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"If we're not careful, we will be slipping, likely in blood and our own teeth." I really don't want to lose my teeth... Shuddering at the thought, Emarel lets loose another arrow of electricity, and puts up his own magical shield - hopefully it was enough to stave off those pliers.
Emarel, wary of the dangerously mischievous nature of fae, stands ready with bow drawn, in case the stealth approach works out poorly.
It takes a long moment before Emarel responds to Enara's question, as he spends the brainpower to instead confirm his thoughts are accurate. "Interesting...yes. Interesting indeed." he responds slowly. "Here, look. This page, it's nonsensical, completely different than the rest of what's written. Seems to me to be magically protected. I've seen the spell before - secret page - although I don't know it myself. If only I had a scroll of dispel magic, or someone around that already knew it. Hmm...translating it will do no good until the spell is lifted. Clearly, the contents are vital. I would endeavor to then ascertain a way to dispel the page as soon as possible. I wonder if there are more like this..." Emarel proceeds to continue to go through the rest of the documents with a renewed, almost fanatic, vigor, barely keeping half an ear open for Enara, or anyone else's, response.
Sorry for being the rate limiting step at the moment - the household has been down with the sickness since last Thursday, and not the good kind. Considering I'm feeling alright enough to actually go in to work today, I will post to get things moving along again.
And...done. Emarel sat back in his chair with a loud exhale. Finally, the process was complete. It had been such a wonderful process, working with the weapon magics. The intricacies of the runes, the feeling of the etching process, the hum of magical energy literally in his grasp - it had been enrapturing. As he sat reflecting over the process, the outside going group walked back in. He blinked in surprise. Was it curfew already? To be fair, he hadn't been keeping much track of the time at all, flying by as it had. Passionate work, it seemed, had its own sort of magic. "Welcome back everyone. I hope your excursion proved fruitful. Lucius, good news - I finished up your sword. Thank you for the opportunity to work in such a process. Keep in mind, it's a magical work of art now - don't you dare go breaking it, or anything equally as crass, or else I shall be quite upset, understood?" Sitting down at the table with the others, Emarel listened to Rexus and the recounting of events of the outside. "Strategist, you say? Hmm. Certainly, what you say is correct - longevity lends itself well to intellectual expertise. I must admit however, my knowledge of revolution and city takeover strategy is a tad...rusty. I shall be sure brush up on the topic." Another reason to not go looking for more trouble than necessary with the Chelaxian guards, and another fresh topic to study. Emarel couldn't complain at all. On the topic of tooth faeries and murder, Emarel blanched slightly. His experience with fae in the past had never gone well, and this was surely not to be any different, tricksy folk that they were. Still, they were causing trouble to potential allies, and more than anything, Emarel did not want anyone to die if he could help it. "Dealing with murder does seem a tad bit more pressing, I must agree. Besides, it would be helpful to learn why Fae are around in the area causing trouble as they are. If there are more about, we need to find out." And perhaps this could be a chance to learn a little more about them, although Emarel doubted if any such information would be any that he really wanted to know.
Like our GM said, genuinely just hope for the best for you and your family. It takes precedence over games for sure. We'll be here if/whenever you're ready to return to rebelling against the government!
Okay, well, in that case I guess I'm transferring both runes from the whip to the sword! Running into a slight issue is the rules wording of the transfer of multiple runes. It makes it really unclear whether or not one can transfer a whole +1 striking from one weapon to a complete non-magical one. So, however you'd like to rule that, GM. And of course, if I need to make another crafting check or take more time for the complications.
Just the +1 potency rune for now, until such time Jilvi decides she doesn't need/want the whip. At least, that was my understanding.
Thanks for the heads up! Hopefully Til and family are doing better. On the topic of extended absences, I'm not gone, despite having not posted for a bit - just using the in character seclusion time for a bit of a reprieve to catch up and deal with irl things. On the note of gear, if no one has any objections, while Til is away I wouldn't mind hanging on to that wand for the extra AC. In the case of Tilorean's return, I shall return it. Did you already subtract the crafting costs for the rune transfer as well? I guess from either me or Lucius, doesn't really matter.
Emarel nods at the group deciding to go out and investigate. "Best of luck, friends. Be careful out there, and come back in one piece. Lucius, if you still want that upgrade, I can work on that but I would need to hold on to your sword while you go out, if you are comfortable with that. Hopefully you shan't need it. Though you still have your warhammer if you get into trouble. And thank you for that Rexus, the nest works perfectly fine. If I need anything, I will make it known." Bidding the rest of the party adieu, Emarel took the rune, sword, and rest of his belongings to a room. He sat in the silence, examining the magic emanating from the runestone. As much as they were all quickly coming together, Emarel was glad to have some alone time, especially to do what he did best - studying magic. With a sigh of relief, he pulled out some parchment and dove into a new, exciting study.
As Rexus stated his request for help, Emarel grabbed a stack of the papers and gave them a cursory glance. He paused at Enara's response, looking up at her. "You speak Elven, truly?" He smiled gladly. "ಎಂತಹ ಆಹ್ಲಾದಕರ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ. ನಾನು ನಿಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಲು ಎದುರು ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ." Putting the stack of papers back on the table, he turned to Rexus as well. "As you might expect, I do, of course, speak Elvish. I am also fluent in Celestial. Unfortunately, Strix is not something I have had the opportunity to learn, as of yet, but I believe I can still be of service. After all, reading is kind of what I do." Emarel proceeded to listen to the rest of the conversation about recruitment, growing slightly more and more apprehensive as it went on. He was still getting used to how quickly this was turning into a massive scale revolution. Hell, he might have to talk to more new people. This is what he got for leaving his woods. "If it's all the same to you folks, I must be honest. I will leave the rumor gathering and recruiting to you, who seem much better suited to the task. For the time-being, I would prefer to work in a behind the scenes role. For example, perhaps looking over those runes we picked up earlier. If I'm right, I can use them to magically enhance some of our weapons, help I believe we could definitely use. Rexus, is there somewhere I could perhaps do my work that isn't putting the shop at risk during the day?" Elvish: "What a pleasant surprise. I look forward to working with you."
Yeah, that makes sense, Jilvi. Good news is that I can do the transfer at any time so whenever you feel like you don't want/need them anymore, I can take care of it. I agree Enara, it's a really awesome feature! Makes it actually viable to hold onto weapons that have a meaning, or make use of loot no one will otherwise use. Past these first two +1 upgrades to Lucius and Enara, another +1 potency runestone will cost 35gp, should anyone want it (Til's rapier, Enara's dagger(s), my bow, Hemdar's dagger if you're feeling particularly combatant). I'll do it in order of post, so Lucius on the current day of downtime, and then Enara's rapier the next. I will have to hold on to the weapon while this happens, just fyi.
We have a +1 striking whip and 2 +1 potency runes! So, I can give Lucius and Enara both a +1 on their weapons. Additionally, I can transfer the runes from the whip to something else if desired, although I thought that perhaps Jilvi would like to hold on to that for now.
So, now that we have downtime and things, I can craft stuff, and move around runes! Unfortunately, I won't be able to craft magical items until next level when the Magical Crafting feat becomes available to me, but it's still useful. As of right now, we have 2 +1 Weapon Potency runestones that I can transfer onto some weapons. I can do a single transfer in 1 day of downtime. What do you guys think about priorities at the moment in that sense? I'm not too worried about it personally as I have magic as well. They seem best utilized on people actually attacking with weapons most often. Of course, given 35gp is the purchase cost of a +1 potency rune, everyone could theoretically get one with our current party funds - it would just take a few days. Runes aside, if there are other thoughts for the use of crafting time, I'm open to ideas!
At the mention of the locket, and the not so subtle encouragement from Enara, Emarel took it out of his pocket and held it out, along with the rest of the jewelry. "We are, of course, more than happy to return the locket to you. Along with the rest of what we found." In return, Emarel takes the sack. "My name is Emarel, by the way. Killing and all is overrated." He realized he was still holding his bow. He laughed nervously. "Oh, don't mind this. Really, it's just a tool to funnel magic through." "But yes, information, in my experience, is probably the most invaluable resource one can have. I would be happy to sit with you and exchange whatever information we have for each other."
Emarel stood back, content to let Jilvi do the speaking for the party. He tried hard not to burst out with any more insensitive questions or comments, instead inspecting the tengu and the room they were now in.
Emarel nods and follows after the group, a little closer to the rear. He stows his bow so as not to appear overtly hostile. "I hope this goes well. Enara, if you would like to stay behind a bit around the corner, I have magical means to let you know how it's going, in case things go wrong."
Hey everyone, just as a heads up - our wonderful GM has returned from PAX Unplugged safely, but seems to have caught a nasty flu. They will be back as soon as they are able.
"I think it would be a good idea to at least attempt to talk to them. Though, perhaps we don't do it right next to the body of their...sister? Brother? that we killed, albeit out of self defense."
At first, Emarel was unsure why Enara and Jilvi looked so disheartened. Was the jewelry really that bad? But, upon taking a second to think about what he said, and looking back at the locket, Emarel felt worse that he didn't notice it immediately. This thing that attacked them, the corby, had a name. And Chough had a mother that they clearly cared for. Sentimental lockets were not something you typically see on the things one killed on adventures, and to be faced with stark reality that there were emotions and family, something you wouldn't normally think about fighting things, was difficult. Quietly, Emarel put the jewelry away without saying another word. It was then that he heard the voices coming from the south. "Uh, guys. There seem to be some voices coming down from that way. It could be those sisters. We should be careful."
At that, Emarel raised his eyebrows. "As you say, considering the position we lot find ourselves in, perhaps it is a good thing we are not meeting up with anyone inclined to the city watch, bird people or otherwise." Holding up the locket to the party, he adds. "And look at this - this locket says "mother" in elven, with a piece of what I can only assume was the egg that this corby emerged from, inside. Nothing I know of them would indicate actual literacy. I do hope these sisters have something to say. Oh, and our friend here also had these on them." Emarel added, holding up the bracelets. "If any of you are so inclined to wear such jewelry. They are rather fetching pieces, if I do say so myself."
Emarel put his bow away slowly, thinking about the last words of Chough. They bothered him, more than from the fact that it had started communicating before being struck down. He walked over and carefully inspected the body, unconsciously drumming his fingers along his legs. "Claws and beak are the right shape. Feathers consistent with previous illustrations. Yes, this is definitely a dire corby. So, why would it say it's a tengu?" He tries to find any scraps of information tucked away in his head. Not often was there a chance for him to meet any talking birds in person before. Turning to the rest of the party, he voices his concern. "Do any of you know anything of tengus?" Regardless of the answer, Emarel continues. "I'm curious as to what it meant it by its last statement. I anticipate there being more around, these sisters it mentioned, but I wonder if there's something else going on. If we run into them and it's not too much trouble, I'd like to try to talk to them before killing them."
Wishing all who participates in such things has a wonderful Thanksgiving today, and good holiday weekend! :)
Emarel was glad that he wasn't the only one who was at least slightly perturbed by the talking avian. He spoke up to the group, suddenly remembering seeing the likeness before in a book. "If I'm right, which I usually am, I believe that it's called a dire corby. It probably would much rather use its beak to eat us, than talk to us." At the corby he says "Can you please confirm or deny before it's too late? A simple yes or no would do." The raging actions of corby led Emarel to believe he would likely not get any real answer, so he aimed his bow once more. His free hand conjuring up two arrows, one of fire and one of pure force energy, Emarel tried to make sure he avoided Enara, and fired.
Seeing the giant bird charge at them, Emarel quickly stood up. "Giant rats, giant alligators, and now giant talking birds. Are there any normal animals in this city?" The water around the group giving him an idea, Emarel conjures up some water in front of him, shaping it into a densely packed arrow. Holding it back on the bow, he aimed at the crow, letting loose as the tension became close to breaking. "Hello, would you mind telling me what you are and what you're doing here if you don't mind?" Even in the midst of combat, Emarel thinks it's never a bad time to study. Especially considering it would probably be dead after this was over.
"Oh, man, these are simply disgusting." Emarel says, seeing the blood and gore surround the boots. "Definitely magical though. Like you said Enara, a real find." As he says that, he spends the time to clean off the boots, as well as everyone else around that happened to go into the water or get any of the alligator blood on them.
I think Emarel should have them to do sweet looking flips while shooting off arrows. It sounds like the best use for them
"Right, that's what I'm most curious about. What could it have been eating here in these tunnels to get this big? Did Laria never encounter them in her time of using this tunnel? If not, that likely means these arrived recently, but from where? And why were they driven out? There's so many questions." Using a mage hand, Emarel tries to pull the leather he sees out of the gash. He'd much rather avoid getting alligator innards on his hands if he could help it. "Well, at least we know it wasn't subsisting on excessive leather consumption." Emarel remarks, holding up his find.
Lowering his bow, Emarel let out a deep breath. "Well, it's as dead as those rats now. I'm gonna touch it." Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Emarel walked over to examine the massive beast, finding one of his arrows near it. He had never seen an alligator this big, but then again, he had never seen an alligator inside a city either. "Is it normal to have these hang out in tunnels inside a city? That seems like a deep-seeded problem within the city infrastructure that should probably be addressed. But really, I want to know this got so big. Eating other alligators maybe? And if this was the surprise at the beginning of the tunnel, I wonder what else will be coming up."
Seeing the massive, white alligator take hits from the party like they were nothing, Emarel took a couple steps back. "How is this thing not dead?" he says out loud, after drawing an arrow to his glowing bow and firing it off. "I wonder if it's a similar case to those rats we came across. What the hell is in the water in Kintargo?" Emarel adds as he quickly fires off another arrow to follow the first.
At the sound of Enara's warning, Emarel snapped his head away from the statue of Calistria and on to the creatures in the water, letting an arrow loose as soon as he saw the eyes in the water.
Not wanting to deal with whatever these new threats in the dark, Emarel ran his hand over his bow, infusing it with glowing, magical energy, before shooting off another arrow. It was only after letting the arrows fly that he thought to think aloud "I wonder what these are, that have managed to make a home in a secret tunnel like this one?"
At the smell of the rancid meat, Emarel scrunched his nose. "And I thought that the livery was bad." Keeping at the back of the group, he prepared his bow for when they ran into something unsavory. The giant statue of the elven woman caught his eye, however. He stopped for a second to examine it, intrigued to find such a depiction in this secret tunnel of all places.
Listening to the group talk about resting, Emarel became acutely aware of his own exhaustion. "Yes, rest does sound like a good plan. Thank you, Laria, for all your help." With that, Emarel went to his bed. It had been a long time since he had spent as much time with so many people as he had the past couple days with this group. Physical exertion aside, he was mentally drained from the interactions. Even though he hadn't quite had to expend much of his spell slots, he had spent a great deal of energy trying to keep a measure of liveliness to show to the group. Emarel gripped the bands around his arms, the weight of the metal bringing him some comfort, and breathed deeply. The pursuit of what the Silver Ravens had left behind had kept him going for most of the day, but he hadn't been expecting a whole other foray into something new immediately after. He lay down, thinking through the events of the day. Everyone else seemed so prepared to fight against this government. All he knew was how to shoot a bow and some spells. Granted, he knew he had a really solid grasp of his magics. It just felt a little less useful compared to such things as Lucius' oratory skills and Jilvi's cleverness. Still, he would try to do what he could - that was why he had bought all those magical items at the shop earlier. He couldn't imagine what odd situations they would end up in, but it seemed appropriate to try to prepare for as many as possible. For now though, he needed to stop his thinking and prepare for some sleep.
On the way back, Emarel stopped in at a couple passing stores, drawn in by the curios and magical items advertised in the windows. Spending far longer than he probably should have, he came back without much seeming to change, except for some hanging ornaments and colorful feathers from his bow and his clothes, and a considerably lighter coin purse. When asked what he got, he just shrugged and responded with "Oh, just some things that looked nice." Now, hearing the details of Laria's favor in return for a hideout, Emarel was intrigued. The day had been exhausting, but he couldn't pass up the chance to learn about some secrets. "How long have those secret tunnels been there, and how long have you been using them? Would you happen to have a map? If not..." He pulled out a piece of parchment, along with ink and pen. "Do you think you'd be able to draw it out? Is there anything that you know of that we should be on the lookout for? Does anyone else know about it?" He rattled off questions as they came to him, ignorant of the effect the barrage had on the halfling innkeep and the rest of the party.
Assuming we do sell those pearls, it looks like we'd each have about 350sp to add to our respective pouches for purchases.
"You know, I might be able to help out with those." Emarel said to Rexus. "I have a fair bit of experience with languages and ciphers. But we can of course talk about that when we have returned. I could do with some sleep." Speaking to Enara he said, "If you're interested in learning, I could probably show you a few things. Everything I know I learned from mostly solitary study, I'm sure you could learn." He paused for a moment. "Perhaps, after this whole Thrune business. Studying of the arcane is not to be taken lightly." Emarel said seriously. "But," he added, snapping his fingers along with an incantation and summoning a small sphere of flame over his palm. "It is pretty cool."
Very excited to see how the swashbuckler stuff works out! Yeah, wand of mage armor is really awesome. I'll probably spend some money on another one when I get the chance.
Going to stay Wizard at 2. I took the reach spell wizard feat so I can use spells and not be at a penalty with my longbow for my cantrips with 30 ft range. My skill feat choice was recognize spell because that seems hella useful, and I'm trained in every single one of those tradition's skills. As a note on that for our GM, I will pretty much always choose to use that as a reaction at any time possible, considering I don't have any other reactions. I am still deciding on two first level spells to add to my spellbook. Will update when I decide! If anyone has suggestions or comments, I'm happy to take them. Thanks, Enara, for letting us all be sneaky with you :p
Emarel nodded at Tilorean's words. "Oh of course, of course, I doubt every member of the group was a scholar. I just enjoy the theorycrafting. But, you're right, they should be pretty straightforward." With that, Emarel hands one of the silver ravens to Tilorean. "Here, take this. Hold it up to your ear, that's probably the easiest way to start. I'm going to say some things and wave at you when I do, give me a thumbs up or a wave if you hear or feel anything, and a thumbs down or something else if you don't." He motioned for Rexus to do the same with another. Taking another raven with him, Emarel walked to the other end of the room where they had come from, far enough away that the group wouldn't be able to hear his voice spoken at a normal level. Holding the silver raven up closer to his mouth he spoke. "Hello, testing, 1 2, 1 2. Silver raven 1 to silver raven 2 and 3, caw-caw, caw-caw. Down with Thrune, long live the rebellion, caw-caw, caw-caw." He waved at the group to indicate he had spoken, and waited to see if anything happened.
"This is a hell of a stash," Emarel said, examining the contents of the crates. Picking up the runestone, he inspected it closer. "This is our second one of these. I've read about these - they're supposed to help make your weapons stronger." He continued to spin it in his hands thoughtfully. Turning to the group he held the rune up. "You know, given some time, I bet I could get these set proper on some of our weapons. If we're going to be a part of a revolution and all, it's probably in our best interest to be geared up as best we can, and magic infused weapons seem like a great start. Given that we only have two at the moment though, we should probably figure out who needs them most. Probably something best left for when we're in a safer place, actually." Tucking the runestone in his bag, he looked over as Rexus revealed six raven shaped figures. Going over, he picked up one of the ravens and examined it closer. "It's possible," he says, answering Rexus' statement that probably didn't need it. "There's a lot of questions though. They must be magical, obviously. But to what degree? How far away can these operate? Is there a limit on how many others can receive a message from one of them? What form do the messages take, and how are they accessed? For how long do the messages remain? Can you choose a language or specific mean of communication? Can anyone use them? My, my, so many questions." Thinking of the experiments and tests that could be done, Emarel absent-mindedly rolled the figure around in his hands like something to pick apart, not even seeing the look on Rexus' face. Resources from this group of rebels would certainly come in handy, however they worked, but it was best to know the nature of what you had to work with to prevent any nasty surprises. Emarel smiled. Fighting and revolutionary work aside, this studying and analyzing was what he was good at, and he was definitely excited to get a chance to do some more of it.
Trying to hide his embarrassment, Emarel turned away from Enara and walked forward past the pit. Gods, talking to people was hard. He couldn't believe some people spent their whole lives interacting with new people every day, and enjoyed it! What a nightmare. To distract himself, Emarel took a look around the now empty room, looking for signs of magic, or anything else of interest.
At that, Emarel's eyes widened. "Impatient? Really? You think so?" Excitedly, he took the knife and inspected it. "Is it intelligent? Sentient? What strong magic it must be! How did you get one? Where did you get it? I've only ever heard stories of intelligent weapons! Mystana, my sister you see, she said she saw one up close but I never believed her, she just wanted to brag. Do you know anyone else who has one? Oh, I can't wait to tell her about this, she'll never believe it!" Emarel's torrent of words slowed down as he saw Enara's face. "Oh. That's...not what you meant, was it? This is just a normal dagger, isn't it?" Face turning red, Emarel tucked the weapon into his belt. "Thanks."
"Ah...thanks." Emarel says, eyeing the slimy dagger warily. "Actually, do you want to trade? Silver dagger for your normal one? I can't imagine that a silver dagger is any worse at hitting things, and I really just need something in case something gets too close."
Note to self, Emarel thought as he watched Enara kill one of the monsters in a single blow. Don't take humor lessons from Rexus, and don't get on Enara's bad side.
Reacting to Enara's inquiry, Emarel quickly digs out the silver dagger he had sheathed to his belt and handed it to her. "Of course! Show those slimes a silver lining." he says, following Rexus' line of absolutely wonderful jokes. Drawing back magical energy once more, Emarel fired off another shot of electricity, branching out to hit the damaged ones once more.
Moving past the doors so he could get a better look at the devils, Emarel choked back his revulsion at the sight of the sludgy masses. "Disgusting..." he muttered, as he fired off an arrow of electricity, aiming at the one damaged creature.
"Nasty indeed, with how they managed to trip us up. Lucky for us they weren't as hardy as they are tricky." Stepping carefully around the bodies of the grimples, Emarel proceeded to enter the new room properly. The decrepit piles of pillows and blankets were not a pretty sight, but at least it didn't smell nearly as bad as the stables had. With the threats gone, Emarel took Rexus' advice and started searching the room. Any scrap of information, no matter how small, could prove to be useful.
I don't have any problem with that. I shall give you botting instructions, if it's ever needed. Also, I forgot that Tilorean had inspire courage up, so the electric arc damage should be 6 instead of 5.
"Oh, hell" Emarel mutters as he sees almost half the party fall to the ground. Moving to get a better look through the door at the remaining grimples, thankful that Rexus had managed to hit them with some debilitating magic. Conjuring up another magical arrow of electricity, he aimed at the stumbling grimples, and fired, electricity arcing around the area.
@Tilorean - Hope some rest has got you recovering well from the operation! Also just wanted to remind you that you're free to take and use that wand of mage armor, considering you're more in melee than I am.
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