Yeah I'd allow it to clear out one square, seems like a good use of the ability.
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The devilfish has taken a huge beating from the party so far, and a strange deep black blood is leaking from the multiple wounds in its large tentacles. It does...something, a little jerk of movement, and suddenly an entire night-black cloud sprays out of the many wounds in a sphere around it. The devilfish crushes its tentacles around Ankha, maintaining the grip it has on the alchemist.
The tentacles wrap tighter around Ankha, despite the coating of slippery black blood. Instead of using the grip to squeeze harder, however, the devilfish lashes out with the beaked mouth at the center of its mass of tentacles.
Init: Round 3: 18- Becky
Round 4: 18- Becky
Ankha's charge strikes true, hitting it hard enough to force the devilfish to let go of Becky and turns its attention to the alchemist.
In its pain fueled anger, the things' tentacles lash out and connect on its tormentor, wrapping tightly around her.
Init: Round 2: 18- Becky
Round 3: 18- Becky
The devilfish launches itself forward out of its hiding spot in a predatory dash towards Becky, the closest prey. The fiendish creature's tentacles lash out in a flurry towards the young explorer, attempting to get a grip on her.
Init: Round 1: 18- Becky
Round 2: 18- Becky
My apologies for the delay ladies and gents, life is still on and off busy for me, there will be days where I have just run out of energy and need to rest. Thank you for your patience through these past few months, and for what patience you still have yet to give!
sick map yo
The reason the 'octopoid' is different is because it isn't actually an octopus, not really. It's a magical beast called a devilfish, an altogether different creature. Rumored to have a fiendish ancestry, most sages believe that the original devilfish were once outsiders from the Abyss, and that over the course of thousands of years they became true natives of the Material Plane’s oceans. Regardless of how they got here or their true nature, devilfish are vicious, unabashedly evil predators of the ocean.
Knowing what you know, and seeing how the devilfish starts to slither out from its 'hiding' spot in the wreckage, you don't think it will leave you alone.
Init: 18- Becky
Thank you! I was just sitting there thinking how best to handle it, and boom! Popped right into my head. I have an editable version saved, so I can edit the depth numbers.
Secret Dice:
The trip down through the water is surprisingly serene, once you get your breathing situation together that is. A handful of small fish flutter by here and there, but there doesn't look to be anything larger predator wise like the shark you fought earlier. Two halves of a sunken ship (presumably the one you're here for) lay on the ocean floor, sixty feet below the surface, split in half as if by some titanic ancient force. The sun shines through the calm clear water, illuminating the entire area in much more light than you'd expect this deep. You can see that the southern half seems to be mostly upper decks and not likely to contain the treasure you seek, although the northern half looks to have the captain's quarters and a handful of other interesting rooms that are worth a look. Perception DC 12, within 20 feet of the ocean bottom: Hiding amongst the southern half of the broken ship pieces is something that looks like a seven-legged octopus. It can clearly see you, and is lying in wait for you to get closer.
Post up! Apologies for being a day late, busy weekend. Feel free to post any preparations you made for the day you decided to make the trip to the sunken ship site.
Sometime in the weeks after you cleared out the strange Azlanti tower, the party gathers to chase after the story the water elemental told you: a tale of an ancient Azlanti ship full to the brim with treasure of that nearly forgotten empire. Will it be as exciting as you expect it to be, leaving your pockets full of Azlanti gold? Or will it be a tall tale, a lie or misinformation from the water elemental? Only one way to find out, you suppose. The party chooses a fair weather day to make the several hour trip to the eastern shore of the island, heading towards the spot the elemental gave you. You've taken one of the ship's smaller rowboats with you (with Ramona's permission of course) and plan to use it to ensure you can make it to the water above the ruined ship below. Ramona has also provided you with The sun is high above you in the sky when you finally arrive at the spot, and the sea is thankfully smooth sailing. A slight breeze drifts over the water, creating calm but steady waves. Rowing the small boat to the spot, you can just barely see the remnants of something deep beneath the waves. Whether or not it's the sunken ship remains to be seen, and will require a little bit more effort to reach than just swimming down, as it looks to be more than just a dip into the pool in terms of water depth.
Aaaaand we're back! Sorry for the extended wait, things have been extremely busy and hectic what with the move and all. I aim to get a post starting us back up tonight but if I can't get everything together it will definitely be done tomorrow afternoon.
I am still around! Apologies for the extended absence, it has been one hell of a month. Working on getting things in order, should be back within the next week or so. My mother is mostly better and in the recovery phase. We got her into a nursing recovery center, and she has been making great strides forward. Thank you so much for your understanding, and patience.
Apologies for the silence, guys! My mom was put into the hospital with some serious health issues and my route changed my off days at work which has thrown me off completely, what with learning new things. Will get a post up tomorrow afternoon after work! Thank you for your patience, sorry for any inconvenience. Question: Does Kelpa’s +1 CL apply to water/swimming potions Ankha brews too, or just to her extracts? Just the ‘casting’ of extracts.
Becky tries to discern Rayland's intentions toward Ramona/leadership of the colony Unfortunately Rayland is a bit of a strange silent type, which only seems to have been pronounced by his mind control ordeal. He doesn't talk much outside of his time working on various projects, but he also seems to genuinely have the best interests of the colony and its people at heart. Becky can't detect any nefarious plots or conniving schemes to get back into control of the colony. Eliza is obviously overwhelmed by Ankha's assault of words, and barely manages to get a word out. When she does, her voice is slow and methodical, as if she were recovering from some great ordeal. And perhaps she was. "Ever since that elf took over my mind, I've had these...powers. They're magic but more emotional than I've heard about from other spellcasters. Not studied like wizards or from my blood like sorcerors, just all in my head. He must have messed something up in there, done some real damage...I'm not sure what's going on but you're right. I'll go speak to Ramona and Rayland, see if there's something they need help with. It doesn't help for me to mope around like I have been. Thanks, Ankha!" with that she does in fact leave to search Ramona out. Hopefully next time you speak she will be feeling better. he stops by the tower to ask the robot ladies how they would feel about coming back to the settlement
Braxton spends some time talking to the clockwork servants inside the tower that has recently become yours, and actually does manage to convince them to return to the colony with him. It'll take a bit of work and a lot of time to reprogram them away from their previous delicate ioun stone work, but in time they'll surely become valuable members of the colony.
At the end of the time that Eliza is under the mind control (you've kept her in safe containment in one of the locked houses in the colony), she finally breaks free of the force influencing her actions and reluctance to talk. She tells a story similar to the one Rayland told you, with her being fascinated by the celedons and their stories of the strange tower. She recalls making her way there and opening that storage tank you found her next to, but beyond that everything is 'super fuzzy', as she puts it. The next few weeks (maybe months?) are blurry and shot by in a flash. The visitor would come by every few days to renew the mind control, she presumes, but other than that they were left to their own devices in the tower. She gives the same description of the elf that you got from Rayland and the voice recording you found in the tower, but beyond that there isn't much more she can tell you. A few days after you return from the tower Eamon (the cleric of Erastil taking over the clergy of the church alongside Kurvis of Abadar) approaches you at community breakfast with a concerned look on his face.
Speaking of Rayland, he seems to reintegrate way better back into the colony than Eliza does. He seemingly only leaves Ramona's side to do some physically demanding task she asks of him, and within a few days his sour demeanor has exploded into the charismatic community support you had heard about from Ramona. Eliza on the other hand spends a much longer time recovering from her ordeal, hiding away in her assigned quarters, leaving only to perform the duties required of her. Seems as if the entire situation weighs on her heavily, and where Rayland dives into helping the colony flourish, Eliza falls into a depression.
Maybe you could give me an upper gp limit and I can only generate up to that amount of potions/gold? This is the solution I have landed on, yeah. I actually came up with an interesting idea (in my mind, at least) in the form of tying the gathered ingredients to the 'treasure per encounter' numbers' as a guideline for expected amounts of extra fake gold in ingredients to use for potions and other alchemical items. For this specific first instance, I'll say the colony has enough spare time to spend on searching for ingredients to equal two CR 4 medium encounters, or 2,300 gp for these six weeks. This system allows me to scale the gold awarded in ingredients to your level and the circumstances of the colony. I'll continue to use this system in the future to supplement the treasure the AP assumes you'll have.
Should I describe my activities for the full 6 weeks of downtime, or should I wait for you to post for Eliza first? Hold on a bit, I'm posting now. Your downtime stuff will happen sorta in the background as we go through various events throughout the six weeks. I don't want to go day by day of course, but things will happen during the time. Presumably you'd like to explore the sunken Azlanti boat, at the very least. The only issue with the free potion thing is obviously the economy and expected value of treasure. I'll have to look into what the book and other rules say about stuff like this before giving you an answer on that. I'm leaning towards "yeah sounds good (minus any expensive components)" but I'd like to check to make sure that won't wildly unbalance things and require more work on my end to challenge the group.
Ramona and Rayland just talk about various plans for the colony leadership going forward, and Rayland doesn't have any mannerisms or concerning words. He genuinely wants to help her as much as possible. "You were under the control of another. Waiting until you are free of that control before judging you for your actions is only fair." "I'm not under the control of anyone!" she spits out with venom. She rests in her restraints calmly, seemingly unbothered by her current situation. "I've told you the truth of what I remember. Ask Rayland, he will tell you that the visitor wiped our-" she cries out in pain as an unseen force seemingly stops her from speaking. She speaks again, through her teeth this time, squeezing out words through the pain. "P-please...help me. He-AHH!" she screams out in pain as whatever is hurting her increases in intensity. "P-protect me until..." she cannot finish her sentence before the pain finally forces her back into unconsciousness. Whoever is controlling her obviously doesn't want her talking to you, you'll have to wait for the effect to wear off before she'll be willing to talk.
Ramona listens intently as Braxton explains the antic the groups have been up to since they last saw the colony leader. She seems particularly excited (and wary) upon hearing of the celedons but the 'metal bugs' and deep ones only cause a scowl to take over her face. "Troubling news, to be sure. It seems as if our island is not nearly as uninhabited as we were lead to believe. I do wonder how much of the problems we've been facing has been due to leftover Azlanti presence and how much is just a result of the wilderness." she says, seeming to mull over the thought. "I will have to think on this and prepare a report to send back when the resupply ship returns." Turning to Rayland, she looks him up and down, noting his strange skin condition and staring quite obviously. "I suppose you and I have a lot to discuss then, eh? I don't have any intention of giving up my post here as colony leader, as it were." she says, taking a stern stance on an obviously important topic. Rayland replies just as seriously, his face a little downturn so as to not present any challenge. "Don't worry about that, I'm only here to help you in any way you need. No plans to take over the reins after what I've been through. Let's get somewhere quieter and I can tell you some more about what happened." he says, moving off to one of the other rooms and leaving you with Eliza.
"Why didn't you kill me?" she grunts through gritted teeth as you wake her up with the water and soul soap.
For ‘selling’: I believe we can trade stuff for its gp value in raw materials for crafting. You can! The next supply ship will return three weeks into the six weeks of downtime, and you can sell any big ticket items you don't want to trade for materials. Can also place buy orders with the ship, so that a little bit after the second book starts you can get anything you specifically want to buy from the mainland. There are also a few crafters in the colony for goods beyond just alchemy (Luetin can make any basic weapons or armor you might want to purchase, there's at least one cleric with Scribe Scroll, and Alba can help make alchemical things for a price). Is there anyone in town that knows about robot ladies that Braxton might talk to about reprogramming them? Yeah! A blacksmith by the name of Luetin Calewick came with the ship you all rode to the colony on, and he might be of some help working with the clockwork ladies to reprogram them to help you with menial tasks around the colony. I am working on a longer post on Ramona's interactions with Rayland, Eliza's waking up, and the six weeks downtime period. They have a few side quests we can go on, if any of them sound good to you. I didn't quite get to finish it in time (gotta work tomorrow so it's bed time for me), but I'll have it up tomorrow afternoon. Apologies for the delays, and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!
Apologies friends, have been recovering from a nasty infection I received as a Christmas present from the universe. Good to go and back up and running! Once you've told Ramona everything you want to, asked her any questions you may have, and dealt with Eliza, we'll probably skip through the six weeks of downtime with a few events here and there, then get started on book two!
Is there anything critical you ladies would like us to know first, or is there anything we can do for you?" "Not at the moment, no. Until Lady Ankha returns, that is, for she must learn all we can teach her!" she replies excitedly. “But why would you choose to forget something?” Ankha asks, puzzled. “Is that something you’ve ever done?” "Not voluntarily, no. But it is something that we can choose to do, should we be ordered to do so by Acavna or one of her priests." With the business with the celedons passed, you return to the colony and speak to Ramona about your travel to the tower. She is quite surprised to see both Eliza and Rayland, but is certainly not upset. "Wait, those are the first colonists from the first wave we've seen since we got here!" she exclaims, suddenly realizing what this means. "What happened? Where were they? Where are the rest of the colonists? Tell me everything!"
For specifically crafting, you can only spend 8 hours per day crafting, no matter what you make. You don't know this yet (but soon will so it's okay to tell you), but you'll be getting six weeks of downtime to interact with the colonists before book two starts in earnest. You'll work on the colony, and although we won't be using the full Ultimate Campaign rules, there may be a handful of tasks that Ramona assigns you or certain colonists might ask you to do. I am more than willing to handwave past those trips to the celedons (and it is spelled celedons, not caledons) from Ankha, letting her study and craft and rest during the downtime. I'll be getting a longer post (detailing Ramona's reactions and what the colonists have to say) up in a little bit, my family is doing Christmas a day early because my parents are visiting family in Florida tomorrow.
Do you remember all that you’ve seen? When we mortals grow old, we have a tendency to start to forget things. ”We have none of the shortcomings of a mortal life. No memory loss, unless we choose to forget something on purpose.” The celedon reacts with anger when she sees Eliza, her face scrunching up in an approximation of an angry face. ”That is the woman who visited us and lied to us, yes.” she hisses coldly. “Actually, maybe we could chat more another day? She nods, understanding as the anger fades away. ”We trust at least you to come back.” she says to Ankha, smiling. ”Return when you are ready to learn more, and we will teach you.”
Eliza doesn't wake as you make your way back across the island, luckily not encountering either the swarm of ball bearings or any other wildlife. The celedons are sitting next to each other on a large stone column that has fallen to lay on its side. As you approach their holy site once more, they stand and wave excitedly. "Ah, good, you have returned safe from your journey to the tower. Before we speak about your experiences there, I'd like to answer your questions from earlier." Illyrius says, smiling. "In order: yes, we have been alive since the Azlanti empire fell, and some time before. We are constructs, and as such have none of the material needs you mortals have. We simply exist, and have done so for quite a long time." Acavna is the Azlanti goddess of the moon and defensive battle, but does not condone invasions or other forms of offensive combat. She preaches kindness and compassionate, and believes that humanity is something worth protecting. I tend to agree, on the whole." she continues. "But as far as getting her to grant you our immortality? I'm afraid I can't help you there. She created us to be caretakers of this holy site long ago, and I don't think she could turn you into one of us should you even want that." "But of course you have promised to visit here often, so we have plenty of time to discuss the philosophical benefits and downsides of an immortal existence such as ours." Urlana joins in, smiling. "We can speak at great length about our creator and the aspects of her faith in greater detail."
Knowledge (Religion) DC 20: Acavna is indeed a goddess of the ancient Azlanti pantheon, but she is long forgotten and actually dead, in fact. The circumstances of her death has something to do with the calamity that Azlant suffered, but beyond that there aren't many details available. Regardless, telling the celedons this knowledge would likely not go well, and should be avoided.
"Whatever happened to all the ioun stones created here? Are they still floating about somewhere? Ioun storage room, perchance?" The sailor has a passing familiarity with ioun stones, but he struggles to believe the magical gems could be that important. "Why did mister Albrust think the ioun stones were so important? They are interesting, but I hardly see how they could stop Cthulhu. Also, Albrust mentioned a bunker, know anything about that?" "Presumably our former masters removed them for whatever their purposes were. There are none left in the tower. 'Cthulhu' is irrelevant to the islands and the former Azlanti islands, the ioun stones are powerful magical items meant to improve the quality of life of all living beings. Imagine not needing to breathe, or never needing to eat food again, or being able to regenerate lost limbs. The possibilities are endless!" the clockwork servant says, somehow almost sounding angry. She rushes off to program the weapon system. Becky successfully reprograms the crossbow targeting to only shoot skum, although it'll take a bit of time to repair the one Ankha smashed off of the platform.
With the tower fully explored and cleared of any hostiles, you are free to return to the colony with Rayland and the captive Eliza.
Ah apologies my friends, thought I had posted earlier, but I got sick and felt awful for a bit. Am much better now, will catch up and get a post up tomorrow!
Can she figure out the reasons for the dissection? How recent was it? Judging from the bite and claw marks on the remnants of the corpse, it wasn’t dissection as she originally thought. It was most likely feeding, about two weeks ago. Most of the meat has been ripped clean of the corpse, leaving only pieces of rotting gore left behind. Searching the clothes reveals two bars of Soul Soap.
The two clockwork servants seem almost surprised to see you again, as if they didn’t expect another visit. ”Answering your questions in order.” one of the two answers, as if preparing to run down a list. ”We maintain and repair the tower when necessary. We are not authorized to make ioun stones, nor do we have the skills necessary; we are only designed for manual labor. We know that the water elemental exists, and that you have freed it. Beyond that, nothing. The elven prisoner is the visitor that the two alive colonists mentioned, there is no hidden room in the tower. I do not know where our masters have gone, but they did mention some underwater hidden force far beyond their capabilities to defeat. Albrust of Havenvine was one of the researchers here at the Spindle, working on the great work of Spindle Solutions, the ioun stones. The ripper jack swarm roams the island patrolling at random, you can avoid it if you wish to keep it active. We can also recall it to the tower, commanding it to stay here should you desire that.”
There's talk of a hidden prison
I wonder if the lovely ladies on the floor below can answer any questions.
The faint coppery tang of blood wafts out of the last unexplored room when the door is opened. A gleaming metal table covered in blood stands in the northeastern corner of the room. Just south of the table is a smaller table covered in surgical tools—some of them obviously used. A body lies in a butchered pile in the center of the room. A metal sheet attached to the eastern wall of this room is etched with anatomical diagrams and brief instructions of incision length and depth for various parts of the human body. The body in the room has been stripped of most of its meat, but the carcass is otherwise intact. A set of bloody and torn men’s clothes sits in a pile near the smaller table.
The potion is a potion of cure moderate wounds. Unfortunately (or luckily?) the head is not sentient. It is, however, exactly what Ankha says it is: a playback device. Placing either of the two recording gems you have recovered plays a message in Azlanti, emanating from the mouth of the bust. Before it delves into either of the two messages, however, it emits a sentence intended to be a warning:
Recording gem from downstairs, from the clockwork's workshop:
“I want it on record,” begins the first voice, “that I, Albrust of Havenvine, stand opposed to this decision to send this facility’s golems—“
“We don’t have time for this, Albrust!” a second voice interrupts. “I know you’re committed to protocol, but they can’t even estimate the potential damage!” The speaker suddenly lowers his voice. “They don’t know if the bunkers are going to do a damn bit of good, my friend. We may be lucky to survive at all. That survival could depend on the golems being able to dig us back out. They need to be redeployed where they might do some good. Our scouts report the elves are… evacuating.” After a moment, the first voice says quietly. “What about the spy? We still don’t know for sure.” “And we’re never going to know, Albrust. He’s likely going to die like millions of others. They only difference is that he probably deserves it." Gem found on table on second floor:
This recording gem is much less focused than the other conversation, seeming to be a researcher's personal notes and/or diary.
It explains that the Spindle Solution, a division of the Ioun Imperative that served as the Azlanti Empire’s intelligence organization, was a group dedicated to improving humanity’s quality of life through the use of ioun stone technology. The organization created and specialized in the spindle series of stones, while also performing humanitarian research. Spindlelock Tower, and the facility it was a part of, was intended to be a research station. The recording goes on to mention that the group recently captured a spy. Originally suspected to be an elf from Celwynvian disguised as a human, the spy proved to be tenacious, resourceful, and dangerous. Once captured, the spy was placed in temporal stasis, and since the organization’s leadership was unwilling to house the prisoner at the Compass, the headquarters for the Spindle Solution, this facility was renovated in secret to contain the individual. Most of the other researchers here were unaware this was going on. The recording continues, stating that the Spindle Solution leadership had recently determined that the Empire of Azlant had been manipulated by a hitherto unknown aquatic threat. Some speculated that the spy might be related to whoever this threat is, so a second series of renovations were performed on Spindlelock Tower to accommodate the spy’s release from stasis and eventual interrogation. The speaker ends the recording with a note that at the time of this recording, the general public is unaware of this aquatic threat. Book details from library: The three normal books appear to have been coated with an ungent of timelessness, which explains why they have survived when the others have not.
These three books primarily contain complicated research into constructing new ioun stones and different ways to incorporate them into items for combat such as gauntlets, armor, and weapons, while other manuals discuss applications where ioun stones are built into homes and other buildings in constructions called matrixes. These matrixes could do things like sustain the inhabitants without them having to eat or drink, provide magical power to other devices in the building, and increase physical and mental strength and stamina, among other things. The collection of the three normal books and the two metal plated ones are worth around 5,000 gp, if delivered to the right collector. The recording gem that contains the 'diary' could be worth up to 1,000 gold, if sent to that same collector. The sixth and last book is a spellbook, containing the following spells:
The dead skum leader holds a finely crafted fauchard that detects as magical under inspection, as well as a single potion on a leather loop connected to his belt. The fauchard has a surprisingly nautical theme to it, with engravings of various aquatic creatures in the head of the weapon. (He also has some keys but everything is unlocked now so they're useless) Spellcraft DC 21:
The weapon is a +1 seaborne fauchard. Heading back to the second floor, you see that much of this level is a room that wraps around the tower. At this room’s northernmost end, a ramp descends to the lower level, and another ramp on the south wall ascends to the floor above. Against a wall to the southwest is a table suitable for quiet study. The western side of this area sports half a dozen bookshelves covered in the dust of deteriorating paper and leather. Opposite the shelves is a small stone plinth holding a clockwork bust of a nondescript woman. A large table surrounded by a few stools occupies the eastern side of this room. Ankha sees a plaque hanging on the wall that is unfortunately in Azlanti, but Braxton can translate it as saying "Lower Level Tank and Observation Deck". A quick search of the library stacks is initially disappointing for the alchemist, as it seems that most of the books have deteriorated in the past 10 thousand years or so. However, it is not entirely fruitless, as she finds two books made of engraved metal plates and three separate 'regular' books that have somehow survived the aeons. A sixth book looks to be magically treated, and appears to be a spellbook. The plinth holds a strange clockwork bust of a woman. A small slot is built into the forehead of the bust that looks to be the same size as a clockwork spy’s recording gem.
The large water elemental (literally, 10x10 space) exits the tank as soon as the door is open, seeming to nod towards the party with something that looks like a face. Surprisingly, no water floods out besides that which the elemental brings with it; there must be something really important or valuable on it though, they talked about it quite a bit after it wrecked. "You'll find the wrecked Azlanti ship off the east coast of this island: I heard the researchers here talk about right before whatever happened, happened. I wish I knew what was on that ship or what guards it now, but I have not left this tower in far too long." he says as a farewell before flowing down the stairs.
"Velixorus." the elemental replies, gruffly. "So, do we have a deal? That treasure for my freedom?"
Elemental Info:
1. DR 5/-
2. No specific weaknesses. 3. Special attacks: Drench (Ex) The elemental's touch puts out nonmagical flames of Large size or smaller. The creature can dispel magical fire it touches as dispel magic (caster level equals elemental's HD). Vortex (Su) A water elemental can create a whirlpool as a standard action, at will. This ability functions identically to the whirlwind special attack, but can only form underwater and cannot leave the water. Water Mastery (Ex) A water elemental gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its opponent are touching water. If the opponent or the elemental is touching the ground, the elemental takes a –4 penalty on attack and damage rolls. These modifiers apply to bull rush and overrun maneuvers, whether the elemental is initiating or resisting these kinds of attacks. "Those terms are acceptable." the trapped water elemental somehow seems to nod, or maybe bow? Strange either way. "I will follow the agreement, keep my word, and if we find each other in the wild later I will not be hostile." "I don't know what the skum and the elf were up to exactly, beyond kidnapping and keeping these two hostage. I also think there was one more prisoner in the tower at some point, but I didn't see where he went. Looked like another of the colonists, as you call them, but I cannot be sure." Braxton is sure that the elemental speaks true, and seeing as how they're not evil or vindictive unless provoked, so is the rest of the party.
I can probably recall everything I know about water elementals
“Do you know anything that might go against Eliza’s very nature—something even worse than killing other people? Maybe that would snap her out of it?” Rayland looks a little bit sheepish when Ankha asks this, shaking his head slightly. "I, uh, didn't really get to know her that well before all of...this." he says, waving his hand around. [/b]"Maybe when she wakes up we can figure out what's going on, but until then I have no idea."[/b] "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" The water elemental speaks back to Braxton in its native language, its voice flowing and light in opposition to its large stature and obvious angry nature. Aquan: "Release me from my prison here and I will return to the ocean, do not worry. I have been here for thousands of years, those dim-witted humans kept me here simply to clean and oxygenate the water within and force water through their valves. Such a waste of my time! Should you free me, I will impart to you the location of one of their sunken ships most assuredly full of their treasure."
Sorry, your skin condition is only temporary. Rayland looks at Ankha with a somewhat...bewildered expression. "Isn't that...good? I don't think I've ever been invisible, nor wanted to be permanently that way. I appreciate your interest, however, I suppose." Speaking of which, do you have any ideas to snap Eliza out of her mind control? "Well I think that what brought me back to myself was when she commanded me to attack you all, something I wouldn't have done on my own. I don't know if it's possible to easily snap her out of it, for even in the brief periods between our captors' visits she seemed to be more pliable and accepting of his commands." he says, looking nervously at his fellow captive. "I suppose we shall see with time, though." but do you know what this tank is for? And do you know if there are any other prisoners, or skum, or mechanical constructs around this place? He looks as if he suddenly remembered something, and gasps at Ankha. "Wait, stay away! There's a rather mean and large water elemental in there that the visitor has won over to its side. Probably pretty hard to fight it in the tank, at the very least. Should you want to clear the tower completely, that is, because now that you've finished off the skum it's the only thing left."
The condition doesn't appear to be so much of a permanent transformation, instead appearing to be a result of some weird slime being applied to his skin causing the transformation into the weird transparent membrane. It is definitely not from a natural source, that much is sure, rather being applied by a source. It should fade in time, as long as he isn't exposed to whatever the mysterious source is. A quick glance at Eliza reveals she is suffering from the same condition that Rayland is. What do you remember about the colony? Do you remember what happened to anyone else? Do you know how you and Eliza got here? "Unfortunately, not much. I remember the first few weeks were relatively normal, and then some sort of commotion...maybe a fight? I can't quite remember the details." he says, shaking his head. "As for how we got here? I remember coming here with Eliza for one reason or another, and never leaving. That visitor kept coming and messing with my head." he finishes, putting a hand on either side of his head as if it were hurting him. "There's a chance I remember more as I recover from whatever this is." he points towards his strange skin condition.
“He called her Eliza,” she indicates the strange man, “and the talking statues said that Eliza came here, and unless there’s another colony we don’t know about, she must be the Eliza Haniver from the colony. Isn’t she?” The man nods in answer, setting both his weapon and shield down to indicate he is not a threat. "That is correct, she was from the first wave of colonists. I presume you are the second, sent into this hellish situation you find yourselves in now." he says, before descending into an awful coughing fit.And what is your name? "I'm Rayland Arkley, provisional leader of Talmandor's Bounty. Or, at least I was." he says, shaking his head in disappointment. "I can't remember everything that happened, and I actually have reason to believe my memories have been altered. All I remember is that we have been here for numerous weeks; most likely months given your presence here." he continues, his mind visibly swirling with thoughts. "We were visited multiple times a day by that disgusting fish thing, and at least once a week by whoever leads whatever group they're with." "I can't quite recall his face, unfortunately, but I know that he is an elf. Or a particularly elvish human." he jokes, cracking a weak smile and laughing. "I'm sorry I can't be much help, I think I was being forcibly mind controlled by that damned elf." Now that you are up close and can see him clearer, the man seems to be suffering from a horrible transformation. He is obviously human (and fits the description of the man Ramona described as Rayland) but his skin has become transparent, revealing muscle tissue, organs, and sinew threaded by spidery veins and capillaries pulsing with blood. His once-thick hair lies damp and plastered to his skull, all the more horrific due to his lack of visible skin. The only evidence of skin is a glistening patina coating flesh never meant to be exposed.
And we're back! Apologies for being away a little longer than I expected, took a bit more time off than I thought I would. Excited to get us moving again!
Hey guys, I’ve got a week of vacation from work coming up starting Sunday, and I’m going to be using most of that week as a small break/vacation from my games as well. Just feeling a tiny bit of burnout and don’t want it to escalate into making the game worse for all of us. I’ll be around through the end of Saturday, but from Sunday to around Friday-ish the plan is for me to be ‘out of the office’. If I feel rested and refreshed enough to get back into it before then I will, but plan for this week to be downtime. I’ll get a post up this evening detailing some info from the man, who he is and what happened etc. In other news: book 1 finished! Which means you’ve hit level 4, and coincidentally a perfect place to take that break of mine.
Finally, Ankha manages to take the skum down, her cleaving blade slicing into his chest and leaving the beefier thing dead on the floor. The man doesn't strike at Braxton as he moves past and the daring swashbuckler is able to swiftly knock Eliza out; she falls to the floor out cold.
Becky does miss the strange mind-controlled woman, but it is enough to dispel the illusory double she had. Eliza steps back against the wall and unleashes another psychic blast, this time aimed at Becky.
The man follows Eliza, stepping to engage her again, swinging his sword at her twice. Both strikes connect, hard slashes hitting her as she cries in pain.
The skum continues its attacks, focusing on Ankha once more.
Round 4 26- skum
Becky does miss, but is close enough to hitting Eliza to cause her illusory double to disappear. Ankha hits the skum squarely again on the shoulder, but this one appears to be tougher than the others you've met so far and takes the deep strike in stride without too much trouble, though he is certainly bloodied and severely wounded.
It does function like mirror image, so both have been dispelled! Thank you for the reminder as well, I had forgotten and didn't check it.
The man that revealed the symbol on the glass wall moves as if to strike at Ku'Hania, but even as the sword swings towards her his arm stops and he seems to regain some part of himself back. It appears as if he has shrugged off the mind control effect (for now at least) and he redirects his attack towards the woman. "Your plan won't work, Eliza!" he shouts as his sword connects.
The woman does indeed cast another spell on her turn, but Braxton's dagger stabs deep into her shoulder, and her spell dissipates into nothingness. "How dare you!" she calls out angrily at the man even as he strikes at her as well.
The skum lashes out again with his weapon at Ankha.
Init: Round 3 26- skum
The man of the pair is visibly affected by Ku'Hania's magic, his hands trembling a bit as he makes his way over to the glass door on the tank and removes the blanket from over the top of it and revealing a strange magical symbol emblazoned on it. The skum, the man, and the woman all suddenly have a second illusory copy of them spring into existence as soon as the symbol is revealed. Spellcraft DC 17:
It's a symbol of mirroring spell hidden on the door. The lady, in the meantime, seems to have some sort of violent transformation take over her features. She grins cruelly and laughs maniacally before waving her hands towards Braxton, obviously casting a spell.
Will save DC 15 for half. Spellcraft DC 17:
She cast mind thrust II, a psychic spell. The skum grunts under the powerful swing but doens't go down, and reaches its arms back to swing its fauchard at Ankha.
Init Round 2 26- skum
[ooc]Party is up!
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