Sterling Starshadow's page

Sterling nods in apparent agreement, or at least understanding, at Sergei's explanations of his control of the situation.

When Sergei shares his own concerns about Vaush, Sterling arches a thin eyebrow again, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully.

"Well. It IS one of the primary tenets to guide and aid souls on the Spiral journey. Whether to reward, punishment, or reform is up to them, not us. Interesting."

"A Conundrum wrapped in an Enigma. This IS going to be fun!"

"You're safe with us. How many of them are there?" and after a moment "No, wait, return to part where Soulcatcher didn't pass on and wasn't absorbed by the other ghost. Should we worry that someone else is possessed? How can we know?"

Zek's sudden question seems to snap him out of whatever 'happy thoughts' he was having, and the cleric jabs a thumb at the Kobold.

"Yes. I had wondered about that as well."

"I think if someone were possessed by the Soulcatcher, we would find out soon just by the change in attitude. Or a sudden disappearance. When I was taken, my body apparently just turned to flee." Kenzo says.

"THAT was a result of the 'Magic Jar' though, yes?" Sterling glances around the room at the more magic-minded members of the group for verification.

"We were apparently IN the jar together, while our bodies were controlled like puppets by a minstrel. When we dispatched the first criminal, and the Father tried to contact his spirit after, he could not. He said it was possible for a soul to be in a place that was too difficult to reach, but that was unlikely. His theory was that the soul had most likely been destroyed. This, having a SLIVER of a soul absorbed by the warden's wife, and not knowing what happened to the rest, destroyed or moved on, is somewhat concerning to me."

Sterling shrugs again.

"I'm having a good day."

He looked between Sterling and Zek, clearly worried, but also resigned. "Doctor Van Ricten warned me to avoid Pharasma's faithful. He thought they would seek to kill me. It is why I was hesitant to explain all this."

Still staring at the wall, Sterling makes, a noise. Something Halfway between a deliberate cough and a clearing of the throat, yet not quite either.

"He was right. About being careful at least."

The cleric arches an eyebrow at Zek before facing Sergei.

"Not all Pharasma's faithful are utter zealots, although it can certainly appear that way at times. Violence is not always the first response to something,..." he waves a hand in Sergei's direction. ",...unusual."

Sterling gestures towards Zek, as if the kobold's very presence proves his point.

"Although it IS frequently the easiest." He admits after a moment.

Sterling waves a hand, as if realizing he had already gotten off topic.

"I have two thoughts, or concerns, about what you said."

The cleric holds up a finger.
"The first is that you did not choose to be,... what you are. Nor did you seek it in any apparent attempt to circumvent the Spiral, as say a Lich, or a Mummy. So you are not, directly, in violation of Pharasma's decrees. Although you are certainly skirting closely to the edge, and others may interpret her rules with less, leniency.
You have accepted your situation, and seem a decent enough soul, pun intended, that you do your best to help those trapped or wandering souls that you encounter to move on. So, in one point of view, you are even directly following Pharasma's decrees. Which is in your favor."

Sterling adds a second finger.

"But, you do not appear to have any direct control over what ghosts, souls or spirits that you 'pick up'. Nor direct control over who is in charge of your body at any time. Or even control over making them leave. Whether 'moving on' properly, or simply leaving your 'body'. You are at best a lodestone. A vessel for attracting and temporarily holding spirits. This can be of great use to Pharasma, or at least her Exorcists. But it can also make you very dangerous. To yourself and others.
As you already admitted, when another spirit is in control, YOU are not. And not all of them seem to be as 'nice' as you appear to be."

This time Sterling glances aside at Zyblina, with more than a hint of a smile, before spreading his hands in a 'who, me?' gesture.

"I certainly have no intention of killing you now. You are, quite probably, the single most interesting philosophical conundrum I will EVER meet. You are a walking conflict of spiritual entities. A veritable example of the Spiral itself given physical form."

Sterling steeples his fingers together once again, and peers over them at Sergei.

The tilt of his head, and the shadows cast by the lamplight probably make him seem more sinister than intended.
Probably.

The cleric looks directly into Sergei's eyes, the windows to the soul.
Or souls, in this case.

"I look forward to many, long, conversations with you. ALL of you."
Sterling says with a thin, tight smile.

"When the spell Magic Jar is cast, it temporarily separates the soul from the body and stores it in a vessel. Then the soul can leave the vessel to possess another body, and force that person's soul into the vessel. That is what happened to Sterling and Kenzo."

Sterling gives the former Soulcatcher's jar a side glance.

"Ah. That explains that, at least. An interesting experience. Almost peaceful."

For the rest of Sergei's explanation, the Cleric steeples his thin fingers together and listens. Nodding thoughtfully at times.

Afterwards, he seems to ponder Sergei's speech. He does not seem in a particular hurry to respond. Judgemental or otherwise. He stares blankly at a wall, a neutral look upon his face.

Sounds good to me! I'm honestly to the point where I (personally in RL) am about to go back and RE-read all of the info dumps we have gotten recently. I read fast, and faster when excited about the material. I tend to miss details when I do that. :P Sterling is (supposedly) a less-verbose speaker anyway. So letting others lead this conversation and interjecting (hopefully snarky) questions should work out here. :D

[

"Teachings were simpler for the hunter. You see ghost, even nice lady, you run away, return prepared, send her to spiral. You see someone taking a spirit from The Spiral, you free both spirit and the taker. Not this...later-talks."
Zek'Karis complains, but obeys the priest.

Sterling looks down at the kobold. He shrugs.

"Simple IS often easier." He agrees.

"But where's the fun in that?" The cleric asks, sotto voice.

At Zek's shorter angle, if he were to look up into Sterling's hood, he might see the hint of a smile on the cleric's face.

Satisfied that the warden's wife can hold out ONE more day, he follows the others back to town. Trudging back in a thoughtful silence all the way.

Dinnertime! Now, where to start the conversation? (SO many questions in my head, but we haven't met back up with Teo yet to discover the familial connections!) :D

"Those injured, gather near." Sterling adds in grumpy voice. He is already starting to make the Spiral and speak the simple chant without waiting for a reply.

Energy Burst! 1d6 ⇒ 5

Sterling regains his usual bored, disdainful look.
(Although he is apparently still rattled by recent events, so much so that he hasn't noticed his hood is down and his face uncovered.)

In the quick series of inquiries, the cleric looks between the kobold and the,... Sergei.

Sterling sighs. This time is more weary than disdainful.

"For right or wrong, I have already decided that our required conversation can wait until after this,..." Sterling gestures around them at the Prison in general. ",... situation is settled. I believe that Zek's concerns, and mine, about what just happened can also wait for that talk. For now."

The clerics final comment is said without looking at either Sergei or Zek directly. SO it is unclear if it was directed at one of them specifically, or collectively.

Sterling raises his head, arches an eyebrow, and rolls a wrist to lazily point in Kenzo's direction.

"HE does bring up a good question though. I was under the obviously mistaken impression that you only had a couple of, 'passengers'. In rapid succession we have discovered you have far more than I originally thought, and that you can, and will, apparently pick up new ones at random. Maybe you would be kind enough to fill us in on more details of your current situation? Perhaps on the way back to town. Away from prying ears."

After we check in with the warden's wife! :D

Sterling suddenly seems to realize his face is fully revealed. He frowns as he reaches for his hood and tugs it firmly back into place, once more casting his face into shadow.

Ah, I was off on my rounds, sorry. AND he didn't make the roll, so he didn't realize that Disrupt undead wouldn't work on the thing! :P

Sterling watches the spirit rise from the jar, start to ascend, and then apparently enter Sergei.

The cleric blinks, his hood having fallen back during his possessed flight and ensuing scuffle.

"What. Was. That?"

K: Planes vs DC:13: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Hmph. Apparently the cleric is flustered enough he doesn't recognize the thing. :P

Sterling begins stalking back towards the rest of the party. Unhurried, yet his long legs eating the distance. The cleric points a finger and again intones a brief prayer, causing a thin ray to reach towards the Devil.

"Begone Fiend. Now."

Disrupt Undead: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 3

”Ah, Hello darkness, my old friend.”

man, it IS a pain trying to format a post on the phone! :P

Sterling shrugs.
As close to a "Yeah, lets do that!" As you are likely to get.

He DID seem genuinely concerned about the Warden's Wife spirit when you all met her.

"Hmph. The warden's wife should have an easier time now that even more of the vile undead have been destroyed. ONE more rest to be at full powers wouldn't be a bad idea. Just sayin'. These specific undead DO seem to have unusual, annoying, abilities that are not common to spirits."

I was just trying to be dramatic. :) Sterling is actually good either way. Pressing on is good, but waiting for more help would be better, and waiting for more help AND fully rested (and possibly better intel) would be best.

"I appreciate caution. And not long ago proposed leaving and resting until tomorrow. But I still have most of my daily prayers remaining. And THAT one is,... too close to ignore."

The cleric points to the nearby open door where the map indicates "The Soulcatcher" should be.

"I advise we return to the entrance, and await the Cleric that Teo said she would fetch. We will rest while we wait, and then return here and continue. I feel,..." The cleric declines to finish the statement aloud.

Sterling turns and approaches Sergei, speaking in a low voice.

"We have much to discuss. Later. But there is something I need to know now. Does Holy energy always disrupt the spirit in charge? Or does it affect THAT one particularly well? It may cause, complications, if you play 'spirit-roulette' every time I try to heal my allies."

The dark knight snarled in anger and had just enough time to wheel his spear towards Sterling before the burst of holy energy tore the shadowy armor apart and left Sergei gasping in shock and relief.

He straightened a moment later. "My thanks, Sterling."

Sergei finally sounded like Sergei again.

Sterling tilts his head in acknowledgement.

"Might be best if you keep that one on a leash Sergei."

Sterling makes a mental note,...
'Holy energy disrupts the dark-knight spirit. Might be useful against others as well? if needed.'

BOTH of Sterling's eyebrows go up as he watches Cole angrily unleash figurative, and literal, H E Double-Hockey-Sticks upon the hapless hammer!

The cleric figures that's a sclose as he's getting to an apology from the burly sorcerer.

"That'll do." The cleric murmurs, tugging his hood back up into place.

Wordlessly, Sterling motions those who are injured to gather around,...

Positive Energy Bomb! 1d6 ⇒ 3

How many others needs how much more healing?

Sterling's gaze looks pointedly at the Marauder's hammer that Cole is still holding.
Then back to Cole.
The cleric arches an eyebrow.

Wowsers. i missed a LOT since my last check in yesterday! O_O

Sterling recovers from the underhanded unexpected blow. The cleric's hood has been knocked off of his head. He turns to face Cole. His face is impassive, like stone, carved into a frown.

"Ow."

Sergei the Haunted wrote:

Based on the map, looks like all I can do this round is double move. Can't get line of sight with a single move action. Also, Why is Sterling enormous?

OK. I hard a hard time moving him so I had to enlarge his icon, I'll minimize it once the battle is over. Or it could be his ego enlarged the icon, hard to say! :-)

HAH! OK. Totally Fair. :P

K:Religion (vs DC:20) 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Nope.

Sterling flattens himself as best he can against the wall to allow the beefy Bastion to pass by.

As "The Ogre" engages the "Mosswater Marauder", the cleric turns his head to finally see Cole exit the room he had been in.

”What is going on! Where are you…what is everyone charging around about?”

"Ghost." Sterling says calmly.

"Just your type. Big, mean, murderous,... and possibly magically flammable." He adds dryly.

Sterling makes a two-handed 'after-you' gesture towards the door he stands next to.

As his ray of holy energy (presumably) passes harmlessly between the larger spirit and his skull sidekick, Sterling straightens up in the doorway and coughs gently to make certain he has the spirits' attention.

"The, 'Mosswater Marauder', I presume? If you could wait a moment, I have a friend I'd like you to meet. SOMETIME TODAY COLE! "

When Zek grunts in pain, Sterling tugs his hood back far enough to clearly see his face.

"Oh, THAT's probably not good. Never-ending funhouse this place." The cleric says dryly as he moves to peer into the room Zek entered.
Move action

Upon peering into the room, seeing Zek holding his head, and the sight of the floating ghost, Sterling raises his holy symbol.

Cole? Little help? Move your orcish arse!,... Please?!?" Sterling hisses the final word through clenched teeth.

Disrupt undead!
To Hit: (Touch Attack) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Disrupt Dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 4

"Hmph. Looks like I'll have to get closer."

Sterling's hood turns towards the sound of Zek's shout.

"Oh? THIS should be interesting."

"That was...strange. This place has the angry remains of far too many lost souls lurking." Kenzo says with a shake of his head.

"Agreed. It is almost as if the Lady of the Spiral wanted us all here, to release these poor souls back onto The Path."

The others can almost hear the smile coming from inside the hood.

"It's a shame I won't be able to witness the final judgement of 'The Eight'. I like poetic justice."

Sterling turns to look at Cole.

"Find anything?"

The Balance of the Party can also act but it's likely that Zek may be mopping up this last foe momentarily! BOOOO Clerics!

Um, Sorry? (Not sorry!) :P

Sterling's head snaps up from whatever brooding thoughts he was having.

"Oh, HADES no!" Comes from under his hood.

Presuming they skulls are all coming into range? :D

Sterling holds up his holy symbol.

"The Spiral take you all!"

Energy Burst! Harm Undead! DC:18 1d6 ⇒ 4

Sterling nods.

"Scouting is good. Not to far. I just need a minute,..."

The cleric slumps to the floor, holding his oddly green & white holy symbol to his head.

Sterling nods once.

"That would work. I find myself wishing to continue the dispatch of these 'monsters'. With extreme prejudice."

"We can leave the bodies where they lie. And pick them up on the way out once we have completed our dispatch. IF you all believe that they should have a proper burial."

The cleric shrugs. His own feelings torn on the subject.

On the ONE hand, every humanoid deserves a proper burial and sendoff to the Spiral. If possible.

On the OTHER hand, these criminals pretty much gave up all pretense of 'humanoid-anity' long before they turned into cursed spirits.

"The Spiral turns as the Spiral wills." Sterling murmurs.

Sterling tilts his head thoughtfully, as if looking past something.

"The Warden's Wife did say she was having difficulty. But with each removal of a spirit, her job grows easier. We do not want to WASTE her strength or time. But we also do not want to press forward and risk even more serious injuries due to being hasty. That would not do us, OR the lady, any favors."

Sterling turns to look at Zek.

I think we may be privy to information we have not had time to share. According to the Good Father, Once defeated, it appears that the spirit vanishes. Completely, As if destroyed. It is not contained to the body, or able to answer Speak with Dead prayers from the beyond. We Know our Lady of the Spiral is jealous. It is my belief that either SHE is holding onto the defeated spirits tightly, so as not to allow them to return again. Or, the terrible magics worked here so untethered their spirits from the normal operations of the Planes that defeating them destroys one utterly."

The cleric strokes his thin chin thoughtfully.
"Curious Question. I shall have to pray on this."

As much as I'd LOVE to say "My dander is up! Press on!", It is PROBABLY best if we ran back, healed up, studied, and rested to get rid of the drain effects. Get back at it in the AM.

Sterling tilts his hooded head back enough that you can actually SEE him giving Sergei the side-eye.

"FULL of surprises this one. Literally."

The cleric turns to Teo.

"Good questions. We should continue to go through the good Doctor's writings and see if he has any answers for us. And ask his Daughter. She may know something and not even realize it."

"Nice catch." Sterling says deadpan when the ring is caught after a couple of close calls.

Sterling tilts his head at Teo's questions.

"The 'Splatter Man' was clearly insane. Perhaps he thought he recognized an old foe. Or old friend?" The cleric shrugs.

"Gather around." Sterling instructs in an almost bored voice.
'god-bomb'! :D

Healing for everyone: 1d6 ⇒ 5

We really need a ghost touch net.

Now THAT is a GOOD idea for a magic item! Not too powerful, not too expensive, but extremely useful in the right circumstances!! O_O

"Welcome back." Sterling murmurs dryly to Cole as the orc-blood stops running.

"A little less fire in your step, and a little more in that spirits face, if you please?"

Sterling turns back towards the floating Ghost of Splatterman.

"Now, WHERE was I? Ah yes, administering Divine discipline."

Waiting for his turn in Init order! :D

Sterling's faceoff with the Splatterman is interrupted by the sound of Cole's weapon hitting the ground.

The cleric sighs. "I'll deal with YOU in a moment." Sterling informs the specter.

"Pharasma take you Cole. I was JUST getting on a roll!"

To clarify, Prot vs Evil WOULD grant another save attempt from the Spatterman's fear, yes? If so, Sterling will try to cast Prot v Evil on Cole, before the big guy takes off running!

Fear? So a WILL save yes?

Will vs DC 15 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Sterling drops his pack, pulling his thin bo staff from its ties as he does so. The cleric points the staff at the splatterman.

"How nice of you to finally join us. I have a few critiques on your techniques. Firstly, 'Splatter'? Really? That is SO 80's,..."

"Welcome to the club." Sterling replies, with a bit less snark than his usual.

"I am learning SO much about undead manifestations on this excursion. Maybe [b]I should write a book?"[/b]

So, recap, who is spiritually wounded? And who likely needs the restore potions more? Sterling only missed one save, and seeing how these ghosties are only getting stronger, it seems a bad idea to push ahead already wounded? (At least too much?)

Ah, OK, thx. Oh Good. So If we need to, we CAN repair the weird dmg. OR try to muscle through and save them for later? (Nah. MY lucks not that good!) :P

Will a Positive Energy burst restore any lost dmg? Same as HP? Sterling will certainly positive-bomb everyone in the group before moving on if so!

Will Save vs DC: 16: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Owies?!?

Sterling shrieks in tandem with the haunt, clutching his head.

He slowly lowers his hands, eyes blank, a dead-eyed stare at the letters on the wall.

"THAT was, uncomfortable. Thank you for the experience. Allow me to return the favor."

Sterling turns to Teo, and draws a small spiral over the book while chanting a short prayer.

Cast BLESS on the book!

"You're welcome."

"Of course." Zek finishes with the local water. He thinks between his magical claws and alchemy, he should be able to scratch the name off the wall.

"Who has the item for this thing?! Try something!"

Sterling nods.

"Teo. The spellbook."

I had to look up who has what! :P

Seeing both Zek and Ogre pull out water skins and attempt to wash away what they see, Sterling interjects,...

"Tis' an undead spirit. Use HOLY water!"

Waiting for my actual turn to do anything. :)

K:Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

"I don't see,... The Words. Attack the writings!"

Sterling turns at the sound of the creaking portcullis. His head tilting curiously to the side as Sergei gestures & directs it to open, as if conducting a spiritual orchestra.

"Or, there's THAT." The cleric says wryly.

Sterling gathers his cloak tighter to him, in preparation to enter the portcullis. He nods to the others.

"I mean, it IS open."

Not first, but following the others.

Sterling sniffs, his oversized pack shifting as he peers at the map.

"It is unlikely even Cole is stubborn enough to try and burn his way through THAT. Although I've seen him try similar. And succeed."

The cleric jabs a finger at the map. Then bends down to show it to Zek more easily.

"Hidden Passage?"

Sterling Starshadow wrote:

South works for me. Looks like the adventure intends for us to face Bonegnasher last. As that PROBABLY means that he's a GEN-U-WINE BA, (AKA=BBEG) I am willing to take the hint! :D

Bonegnasher is homebrew... :-)

Yeah, this doesn't comfort at all

OH? ,... OK. Yeah. NOW I'm scared,... >_<

South works for me. Looks like the adventure intends for us to face Bonegnasher last. As that PROBABLY means that he's a GEN-U-WINE BA, (AKA=BBEG) I am willing to take the hint! :D

Sterling will finish sorting and reading through pages with Zek, and then return to Kendra's house. He will energy burst to heal any lingering wounds, grab some food, and go to sleep.

Sterling's hood nods, but stays bent over the stack of papers he is currently looking at.

"Good idea. I'll stay to finish going over these records. Which are surprisingly informative. I shall meet you at Kendra's. I have enough of the goddess's blessings remaining to help heal any lingering injuries."