Celia Victocora's page

Sorry for the long silence a lot been going on and after getting pinged on Discord I wanted to drop a note in all my games. I'm actually doing a lot better now, pretty much fully recovered. However, my wife has been really sick, last month she was in the hospital for a week and I'm sitting in the surgery center now waiting to see how things turn out on a few hour procedure she is currently in. Depending on how invasive the surgery is I may be dealing with a lot for at least a month or so taking care of her and the kids and working. On top of that with the holidays coming and the normal delays that revolve around that I am going to say that it's going to be at least January before I look at picking things up again. Maybe if things get better sooner I will try jumping back in before that but I feel like early January is going to be more realistic.

If you need to move on without me I understand feel free to set my character aside or find a replacement if needed and when I check back we can go from there. Sorry for all the absent time, these last few months have just really kicked my butt first physically, then mentally and emotionally. Hope you all are keeping safe and have a good Thanksgiving and Christmas for those who celebrate.

Hey, I wanted to drop in and give all my games an update. I'm still alive, obviously, and I've managed to stay out of the hospital and off a ventilator. However, I'm still not fully recovered. Even though I'm outside my two week symptomatic/infectious period by over a week there are some lingering issues that are still weighing on me (continued shortness of breath, getting light headed, overall fatigue). I doing my best to push through it but it is barely just enough to get me through work everyday and doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else. I would like to give a hard and fast "I'll be back and up to playing again by this time", but sadly at this point I can't. It could be a couple weeks or it could be a couple months for me to get used to this new (hopefully temporary) norm on top of a few other things going on.

All this to say, I'm ok, I'm trying my best to manage, but I can't give you a hard "this is when I will be back". I understand it has been awhile as it is, between this most recent struggle with COVID and my past slowness with finishing up my graduate stuff so if you need to move on without me I completely understand and I'm just sorry that right as I was getting back into things again this whole virus thing came along and knocked me back down again. I'll check in again once I feel I'm up to playing with everything else I am balancing.

Celia snaps to after Gilda grabs a hold of her "I... sorry, I don't know why I did that... I just felt like I really needed to swim down to the bottom. Obviously, something is down their trying to compel us so we should be cautious..." She offers Gilda a hesitant smile and gives her a nod to let her know she is ok now.

Once they are all back at the surface again she notes "I can use one of my scrolls to make us all invisible for a few minutes as we descend if we want to do that, just to try and give us some advantage in this unusual terrain. Otherwise, any other specific plans?"

Dropping a note in all my games. Finished up with school yesterday, just waiting on the audit for me to officially be done and graduate even though there are no commencements with the whole virus thing. Wife is doing better after brief stint in the hospital. Looking at starting to get back into my games and get posting again sometime this week. My work is really crazy as first kids were coming back on the 17th but now everything is going to be virtual for an indeterminate amount of time, but teachers are coming back still and there is a lot of questions floating out there so bare with me as I ease into catching up on things and getting back into a regular posting routine again over the next week or so.

Hey, I wanted to just drop you all a quick note. Between having two major school projects due over the next two days, finals next week, and craziness at work, my wife just got home from a few nights in the hospital yesterday, and she has some temporary mobility issues so I've had my hands full. Please bot me as necessary. I swear I will be back to my normal posting at some point, hopefully after my finals are over next week.

Celia considers if there is anything else she can do to prepare but just shakes her head. She does pull out a scroll and cast it on herself as a shimmering suit of armor briefly appears over her and then disappears. She does note to the others "I do have some scrolls that would allow us to fly and get there quicker potentially, but it may not make too much of a difference."

She turns to Gilda and asks "What magics do you have at your disposal. We should coordinate as to not overlap."

Casting mage armor with 7 hour duration. @Gilda, I have 2 water breathings prepared, if you have some as well I might swap mine out for Hastes to help us.

Celia agrees to Athannah's offer for help "We have some of the same magic, but if you can cast it for now then we can save it in case of emergency once we are out there, or should we need to stay longer than intended."

Hehe no worries. We haven't been at a normal pace for a bit, mostly because its not been a normal 'time' for awhile with everything going on.

Celia nods along to the speakers words. As she finishes she asks a few follow up question "Well, I think we should be able to see what is going on. Before we depart though, do you have any easy means of traveling to the location? The ship that brought us here had to dock pretty far off for safety and if you had someway to get us out there it would help us to conserve resources that we might need otherwise."

Figure we can ask them after we've sorted things for them.

Before anything else Celia attempts to detect magic when meeting with the speaker, looking for any signs of influence like Gilda detected with the warden. Assuming she doesn't find any once the speaker finishes she adds "As my friends say the more information you can give us about this place the better in assisting us to help you with your problem."

The part below she only says if she thinks it is safe ie no one detected as being under a magical influence

"However, one thing of not is your warden back there seemed to be under someone else's influence. Perhaps it is related to your other problems, or maybe something else, but either way something should likely be done about that."

Celia is relieved when no one notices her failed spell attempt but frowns as Nerrenn is persistent about them leaving she looks to Evander and gives him a nod as she notes "I guess we should be going and leave them be, they obviously don't seem too helpful right now..."

With Evander obviously trying to keep the ruse up Celia takes a chance and casts her spell on the warden hoping to dispel whatever is dominating him.

Using a reservoir point to boost the CL of Dispel Magic

CL Check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Ouch...

Celia says nothing but gives Gilda a nod, she takes up her stance ready to start casting a spell to dispel any magic that may have taken hold of this warden.

Celia seems almost excited at the prospect of the trip. The others, who don't know as much about her past, might expect a bookworm like her to really struggle leaving the city and being out at sea, but she actually seem happier than she has been in quite some time.

It had been sometime now that she had been doing nothing but surviving cooped up in their lair in Kintargo. The open sea was a refreshing change of pace for her and the prospect of meeting new people and exploring new things was exciting. Surprisingly she slept alright even with the bumping about and swaying, she was definitely not the stereotypical noble that her family name suggested.

Overall she is definitely more chipper than usual, an almost polar opposite to Gregor on the trip.

Spells in status spoiler below

Yes, think we are ready to set sail.

Dropping a note in all my games. I am hoping things won't change too much, but wanted to forewarn my games that there may be some delays in my posting. My work schedule is usually busiest over the summer months and while it is slow right now I know at some point it will get crazy busy when I start getting shipments in of hundreds of new computers for a rebuild of one of my schools I manage. On top of this I am finishing up my dual MBA/MSIS this summer with three classes in a condensed 8-week semester.

All of this to say, I will do my best to keep up and if I know of major delays I will try to notify people (like when it is finals week), but if I do end up disappearing for a few days here or there just know it won't be long term. All the craziness I have going on over the next couple months should primarily be wrapped up near the end of July.

As always, if you need something quick you can generally ping me on Discord.

Celia offers the captain a smile as she notes "Indeed, a mile or two is much better than the distance we already have to travel."

Celia gives the captain and Marquel a polite smile and a slight bow of her head as they greet them. When the captain mentions the favors she nods "Yes, this should be a relatively easy one for all intents and purposes. There is a village of aquatic elves up the coast we would like reliable transportation there and back."

Sorry you are having to go through all that! As noted, we'll be here when you are ready and able.

When Gregor doesn't reply one way or the other she turns back to the others "Well, since we seem to only have one dissenting opinion perhaps we just go with majority rules. Let's send word to the Archbaroness that we will be out of town for a bit, she said it would take awhile to setup meetings anyway, but this way we ensure she doesn't set something up while we aren't here. Afterwards, we should go to the captain to speak with him about this excursion."

Celia rolls her eyes at Gregor's continued seething racism toward the elves and calmly notes "It would do us well to have allies outside of Kintargo to call on as we continue to progress our plans of eventually dealing with Thrune. Additionally, there is still the whole matter of the skum that were living here previously and what they were up to, plus the potential threat of an aboleth..."

She pauses a moment to let that sink in before continuing "Additionally, we have several favors left with the captain so I don't see using one now as hampering us in the future. It may also be good for you to see how elves live and get a better understanding for them so you can possibly learn a bit more compassion. Over generalizing an entire race of people with limited interaction with them is just prejudice and we should all strive to be better than that."

Know. Geo: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

Celia relates what she and Rexus recall about their two target families, thinking she will need to spend some time brushing up on her architecture and economics. (See spoilers above)

As Gilda asks about Arcadian trade Celia grins "Arcadia is another continent... landmass far to the west. The ocean off the coast of Cheliax is the Arcadian ocean. As such his business dealing involve trade most likely over the ocean, though I highly doubt he has a trade route to Arcadia." she shrugs.

Turning the conversation back to the elves Celia notes "As we look to travel to see the elves, no boats regular the waters there. We will need to hire a captain specifically for the task. It is about 85 miles, which depending on the size of the vessel we charter will take us anywhere from one to two days to reach. Not sure if this might be worth calling in a favor from our captain friend so at least we know we have someone reliable there with us?"

Celia nods "I can take some time to adjust my spells where I can transmute each of us up to three times. Each time I do so it will give all of us almost 3 hours where we can breath under water."

2 hours and 48 minutes to be precise :P

I would image the Lucky Bones at this point.

As they return to their hideout Celia gets together with Rexus to talk about the two noble families they will be visiting and refresh her memory on the two houses for anything pertinent that may help them in their upcoming meetings.

Know. Nobility-Jarvis: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33
Know. Nobility-Vashnerstill: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32

Afterwards she finds the others to see what their next plan is. "So, we are going to be waiting a few days for our next meeting, Gilda had suggested checking in on the aquatic elves we freed. Maybe that would be a good use of our time in the interim instead of just waiting here sitting on our hands?"

Celia considers a moment and then suggests "Maybe the Vashnerstills? I remember Gilda mentioning one of their export businesses struggling after Thrune came into power, plus with the Jhalteros' head being protective of his family, I think the more we can turn to our cause before speaking with them will help show safety in numbers."

Celia considers her options. She notes "While I'm sure I could impress with my studies of the arcane arts, I feel it would utilize a resource that may be needed at a later time for a more vital purpose. As such, perhaps I can impress you with the breadth of my knowledge, showing you that we not only have the skills to affect change, but also the smarts in how to do so effectively and efficently."

Giving a miniature lecture on the nature or magic, religion and the planes, then explaining how she can use her breadth of knowledge to help Kintargo and specifically to noble families.

Know. Arcana: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23
Know. Religion: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24
Know. Planes: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24
Know. Local: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29
Know. Nobility: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29

Celia bristles a bit when Gilda is the first one to start talking. She has nothing against the woman, her street smarts often come in handy but she is not the best talker, especially when they are dealing Nobles.

Celia smiles and adds to Gilda's comments "What my companion is trying to say is that we want to see Kintargo restored to its former glory before unreasonable taxes and proclamations. We've done what we can and will continue to do so, but we know the only way we will really be able to affect change at a larger level is if we get the support of the noble families. We need help in this regard, and know that the Aulamaxa family really care for Kintargo and its people, we would like you to consider pledging your support to our cause and possibly help us obtain the same from some of the other noble families?"

When no one speaks up Celia stands and slightly bows her head to Lady Docur then turns to head for the door. Once outside with the others she asks "So, off to the Aulamaxas's estate?

Celia nods to Lady Docur as she smiles "Well it sounds like we have some work cut out for us. I suppose we should get to it, unless there is anything else?" She turns to look toward the others if there are any more questions.

I don't think they know it was us though to help him leave.

Celia is a little shocked when the woman calls her out with very limited subtlety to her words. It takes her a moment to snap back to the things at hand but adds on to Evander's words "I would assume you would have some ideas on ways to win over the support of those families who might be won over, you seem to be particularly well informed..."

She lets the words hang for a moment before continuing "As you said, the more we know the better. Perhaps you could provide us a means of at least getting in the door initially with the various noble families? I would imagine a group of strangers showing up out of the blue is likely to not be received all too well."

Celia takes a seat with the others and is a little surprised when Gilda speaks up first but once she finishes she adds "As my friend alluded to, we have the interests of Kintargo in mind. We thought it would be worth while to become friends and in so doing perhaps you could help us in getting to know some of the various noble houses that may not be all to happy with the current state of things and might be willing to help us change them."

As Evander and Gregor continue their discussion on elves, Celia notes "We can talk about this on the way, though maybe Gregor shouldn't do any talking when we get there..."

Let's go to the school for girls see if we can setup a meeting or just talk with her directly and then go on to the Aulamaxa estate?

Yup, I believe our list is Laria, Octavio, Hetamon, Cpt. Sargaeta, and then one of us. The only one that definitely needs a raven is the captain, possibly Hetamon. As for Lady D I agree an in person request makes sense.

Celia just rolls her eyes at Gregor's blatant racism with nothing to say and turns her attention back to Gilda "Yes, we should go talk with her first, I believe her place is on the way anyway."

Celia nods "Sounds like a good plan to me." She volunteers "I will put together a first draft of a letter to send with the ravens and then we can go from there."

She goes to work penning a letter and once she is finished she shows it the others for any adjustments or improvements.

Figre something along the lines of "The Silver Ravens understand the vested interest you have in seeing wrongs righted in Kintargo. We seek to form a council of like minded individuals to help direct the Ravens and bring injustices to light so that they can be resolved. We have selected you as one such person. Please return a note to accept or decline and we will be in touch with further details."

I know it is kind of overt but the group as a whole is kind of out in the open now, plus it doesn't lay out that we are specifically working against Thrune in case it gets intercepted. Open to additions/adjustments though.

Celia thinks back on her time here in Kintargo before she was away for so long working as a teacher abroad and before everything went to hell in Kintargo. Things may have changed but she though back on which nobles may be the safest bet to approach first.

Know. Nob.: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30

With all the information Gilda got from the city Celia considers their various options, tapping her finger against her lips. Eventually she speaks up "So... that is a lot, but here are my thoughts. First, if Thrune is trying to curry favor with the nobles and artists, with some sort of ball, I think we should look into influencing the nobles first. The more we can turn to our cause the less he will be able to turn to his and we have an opportunity to act first. Then maybe we see about Lady Docur as well while we are here.

After that, I say we see about the aquatic elves we helped as I believe they are closer than Vyre, plus we already have a relationship started. Then from their we can turn our attention to Vyre and seeing if we can't get further support there. That seems like the most logical path forward to me."

Yup, agree with both points from Gilda. I am in favor of keeping it simple and Celia doesn't have any particular initiatives right now and I'm not aware of anything pressing that we had to look into. It kind of feels like we are kind of in a holding pattern to just keep things running internally while waiting for Thrune to create some other problem or for some other problem in Kintargo to present itself since it has been a week of downtime.

Celia grins and shakes her head, mostly at herself "Well, isn't that a good idea... glad one of us remembered about those things. That would definitely be an optimal means of checking in with those we seek to include in this council. Will need to be discreet though. I would imagine silver ravens being spotted flying to our allies would be somewhat of a giveaway."

Celia taps her finger against her lip as she thinks a moment. "We should probably check in with Tayacet, see if she has any news or leads for us to follow up on with Thrune. Is there anything else particularly pressing, aside from the damn spells I'm trying to figure out to release our two extra-planar friends?"

Celia nods to Gregor's words regarding the academy "You're right regarding the Academy. They don't want to take sides so perhaps until such time as they express an actual interest we leave them out of things."

Celia notes "Well, perhaps we should go speak with the captain first and get his thoughts then maybe once we have our first meeting we can proceed from there?"

Sorry for the slowness on my side. Been sick all week, luckily it is just bacterial so now with meds onboard already starting to feel better.

Here's to hoping it is just a cold! I had a similar situation just as they were closing down our schools and such (I work in the schools) I came down with something. Seems like mine was bacterial though so now with antibiotics going I'm starting to feel better.

Celia nods "If there is something that might help, I'm sure we can see about getting access to it."

”Well, the captain had sent that woman to retrieve us. I don’t recall her name, but maybe she would work as his stand in. I agree that going to the ship repeatedly is a bad idea.”

Celia considers this whole council business. It's a good idea to make sure the various groups stay in sync but could also be a bit risky. After a few moment of consideration she notes "We should maybe try and find someone from the Academy if we can. If not, I suppose maybe Laria would be a good candidate since she is in such close proximity. I wish we had someone on the inside of the dottari we could work with as well but no one in particular comes to mind. I would say out of the five of us, one of our more diplomatic members should be the one we select."

She taps her finger to her lips for a moment as she thinks "Also, if we had someone from one of the noble families that could work within that area of influence it could be helpful, sadly I don't know who we could rely on. I'm just thinking the more different areas of the city we can have some influence over the better."

So double checking on everything found, my cohort and I can't quite do +2 armor/weapons yet as Celia doesn't have the feats and Kira's CL is 1 off from the minimum needed to craft +2 armor/weapons.

Here is the breakdown of crafting done over 7 days.

Day 1
Celia/Kira Belt of Str +2 (Matiscio)
Day 2
Kira - Madu +1 (Matiscio)
Celia - Belt of Dex +2 (Day 1) (Evander)
Day 3
Kira - Bow +1 (Gregor)
Celia - Belt of Dex +2 (Day 2) (Evander)
Day 4
Celia/Kira - Headband of Int +2 (Evander)
Day 5
Celia/Kira - Belt of Dex +2 (Gregor)
Day 6
Kira - Buckler +1 (Gregor)
Celia - Pearl of Power (1st) (Celia)
Day 7
Kira - Scroll of Fly x2 (Celia)
Celia - Scroll of Mage Armor (CL7) x4 (Celia)

Be sure to subtract the appropriate gold from your loot.

Yup, no issues with the 1k. I'll mark it on the sheet to account for it.