up at those around it with typically judgmental eyes. I can see we're going to need to work on blending in he thought to himslrf. |
