Congratulations! ^^ How was the wedding?
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Stuff happens and work is important.
Valai represses a sigh and flies after Zellyser -- using the Tiefling's bulk to shield her own, more slender form from both perception and projectiles.
"Alright," Valai says, eyes narrowing at the sight. "We are agreed that Variel is a lunatic, yes? So do we go in and try to arrange for his troops to be restrained as non-violently as possible, or do we go in and scout around a bit, first?"
Sweet. ^^ What is the module about?
"That's the plan," Valai says, her tone glacial as she rises into the air and starts to fly towards the top of the plateau. "William - heel."
"Onward and upward, then," Valai says, thin-lipped and frowning.
"She generally has whatever she wants," Valai grumbles under her breath.
"By Calistria's gaudy toerings, halt!" Valai snaps. "Reconnaissance must precede attack. A small team should scout ahead to gauge resistance and disarm any traps in the way. This is basic military logic."
Valai marches in stoic silence, but behind Variel's back, she is frowning up a storm.
I'm still here. Just... more intermittent due to holiday fun. ;)
Valai pokes Zellyser in the shoulder with her quarterstaff. "The pronunciation of that word is now 'Elf'. It may not be what we call ourselves, but it is commonly accepted, whereas the old Taldan form is... not. Please remember."
Advance warning: I will be going on holiday the 27th, and will remain away until the 5th. I should be able to get online during that time, but there are no guarantees. The internet at home continues to be worse than spotty...
Valai gives the others a significant look at Variel's words, but makes sure that the (insane-o!) Elf and his dominated lackeys do not get to see it.
O... kay. ... Seeing as I'm a bit shy of Dispel Magic- or Break Enchantment-level magic, our best bet might be to run like cowards and try to get in touch with the locals. I haven't assigned my new language slot yet. Can I take Serpentfolk for it? ^^;
We can answer those after we've cold-cocked these guys and taken their weapons away from them. ;) How many people are there here, aside from us five?
@ Donato: Yeah, I thought something like that. ^^;
@ Celia: Happy birthday! I hope you have a great day. ^^
"The troops!" Valai hisses at the rest of the party. "They are under a compulsion spell! This is no defence, no retaliation, this is an invasion! And we have been drafted into it! " The Wizard's hand tightens on the hilt of her rapier to the point that her knuckles turn white.
"Speaking as one Elf about another, he seems deluded to me," Valai says, her eyes narrowing. She slowly, inconspicuously puts a hand on the hilt of her rapier. "We are in trouble here. We may have just invaded a peaceful neighbour."
"I am starting to wonder whether there is more in those crystals than air," Valai mutters to Zellyser. "Something to dumb down his troops?"
"If these four-armed people are invading Castrovel, why are there no armies here?" Valai whispers to the other four 'blessed ones'.
Red alert! My network is being extra crappy, so I may not be able to get online - reliably - at home for the foreseeable future. o_o Please NPC me if needed…
"I knew it," Valai says, throwing up her hands in a fatalistic gesture. "I just knew we were going to regret this. Stuck on yet another world, and this time without a ship!" The cold-faced Elfmaid utters a reasonably vile swearword in her native tongue... and then kneels down to comfort William as best she can, patting the little animal through his suit.
"This is a hope I share," Valai says. "Very strongly."
Okay, I've finished levelling up. ^^ Put my favoured class' extra rank in Perception, seeing as Valai's been my least perceptive character so far.
Well, yes. ^^
Well, not for all of them. Just a few basics. ^^ A while back, I was in this truly awesome Ravenloft pbp, where the DM asked us to write the text of our spells in dead or foreign languages, so they'd feel more authentic IC.
The fun thing about using Latin for my spells is that I'm still reasonably good with the language and that I have two dictionaries. If a new spell comes along, I can translate it with little trouble. A few spells I used fairly often were:
And so on, and so forth. ^^ If any of you guys want me to translate some spells for you, just drop me a pm. We're not the Order of the Stick, after all. :p
"Celia," Valai says in a grim tone of voice. "Your god is not my god, but you are the only priestess we have handy, so I expect you to request his blessing for our group now that we are going into battle. In addition, if we all die, I am going to make it my personal mission to kick your and Zellyser's rumps the whole distance to Pharasma's dreary demesne. Lornica magi, me vela." With her brief incantation finished, Valai starts muttering prayers to Nethys and Sivanah under her breath.
"Barghests' bowels," Valai curses softly when she sees the image. "No wonder these people need to conscript travelers..."
Grumbling quietly, Valai struggles into her outfit.
We need to decide whether we do this or not. o_o If we go through that gate, we risk being stranded on Akiton without the Mechanic and his ship. We could still turn and run.
"We came to this city to barter," Valai says, "not to be dragged into someone else's war. You can take two minutes to explain this situation a little better." Valai gives a quick recap for the others in Common.
"I am opposed to heading off to yet another world whilst leaving the Mechanic behind," Valai says in a flat tone of voice. "He was kind enough to help us. Abandoning him would be... wrong."
"We are not soldiers," Valai protests. "Nor are we nobles. I have told you, we are travelers."
"Excuse me," Valai says, her voice slightly raised. "We are no one's reinforcements. We are travelers in search of aid. Just what 'monstrosities' are you being troubled by, and what is this about 'air crystals'?"
Collecting the various herbs for study almost seemed to mellow the Elfmaid out a little, but a familiar frown appears on her face as the lack of citizens impresses itself on the group. "I like this not," Valai says as she turns a full circle, looking every which way. "Something has befallen the populace, or they all went into hiding when they saw us approach. Neither possibility bodes well for us." The Elf makes a brief gesture and mutters a Word of Power.
Valai strips off her spacesuit before - cautiously - stepping outside, William Goat trotting along at her side. "Humid," she says, dispassionately, while glancing around.
"You are taking her too literally," Valai says, sighing. "What she means is, that she wishes to go outside so she may see and experience everything. Gnomes, you know. It's new experiences or insanity and death."
"That would require us to go into town and barter," Valai says. "Sir Mechanic, do we have anything in the way of legal tender, or valuable objects? I could a few illusion-performances, but I doubt those would earn us much money unless the populace is starved for entertainment."
"Pray you don't find out," is all Valai says to Zellyser. Turning to the mechanic, she asks: "Which part of Castrovel are we on? Do you know if there are any major settlements nearby? And what kind of materials do you need to fix the ship?"
At the news that the ship is headed to Castrovel, Valai buries her head in her hands and moans as if she had just been informed that she was headed to one of the Lower Planes. She refrains from more vocal comments, however, other than to say: "Removing those stasis tubes was the right thing to do." Once on the planet, the Elf very firmly pulls up her hood.
Valai sits down, checks both her and William's suits, buckles up -- and all the while, she demonstrates the fact that the Elven language actually includes a surprising number of colourful expressions. When Elven runs out of ways for her to vent her feelings at the situation, Valai seemlessly switches to ranting and cursing the vagaries of Fate in Draconic, Gnomish and Thassalonian...
Valai freezes halfway to her chair, her suit already on, and turns to the Mechanic, her eyes wide and her face pale. "A what is in the vicinity?!" If not for William urgently tugging on her sleeve, the Elf might have just stood there, trembling either with rage or fear.
Valai snaps her fingers at William, who immediately trots to her side -- and bleats challengingly at Zellyser.
"Celia Deschmertz, our ship's chaplain and local high priestess of Cayden Cailean," Valai says, her voice suspiciously dry. She gracefully indicates Zellyser. "I introduce to you a two thousand year old tiefling from the fallen Empire of Taldor, who has not seen fit to mention his name." Another graceful gesture, this at LK-X85. "And this is LK-X85, who has been told he is not alive, and was created to be a high-quality assistant or servant to people of worth. And I am known as Valai Blackheart to some. Our mutual host is the scientific genius known as the Mechanic. The floating orb is Keth, and the goat is William. There. Now we are all acquainted."
I think Valai is easily one of the least sympathetic characters I've created -- while still being shy of outright unsympathetic. ^^; Does that sentence make sense? I'm a little tired.
Valai's eyes widen. "Interesting," she says. "Well, I have some bad news for you, and some worse news. The bad news is that yes, I am from Kyonin. The Kingdom is once again inhabited by my people. The worse news is that from my perspective, the time of the Fifth Army of Exploration is currently over two thousand years ago." The Elf casts a clinical look on the containment vats.
Turning back to Zellyser. "Your long removal from the world explains the linguistic oddities. You may be just as, hah, 'fresh' as you were during Taldor's heydays, before the empire fell in on itself and was eclipsed by Cheliax, but the world has moved on." From Zellyser, she turns to LK-X85.
Heh. Not yet. ^^
Valai's face becomes a match for LK-X85's for its lack of expression, but her eyes blaze. "I am an Elf," she says, her voice frosty. "On Golarion, we are far from extinct, I assure you." She relents slightly. "You may be from rather farther afield than I had thought. Now. Who and what are you?"
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