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With a little distance between her and the captain, Sarela reaches into a bag as though to pull out the manifest. As she does, she says to Sambryl, "Do you know what would be hilarious right now? If you and all your men were suddenly killed. Don't you think that's funny?"
How are the captain and his men standing, and how many are there total?
Sarela impatiently says, "Yes, yes, Captain. This way." She brings him behind a stack of crates that impedes his men's view of them, then turns and says, "I'll get the manifest out. That crate is open - you can check it." Once his back is turned, she quietly draws out her scimitar and prepares to strike his vulnerable spots.
I was hoping for an answer on the crates. I'm just going to assume there are some.
Is there a large enough pile of crates that I could move myself and the captain behind so his men can't see us?
As the other ship approached, Sarela worked on getting herself into a completely different mindset, using the circlet to test several different appearances until she settled on the one she wanted. Now, she appeared to be wearing a high necked traveling dress, embroidered and well-made, suitable to a prosperous merchant or low-ranking noblewoman, with her hair done up in a tight bun. Here eyes were a soft brown, and her hair had darkened, as well. She then turned to Ophelia and said, "Hold still a moment." Sarela's voice was now more alto than soprano, as well. In fact, her companions could swear that had they not witnessed her changing, they were talking to a completely different person. Concentrating, she set up a little trick in Ophelia's mind that would be useful for the woman.
"That would be me, Captain." Sarela strode forward, graceful yet with purpose. As she did so, she undermined his psyche, weakening his will and resolve. "I am Lady Cristiana Mercoles. We are transporting materials to the Watch Wall. May I ask why you have stopped our vessel?" She stared down Captain Sambryl, impatience in her gaze.
Oh, dear. I hope everything goes well with you, Araton. Best of luck!
"Oh, I've never been to the mainland. Tell me, what's it like over there?" ======================================================
Sarela narrows her eyes as she watches the patrol ship come in. "Well, first of all, we'd better not look like ourselves. I'm sure pictures of us have been circulated amongst all the Talirean soldiers. One look at us and the game is up real quick." Sarela considers their options for a moment, then says, "If nothing else, deception will let us get in position to attack them. Araton, can you masquerade as Sir Balin? A Knight of the Alerion will likely cause them to lower their guard. The rest of us should masquerade as Talirean soldiers. If we can convince the captain of that vessel that this entire endeavor is sanctioned, he'll let us go on our way. If anyone has a way to make our cargo look like something besides weapons, that would be good, as well. We can't hide how heavily laden the ship is, but we can make it look like we're carrying something else - perhaps iron ore or steel ingots?" After a moment, she has another thought and says, "We should also come up with a code word to alert people when the time has come for violence."
I think we did, yes. I need to get it added, too.
Sarela answers Mercy, "I would not call it devious, merely an easy way to establish cover. A traveling group of entertainers and musicians is generally welcome in every town, and even a military commander might welcome such a group to entertain his men. It gives us a reason for being outsiders in the area, and people aren't as curious about why you're there. "Actually, didn't Timeon say he was from Balentyne? Someone get the boy. We shouldn't leave him here, anyway. I doubt the Cardinal will take him anywhere."
Once the toast is done and they depart the Cardinal, Sarela looks over her companions and says, "We should try to make friends with this Captain Odenkirk. If he thinks we are his friends, he is less likely to see our betrayal coming. I doubt this man has anything close to the necessary sophistication to see through such a deception. What do you all think? "As for this Sakkarot, let's take the measure of the bugbear first. Cardinal Thorn has confidence he won't betray us, and we'll have to rely on that for now. Balentyne, however...do any of you play an instrument?" ================================================================
"We will guard your boat to the north, Captain Odenkirk, rest assured." Sarela answered, giving the Captain a smile. However, Sarela is less than pleased to find that there are no accommodations on board the ship, and she has to sleep on the deck like the common crew. The fact she has to relieve herself over the railing brings even more annoyance, and she wastes no time in coming to an arrangement with Ophelia to screen her from the crew and Captain Odenkirk when she must do her business. Otherwise, she attempts to engage Captain Odenkirk in friendly conversation, trying to learn more about him and otherwise try to befriend him. "So, Captain, how long have you been sailing these seas? Do you often journey between the mainland and Talingarde?"
Sarela considered the mission placed before them. Escorting weapons to the Watch Wall and killing Odenkirk seemed fairly straightforward, and if this Sakkarot proved troublesome, she would likely be able to manipulate his mind into staying on course. She doubted he was any stronger-willed than most of the other people she'd used her powers on in her life - probably less so, in fact. Infiltrating the Watch Wall Balentyne, however...this was the true challenge. They were hunted, all of them, for their crimes against Talingarde. The circlets would help hide their true identities, but they would still need to be careful. Such a magical charm could be pierced, and once they began acting against Balentyne, the officers would likely start to investigate. This would require a great deal of subtlety. The Cardinal clearly had great faith in their abilities, to grant them such a crucial mission. The danger, however, was equally great, and not just from the Talirean soldiers, but as a consequence for failure. She only hoped her companions could be patient and subtle enough to succeed. Raising her glass, Sarela joined in the toast, "To war." As she drank, a disturbing thought came to her. I hope he doesn't expect us to fight on the field of battle alongside these bugbears. I don't care how intelligent this Sakkarot is, the Cardinal can't expect such savage beasts not to kill anything human-looking in the heat of battle.
Sarela wasn't too concerned with the ritual, but she made sure that the chosen slave was one that, in her opinion, provided less satisfactory service than the others. A proper fate. Perhaps the others will work harder. It's a shame we have to leave soon. After the ritual, she finished her wine and said, "Indeed, I shall see you all on the morrow. Pleasant dreams - or whatever you dream about that you find pleasant."
"To Asmodeus, and a new Talingarde!" Sarela still wasn't particularly religious, but this Asmodeus seemed more her kind of deity. Besides, she had signed a contract that she'd obey him, and what was praising his name compared to that? Regardless, she ate and drank. She still needed to, but she felt that it was slowly becoming optional. She probably still would, of course - after all, what good was immortality if you couldn't enjoy the finer things in life? Idly, she wondered, Nine Knots, eh? I wonder how he decided on that number. What could our task be? Maybe murdering that little chit Bellinda? For a moment, Sarela indulged herself in a mental fantasy of slitting the princess's throat. Well, probably not. Whatever our orders, they will be challenging, but I doubt the Cardinal would send us on a suicide mission. Then again, we're servants of Asmodeus in Talingarde. Existing is a suicide mission. Chuckling at such a grim thought, she took a bite of a small potato and said to Mercy, "Since we don't need to worry about where the others are, you should really have some more of this wine. It's simply delightful."
What do we want Timeon to be? A meatshield, a lackey, corrupt him into some truly wicked murderer? We can build the class from there. And as Araton noted, I doubt he'll be very meaningful asset in combat I think he's best suited as a lackey, I just want him to be useful if he's going to travel with us. That's why I brought up putting a bow in his hands and making him our archer. We could also build on his previous knightly training to make him more of a frontline defender. He'll never be a Knight of the Alerion now, but that doesn't mean he can't be a knight. Maybe some kind of sword-and-board frontliner who can provide some passive support bonuses?
I'm a character who revolves around mental manipulation and making things bleed. The Vampire template would have been the IDEAL template for this kind of character. I chose Psychic Lich because I latched on to the idea of someone whose ego is so overblown that of course they would write a book that talks about how great they are and then tie their soul to it so they could live forever. I also think Psychic Lich (and Lich, for that matter) are both weaker than the Vampire template, so it was some power moderation on my part, as well. EDIT: Do we have any leftover coin we can use to equip Timeon? I know we didn't get a lot of loot in the Nine Lessons. Also, he's not very strong mentally. For a class, I'm thinking something like Fighter, Slayer, or Ranger. Maybe stick a bow in his hand and he can be our ranged attacker.
Araton, are we trying to convert Timeon, as well?
Bonded Mind is also good for passing messages undetected. It doesn't have as much combat relevance, but seeing as the entire country is hostile territory, we may need it. Shake it Off is okay, but the drawback is you need to be adjacent to benefit from it...which means everyone is nicely clumped together for AoE spells. I would entertain Lookout as a feat as well, although Sarela really doesn't have the Perception for it. She's far too focused on herself to be good at paying attention to her surroundings.
"Such a charmer, Mercy. I'm very curious about what origins have given you that name." "My, Ophelia, you look ready for a fight. Hopefully our enemies will prove too foolish to know they should run. Well, let's all see how we do together." =========================== Sarela thought she was skilled at Deception already, but under the Cardinal's tutelage, she became even greater. He taught her more about detecting lies and weaving them than she had ever thought would be possible. In working with the others, she felt herself becoming more of a weapon, and more comfortable operating within the group. She was so used to being a solo actor it took some adjustment, but as she learned her companions' capabilities, as well as how she could compliment them, she was certain she was growing in power. The Mitrans would regret their choices - and one day, she would see Princess Bellinda dead at her hands. That would be a truly great day.
Okay, I was going to type up Sarela's response to Ophelia, and I realized I should probably find out how draconic-looking you were before I commented on your wings or horns.
Since all of us are skewed towards melee or close range combat, Outflank might be a very good choice for improving our accuracy. I don't know if I'll ever spend the feat to progress into another Teamwork feat, because I have lots of feats I want, so I may pass on the upgraded version. Blood for the Empire is good, but given that the flavor is specifically tied to Taldor, I'd be more inclined to pass on that one. I love Bonded Mind for silent communication, and given that we're all hunted by the government, it could prove very useful going forward. Spirit of the Corps is nice, but it's only a once per spell thing, and I think there are better options, especially since we have a Bard. This is one of the few games I'd consider Wild Flanking in, but I also think Outflank is better. Admittedly, that's because I'm partial to the idea the extra damage on a hit is nice, but you might get more damage if you hit with more attacks total. My vote is for either Outflank or Bonded Mind. EDIT: Ophelia, how Draconic do you look? Is your Half-Dragon heritage obvious, or is it more hidden?
After following Tiadora out of the office, Sarela gave Araton a short nod and headed immediately for her room. Sending all of the servants away, she pulled out her Book, then placed the two vials of faintly glowing blood on the desk. Turning to a blank page, she took her quill and, unstoppering Sir Balin's blood, she dipped the quill into it and began writing - first, of her murder of the undeserving Tatiana Varilova, then of her capture and trial. Next came the journey to Branderscar, and the beginnings of her escape, up through the death of the Warden and the recovery of her Book. After that, she moved to Timeon's blood, continuing to detail her escape from Branderscar. She downplayed the fact she had been knocked unconscious, of course, in favor of playing it off as feigning death. Her journey through the moor, then to the Cardinal's manor. Finally, she concluded with the Nine Lessons and the death of Sir Balin. As she wrote, she made arcane markings in the margins, drawing in power. Once she finished, she spoke the words that, if everything was done correctly, would bind her soul to a point on the astral plane. Infernal:
"Blood of the rival, vanquished by my hand,
Blood of the thief, punished by my hand, Blood of the holy warrior, dead by my hand, Blood of the innocent, taken by my hand, From each of you, I tell the tale Of my birth, my life, and each of your fates, My triumphs, my glories, my defeat of you, Immortalized by my hand, Through these words do I bind, My soul, my life, for all of time, Beyond this form of physical self, My spirit, my legend, shall forever shine, In planar astral for all time!" With every word, both she and her Book began to glow, brighter and brighter. Upon the last word, Sarela felt a searing pain, as though something were being ripped out of her. She had never felt such pain, even when she was beaten by guards, cut by their swords - nothing could have prepared for her this kind of pain. It was so great she was sure it must kill her. She screamed as the agony grew more and more, and collapsed to the ground. Just as suddenly, the pain was gone. She lay on the floor, panting. It took several minutes before she could sit up again, and several more before she could stand and stagger over to the desk. Leaning on it, she looked at the pages. The sigils shined, as though lit by an inner light, and she knew she'd succeeded. If she was slain, her body would regrow. If someone took the time to read her Book, it would regrow even faster. If someone destroyed her Book, it would recreate itself. The Mitrans who had sought to hold her back would never even know of the astral connection. Fools, all of them. She ignored the strangely hollow feeling she felt inside, telling herself immortality was worth it, and that feeling would surely go away eventually. When she'd read the Dance, she had read that her body would undergo other changes after the ritual was complete, and she'd have to continuously write her achievements into the book, preferably in the blood of those she killed, in order to maintain her power. Privately, she wondered what would happen if she used the blood of an actual angel - or devil for that matter. Kilesa had never had the opportunity to do so. Something to keep in mind. Triumphant, she walked over to the bed and collapsed, sleeping soundly until the next morning.
======================================================================= Upon awakening, she bathed and ate before receiving a summons to the Cardinal's chamber. She felt completely refreshed from completing her astral legend - albeit still a little hollow, and she proudly entered his study with Araton, examining the three new arrivals as she did so. The Cardinal speaks the words to bring them together, to declare vengeance on Talingarde. As though we have any other choice. Sarela holds no such illusions. They were Forsaken, unwelcome everywhere. Assuming the Cardinal even let them leave alive - and with his blatant treason and blasphemy against the Mitran regime, that was unlikely at best - they would be hunted and killed. Only by allying with him did they stand a chance. Besides, she would never have vengeance against Princess Bellinda without him. "I am eager to bring about our vengeance for the crimes committed against us. Let us burn the Mitrans, and bring about a new order in its place." Turning her attention to the other three, she replies to the strangely vivid man, "A pleasure to meet you as well. I am Sarela Falrin. May I have your name?" To the muscular, broken man she says, "Thank you! Finally, someone with a discerning artistic eye sees what a talentless fool they hired for that! The 'Diabolical Dancer'? Is that what they call me now? How dramatic of them. Well, perhaps you shall paint the definitive portrait of the Diabolical Dancer. When we have time, of course. For now, it is a pleasure to meet you, Felthun."
Welcome, both of you! Glad to have each of you here. Felthun once Sarela makes your acquaintance, she will ask you to paint a lovely picture of her. Make sure you capture her beauty and grace. But don't include that hideous brand on her arm. It mars her otherwise perfect beauty.
”What is it we yet need to do, Master?”
Hey guys feel free to PM me if you think any of the submissions would work well with or fill gaps in the group or any other thoughts you have. I want to select 2 from finished submissions at the end of this week. I'll PM you my thoughts tomorrow (Friday), once I see if Lucky Halfling can get a character finished up. There are a few who I think can work, but I want to know what all my options are before I offer my thoughts.
Ah, I see one prospective candidate has brought up using souls for the purpose of crafting magic items. I wondered if we'd see that one.
Hello, all! Finally having a chance to look at this page, and we certainly have a lovely selection of would-be villains applying to join this merry band. I look forward to seeing everyone's completed submissions. As for Sarela, Araton was right in that it's an interesting (slightly complicated) build. Sarela is a Mesmerist (Vexing Dardevil)//Vigilante (Cabalist) who will be specializing (somewhat heavily) in Enchantment and Necromancy debuff spells, particularly those that target Will saves. I've dabbled a bit in some minor battlefield control thus far, but I'd be perfectly happy to cede that role to someone else, since neither class's spell list is really set up well for it. She can also deal one decent hit per round (Painful Stare + Spill Blood), since she should frequently be attacking flat-footed AC thanks to free Feint feats, and penalizing Will saving throws with hypnotic stare (everyone can take advantage of it). Outside of combat, Sarela is a very talented dancer, and her other skills are heavily skewed towards Face skills and being sneaky. She also speaks several languages. As she levels up, she'll have numerous disguise options thanks to her Social Talents and will be even better at various social skills in her Social Identity. Personality-wise she's a vain, egotistical narcissist, which is what lead into choosing the Psychic Lich template for her. I loved the flavor and the description of it. Vampire may have been a stronger choice that would work well, too, but the idea of somewhat immortalizing their ego and vanity just fit so nicely. I am planning some psychic duel shenanigans with her, as well, since I get a couple feats from the template that aid in that regard. Looking forward to seeing everyone's final build!
So, while Sarela is fine with just killing Timeon now that she has what she needs, I know Araton wanted to keep him alive. I have seen some Way of the Wicked games where they keep him alive and try to convert him - although it's up to the GM how we do so and how successful we are, I believe. So, Araton, what are you thinking we do with Timeon? I'm open either way.
Welcome, feyrial! Happy to have you join us! Sorry for the delayed response, GM, I was visiting family this week. Home now, though.
Grinning wickedly, Sarela draws a dagger and, reaching out, slices Timeon’s arm. She then takes a vial and catches some of his blood in it. Then she dips her fingers in the wound, and draws a symbol on Timeon’s forehead, chanting, Infernal:
”Child of innocence, trapped by fear,
From your blood, so shall I steal, Life’s blood taken, wracked in pain, So shall this gift, bring life again.” A flash of light appears, and the vial of blood glows faintly. Smiling, Sarela says, ”You can heal him up, Araton. I’m all done with him.”
Of course not. That absolutely wouldn't be cool at all. <.< >.> Writes down in cool ideas book
Okay, sounds good. The Knights of the Alerion would absolutely hunt down evil dragons if they found them.
If your friend is trying to decide on a color, black, bronze, and silver are the most thematic choices.
Picking up the head of Sir Balin, Sarela gleefully smiled as she lead them back through the rooms to the torture chamber. Outside the door, she lifted Sir Balin's head by the hair, opened the door, and put his head through the door first. In a mock deep voice she said, "Don't worry, Timeon! I'll save you!" Laughing mockingly, she enters the room to look over where the boy lies, chained to the rack. "Did you truly believe that you were going to be rescued by him? That Mitra would give him the power to slay us? He didn't even get a scratch on us. He was nothing but a fool who saw what he wanted to see. No one is coming to help you. No one is going to save you. Your faith in Mitra lead you here, your father's wishes forced you here, and your master's failure trapped you here. How does that feel?"
Prior to recruiting or merging, would there be any objection to going and scaring Timeon with Sir Balin's head in order to collect a little blood from him?
Big groups can also mean that the maps get more crowded, which is something else to keep in mind. Once you exceed 6, I find that sometimes you need to double the map size just to avoid everyone being too heavily crowded together.
Ah, the group I started with! How wonderful! I haven't done the actual leveling up, yet, but I know everything I'm choosing. Gotta make sure I get that astral legend completed first so I can keep advancing template abilities. EDIT: Looks like the other group still has 5 active, so recruiting another couple people for this group would be good.
Which group are we merging with? The Undying group or the all-flier group?
"Hmm? Oh, in my time at the conservatory, I discovered a book with instructions on a path to achieving eternal life via journal. The creator of the book had done many of the necessary magical treatments, but I suspect perished in some manner before she had the opportunity to utilize it. Since she'd been kind enough to do most of the work for me, I decided to utilize it for myself. True, the rituals are rather bloody, but isn't eternal life worth spilling a little blood? I was arrested shortly after completing the second ritual, sure I'd never have the opportunity to complete it. Imagine my surprise when I found the Book, intact, in that foolish Warden's office. If he'd had half a clue what it contained, he'd have destroyed it. Since he didn't, I can complete the last two rituals, requiring the blood of a holy warrior," she gestured at the now-deceased Sir Balin, "and a terrified innocent." She passes on the potion, allowing Araton to keep it for now.
Precisely what I imagined when I created her. A healthy mix of vanity and ego coupled with a sadistic streak.
Sarela cackles gleefully as Sir Balin falls. Moving as quickly as she can, she sets about stripping off his armor. "If anyone wants that, go ahead and take it. I just need to get to his veins." Once his armor is removed, she takes out a vial and uses her blade to slashes open another vein, forcing blood into the vial. Once it's full, she stoppers it, then dips her fingers in his blood and begins drawing some sigils upon his corpse as she chants in the Infernal tongue. Infernal:
"Holy Knight, now brought low,
From treachery does your blood flow, Your strength diminished, Your spirit to soon be finished, From your blood I take your power Now it comes to me, in the penultimate hour!" The drawn sigils glow briefly before fading back to drying blood, save for the vial, which still retains a faint glow. Smiling triumphantly, Sarela takes Sir Balin's own sword and, awkwardly, cuts off his head. Once the grisly task is done, she drops the blade and picks up the head. "So, Araton, you seemed to indicate that you wanted to leave Timeon alive. I need some of his blood, though - he's an innocent, and if he's not already terrified, seeing his master's head should do the trick nicely. Can anyone heal his wounds after I bleed him a bit?"
Sarela took step a back from Sir Balin and said, "Don't you find it amusing, Sir Balin, that your long career in service to that insipid sun god has led you to an ignoble death in this basement? I do." She mentally forced her way through his mental barriers to make him see the amusement in the situation.
As they moved into the room, Sarela kept her eyes on Sir Balin, undermining his mental defenses, making him more susceptible to her powers. Taking up a position to flank with Ceres, she gracefully struck with her scimitar at a critical vein, amplifying the pain of her blade as she did so.
Sarela prefers melee to ranged, so she would have gone down with the others, if that's okay. I only used ranged against the draugr since scimitars don't do piercing. I'm going to post as though I'm in melee. Since I act before him, he counts as being denied his Dexterity to AC, yes?
Sarela focuses herself, and changes into a male Talirean soldier with a plain, almost forgettable face. She alters her clothes into the uniform of a soldier, with a male form. Perhaps the male form was unnecessary, but she had yet to see a female Talirean soldier. "Araton, can you handle speaking? My voice may give me away."
Sarela reads the inscription above the door, then quickly counts the rooms they're in before holding a finger up to her lips and indicating silence, then motioning back to the previous room she heads there, waiting for the others to follow. Once there, she says, "We have gone through eight of the nine lessons so far. We have not encountered Sir Balin yet, but Timeon made us aware of the possibility of his presence. If he is here, he is likely in that room. I propose a deception. We use our iron circlets to pretend to be Talirean soldiers, and try to make him think we're here to rescue him. Once we have him surrounded, we all strike, and try to fell him before he has a chance to break free or strike back. What do you think?"
Sarela takes aim at the one remaining draugr and fires off another arrow at it.
Seeing Eowithe in danger, Sarela points another arrow at the draugr and fires at it, hoping not to hit the inquisitor.
Sorry! I wasn't getting notifications for the game.
Did my readied attack go off? The trigger was if they tried to attack "them", by which I meant the group.
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