I completely understand your perspective. Thanks so much for running the game for as long as you did; the last three years have been such a blast with this campaign!
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Y'know, it's funny. Years ago, when I was first doing PbP gaming, I could keep up with six or seven games at one time with little trouble. Now I sometimes have difficulty with two. I guess that's what adding a wife and kid to the mix will do for you!
I know that I've been a lot quieter lately than I normally am and I apologize for that; having a five-month-old at home takes up more of my time than I anticipated it would. That being said, I will pledge to do my best to do better and keep up if others are willing to continue. I've never had a PbP run as long as this one has and I'm really enjoying the game, but if you've got too many irons in the fire, I understand wanting to drop the one that's cooled off the most. It already seems like two players are ok with shutting it down, and if that's the case, I'm alright with closing up shop here. I wouldn't want to be the guy who forces it to keep going when other folks want to let it go.
Gideon tries to edge around in a way that will allow him to flank with one of his allies before stabbing again.
Not wanting to use up any more of his spells than he already has, Gideon opts instead to move into the melee, drawing his rapier as he does to get his own piece of the action!
Gideon swears under his breath as he feels the effect of the magic seep into his being, knowing that it's going to leave Terana vulnerable while he and Tobar are hindered. The scholar focuses his energies on any enemy that still prevents Terana from closing with the spellcaster hanging back with a spell of paralysis, hoping to enable his ally to cut them down that much more quickly.
Gideon attempts to blind the polearm wielders to make it easier for Terana to close with them.
Opening his haversack and removing his tools, Gideon first asks the others to keep an eye out and step a good ten or fifteen feet back before going to work on the trap, clearly choosing caution over haste, taking his time with the trap.
With Terana out of the creature's grasp, Gideon casts a Glitterdust spell in an attempt to blind the beast.
Not wanting to use up another spell that could potentially fail, Gideon opts instead for a tried and true boost to his allies.
Gideon attempts to remove the spell of stoneskin, and perhaps any other protections, affecting the beast.
I'm totally alright with just removing Seaspike from the loot, recalculating the spread, and donating it to Talasantri.
Gideon gives a slight grin to his friend. "You wanna take a hit and find out?"
"Sounds like a lead to me." Gideon says, swimming up to Terana and renewing the spell of Heroism that he typically casts on her. "Anyone else want a shot of bravery juice?"
Gideon turns his attention to the distraught mother. "Did she say anything about where she was going? Anything that might give us a clue as to where to start looking would be helpful."
"No kiddin'. Drecissa first, then we can deal with these deep merfolk and the red herring they sent us after. They have a lot to answer for." Gideon says.
Gideon snorts quietly at Arianda's question. "I think we've just stepped on the seedy underbelly of this place, honestly. You saw what happened when you first joined up with us, the ambush by those cecaelia. Like Terana said, whoever runs the black market is just pissed off that we didn't wanna play ball with 'em, if you ask me. Figures if they can't have us in their pocket, we're better off in nobody's pocket." he says. "I'd just as soon take the long way and leave them waiting, but if y'all wanna fight, I'll jump in with ya."
"A burial at sea seems entirely fitting for someone who was so enamored with the ocean. We would be happy to see that you get the burial that you deserve."
"We haven't come to play games! The naga who plagued your spirit have been destroyed...see here, the leader of their band." Gideon says, kneeling to lift the head of the naga's leader so the phantasm can see it. "We have come from Talasantri, seeking your spear. There is great fear in the city that Ruinquake is on the verge of waking and that the creature will finish the job it began all those years ago, when you stopped its destructive rampage." "We had no intention of disturbing your rest, Wavewalker. Please forgive us for doing so, though I hope our appearance and the slaying of the naga will give you the true rest that you so richly deserve."
"The only way to answer that question is to look around." Gideon answers, waiting for Terana to get back from her swim before he goes exploring this new tomb.
Gideon attempts to strip away the effects of the spell just cast by the naga.
Gideon takes a quick step backward away from Terana to let her screen him as he fires a couple of arrows at the naga!
Gideon gives a nod. "Second verse, same as the first, is it? Lemme give everyone a dose of speed first. Ari, tell me exactly how that chamber looks, dimensions and decor and objects within, and where this naga is. How many feet forward, how many down, yadda yadda. If I don't want us getting shunted through a solid object I need to see our destination in my mind as accurately as possible." he answers. Once he'd spent a minute plying as much information as he believed necessary from Ariadna, he begins by casting another Haste spell before using Dimension Door to drop he and Terana behind the naga and as near to within striking distance as he can get Terana to be.
"Whoa, hold up!" he calls to the others, some strange sense tickling the back of his brain. Kneeling, he carefully examines the floor, eventually finding a well-concealed pressure plate. "That would've been a nasty surprise..." he says aloud, though mostly to himself, as he works to render inoperable the trap door mechanism.
After announcing his discoveries to the rest of the group, Gideon activates the ioun torch in his headband, causing light to radiate from it, before he turns to head down the spiral stairs. "Y'all coming?" he calls out to the others, carefully descending and on the alert for anything emerging from the floor, wall, or ceiling that would be intent on turning him into shish kabob.
Gideon gives a good-natured grin to the others. "Gideon the meat shield now, huh?" he asks before approaching the black stone and examining it carefully before trying to open it.
Gideon looks around a bit when the fight ends, blinking in slight disbelief. "Huh...well...I didn't contribute to the actual fighting very much. Dang that displacement spell. Still...that went surprisingly well! It's amazing what a little advance planning can get you." Gideon muses. "I suppose the next thing would be to check thatblack stone coffin that we saw. If we're going to find Wavewalker's spear, that seems like the logical first place to look."
"There!" Gideon calls out, moving swiftly forward to strike at the naga.
Gideon moves on to the next naga in the rapidly-thinning group, helping the tiger (or whomever happens to be there) bring the next one to its figurative knees.
Throwing off the naga's gaze, Gideon switches his focus to the naga currently being savaged by Arianda's tiger, yelling out,"Boo!" as his invisibility vanishes when he stabs at the creature.
Himself nodding to the two ladies, Gideon casts Invisibility on Arianda and, drawing his rapier, waits for the pre-determined amount of time to pass, then casts his Haste spell, affecting himself, Terana, and Tobar. Once that casting is done, he casts Dimension Door to teleport both himself and Terana into the room, using his memory of the room's layout and the position of the nagas to place himself and Terana within ten feet of the one that was nearest to the chamber's entrance and waits for the fun to begin!
"I like that plan better, for certain. Let's do that. I'll do you one better and cast Invisibility on you, too, once you've shifted to the lizard form. We'll count out thirty seconds to let you get in position, then I'll Haste the group and you work your summoning. After that, I'll Dimension Door Terana and I into the room at the same time as your summons pop and Tobar can plink from a safe distance. Sound good?"
Gideon quietly creeps back to the others to report what he's seen. "Spirit nagas...four of them. Seems to be the room where Wavewalker's tomb is centered; there's a large stone coffin with a blue gem set into it." he reports. "They didn't see me, though, and I think we can get the drop on them thanks to a new spell I picked up. Tobar, you hang back out of melee range; Terana, I can use Dimension Door to drop us both right in the face of one of them, catch them all by surprise, and maybe even take one out before they know what's going on. If you have a form you can shift to that would be appropriate for a melee, Ariadna, I'd be happy to bring you along."
After signaling that it was safe for the others to come forward a bit, he holds his hand up in a "Stop" gesture, then puts his finger to his lips. Quietly, he weaves the incantation for a spell of invisibility, then tries to sneak down the hallway to see where the argument is coming from, and who (or what) is doing it.
"Gimme a sec! There's a pressure plate!" he calls back to the others, removing his toolkit from his haversack to get to work on it.
Gideon gratefully takes one of the amulets and slips it over his head. After waiting for the others to give a good bit of room between themselves and the door, Gideon moves forward to inspect the entrance.
Yikes! Sorry for the absence! Things got busy with my son and school starting back up and I totally forgot to check the game for a couple days. My mistake!
Gideon continues to attack with Terana, taking as much of advantage of the flanking position that they are both in as he can.
My last declared action was to cast Grease in front of Terana; it's still that same round, isn't it? There's not been a Reflex save yet.
In an effort to make it harder for the three crazed men, Gideon casts a Grease spell, aiming it so that Terana can still swing freely but the slippery oil will keep them from advancing quite so quickly.
While Terana is diving for the treasures at the bottom of the pool, Gideon goes to the body of the coatl and lays his hand on the beast's scales, runs his fingers through the dun feathers, shaking his head sadly. Moving to its head, he notes that its one good eye is still open, staring lifelessly, so he works to close the eye's lid. Once done, he says a silent prayer for it. "Rest in peace, goodly creature. Your long suffering is ended." he says quietly.
Refusing to give up, and now over the sick feeling, Gideon fires two more shots at the beast.
Gideon, too, is unable to handle the overwhelming sensation of black sickness that washes over him, doubling over and retching in the fetid water at his feet. Even as wobbly on his feet as he is, though, he still manages to get a bow shot off against the creature.
Gideon's eyes widen as he lays eyes on the dull scales and once-bright wings, his mind knowing the creature before he meets its eyes.
Shaking off the effects of its gaze, which only further confirms its identity, Gideon immediately casts a spell of quickening on the group.
"It's been driven mad! Ware its spells and teeth!"
"I don't notice anything unusual in here. Should be safe." he calls back to the others. Still, he advances toward the sloping tunnel cautiously and warily, the stench in the air setting him on edge.
Gideon frowns as he slowly enters the chamber, looking anxiously around him. " well, doesn't this place just look cheerful?" he asks.
Gideon yelps and winced was the fire washes over Terana and looks relieved when she seems mostly unharmed. "Well...I suppose we should save those for the exit. We could probably use an arrow or bolt to detonate them from a safe distance, but let's finish seeing what's here before we cleanse this foul taint."
"Worth a shot... use one of those draugr axes, though. Don't wanna risk damaging your glaive in any way."
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