Sasha steps up and asks, in each of these languages in turn, "Greetings - do you speak Dwarven, Common, Celestial, or even Draconic?" She smiles, attempting to look friendly and unthreatening.
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Sasha and Pheliks follow, keeping their scouts in sight as the approach the heavier, thicker smoke...
"Undead dwarves still smithing?" asks Sasha quietly with a shrug. "I doubt they're friendly, exactly, but they might not be totally hateful of the living, right?" The oracle readies her crossbow and places a hand on Pheliks' heavy fur to calm her nerves.
Sasha smiles at the discussion around her, still for all other appearances as asleep as her big cat companion. "Lots of people think that undead, or dragons, or demons, or other horrible, tentacled things are the scariest stuff around...but they're wrong. Nothing is more frightening than plain old people. The depths to which people sink never ceases to amaze me," she says before opening one eye and patting Pheliks on the side affectionately. "Part of why I like Pheliks and other cats so much - they're transparent and simple. He sticks around cause I make sure he eats well and scratch him when able. I know in other circumstances he'd try to eat me, but as long as our arrangement works, he's good with it. Simple, safe, and not at all scary..."
Sasha listens quietly, her thoughts her own behind her closed eyelids. While Pheliks readily accepts Rutilux's petting, he doesn't respond in any way at all to the soul-baring...he is a cat, after all, and above such things.
As Shaggar leaves with Kiley and Ari makes some quiet space for herself Sasha snuggles up with Pheliks. She offers a soft, furry side of the big cat to Rutilux with a welcoming smile and gesture before hugging the tiger fiercely and sighing audibly. "I don't like being so far from the moon and night sky, but I know this is what the Goddess needs done by mortal hands...Just wish it wasn't so hard," she explains to the halfling and tiger. For his part, Pheliks might be a good listener...or not. It's impossible to know, really, as the feline might be listening or asleep and none of them would be able to tell the difference. It doesn't seem to bother Sasha, though, as she continues. "It's not just the stone above or the shadow all around...it's the effects it has on the people you love and the innocent folk hurt by all the evil that seems to soak into the very rocks. Even our best help is provided by an undead creature that eats memories..." She shudders a bit at the memory of the after-effects of her sacrifice. Shaking her head, Sasha settles back and closes her eyes, much like her companion, and might drift to sleep as she waits for Shaggar to return. If Rutilux speaks with her she responds without opening her eyes, engaging in the conversation very comfortably from the relative safety of the backs of her eyelids.
As the party makes their way to the Anvil Quarter Sasha and Pheliks pad along as quietly as they are able. The noise of the massive gates opening and (presumably) anvils being used is shocking. After a grimace at the sound and looking around for signs of danger converging on them Sasha shrugs and turns resolutely to follow Shaggar into the new portion of the ruined city. "Think these dwarves are alive still? Or more undead...?" she asked, not really expecting an answer from her remaining companions.
Sasha looks sadly on as it appears one of her friends is about to depart, well before the quest is completed. "I'm so sorry if I pushed you to this, Kiley, but we all love and support you. Let's go see if we can get you to safety...at least as much as we can offer here..." she says as she rises. With a glance and a nod to the Archivist she makes it clear she's ready to go.
Level 5, Sasha's level up summary Class Taken: Stargazer Lunar-Mystery Oracle
HP: 37 (Previous 30, Class +5, FCB +1, CON +1) Ability Score Increase: none BAB: no change (+3)
Base saves
Class Features: Shadowbound Curse improves by +30 ft to Darkvision Automatic Bonus Progression: Deflection +1 Spells: +1 Second Level Spell per day, +1 First Level Spell known (Protection from Evil), +1 Second Level Spell known (Summon Monster II)
Feats: Augment Summoning Total Skill Points: 41 (Previous 33, Class +4, Intelligence +1, Skilled +1, Background Skills +2) From 4 ranks to 5 ranks - Handle Animal (Background Skill), Knowledge (Religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Use Magic Device
Languages Learned: Draconic (from the rank in Linguistics)
Pheliks is also improving as follows: Level 5 Animal Companion summary Hit Dice - +1 HD (d8) HP: 37 (Previous 30, Hit Dice +5, CON +1, +1 Toughness Feat) Ability Score Increase: none BAB: no change (+3) Base saves
Animal Companion Features: none Feats: Endurance Total Skill Points: +1 skill point
Languages Learned: n/a
Sasha nods at the idea of bringing Kiley to the gnomes. "We can ask them for help too...though all we've met so far was the one. I guess we go back, see if he will hold Kiley while we rescue his friends and family? One of ours, for all of them?" she asks hopefully.
Sasha doesn't pay the Archivist much attention, though she might hear him speak as she nods along. She reads Kiley's note with concern before asking her friend, "What can we do to help? I'm sure the idea of what I did earlier would terrify you worse...We're so far underground, but perhaps we could return you to the surface, give you time to rest in the moonlight?" The oracle looks at her other companions and notes their expressions - concern, distance, coldness - and shakes her head. "We can't leave her here, and the city isn't safe alone...Perhaps we help her find a place she can hole up for a while? Make sure she's got rations and check on her as we go?"
Sasha gasps at her friend's collapse and turns to comfort her, kneeling down and taking Kiley's head in her lap. "Shhhh...it's alright. THe archivist won't hurt you, even if we have to make it so. Just breath, Kiley..."
Sasha approaches the undead creature cautiously, in spite of the cooperation it showed before. "Greetings, Archivist. We followed the trail left behind by the nearby trogs and it led to an umbral dragon - the Black Hunger, apparently. It wishes to eat the ghost of the dead dwarven king of this city and wants us to help. We think this is likely a bad idea, but it claims to have the deep gnomes captive. What can you tell us of the Thane of the dwarves of this ruined city? We need to understand the dangers of the ways before us so we can choose which path to walk..." she says, allowing her natural charisma to weave the narrative like a story as she hopes it will help to feed the creature's literal hunger for knowledge.
Sasha nods sadly at Kiley's notes, apparently more upset by her friend's affliction that what she is saying. "We may be in too deep...given our location, that seems a given," she muses with a slight smirk. "We must act on faith, though, and do our best with the time given us. Even if we fail, perhaps we will make possible victory later..." With a grateful smile and nod, Sasha accepts the cloak and kneels over it, praying silently before raising her voice to be heard by the others. "Our Lady of Silver, bless your faithful, our allies, and my friends as we try to carry your light into the darkness here. Thank you for them. Help us find a cure for Kiley's condition and do the right thing in this doomed city..." Then she rises, dons the new item, and considers the others for a moment. She shakes her head at the friendly quibbling between Ari and Ruti before looking to Shaggar and saying, "Will you lead us back to the archive, please?"
Sasha nods at Ari's question. "The Twins battle rages - we should not be surprised to find it here, far from Selûne's silver light. Her sister may be strong in this place...it would explain much," she muses quietly. The oracle winces as Kiley all but yells. "We will have to search for a way to remove that draconic curse," she says. "Perhaps the curator of the library will have advice...?" As the cloak's attunement to Selûne is made clear and Ari offers it to the others, Sasha asks, "May I take it? Or would it be better with one of you in heavier armor?" The discussion of the umbral dragon makes Sasha shake her head. "We cannot help that monster...though I don't know that we should aid the undead any more than it. What should we do?"
vs DC 18
Sasha looks at the cloak with interest, casting a spell and considering it closely.
Then she considers the papers, bewildered at first but willing to look through some with the others if that's what they think is worth it. As she peruses them she turns to Ari and casually asks, "So...are you alright? I hear some dragons can inspire great fear in the unprepared. Did we all resist its aura and you succumb, or do we need to be worried for you?"
Pheliks and Sasha try to hit the cloaker as it flees, one more playfully than the other...
Sasha continues to push inside the building, urging Pheliks forward as she opens the door. The big cat sees the underdark ambush hunter wrapped around Ari and immediately bites at it, growling audibly.
Sasha turns and rushes with Pheliks towards the building, opening the door and telling the big cat, "Find her, boy!"
Sasha considers the wyrm's words, it cursing Kiley, and the departure of Ari. "We should go and begin our work. Shall we meet you back here when we are done?" she asks the umbral dragon, looking to her remaining allies with meaningful glances.
"We don't just want the gnomes 'freed of your employment' - we want them freed to leave, safely, with their lives and livelihoods too. You are a great threat to both them and us, for which you have our respect. Please don't assume we are gullible and mislead by your words," Sasha continues, noting that she's now leading the discussion with the dangerous wyrm. "What guarantees would you give us that you will keep your word when we finish your task?"
Sasha's eyes grow wide as the dragon appears, and unlike her companions she remains quiet for several long moments. When it casually sends magic at Kiley the oracle watches closely, recognizing the curse for what it is as she recognizes something similar in her own experiences.
After several deep breaths she steps forward, beside Shaggar, and says, "What of the gnomes your subjects have captured? We are here for our own reasons, and one of the little folk provided us with aid last night. Where are they and will you free them in exchange for our efforts with the Thane?"
Sasha steps forward, looking about at the assembled troglodytes. Then she turns to address the speaker. "Who are you, why in all of Faerûn should we trust your word, and who decides when our visit is done?" she asks. "If we are to be guests in your halls, why should we expect better than the treatment of the gnomes in this city?"
"Better the devil we know than the one we don't - if we're careful, we can avoid them if they return and we're worried we can't take them all," answers Sasha immediately, ready to take the initiative with these monstrous reptilian humanoids.
Sasha nods at Ari's point, content that the others will be more likely to try to use her magic next time. She roves about the room, looking out the doors and listening for sounds of incoming threats while her allies tear up the place. Pheliks considers their surroundings and decides to keep pace with his mistress, padding beside her silently and helping keep watch for new threats.
Sasha approaches Sahalya and Shaggar, casting spells to heal them both.
Pheliks looks at Ari with the unreadable expression of a cat, flicking his left ear at some unseen irritating and yawning. He looks at the dead troglodytes and sniffs at one curiously before withdrawing and shaking his head in annoyance at the smell. Once her friends are healed, Sasha begins to look around the room, considering where valuables might be hidden and hoping to find something to give them more direction on where to explore next. "I don't know about insurance premiums, but I do know that I can keep us quieter next time if given a chance..." she says with a barely hidden smirk.
Sasha rushes inside, closing the door behind her and getting to where she can see everything. Once it's clear all the troglodytes are dead she nods soberly and looks to Pheliks and the others, asking, "Is anyone wounded? Who needs healing magic?"
Sasha has her crossbow loaded and readied as Pheliks follows Ari into the room, padding silently around to try and find a good flanking position with the rogue.
Sasha seems disheartened by the fog and slow on the uptake, but she's already set the blessing of her goddess on the team and now unable to engages safely with the troglodytes. Unable to keep the party hidden with magical silence she leans over to Sahalya and heals the reptile as Pheliks moves in beside the other melee to savage at the entrenched trogs.
Sasha's mouth drops open as she hears Rutilux's play, her eyes round as saucers in disbelief. She shakes her head and places her head in her hands for a moment before looking at the unopened door with a suddenly smiling expression, her morale raised at the humorous words. "Selûne bless you, Rutilux...and all the rest of us," she says before bowing her head in prayer to the goddess.
Pheliks looks unimpressed as he lazily pads up to the door, setting himself where he can attack any trogs that emerge.
Sasha looks at the map with interest, perking up a bit as her sacrifice continues to provide the party with additional resources. Shaggar's analogy causes her to go briefly pale, and she nods when Kiley expresses her discomfort with it. The oracle says nothing, however, until the discussion comes up of where to go next.
Sasha notes the treasure and nods, hopeful that it will prove helpful to them. Otherwise she waits to see who else is ready to deal with the trogs.
Sasha nods along as they continue to learn about the next steps in their quest. "It is good to have a safe place to recover. For now, I think we need to go back outside and deal with the nearby troglodytes, then this Black Hunger, and see if we can free the deep gnomes. If they can also help us, great, but we need to keep our promises..." she says to her companions with a serious expression. "Are we good to go?"
Sasha listens to the answers closely, trying to commit the important parts to memory and appearing unconfident that she will succeed. Discarding the answer to Ari's question as incomprehensible and trusting Shaggar to track the directions, she instead listens to the Archivist's offer. "We have no real choice if we hope to accomplish our mission," she says in response. "Do you know where one of these stones is, or have one we may use? Do the trogs have any?" she asks in response.
It takes her several minutes to regain her metaphorical footing, but with Pheliks' and her other companions' support Sasha seems to calm down after the unexpectedly invasive delivery of her name to the Archive. "Do you know what the 'Black Hunger' is? The troglodytes seem to be afraid of it, and they're causing the deep gnomes trouble. We'd like to help rescue the gnomes from slavery and worse, but facing this thing that scares the trogs without knowing what it is may not be easy..." she finally asks.
Sasha silently squeezes Kiley's hand back. It's clear she is a bit unsteady at the moment too, in spite of her confidence moments before. Though she smiled at Ari's joke, it didn't look very genuine.
Sasha starts a bit when she realizes how large the ex-dwarf is, but looks most disheartened when she hears about how her own mind will react to the experience. She nods as the undead explains, muttering, "It's alright - I accept your apology," and steps back, staring into the middle space for a bit and allowing the others to converse with the Archive a bit before she engages again.
During the process Sasha grips the ruff fur of Pheliks' neck firmly and grits her teeth, committed to her decision but obviously a bit surprised at the intensity of the pain involved with the exchange. She doesn't cry out, but when it is done she sags a bit, leaning heavily into Pheliks and holding on to the tiger with both hands. After the Archivist introduces himself and Rutilux checks on her, Sasha stands tall again, her expression distracted as she considers her memories - or lack thereof. "Mother? She's gone...That's not what I meant, but..." she says quietly, shaking her head as if the motion might help jar something loose. When it's clear that the memories aren't coming back she takes a deep breath and sighs. Louder, she answers her halfling friend, "I will be fine. I know why I chose that, and I still feel the same about it, but...the effect is strange. There are holes now where people and experiences once were." Turning to the undead dwarf Sasha greets him with a nod. "Curator Velithar, how long will that...offering...last you? It seems to have been more than I intended, but you are nearly hale again...? Do we have minutes, hours, or even days with you in this state?"
Sasha doesn't hesitate, stepping forward and saying, "I will give you a memory - fully. I choose to forget my given name, which I don't use and never intend to use again. Will that do?" Standing confidently before the undead, Sasha doesn't look at her companions, her expression making clear that she is thinking intently about something painful, with an angry tear falling from one of her mismatched eyes. Pheliks pads up silently behind her, nudging her hand with his big, furry head and giving her his support through his presence.
With a deep breath Sasha steps forward, extending her hands out with palms up and says, "Greetings, Archive. We come with news from the surface world, tidings of both darkness and light. Though your great city lies in ruin we also have good news to share of honorable allies within its halls, and violent usurpers. The troglodytes are nearby and could endanger your sanctum - would removing them aid you enough to ensure our safety in your presence?"
to identify the type of undead.
Sasha smiles and waves from behind Shaggar, still content to remain out of melee with the undead librarian and see where this goes...
Sasha considers the idea of undead with a look of distaste that turns into a visible wince at the sound produced by the opening door. "Hope that doesn't wake the neighbors..." she says quietly as she follows Shaggar. When she sees the figure at the desk she tugs at his clothing and says, "Careful! Could be an undead caretaker!" as she considers the quality of the collection of books around them.
posted before updates:
Sasha has Pheliks guard the party, keeping watch for unexpected threats, as she move to look at the papers and desk with Shaggar and Ari.
When she finds the secret drawer in the back she pulls out the contents and considers the key and the nearby door. With a shrug she hands it to Ari for the other woman to try. Sasha has Pheliks guard the party, keeping watch for unexpected threats, as she move to look at the papers and desk with Shaggar and Ari. At the discovery of the key and additional information she smiles and shrugs, unsure of what to make of it all. "Let's stay quiet, but sure...I still think we need to deal with the trogs while we have the element of surprise, but learning more first might help too..."
Sasha follows to the corner's edge, looking around and seeing the others consider a wall that would be well beyond her abilities to easily climb. She notices Rutilux's expression and nods - she's not the only one who would be unable to easily follow without some sort of magic to help.
Sasha tries to hear Ari's whispering to Shaggar, trying to tell what is happening...
She then looks curiously at the pair in the lead, wondering what kind of creature they saw...
Sasha looks a bit disappointed when no one takes up her offer of magic, still, but follows quietly with Pheliks padding along beside her. She sees the reaction of her companions as they see something around the corner, but not whatever it was...
From the middle of the party Sasha gets Shaggar's attention and mouths, "Now? Silence spell?" to see if it is time to use her magic to best effect... |