Thediar's page

"Does Her word mean so little to you that you would cast it aside like garbage? You would trade the honor of the Fellnight Queen for a jape?"

Thediar makes out the spriggan who approached earlier and demanded that we surrender our weapons. "II had understood the word of the fae was a serious matter. You refused to be in my debt a few minutes ago; would you turn about and owe us this much so soon?"

Thediar pulls the rude pitchfork out of the ground and looks at his fellows. "Guys, they stole from my surplus, but from your main store. What's your call here? Also, given the press of the crowd, I'd recommend a good double-check of all your loose properties."

Sense Motive, JZ. What do we need to do here? Would the spriggans respect us more if we cracked some heads? Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

Thediar laughs, because it is funny. He glances into the bag that allegedly holds Tenzekil's corpse.

He announces to the spriggans assembled: "It is a merry jest, indeed. But I have a tale of a finer jest still:..."

He tells a short story of a gnome who tried to use clever illusions to fool a giant whom he had taken in as a guest, and how the tables got turned and taught the gnome a thing or two.

Untrained Perform: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

"And that's the thing about hospitality. Jokes or no, the bond of a guest and host are sacred. Your Queen has invited us to come as guests, and held our wares in safe keeping. This jest reflects on Her Majesty, and makes Her look the fool, for making promises she cannot keep, and for abusing the sacred trusts. Lives there any here who did not see what befalls a Fellnight servant who decides on his own initiative to act contrary to the Her Dread Majesty's will?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

"We'll be walking out, on that trail over there. We expect to find our gear waiting for us."

(EDIT: I'm hoping someone can help boost one or the other roll, either the story up to a 15, or the Diplomacy up to a 30.)

Thediar thanks the spriggan. Do we make our way back to the portal without further incident?

We requested that we be allowed to return Tenzekil's body. He's war-dead, after all. Will anyone stop us from taking him with us?

"Which we will make clear."

Anybody else up for leaving?

If I recall correctly, Lilia has half of them. Someone else has the other half.

"Fair enough, Your Majesty. We will take Your ... conditional ... offer back to the sun-lit realms, and do our best to broker Maligorn's acceptance. We have the backing of several of the woodland folk, so I think our chances good. We shall return here to close the deal and end the war, wardstones in hand. This I swear, by Gozreh."

Diplomacy to persuade her to let us go: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20.

Thediar frowns a little. This doesn't make sense. Rhoswen had the wardstones. Devarro told us she was using them to create the fog. Now they're the bars of her long-lasting prison? Was Devarro lying to us?

"I think that can be arranged. With Your Majesty's permission, I would seek consultation with my god, as to the best way to give You what You seek."

Thediar makes a quiet prayer to Gozreh, and casts divination. The specific course of action is returning the wardstones to Rhoswen. What do we have to do, to ensure the best outcome?

Would Rhoswen find it acceptable for us to make sure the stones are destroyed?

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

Sense Motive. Well, she has (a) schemes and potential uses for the stones, and (b) probably a sky-high Bluff skill augmented by magic, but Thediar has to make an attempt to see what she really wants here.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

"Before coming here, Your Majesty, we drafted an agreement that you must never be imprisoned again. The forest communities all agreed to that, that even the Satyr-king assented. Were he to try closing off the Fellnight again, the people of the woodlands would turn on him as a hypocrite and a liar. Exposed as such, his power to rule would dissolve.

Diplomacy to reassure Rhoswen: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

"As for the Wardstones, Your Majesty, they need to be destroyed. This pact we propose between Your people and sun-lit woodlands cannot hold, so long as either side, or any third party, has such a threat to hold over the other.

Diplomacy to convince her to allow us to destroy the stones: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

"One other thing doesn't belong here,Your Majesty. By Your Royal leave, we would take Tenzekil's body with us. He has folk to mourn him back in his lands, and his death, and the evidence it shows of Your power and ruthlessness, will serve You, as well.

Diplomacy to allow us to remove Tenzekil's body: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

"Your Majesty, the longer we tarry here, the more throughly does Maligorn harden his forces against the Fellnight. Although it breaks our hearts to think about leaving this beautiful land, we must make haste back and carry Your willingness to share the dominion of the lands.

Diplomacy to let us go: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

"What is Your Majesty's mind regarding the time of the cycle? Monthly, yearly like the Sidhe, or some other period, best aligned with Your Royal Wisdom?"

That the Fellnight offer to time-share the woodlands with the forest kin who've been there, that she and Maligorn's court trade sovereignty, the same way the Seelie and Unseelie hosts of the Sidhe do at the spring and autumn equinoxes. And that, united in that way, they both serve to keep the Verduran Forest clear of depredation.

Thediar fairly beams at that. He had been worried, throughout, that he as dealing with nothing more than an insane mobster, willing to destroy the Fellnight, if that was hat it would take to seek revenge. But at this, at Rhoswen's pledge of remembrance, he understands that somewhere behind all the rage and indignation, there's actually a ruler there, who feels some need to answer to her people.

That is what Thediar is going to try to target, kindle, and enflame. And he's going to do it by appealing to her emotions --vanity, fear, a need for admiration, a thirst for victory-- rather than a careful logical case. For Rhoswen is Fae, and that means that, whatever the Fellnight Queen's powers, Thediar realizes he's negotiating with a 4-year-old.

--+--+--

"I suspect Your Majesty may be right in that, but none shall know, for Maligorn has not been made to suffer so. He rules as an easy king, and watches as, yearly, the human loggers and settlers take the forest away by inches. And now he seeks to turn the attention of his subjects from that peril to ... You, Your Majesty, to the so-called threat Your return represents. He paints you as the villain in this piece.

"And, I fear, that by continuing the Fellnight attack upon the woodlands, Your Majesty plays into his hands. So long as You throw Your soldiers against the nymphs, the elves, and the honest folk of the woods, Maligorn will parade the war-dead as exhibits in the case against You.

"Your forces may win; the Fellnight is mighty as well as beautiful. (But they may not; much of your forces would seem to be held back in reserve on this side of the bridge between worlds. Maligorn knows where the choke-point is. If the Satyr-king takes it, he can hold it against a much greater force.)

"But, good queen, know that, if the war is left unchecked, the attrition will be terrible. You are mightier than they know, but they are much stronger than Your Majesty remembers. They have had all these years to strive against the other forces in the world, to learn warcraft, to gain puissance. If this is settled by war alone, the victor will be a shell of its former strength, and the vanquished will be gone.

"And then the lumbermen and clerics of city gods will come in, and chase out the tattered remains, and eat the forest. Your forest.

"But there's one thing that every man --civilized, oh-so-proper Man-- fears, and that's the things that go bump in the night. The lumbermen are not afraid of Maligorn, of his centaurs and nymphs. But if they were to come across the Fellnight, at the height of Your power, those who survived would blanche and turn tail. These would become "the haunted woods", the "Fell Lands"; and the Andorans would seek their timber elsewhere, fear lodged in their breasts.

"This war works against you in all ways. It paints Maligorn as the last defender of virtue; ah, how he must laugh to know that! It depletes all the forces that might keep all these lands safe, and it brings to bear the entire forces of the Inner Sea against you. The good men and women will try to hang Your Majesty on the wall as yet another villain, and the foul powers will see the Fellnight as weakened and easy pickings.

"Instead, we advise, sue for treaty. Ask some sort of share. Perhaps the woods run wild with spriggans and worgs every night, or throughout the winter, or from full moon down to new. Offer such a deal, and watch Maligorn choke in his fury. He cannot say no, for then it would be he who cannot compromise, and You Who will be heralded as the voice of temperance. Spurning Your offer would ruin Maligorn's prestige. And if he says yes...

...oh...

...if he says yes, then the Fellnight defeats him over, and over, and over again. If you suggest that the woods swing back and forth on a lunar cycle, then every full moon, he sees his kingdom give way, give way, and give way again to the Fellnight. You shall conquer him not once, but thirteen times every year. And all he shall be able do is watch, bound by the pact he cannot turn down.

"By the will of Gozreh, Lord of the Wind and Lady of the Wave, I come to You, Lady Fellnight, with this offer. If you accept, then let the church of Gozreh be counted Your first ally."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

Edit. Oh, yeah. Right when it counts. Can Thediar get any assistance with this?

The gnome raises an eyebrow at Sarek, looking bemused. Thediar would blithely agree. Of course it's caused death and destruction. She's currently out for revenge, and she's not a good person. Thediar's okay with that. He's negotiated with wicked people before; if everybody were nice, there wouldn't be a need for diplomats. He hopes that he can turn the negotiations away from condemning Rhoswen, and engage the queen on more productive topics.

Thediar makes a mental note: I can add the reference "Has a sense of humor -- Fellnight Queen" to my resume. Although, heck, I could probably add just about any commendation: "Great dancer, and makes a mean peach pie -- Fellnight Queen"; it's not like anybody's going to check with her for accuracy. All this, assuming I survive, of course.

Ylera's reaction to Thediar is at first a moment of shock before she speaks. "I would have preferred that you asked my leave before revealing my identity but I am done with running and hiding." at that point she removes her hood again, revealing her full features.

Thediar protests sotto voce, "You were yelling it at the gate, just a few minutes ago."

As Ylera continues, Thediar grins widely. She may get us killed, but by damn she'll get Rhoswen to turn away from that stupid mirror!

"Ahem! Where was I? Oh yes, I sent my army to liberate the forest, and this is how the people repay me? To cast me as villain and vex me at every turn?"

"By Your Majesty's leave, that's what we've come here to reverse. This is the Fellnight, a land of primordial beauty and dark majesty, and we would seek to find its rightful place amid the forest. To find a way for both parties to have what they want.

"But I advance beyond myself. Your Majesty, may I have the honor of presenting to You Your daughter, Ylera, strong in the mystic arts, resolute of heart, honorable in all things."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

ghah! Swallowed post; we try again...

Thediar laughs merrily. "Be at pease; there was no debt impled, soldier. Healing the injured is one of my duties. My apologies; I meant no offense."

From the positions on the map*, Thediar bows to Rhoswen, but does not bend his knee. She is a queen, but not his queen. He's an envoy, not a subject. "We beg Your Majesty's pardon for the missed appointment. We left early in the day, but the time just got away from us. It was a grave error, and we regret it."

What else can I say? I really did intend to show up for the meeting ...

"Was it out of courtesy, that your captors left you the mirror? Or cruelty, that you might ever look out from your prison?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

*Goodness, but what a perfect set-up for channelling negative energy...

Once we've all made our decision, Thediar casts cure moderate wounds on the spriggan, countering 2d8 + 8 ⇒ (6, 1) + 8 = 15 points of bee-sting damage.

"This time, I think, we have to make the choice. I'm going to make the attempt for peace."

Thediar sticks his trident into the ground. To the spriggan: "Leave this here, brave one."

JZ, Thediar has dealt with a lot of situations similar to this. I'm sure that in some cultures, envoys are expected to set aside their weapons, while in other lands, a tribal chieftain might be insulted if we didn't come armed, as if we held our host's puissance in disdain.

Is this a test, or do we really need to hand over our weapons to see the Queen?

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28.

Thediar glances at Ylera, and at Janus and Sarek. He's fine with sticking his own trident in the grass; he has gone entire adventures without needing to clean blood off its tines. But he'll not commit the warriors. And, ultimately, this is Ylera's call to make.

Thediar picks himself up, helps Ylera to her feet, and awaits the next scene in this drama to unfold.

How injured is Fulvid? Thediar is willing to heal it.

Thediar calls out in a loud voice, "O Majesty! Queen of these Fellnight Lands! Enough! Thou havest well and clearly shown Thy fury and taught Thy vengeance. But dost Thou not have yet another duty for this bleachling to fulfill? He has lost much this day, in daring to oppose Thy will. Dost Thou also demand from him his life? It is of some value to us, for we would wish to see him brought to account in our courts."

(Let's end this, but in a way that does not cause an incident.)

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30.

Thediar comes close to panicking; there is no way we could hope to defeat an army. "Sarek! This is not our fight!"

I've stated that Thediar is casting sanctuary, but I never stated who the recipient of the spell would be. Ylera, if you're not planning on casting any offensive spells (summoning elementals would be fair game), you're certainly welcome to the effects of the spell.

"Defend yourselves, by all means. But we're guests here, watching an unseemly private row; don't be the first to throw any attack."

Thediar casts sanctuary.

Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24.

Thediar is intrigued to see how this plays out.

Thediar looks around at the spriggans. Ah yes. Fey soldiers. Just as irrational as the courts, but thirstier for blood.

Thediar plays off Tenzekil's self-serving nature. "You might beat us, Braybrittle; I don't know what your resources here are. But we've never gone down without a hard fight, and it would leave you weakened and at their, um, mercy. How would that serve your purposes?"

In Gnomish:

Aid another with Diplomacy: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (2) + 19 = 21

Oooh, I can hear the old Star Trek battle music starting...

DM JZ, what's the common practice here? We want to do this right. We want to avoid embarrassing ourselves (and losing), but we don't want to come off as cowardly, either.

Does it make sense to invite the spriggan and worg to join alongside Tenzekil to make it an even fight?

JZ, could we get a better description of the gate and area? For example, could someone in gaseous form just slip through the gate?

A satisfied grin touches the corners of Thediar's mouth. "As I said, we will be more than happy to speak with Her Majesty out here."

Thediar actually feels sorry for the bleachling.

"Enough, Tenzekil," he says, gently. "Now that Princess Ylera stands revealed, your posturing serves only to undermine your own position. At this moment, others, who are loyal to the Queen, are reporting what's transpiring here. Threaten us again, and it will be treason."

To the party: "We've spent enough time here. Her Majesty awaits." And he moves past Tenzekil.

Thediar turns to Ylera. "Oooh. 'Someone loyal to the Queen'. Nice dig."

Obviously.

Tenzekil was still trying to win Lumi back the day before yesterday, so he still has some soft feelings for her that he's trying to cover up with fury, as opposed to the kind of deep hatred which is all that Rhoswen and Malgorn have left for one another. But I don't know that we have the time and liberty to pursue grief counselling to a deranged bleachling.

And that raises the question: how much influence has he had, already?

Still, it's a good idea to keep our options open. JZ, Thediar thinks back to all the lore and stories that he learned, growing up in Gnomish culture. There have to be plenty of stories about tricksters, their adventures and their rewards. Thediar is trying to recall a story where a trickster seems to be going along with some powerful menace, and then turns the tables on him, winning renown and possibly rescuing other gnomes through his cleverness. The point is to come up with a cultural reference that Tenzekil --but not the attending spriggans--would know.

At the same time, Thediar is scanning the area for some other figure, perhaps a spriggan, who might have enough authority to settle Tenzekil down.

If anybody else wants to jump in here, ...

Thediar looks back at his companions, and his eyes meet Ylera's. You're our ace, here. Even if Rhoswen won't see us, she'll see you. He turns back to the bleachling and grins, a suspicion forming in his mind.

DM JZ, just how committed is Tenzekil? Does he hve his own agenda? He must know that we're not going to surrender to him, so what does he gain by this affront? Is he trying to manipulate Rhoswen?

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

"We've made sure Her voice gets heard, Tenzekil, as Queen Rhoswen well knows. We have argued that, however this struggle ends, sealing away the Fellnight was a wrong that should never be repeated. Those aren't the acts of an enemy.

"We aren't here to joust with you. We're here to do right by all parties concerned, including the Fellnight. And including the lands Lumi loves."

And with that, Thediar folds his hands, and waits.

"Hello, Tenzekil.

"It's breath-takingly beautiful here. I don't know if you can still understand that, as a bleachling, but it is indeed gorgeous.

"I'm sorry, I forget myself.

"Your words are ill-wrought, bee-keeper. We come as we are, no tricks. We will lift no weapon, save in defense of our own persons, but we do not come under the guarantee of safe passage, and we are not half so foolish as to come all this way, only to surrender our surety. In any case, our private property --reagents(?)-- poses no threats and is beyond the purview of this interview.

"We come to hear Her Majesty's story, to come to an understanding about what She desires, and to work as we can towards justice and accord. We believe this to be to the Fellnight's advantage. Her Majesty has asked to see us. I am surprised to see you resisting Her will.

"If we are not permitted inside as we come, that is a trifle. The clearing is beautiful, and we can await Her Majesty out here."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (20) + 18 = 38

Damned eaten post!

Thediar smiles. It's always refreshing when you get a chance to meet the enemy at full strength and then battle your way out, rather than fighting your way in.

As his allies approach, the gnome speaks a prayer under his breath. "O Gozreh, lord of the wind and lady of the waves, I pray You watch over me this day. May your hear all my tongue speaks, see all that is done by my hands, and know the secrets in my heart. If I break against Your will, may all my strength fail and the world turn against me. If I am betrayed, I pray You, turn your rage against my betrayer and Your people 'gainst their works. I pray this in comfidence, relying on Your promises kept and Your love for Your servants. By wind and by wave."

Ominously, that was post 666.

Thediar notes the presence of the bird with surprise. Nevertheless, he gives the "all clear" sign.

"That's terrific! Our escort, captain?"

Thediar finds the interplay between the spriggan rider and the worg fascinating. When the devil-wolves take goblin riders, the worg is usually the leader of the team. Yet here, the spriggan seems to be calling the shots.

"I am Thediar, representative of the god Gozreh, who would hear Her 'plaints."

Thediar acknowledges the evil goblin wolf. "I've never seen a worg before, who would permit a spriggin sit upon his back. You must hold these riders in great esteem."

The spriggans ride up to Thediar on their ferocious worgs.

"Password!" the lead rider demands. The promise of violence is clearly evident in his eyes.

Sense Motive to see if he's about to attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19.

In the same language the spriggan used: "Howdy. I am come here here as an emissary, so I don't know your password. If you do know it, then hush! You really shouldn't tell me, because I not part of the Fellnight forces, and if you start telling everybody what the password is, then what good is it, anyways?

"But Her Most Terrible Majesty has declared her willingness to listen to what I have to say, and I have come for an audience with Her. Really, I do request to speak with your boss.

"Nice worgs, by the way. Very impressive. I bet they would intimidate all kinds of people!"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (13) + 20 = 33

For Thediar's part, he casts eagle's splendor, and sanctuary.

Immediately before he walks out, he casts prayer. For the next eight rounds, we all have a +1 luck bonus on virtually all rolls.

And ... showtime. Thediar walks out into the open. "Hey, guys! I need to speak to the dude in charge."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (15) + 20 = 35.

"Lilia, why don't I go out and address them, after we all make such preparations as we feel prudent? If they should attack, we should have our actions ready."

Knowledge (nature) +10
Knowledge (planes) +7
Knowledge (religion) +7

Roll: 1d20 ⇒ 1; obviously, they're a mystery to Thediar, too.

"The last spriggans we faced were taken down with bindings and entangles. Shall we see whether that tactic works again?"

Thediar smiles up at Devarro. "You and your friends among the fae are the greatest! We go now to see what can be done, and to earn our side some respect. If there's an emergency back here, call, and we'll be back as fast as we can."

I'll be posting hap-hazardly over the weekend.

"It doesn't look too far on the map. Let's try getting there on our own, and judge by noontime how far we get. If e need the teleportation, we need it. But if we don't I'd rather do without.

(Frankly, Janus, I try to avoid accepting gifts from the fair folk whenever possible. I don't know if the stories --about all the strings that are attached to even the simplest acceptance of a gift-- are all true, mostly true, or wild tales, but why take chances with that kind of stuff? Besides, something tells me that we'll have a marginally better chance of getting on Her Majesty's good side, if we don't pop in unannounced, the beneficiaries of His Fecund Majesty's spellcraft. )"

Thediar shares that message. "Sounds like he might be hiding in the Fellnight," he yawns. "Looks like tomorow's going to be a busy day.

Before we go to sleep, Thediar would look at the map and cast divination. The specific goal: recover Tenzekil. The question: "Where ought we search, so that we would best find him?" Thediar spends more time than usual selecting the offering:

Thediar rolls his eyes. "We all do what we can, with the gifts the gods give us.

"Ylera, I'm really sorry for the pain, or the embarassment, these shenanigans have caused you."

Thediar turns towards the more seasoned warriors in the group. "Head up north and improvise?"

Thediar asks our allies for a map of the woodlands, and their best guess as to where the spriggan forces might be holed up.