Athelstan Terrel's page

"Thank you for your your help, everyone. First time in a while that Duncan's been out of the stables, and that happens." He shakes his head sadly.

"Now, to dig up my notes on where I saw those old Lissalan texts. I may yet be able to sway Karethia away from Evil."

"We work quickly. It's smaller in there than it looks." Because apparently most of the space was taken up by giant empty towers.

"Resistance was fierce, though; Duncan died defending everyone. It is probably still dangerous out here as well, so we should leave quickly."

"Perhaps" says Athelstan. "But when you found that staff, we met someone who had accepted a deal. Do you recall what had happened to him?"

"Did he even have any skin left?"

"Isn't that that kind of event usually reserved for late nights at the Blackros Museum? You know, like an hour or two before we are called in to fix everything?"

"I know, right?" Athelstan asks, throwing his hands up. "But nooooo, we can't have a class on "when to say no" in Dark Archive 101. That would be too limiting!"

"Zarta's still got too many bad habits left over from Cheliax, and they tend to bleed into the Dark Archive a little. I'm..." Sigh. "...I'm working on it."

Athelstan looks a little worried at Sorithar's long discourse in what was probably Thassilonian. "Sorithar, I don't know what you're saying, but... voices offering power in exchange for servitude are almost never friendly. There may well be side effects that you won't know until after it's too late."

"I won't interfere with your research, but if this possesses you, I will put you down. Please don't make me do that."

Oh! And one last thing, make your voice in Gameplay on whether you are interested in the ritual as Sorithar seems to be doing, otherwise you will not have free access to this option in the chronicle.

"I believe I already did so, in words simple enough for even the most run-down unintelligent item to recognize."

"That said - and pardon my Galtan - not just no, but heck no!"

"I have no authority over your actions. If you wish to go back on a deal with a dragon over a handful of baubles, that is your choice." Seriously, the Society was usually really good about making sure their teams got paid even if they refrained from looting the ruins of anything shiny.

"I would rather not rest here. Remember the battlesite outside? There may still be more on the way. We have what the Society sent us for. I don't know whether Ranulus' spell would work or not - I leave that discussion to the arcane scholars. But if Ranalus can get us out of here safely, I believe we should leave now. Can you take us to where Karethia waits, or only back to town?"

"I would have preferred to give the dead outside the proper rites, but getting the plates away quickly keeps everyone safer. I would also like to send Zonaldin a message once we get back to town, thanking him and letting him know the situation."

Athelstan pulls out one of the scrolls from earlier. "We still have the curative scrolls Zonaldin gave us, correct? Does anyone object to using those?"

"As for the sphinxes... no, I do not want to take them to trial. If they were truly bound to Krune's will, their actions were not their own. But they are not currently in a state where we can know that. I hope that us removing the plates removes their bindings to this place. Their task would likely be complete. Barring that, other specialists could be sent from the Society to send them back where Krune stole them from."

He frowns before continuing. "On a more immediately practical note, I certainly can't haul them back to civilization, can you? I don't know if Karethia can handle us as well as them, either."

"Thank you all" says Athelstan, before he rushes over to the sphinx K'nai and Kivuli had downed. With practiced motions, he stabilizes its bleeding.

Heal (take 10): 10 + 7 = 17

With that done, he re-stows his bow and stows his shield. Pulling out a wand, he taps himself several times before anyone continues onwards.

He only has one thing to say to the... evil telepathic presence?

"No."

That should translate easily enough.

Athelstan barely fights off the chaotic energies, thanks in part to tricks learned during a few "incidents" in the depths of the archives.

With the last sphinx apparently making her stand in the hallway, and his own health waning, Athelstan follows Haliban's example. He clumsily unstraps and drops his shield, using the now-free hand to pull out a longbow.

"You want me? Then you have me!" Athelstan shouts in the face of the sphinx holding him.

He swings his sword twice at the sphinx, drawing on specialized training to prevent a truly killing blow.

Ranalus wrote:

I normally try very hard to avoid the "murderhobo" style of play, but

1) The Hounds have Ranalus rather paranoid about letting anybody else get the drop on us, and

"You and me both." Athelstan grips his sword more tightly. "But these guys don't seem to be the same type of danger as the hounds. Lethal, perhaps, but not ramdomly and unstoppably so."

"I was wrong!"

"Blasted pouncebeasts."

"Get him, K'nai! I have him grappled!" More or less.

I normally try very hard to avoid the "murderhobo" style of play, but

1) The Hounds have Ranalus rather paranoid about letting anybody else get the drop on us, and

"You and me both." Athelstan grips his sword more tightly. "But these guys don't seem to be the same type of danger as the hounds. Lethal, perhaps, but not ramdomly and unstoppably so."

2) The admittedly vague dogma of Count Ranalc does include Revenge for Imagined Slights as a prominent feature, particularly perceived betrayals. Ranalus meditates every morning on how he will take revenge on someone who has betrayed him. If these sphinxes survive the day, they are getting added to the list.

"Ooh, RP tie-in! Very nice."

Athelstan frowns at Ranalus' declaration. "If Krune bound them to this job, do they really deserve death for carrying it out? Are they truly Evil, or just forced to serve it?"

"Can we break the bindings holding them here?"

"No, I trust you on that" Athelstan replies. He thought something seemed "off" about those. "We should probably leave them undamaged, as a decoy in case anyone else comes looking."

"Down the other path, then?"

"Remember that Zonaladin did ask us to leave the rest of the tower alone" Athelstan reminds the others, with a gesture towards the gemstones.

Pulling out a wand, he refreshes his comprehend languages and examines the tablets.

Linguistics: 1d20 + 8 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 5 = 27
Aid Another Appraise: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36

As "team trapfinder" passes, Athelstan tells them in a low tone "Be careful. They are deliberately avoiding the question."

Athelstan chooses to guard the rear this time, what with the suspicious disguised maybe-sphinxes behind them. Make sure everyone gets out of the room safely before following.

"We wish to use them as they were intended, to reach Krune's resting place." Specifics beyond that - like what they would do once there - could wait a bit.

Athelstan waits to hear what the sphinx will say to Dawa and Ranalus. Those questions were rather easy, after all. He could think of at least one legitimate reason for that, but let's see what the guardians said.

Athelstan half-turns to the other Pathfinders, keeping one eye on the "guardians."

"Given where we are," he suggests, "I'd be tempted to say "sloth", but that's definitely no virtue. Would the runelords have seen it as one, though?"

Cannot make that Sense Motive; cannot attempt the Knowledge

"Peace!" Athelstan calls, looking between Kivuli and the... sphinxes, was it?

"Can you give them a chance to explain?" he asks the wayang, before turning back to the sphinx.

"While we are not all human, we have been forthright in that fact. I admit, someone disguising themselves before offering advice is worrying. Can you please explain that?"

He considers a moment before adding "If it would help, I could resume my natural form before you do the same."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (7) + 21 = 28

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

"Your thoughts?" Athelstan asks the others. Random creatures asking riddles usually didn't go well in children's stories, but he had no idea how accurate those stories were. Maybe these were good riddlers?

Did that 30 Sense Motive catch any lies from the sphinx?

"Ah, that. I'm not a bugbear; I'm mostly human, with a touch of the celestial. We were attacked by some invisible creatures earlier, and I took this form temporarily to sniff them out."

"Several rune-covered plates with activation phrases are supposed to be stored here. We seek the activation phrases."

"However..." This was most likely going to be the sticking point. "We are not entirely sure which portions of the plates we need, or if there is some kind of code hidden on them. Also, one guardian on the outside of the tower has already fought off several dangerous groups who must not get the codes. We would like to take the plates to a safe place, study them, and take over guarding them."

They seemed... a little lethargic. Contaminated by Sloth, or just bored after several millennia in this room? Perhaps he could work with that... "Transferring the guardianship to us would involve much less work on your part than fighting off intruders, should they get this far. Or you could leave with us, and I could see about finding a place for you with our organization."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (13) + 21 = 34

"We are explorers," Athelstan explains, "looking for some specific information from the tower that sent us here."

"How long have you been here?" he asks. "Were you bound here against your will?"

He's careful not to say they're here to remove anything, not until they know more about these... creatures. Wizards could force those they've bound to fight to protect stuff, right? Probably don't want to trigger any compulsions like that just yet.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (6) + 21 = 27
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (13) + 16 = 29 +1 to detect lying

Athelstan follows close behind Haliban, letting Kivuli advance as he wishes - it would be much harder to track him if he becomes invisible again, so better to keep with those you can. He moves as quietly as his armor would allow.

Take10 Stealth: 10 - 1 = 9
Perception: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 5 + 2 = 19

Athelstan uses his wand on Sorithar.

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

"If you're in a hurry, wouldn't standard curative wands work better than waiting for what you're using to finish?" Athelstan waves his wand of CLW temptingly.

When everyone's ready, he taps himself again with his wand of Heightened Awareness and guards everyone's passage through door #19.

"Who is hurt?" Athelstan asks, looking around. "I have plenty of charges on my wand, if anyone needs it."

He accepts his goggles back from Dawa. "You are quite welcome. I'm just glad they were of some use."

"Sorithar, take cover!"

Fighting through the slowing effect, Athelstan steps towards the flying hound. He chooses to accept the remaining hound's gaze - and fights through it.

"In the name of Aroden, FALL!" he shouts, as he smites the nearest hound with his holy sword.

Athelstan, retained by the hound's magic, fights with the magical bounds by charging valiantly into fight sinking his blade on the Tindalo's creature. As the steel bites the meat, the hound shakes trying to bite the warrior back, but it is to no avail, a holy burst accompanies the metal further punishing the hound that dies at hands of the faith of the Fallen's god champion.

"He's not fallen, he's fighting in the Worldwound!" Athelstan pauses a moment before adding "Also, I'm pretty sure I missed that one due to concealment. I averted my gaze, and... yeah."

"I mean, if you want to give it to me I'll take it, but being Lawful means I should at least mention it."

Athelstan keeps his eyes high, to avoid the hounds' gaze - and immediately looks straight at the one attacking Sorithar. Two others were also a little higher in the air than he would have expected. Still, he manages to fight off their piercing gazes. Now if only he could have fought off the slowing effect.

The far hound looked near death, though, and just close enough to reach. Sorithar could survive for a little longer, and removing one hound would help everyone else.

Athelstan charges the hound on the far side of the chamber. Unknowingly, his form also begins to blur. Sadly, his efforts to avoid the gazes left him swinging at the air.

Athelstan guards the rear as the others pass through #19. If the hounds decide to attack the "straggler"... well, he's standing in front of the doorway for a reason. One swing, and he can step backwards to join the others.

"Agreed. Anyone see anything else?" Athelstan picks up and pockets the bread, looking around before they move on.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Athelstan first tosses a piece of bread through the #7 doorway, watching for any change and checking whether the bread emerges on the other side.

If the bread is gone, he then tosses one end of a rope through, waits a few seconds, then pulls the rope back and checks for changes.

Appraise to recognize statue's historical significance: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 One of my chronicle boons specifically gives a bonus to this, so why not try

The party seems to start to form a theory around the poem, the doors and the nature of numbers. Yet, who will dare proof the theory and what portal will be chosen?

"Personally, I'm waiting to hear back from someone with Detect Magic and the training to understand it. If these are teleporters, that would end up splitting the party once we start testing anything."

Athelstan digs out a piece of bread from his travel rations. "I could start by throwing this through, or tie something to a rope, of course. But if they're actually switches, I'd want another opinion on which one to start with. 7 seems good, but that's coming from people with middling Int."

Once they begin moving again, Athelstan briefly sheathes his sword to pull out and adjust his own pair of smoked goggles (since Dawa apparently didn't want them.)

"Or, if "century" does refer to needing 100..." he does some quick math. "The shortest route there would be 64, 16, 12, and 8."

Nearly forgot I had these. It has been literal years since I bought them.

"I know what you mean. I purchased mine in AR 4716, and they've just been sitting in the bottom of my pack since then."

Athelstan turns his back to Dawa and crouches slightly. "Take the goggles in my pack" he says.

He'd like to use them himself, but... priorities. He could fight off the gazes better than Dawa, probably. Also his hands were full, and he wasn't about to put the sword down when Ranalus was up there trying to provoke the dogs. Aaaand they might not even fit his face at the moment without some serious adjustment.

Athelstan refreshes his Heightened Awareness, then gestures forwards. "Lead on, Haliban" he growls.

As they proceed, he makes sure to stay either beside or directly behind Haliban. Every 20-30 seconds, he takes a moment to consider the hound-scent's direction.

"Don't be alarmed" says Athelstan, concentrating.

Seconds later, his form expands and grows coarse fur. When the process is over, you have a bugbear in full plate standing by.

Use racial SLA for Alter Self, to turn into a bugbear. Which has scent 30'. Duration 10 minutes, keep darkvision, +2 Strength.

Hopefully Ranalus knew what he was doing. Athelstan steps up next to Dawa and looks around.

"Where are Sorithar and Kivuli?"

He looks over to Dawa and asks "Can K'nai make sure those things are dead?"

"DUNCAN!" There's no question in anyone's mind - the horse is dead.

Athelstan rushes to Dawa's side, ready to swing if the hounds surrounded him... but nothing attacks. On the one hand, that means the rest of the party is safe, but on the other, he doesn't get to introduce the dogs to his steel.

Kneeling at Duncan's side, Athelstan speaks a short prayer in Azlanti, then the body disappears.

"You may need to get in line behind me, Ranalus. But..." Athelstan takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. "We still have a duty. Duncan did his, and I'm sure I can find someone back at the lodge able to resurrect him."

Dawa blinks his eyes in alarm as the hounds appear. "What are those!?!"

Athelstan shrugs. "Hopefully we're about to find out how they feel about blessed cold iron."

"But seriously, don't ask me. Do I look like the kind of guy that knows a qlippoth from a protean?"

"Always with the corners!"

First that sphere guy, now the dogs. Why can't the Dark Tapestry ever do anything normal?

Hearing the warning and feeling a jolt as his spell dismisses, Athelstan rushes back to the main room.

He's surprisingly fast for someone in full plate, as he steps up beside Duncan and swings.

Attack vs Blue, no Flagbearer: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20, damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9, and Holy damage: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10

And I was just about to post that I was picking up Duncan, since Kivuli joined me up front."

Athelstan considers the suddenly-clear hall. "For that matter, I probably would have just moved forwards if we saw things joined up - but NO MATTER!"

Given that Duncan and Athelstan are currently seperated, do you want them acting on Athelstan's init or on their own counts?

EDIT: Also, don't forget that Athelstan will dismiss HA for +4 init. I think that matters here.

"Above?" Athelstan frowns. "Kivuli said it was ahead."

"If it's above the fog... what could we do? Air Walk on everyone and go into fog that we can't see through? Probably better to just expect the ambush and let it come out of the fog."

"I will defer to the rest of you on the "ooze" question. That's outside my expertise."

"Yes, I did."

Athelstan dismounts. "Guard the entry for now, Duncan."

He goes after Sorithar, in case the wizard finds anything unfriendly. Like, apparently, oozes?

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

"What can we expect if it is one of those oozes?"

"I don't have any actual torches to burn it away, either" Athelstan notes. "Just sunrods."

Athelstan Will: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Duncan Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

"I've seen some of what the Dark Tapestry holds, and what it can do to those who use it. Watch everything."

Athelstan holds his glowing sword higher (shedding light as a torch), for those who don't have darkvision.

Duncan's hooves click quietly on the floor as they advance, watching for trouble. Just far enough inside to clear the way for the others, without getting too far ahead of the trapfinder.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 with Darkvision (EDIT: +2 from HA)