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Mr. Whiskers agrees to the Queens terms, asking if she has an immediate task or wants to provide him with a way of knowing when he was wanted. — Mr. Whiskers gives a sigh of relief when Mort is brought forth and shows some knowledge. “Sorry for the theatrics. I figured this was easier than explaining things several times over.”
Mr. Whiskers is disappointed to find out he most likely will not be able to end Irrisen’s winter, but does not give up hope. Instead he slowly starts putting things in place so that a new generation can someday achieve what he alone could not. Towards that end, he does multiple divination and research on the Veil. For the rest of his life, Mr. Whiskers keeps a Mind Blank active on himself and Nivean. He spends some time wandering the Storval Plateau looking for the remnants of his warren. Knowing he would never again fit in, still he wanted to help and protect them. As part of that he travels to Kyonin and seeks information about the Elf Gates. Eventually he asks the Queen of Kyonin permission for some of his folk to be allowed to use it to reach Castrovel and the worlds beyond. He slowly gathers information about how Irrisen is and on a few occasions gives help to Hestrig without either side being the wiser. That did use up the last of his dimensional grenades, but he found the explosions quite satisfying. Knowing that Cadence made some sort of deal with the Pathfinder Society, every five years he makes a trip to Heldren and then Absalom so as to update her on her family. He knows that from her point of view the messages would come one after another, but still he doesn’t want her to completely lose the connection. The first trip to Absalom he allocates a little extra time so that he can explain some things to the Society. He does offer to tell what happened to Queen Elvanna in exchange for being able to use their communication link to Triaxius. His version focuses more on the other party members’ actions than his own. When they take too long giving him the run-around, he asks to cast a spell. He casts levitate on himself and sits cross-legged in the air. He then says “Please use detect magic. Once you have found someone who can explain this” gesturing to how he is levitating “I will speak with them.” After pointing out to the first person that their detect magic does not show a transmutation aura, he waits for someone more competent. On his second trip to Absalom, he shares what he has discovered about the Veil with the Society. Although they can be difficult to work with, they were good at keeping records. Throughout the rest of his life, he tries to help various good people while never drawing too much attention to himself.
Carnivalist would get him that without requiring a huge number of Rogue levels.
I requested it and think I was given it. On the other hand, I did not consider it vital. Why do you ask? If Einar wants it, he can have it.
Mr. Whiskers immediately insists that he take the upper position for the pose. I do not want to be crushed by Einar! Being so much shorter, his paws end up on Einar’s lower back. During the dance, Mr. Whiskers hums a tune to himself as he dances. He manages to make it look cute.
The issue is this is a game. I’m not going to put a lot of effort into a fantasy in-game wedding. This is also a rural area. Customs vary, but in general rural weddings have a lot less trappings. If it rains, the guests will use umbrellas. Much better that than messing with the weather patterns of the area.
I suppose I could Greater Teleport away to learn Permanent Image and provide lasting mementos.
I will pass on teleporting for silk curtains. I would counter-offer with Hallucinatory Terrain.
Perplexed, Mr. Whiskers says "Why don't I just send you to Triaxis when the time comes? I should be able to do that."
"I still have a few things to do on Golarian. If you are willing to have the wedding here -- on Golarian -- then I would be happy to stand as your best man. I am sorry, but I will not be joining you on Triaxis. " "I am currently in the process of planning a trip to Irrissen. I also want to find my people, see how they are doing. Then there is the trip to the elven kingdom of Kyonin. I still haven't seen much of this world."
Chuckling lightly, Mr. Whiskers looks at Einar and waits to see how he will handle this challenge.
Smiling, Mr. Whiskers approaches the two. "Here you are! I've been wondering where you wandered off to." With a nod of his head, he says "Good to see you again, Cadence. You look to have done well while we were gone."
So I wonder where Einar is? Mr. Whiskers checks the inn first, then if he doesn't find him there wanders the town looking for Einar.
Winching slightly, Mr. Whiskers admits "Yes, I've had some experience with time flowing differently." I would rather not repeat it either. "I had only come to see if someone could help me make the correct contacts. I had not foreseen such a prompt and direct response. My original plans were to return to Heldren for at least a short time today." He ponders a moment, then says "I suppose I could just teleport back, talk to the fellow, and pop back here. I think if I ask Erlis first, she would probably allow me a location not too far that wouldn't cause so much alarm." Guesturing to where the sapphire had been, he asks "Is there some way I can repay you for this?"
"I must admit, I've never done spell research myself. I do like to understand the principles, but have not had an opportunity to apply them in that way." With a chuckle, he admits "Yes, that part I had figured out. I had been away from civilization for too long, and did not think things through. I guess I'll have to figure out what to do if the destination is a large city though." Smiling, he says "Always something more to learn!"
"I am called Mr. Whiskers. I seek another audience with Queen Titania or one of her subjects. I seek advice on how to return spring to Irrisen." I do hope the subject makes up for who is making the request.
"It is also a trait of any successful arcane practitioner." Mr. Whiskers points out. Shaking his head, Mr. Whiskers says "You are quite correct, all of those would be problems with the normal alarm spell. I suppose you could make a variation of the alarm spell that triggered off teleportation." He then mentions some of the principles that could be used, based off contingency and invisibility alarm. He is quite willing to talk shop with the wizard. He includes a few details of how teleportation is different than dimension door. Before leaving, he does apologize again for the way he caused all the fuss by teleporting in like that.
"Hopefully this will go better than our first meeting. The Queen commented on how I stank of winter at that time." Looking to the two of them, he asks "Would either of you have advice for me? I want to be properly respectful."
Mr. Whiskers gives a traditional eleven greeting, and then said "Only for the best of reasons. Curiosity." Smiling, he says "Elris mentioned having a wizard to help here. Evidently my arrival has caused your next project." He pauses for dramatic effect. "I hadn't thought about the stir it might cause teleporting into Heldren." With a chuckle, he then admits "I did think about my arrival here though. No teleportation involved, but they did ring the alarm for me."
Mr. Whiskers follows along, admiring the changes that had been made. "Crummock had told us of Jairess, but I didn't meet her. I wouldn't mind speaking with her and the two fey later." When Erlis mentions wanting to protect against teleportation, Mr. Whiskers says "That can be difficult and expensive. There are substances you can mix into the walls to prevent teleportation. There are also some strong spellls that can prevent it. The simple and inexpensive defense is to not allow someone into an area and make sure there is nothing memorable about the area." Smiling, he says "That doesn't work so well outdoors, but it could probably work for guard towers. When teleporting, you need to mentally picture your destination. If there is nothing memorable about it, the chances of ending up at the wrong location are much higher." "If you want, I could probably spare a little time speaking with your wizard about this. What is his name?" --- When Mr. Whiskers is introduced to Jairess, he complements her on how her ravens had helped the lodge. He will try to talk to her and the two fey at the same time. Eventually he transitions the conversation to why he wanted to speak with them. "Pardon me for asking this, but do you know how I might make contact with Queen Titania? I would like to arrange an audience with her. It is nothing that has to happen immediately, but I'm hoping that she or one of her court could offer advice on how to return spring to Irrisen."
Smiling, he mentions "It was a surprise to me when I found out how much time had gone by." He knocks on the stonework. "You've been busy with the upgrades! You also look to be keeping yourself in excellent shape." With a chuckle, he admits "Given the surprise that I evidently gave your Lieutenant Reynolds, I thought it only right I come out here and visit." "Mind if I come in?"
It would have to be without Mr. Whiskers. He is not going back to Triaxis.
Satisfied that the village is in good shape, Mr. Whiskers goes to the inn and rents a room. He eats his normal light meal, and retires slightly early that night. As he curls up with Nivean, his mind is full of worries about what has become of his warren over the time he has been gone. I only intended to be gone a few years. By now the warren has no doubt moved, and it will take some time to find it. It might be easier to find some of the Shoanti and ask them about it. When morning comes, Mr. Whiskers prepares himself for a day of travels. I am going to want to get better winter gear. I don't really need it, but where I'm going people are more comfortable meeting strangers if they are properly dressed for the weather. While breaking his fast downstairs, he asks if the inn can pack him something for the mid-day meal. "I'm not certain where I will be at that time. I plan to take a quick trip and return here. After that, I will likely take a much longer trip." He checks, but fully expects that Einar is sleeping in. He then follows the trail they took so long ago into the border woods. Once out of sight, he changes himself and Nivean into hawks appropriate to the area and enjoys the flight to the lodge.
When he gets to the lodge, he slowly circles it once to look it over. He then lands at the front door and retakes his normal form before knocking. I think this should keep Erlis from scolding Lieutenant Reynold too much.
He then waits and listens to the hurried response he expects from within.
With a chuckle, Mr Whiskers says "I suppose that is one way to learn. I think I'll stick with reading a book though!"
Smiling, Mr. Whiskers says "Sorry about that. I hadn't really thought about how the local guard might react." I've been away from society too long. I should have realized teleporting in like that could cause problems. "How is Erlis?" I wonder if she is still fascinated by glaives.
Ah! There is the most likely reason for Einar's visit! Mirth evident in his voice, Mr. Whiskers quietly mentions "Einar, it looks like someone is eager to see you." He gives a slight nod of his head in Cadence's direction so Einar could see where he was looking.
"In my view, he refused to become accustomed to being a gnome. After the change, the first thing he did was use magic to permanently make himself larger. He said it was purely practical, avoided him having to buy new equipment." He then just shrugs and leaves it at that. "As for his reason to not come here, I can not say." Mr. Whiskers shares some of the tales that he considers more believable, such as saving the city on the island. He avoids talking about what happened in Russia other than the rescue of the soldiers.
This was unexpected. "It was only a month for us." He allows that to sink in as he attempts to regain his own balance. "We shut the portal, but doing so required that we go through it. After that, well things sort of snowballed. We left Golarian in order to stop Queen Elvanna's plans." "Crummock has changed a bit. At one point, he died and we used a spell to reincarnate him. His new form is that of a gnome." "He has his own place now, and is planning to settle down there." I think we can leave out the part about him having created a plane of his own. Mr. Whiskers warms up to the conversation. Once in amongst the townsfolk, he relaxes and starts talking more freely. He doesn't talk much about what happened after they left Whitethrone, feeling that is too fantastic a story. He is sorry to hear that Madame Theodorra has passed. He would have liked to talk with her more. He is eager to hear how Freya is doing and expresses great interest in all of the changes that have happened in Heldren.
Twenty years? Mr. Whiskers stops walking, stunned by Gammel's greeting. Twenty years! "Um...pardon me..." Twenty years! Mr. Whiskers stares at the human before him. He bears some resemblance to Gammel. Still, twenty years?!? Finally he asks "Did you say twenty years?" He looks at the man, hoping he had heard wrong and that there is some mistake. Twenty years means most of my warren would have died. Even those who were my own age would be venerable! The children that were barely born would now be adults! Even the Shoanti I knew are likely getting quite old.
No. For the duration of the quest, time for you came to a stop. But everyone you know is probably old or dead, since rat folk don't live long. That I (the player) was expecting. Mr. Whiskers is still in for a shock.
Mr. Whiskers scratches his chin. "I'm not sure what you are asking for, Einar. I am going to get a tuning fork set for Golarian. Once on our home planet, I can certainly teleport us to Heldren." The next day, once Einar is ready Mr. Whiskers casts several buffs and then plane shifts back to Golarian. Once he gets oriented, he then uses a Greater Teleport to bring them to near the statue in the middle of Heldren. He looks forward to seeing the people and learning what has happening in the month since they left.
Are you saying Mr. Whiskers is going to suddenly age 20 years? That would make him almost venerable!
Chuckling, he replies "Your faith is welcome, but I don't foresee needing to battle any fire creatures in the near future. It would be better if the staff were in the hands of someone that could use it."
"Sorry, I wasn't clear. I hadn't meant that Titania should rule Irrisen. Only that she might lend advice and aid so that Irrisen would once again know spring." "As for Solveig, even if they are no longer there I'm sure there are other followers of Milani who could be aided." With a sigh, he says "All of this is speculation though." Smiling, he says "It seems we will be heading our separate ways. Let's settle things and plan for how to get people where they want to go." Nodding to Dmitri, he says "Axis," gesturing to Crummock "building their own private place" and finally at Anastasia and Einar "or to a world of dragons." Gesturing to himself, he says "I will be picking up some tuning forks and making some inquiries, but likely can find my own way."
Mr. Whiskers spends some time considering the offer. "It is a very powerful item, and the ability to put out fires is very nice. Still, I am hoping I will not have need of such powerful magics any more." Looking at the others, he suggests "How about we sell it and give the money gained to the soldiers" waving in Dmitri's, Anton's and the other Russian's direction "to allow them to get their project started." Looking at the instant fortress, he says "I wouldn't mind having this though. Cut down on distractions when traveling."
Nodding towards Crummock, Mr. Whiskers admits "Irrisen is not free, however remember that the guard and the queen is gone. It should also be possible for spring to return now. Lastly, "We have cut off a magic source of power and given that source a reason to withdraw much of what it brought." ---
"I agree, Einar. It is just a matter of time before she restores the dimensional lock here. This area just protects against scrying."
"Remember that when we left, there were rebels working against the Winter Witches. We might be able to get another meeting with Titania, who I suspect would be very interested in bringing spring to the country." Looking to Dmitri, Anton and the other soldiers he adds "I don't think that should require your aid if you want to go to Axis." "As for long term plans, I will be going back to Golarian. I have family there and I still want to see Kyonin."
Alright, I was wondering about exactly what that meant by 'regardless of local conditions'. Am I correct in thinking I could wish us back to the area we left covered by the private sanctum in the grove? At that point, we could have the soldiers and Anastasia gather in the area within the Sanctum and Crummock could bring them to Golarian. At this point, that is probably the safest place for them. I think it will take multiple trips, but Crummock should be able to get everyone out from there. The sanctum should help hide exactly what is happening. Let me know if I'm misunderstanding anything here. Since we are all in different time zones and today will likely be a busy one for me, feel free to bot the wish. Mr. Whiskers wants to return to Golarian. Heldren is a reasonable destination, but others would also be acceptable. Mr. Whiskers has decided that he will be living the rest of his life under the protection of a Mind Blank. His actions are the type that would have gathered far too much attention.
"I do have a plan. I was planning to use a wish to make it so your" nodding towards Crummock "next casting of plane shift be able to break through the dimensional lock on this place. I believe that should be within the power of a wish." "So, we have to decide if we use that to go back to the grove so we can rescue Anastasia and the soldiers, or to get someplace where we can get more diamonds. The grove was locked. I do not know how long before she will reset that lock."
Tis OK. You never got a chance to ask Baba Yaga for money or power =) Having been told of the fate of here own daughters in their quest for power, I really think requesting that would be a phenomenally bad idea. As for the diamond, Einar did post that he went through the pile. I assumed he took the stuff while we were still diplomacizing our way past the giants.
After about fifteen minutes of study, Mr. Whiskers looks around. "Crummock? Einar? I am afraid that I really haven't been paying attention to what treasure we have picked up." "We wouldn't happen to have a very large diamond, would we?"
The way Mort has been phrasing it, I think it is supposed to be a surprise to the characters.
Mr. Whiskers doesn't seem worried. "So, how was it that Rasputin got through the dimensional lock?" Picking up Nivea, he then mentions "First thing we should probably do is go to the grove and get the soldiers and Anastasia." He then sits and gets out a book and starts studying it.
When the knight looks uncomfortable, Mr. Whiskers answers for her. "She accepted her fate." --- "I would like you to leave Golarian and never return. Give any there in your service the choice of following you or leaving your service." Mr. Whiskers says. Looking to the others, he asks "Does something like that sound good to you?"
With a sigh, Mr. Whiskers says "It is beyond me, unfortunately." Looking to Einar, he says "Might as well do it now." On the good side, that should end the geas.
Mr. Whiskers starts paging through the journal, saying "With the Queen dead, perhaps I can figure out how to do it...if she even had time to complete it." He casts Greater Heroism on himself and tries to see if he can figure it some of the ritual.
Mr. Whiskers says in Triaxian "Einar, I have an idea. Gives the annoying package to Greta so she can clean her hammer!"
Mr. Whiskers casts Greater Dispel Magic to try and get rid of the spell suffocating his friends. He pumps some extra energy into it, just to try and make sure it works.
Mr. Whiskers cuts his thread of fate.
Mr. Whiskers flies across the room to where it is warmer. He orders the statue to attack the demodand.
He flips his staff out of his glove, uses it to release a chain lightning on the Queen and her demodand, and flips it back in the glove. If there is no sign of a shield spell on the Queen, he follows it up with a quickened Magic Missile.
Mr. Whiskers casts Wall of Force to block off one of the elder ice elementals. He then casts a quickened Glitterdust in order to try and blind Elvana and the other elder ice elemental. Finally, he sacrifices his DR in order to activate the statue behind Elvana so it will attack her. I suspect that bird is her familiar. I wonder if she will leave the wall in place since it protects her familiar?
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