Zane Levallis's page

As the group waited, Zane discussed with the others, "Azarra, the Morninglord can grant me a spell that can give you true mastery of the languages of these savages, at least for a time. So you can sound authentic in that regard. And I have another blessing that can make you more...alluring...to those you interact with, which will help our cause as well."

Turning to Ishta, he nodded, "That's a great idea about Delenn...she might know tricks of the arcane to help obscure our true nature to these creatures."

To Ser Armithia and Kardas, he smiled and said, "My friends, I know that subterfuge is not your forte, nor is it mine, so perhaps we can be the hired bodyguards, seeing much and saying little until the time is right."

I'm assuming this also plays into the quest Braccio first mentioned about clearing the gate?

Zane nodded his head in understanding as the two men explained the situation. He wasn't sure who Talia was, but he understood all too well poisoned arrows and the intent behind them. Still, though, it seemed that Delenn's (and Cardona's) tasks would have to wait, as the possibility of a second wave of evil dragons was too important to ignore. Zane remembered the tale of Phlan's fall and the infrequent visits from his broken father all too well, and vowed that such a thing would not be repeated. "It was likely going to come to this, anyway. For Phlan to truly regain it's former glory it can not share the city with the same creatures that sacked it."

"And perhaps this same band of Zhents is the group that Cardona wants to pay off so that they leave us alone. We could recover Delenn's brother and send them reeling without their 'protection' money, at that." It seemed that the group had come up with their next task, though he did mention, "Braccio mentioned about retaking the castle gates, and I tentatively accepted for us. Should we let him know we'll be a few days before we can start on that commission? That way he can offer it to someone else if it's time sensitive."

As Zane and Ser Armithia met up with Kardas and Ishta, Zane recounted the pair's meeting with both Bishop Braccio and Delenn Moonbeam. After the briefing, the priest asked, "What do you two think? Should we help Delenn with her brother? Perhaps she'd be a valuable asset to the city without her kin being used against her for blackmail. And what do you think about Cardona and his newfound interest in governance?"

Zane listened to the elf's tale, growing angry as the woman spoke. He had heard many tales of Zhentil Keep and the fiendish rulers of the city-state, but this seemed ludicrous. Why not just outright demand the book? These 'not-people' delighted in their intrigue and cruelty. The priest's eyes narrowed at the mention of Bane, the Morninglord and The Black Lord not having much in common. "What was the name of the book in question, again?"

When the gold elf replied, Zane nodded in agreement. "Ser Armithia tells it true. We will talk with the other three when they arrive in the City, but hopefully Phlan's interest will calm down enough to allow us to help with this endeavor."

While Zane wasn't too sure about agreeing to kill this Malik whatever, the mission of saving the elven woman's brother seemed to be a blessing in disguise. If this outpost was the source of the Zhentish agents in the region, they could potentially take care of two birds with one stone. Giving the woman a small wave, he rose with Ser Armithia and made his way to the exit.

"Let's see if we can find Azarra...she should be here. Maybe she has some insight's on Delenn's situation and the trade delegation Cardona is itching to send."

Zane had been busy absorbing all the new information, processing it as Ser Armithia took over the conversation. Retake Stojanow Gate, Zhentish 'trade' meeting, Cardona's increased activity, a stolen tome from the Library, and a meeting with the elven wizard who had guided them through the Library. Quite the laundry list, indeed!

"Quite right, Ser Armithia, though I feel the trip into the mountains might have to take a back seat for a time. Do you feel we can go ahead and accept the commission for the Gates?" If the gold elf agreed, Zane replied to Braccio, "Go ahead and count us interested, though it might be a couple of days before we're all present and accounted for. Hopefully that fits the time frame..."

If there was nothing else, the priest excused himself and Ser Armithia and started heading towards the Cracked Crown and Miss Moonbeam. While the woman had been deceitful in their last adventure together, the cleric understood her motivations and was at least interested to hear from her once again. "Quite a busy time since we've been away, don't you think? Cardona's sudden interest in governance is concerning." He turned to glance at the paladin as they walked, interested in his take on the matter.

Zane gladly took the seat offered by the Bishop, worn out after the days of travel after the furious fight at the ziggurat. When the older man congratulated the team on the job well done, the priest smiled, then answered, "There was a strange mechanism inside of a pyramid structure that was producing some kind of waste the alchemist was dumping in the Stojanow. Azarra managed to shut off the contraption after we slew the alchemist. He had also enslaved a conclave of lizardfolk, who we have freed and are finishing escorting them to their original home. Hopefully they will make good allies to our fledgling town."

Don't have any divinations prepared...so it'd be tomorrow. I'd like to think we have a bit of social pull with the good Bishop, after cleansing the Stojanow.

Heading inside the gates, Zane was all smiles as the duo were greeted with the good cheer of the citizens of Phlan. Surely the cleansing of the river would increase their good fortunes, since now the fledgling city would be even more accessible to trade with other cities and nations. As they worked their way through the town, the priest asked random people what had happened in their absence.

Diplomacy(gather info): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18

Not hearing anything coherent in the various stories, Zane shook hands and waved with/to all the folks in their path, making sure the rosy disk of the Morninglord was prevalent on his person at all times. When he parted ways with Ser Armithia, the priest made his way to the Temple of Tymora, hoping to catch Bishop Braccio there.

Zane goes with Ser Armithia

Zane said his good-byes to Ishta and Kardas, sure that the duo were in good hands and would return to Phlan shortly. Gathering up his belongings, he joined the gold elf for the trip to New Phlan, hoping Azarra didn't encounter any troubles. Answering the paladin's question on the way, he said, "I can ask the Morninglord and his agents questions and seek their advice. The answers are often cryptic, and typically just point to the best way forward, not necessarily a definitive answer."

Zane is a bit taken aback by Azarra's sudden desire to leave them, but he supposed she had some business to take care of and little desire for an audience when doing so. He understood that, even if he worried a bit over her safety. When Ishta volunteered the spell of flight, the priest relaxed, waving to the half-elf. "Enjoy the feather down...we'll try not to be too jealous."

Turning to the others after Azarra had left, he said, "Perhaps we should make our own way to the city with haste now that we have a capable diplomat to work on the relationship between the lizardmen and Phlan?"

The going was slow and uneventful, and Zane found the time relaxing. He spent the days conversing with his friends and their new allies, trying to show the lizardfolk the ways of the Morninglord, and his mornings communing with his deity and trying to understand even more of Lathander's portfolio and Zane's place in His design.

When the half-elven diplomat arrived, the priest was rather relieved to pass on the diplomatic efforts to the woman, reading the note that she subtly passed on to them after excusing himself. Motioning the others over, he handed the note to them. "Looks like the Zhents are growing more bold. We'll have to check in and see if we can determine who exactly is behind this."

After Azarra had quickly acted and saved the lizardmen from death from their terrible wounds, Zane channeled the energy of the Morninglord and healed any who might need it.

Channel Energy: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 5, 3) = 10

Trying to ignore the fact that Kardas started poking, prodding, and scooping the ooze into a beaker or flask of some sort, the priest helped collect the wounded hunters and return to the main group.

Rather surprised to see the determination of the lizardpeople to celebrate in the rain, Zane nevertheless was glad the folks had the good news they had needed to cause a celebratory mood to begin with.

Nothing in particular if we want to fast forward.

Left unattended, the divine weapon called into existence by Zane continued to swat at the ooze.

Spiritual Weapon: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Spiritual Weapon Iterative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Having no more offensive spells to use on this particular foe, the priest sighed and waded forward, hurrying back into the battle after Ser Armithia drew its rather unwelcome attention.

Will: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

Heavy Mace: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Zane tried not to feel terrified as the gigantic ooze followed him and the other two away from the ladies and Ser Armithia, instead continuing to back away, calling upon Lathander for more assistance.

Spiritual Weapon: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Move 20 feet away, cast Spiritual Weapon

Spiritual Weapon 1/8

Seeing Azarra fall asleep all of a sudden, Zane gasped. Resisting his instinct to run to her aid (and perhaps fall asleep, himself), he went back to the well for the second time, calling upon another blast of holy energy from the Morninglord and directing it at the oozing mass.

Ranged Touch (Searing Light): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Damage: 4d8 ⇒ (1, 7, 2, 2) = 12

Unsure of what the thing was, Zane moved to get a clearer shot. Once there, he extended his holy symbol and invoked the name of the Morninglord, a line of holy light shooting from his hand to the mass of the thing that was holding the lizardmen hunters.

Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Damage: 4d8 ⇒ (1, 7, 8, 8) = 24

Zane is a little taken aback when Kardas turned into a hulking bugbear, but shrugged it off. It wasn't the weirdest thing the swordmage had turned into in the last 24 hours. The priest got ready to follow the bard and the Rashemi man once they figured out which way would lead them to their wayward scouts.

Zane hurried after Azarra as she found footprints that likely belonged to the rear-guard duo, wondering what would have caused them to run off like that.

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

The young man didn't at all see the tracks she was looking at, but she seemed pretty sure, so he just followed along, hoping her keen elven sight was better than his.

I'm ok with being airborne and invisible, but I suspect Ser Armithia or Kardas is a better choice.

Zane replied, "The Morninglord has blessings that can protect us from the cold, should we decide to continue. Seems like it will take some time, though...perhaps checking in with the council would be advised before we're gone for such a time?"

I'll abstain from voting. I'm good either way.

Kn History: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
Kn History: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Zane thought about his studies of the Moonsea region over the years, trying to harness memories about the Dragonspine Mountains. It took several minutes as he packed up his things, but he finally strung together enough lore to be able to talk intelligently.

"There's a tower overlooking the Glacier of Silver Blades. It was built by an elven archmage after Myth Drannor fell. He is long dead, but a wizard's tower seems a likely haunt for a sorceress."

After gathering his thoughts for a moment, he continued, "Also, there's a volcano known as the Fang of Kortassa on the other side of the glacier. This supposedly housed an ancient green dragon's home and hoard until a clan of orcs destroyed him. History speaks of the riches that could still be in that place."

Not finding it relevant, but thinking it would be interesting to pass the time, the priest spoke of the portals in the Dragonspine peaks. See the first Kn History spoiler.

Zane listened with interest to the lizardmen, Azarra, and Ishta discuss the air being and lizardpeople that had been shackled beneath the acidic waters of the ziggurat, but ultimately didn't know much about Djinns beyond the standard wish folklore. The priest waved politely to the reptilian folk, bidding the elder farewell before departing with the others north towards where Mirabel was rumored to be.

Zane relayed the information Eberhard had imparted to him, wondering if perhaps the group should head back to Phlan, instead. It seemed the situation was under control, though, if tense, so they might as well try to correct one more situation while they were out all this distance.

The cleric grinned at Ser Armithia, chuckling, "Indeed it is. I'm glad to have been finally able to use it. The Morninglord had to have been getting frustrated with me not using His gifts."

Zane wasn't really too eager to find out what might have been shackled outside the ziggurat, really. Chances are it was really dead, or something bad if it wasn't, after being continually immersed in those waters. Pleasing the half-elf woman remained high on his to-do list, though, so he nodded agreement to her vocalized option before the group headed north.

Glad to have a rest, even though the group hadn't done too much fighting that day, Zane woke before the sun rose as usual and began meditating, feeling Lathander grant him the gifts that the priest had been presented with daily for many years now. He was glad the Morninglord had seen fit to view him as a worthy vessel for increasingly powerful blessings. He just hoped it would be enough for Phlan's sake.

Once he was ready, he began the complex casting of the divine spell to send a message to Councilor Eberhard, saying, "River's pollution source destroyed. Created by madman Yarash working under Jandark Cadorna. Have truce with lizardmen who were enslaved here. Heading north to investigate further." It wasn't perfect, but hopefully it would get the important information to the Council.

Zane frowned as he heard the lizardwoman tell of the mercenaries taking off with all the gold. The priest lamented the fact that the gold was gone, surely, but more importantly he was upset that those evil men had escaped and would surely visit their brutality upon others in the future.

If we stay overnight, I can prepare Sending and contact Councillor Eberhard in the morning. I'd much rather continue either on to Mirabel or back to Phlan to bask in the glory of our triumph over the Stojanow.

Zane thought his companions were quite wise to think about the dragon and the safety of those that might come after them. After Ser Armithia asked his question of the elder, the priest followed up. "Also, ma'am, do you know of any other defenses in this place besides this Yarash's clones?" He pointed over to the remains of the hollow men close by.

Zane can feed an enormous amount of people if he fills his 3rd and 4th level slots with Create Food & Water. We have any survival experts?

We should definitely cross the river to the north and get on whichever side we need to end up on. It'll be slow going with so many, but also probably less danger, too.

Zane followed the lizardmen to the teleportation pad, eyeing it with distrust. They seemed to be wanting to carry this out, though, and honestly having another ally relatively close to the city couldn't hurt anything. Or at least a truce.

The priest didn't really have time to process the motion before they were standing in another area of the pyramid (hopefully), now in a room full of the lizardfolk. Zane lowered his weapon, wanting to seem as peaceable as possible as they walked towards the seer of the group.

He listened with interest and sadness to the elder's tale, allowing Azarra to speak for the group before offering, "Perhaps I could help with the injuries of your folk, as well, as we meant no harm to your people. The Morninglord is compassionate and will spread His healing to you, if you will allow it."

Zane grows puzzled as Azarra spoke to the lizardpeople in the common trade tongue, but he trusted that whatever arcane thing she had just done would make it to where the lizardfolk could understand her. She certainly seemed confident that it would.

Zane looked upon the two newcomers with pity, but was still wary of the lizardmen. Now that their master was dead, the priest was unsure what their natural tendencies might be. Seeing Azarra attempt to placate them, for the moment, he held back and made ready to assist her should the duo erupt in unexpected violence.

Zane heard the councilman's name and groaned, having hoped that the man wasn't THAT corrupt. Upon the clarification that it was Jandark, it made the priest feel better, though not much more so. The cleric was an amiable sort, but he had come to the opinion that Phlan would be better off if the young councilman decided to seek his fortune and power elsewhere.

When Azarra was looking to hand off the journal, Zane accepted it, having spent much of his youth reading of the history of this area of the Moonsea. Skimming through it, he read eagerly, briefly forgetting where they were at.

Kn History: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22

After a few minutes he closed the book, shaking his head. "This Yarash was a madman. He sought to turn these poor lizardmen into sea creatures to go search through an artifact called the Bell in the Depths. The Bell was supposedly once in Northkeep, a stronghold of men on an island in the Moonsea long ago. It is said that it was unassailable, and this created such a rage in the monstrous races that thousands of their priests and shamans gathered on the shores of the Moonsea to bring the wrath of their dark gods against the men of Northkeep. Those fools met a terrible end for disturbing their gods, but the terrible beings also cast Northkeep into the sea, the entire island sinking beneath the surface. The Bell sometimes rings, being heard as far away as Hillsfar."

Finishing his summary, he again shook his head. "Crazy. Let's see if we can find where the poison is originating from. And if we encounter any of the lizardmen we can tell them of what Yarash was doing to their cohorts."

Zane was again amazed at the awesome display of arcane prowess as Ishta zapped the crazed man out of existence on the material plane. Helping to bring the man's creation down, the priest was almost surprised at the sudden silence that fell over the place after the brief battle. Once they had stripped the valuables off the enemies, Zane moved with the others to the room where the 'Master' had come from, hoping that maybe the man's personal effects would have a hint as to how the poison in the water had come into being and what could be done to permanently disable the devices creating it.

Zane was rather pleased with the amount of damage his companions were making against the malicious hollow creature they were battling, but he grew concerned as the crazy wizard somehow managed to patch the thing back together again with an arcane spell. The wizard needed to be taken out...he could prolong this and the priest's companions would be the worse for it.

Holding his holy symbol aloft, he called upon the Morninglord to strip away the illusion shrouding those nearby, exposing them to the wrath of his allies.

Cast Invisibility Purge

Unsure of what terrible things the crazed alchemist might be capable of, but knowing that his Rashemi friend couldn't possibly take much more of the gruesome display of the...whatever it was, Zane called upon a healing blessing from the Morninglord, then stepped forward to touch the swordmage and deliver the magical healing to him.

Cure Crit (Air Walk): 4d8 + 8 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 5) + 8 = 22

Cast, then move to deliver. Taking +2 to AC from BoF

Sighing as Ser Armithia rushed forward to engage with the enemy, the priest decided that granting the three melee combatants increased powers from Lathander would be more advantageous. Holding his holy symbol aloft, he called upon the powerful blessing, increasing the vigor of the men of the party.

Cast Blessing of Fervor, affecting Ser Armithia, Kardas, and Zane

Then Zane strode forward to stand near the gold elf as the group readied to battle whatever this mad scientist was.

Feeling the happenings below them, Zane hoped that whatever dark machinery was powering this disgusting pollution was getting destroyed in the process. The priest follow Ser Armithia out of the room, eyeing the lizardman in the process just to make sure the fellow wasn't lulling them into a sense of false security.

Once they were out of the door, Zane looked to the right and said, "Let's check out this area, then head across to the other side when we're done."

Zane smiled back at Azarra after he and Ser Armithia followed her instructions and turned the valves that shut off the flow of the awful scum that was being dumped into the river. The smile quickly turned into a look of concern as the half-elf stated that the stuff could very well be backing up inside the pyramid, looking down nervously before saying, "Let's continue on this level, then and see if we can find it's source. If it's just going to back up into the heart of this place, it might find its way back to the river eventually."

Full aware that he is out of his element in the room with the mechanism, Zane stood near the opening, mace in hand, ready to call out to the others and delay an intruder should something try to come in and stop their observation.

Zane approached the hulking brute behind Ser Armithia, getting ready for an inevitable conflict. The priest almost smiled when the gold elf started spouting gibberish, wondering what he might be up to. Then Azarra stepped in and spoke the word Ishta had informed the group about on her reconnaissance and the cleric looked at the lizard man, waiting to see what his reaction would be.

Heal: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20

Zane eyed the lizardman with unease, his concern growing. While he felt a certain level of pity for the creature, he glanced at the many deformities and protrusions and understood that the reptilian man's mind was likely in bad shape, with all the pain it must be feeling. Still, he waited to see if it would respond to Ser Armithia, not wanting to attack a possibly intelligent being out of hand if it could be reasoned with.

Zane nodded to Azarra that he had heard her, but continued to follow Ser Armithia, hoping the gold elf had a plan of some sort. The priest's eyes widened in alarm as the paladin started talking to the lizardman is some strange, hissing language, Zane lowering his weapon to look less threatening as Ser Armithia bowed.

Zane followed closely behind Ser Armithia, his jaw determined and his mace gripped tightly.

Zane stood by idly, watching the air and their surroundings for possible conflict while Azarra worked on the lock. Suddenly there was a loud pop and he was on his back, blinking out stars. Rising to his feet, he squeezed his holy symbol and called upon the Morninglord's strength, a warm, healing sensation easing the muscle twitches and burns from the magical trap.

Channel to Heal: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 3, 5) = 19

Before they descended, the priest called upon another blessing from Lathander, endowing each of his party members with a sliver of divine power.

Cast Bless

Zane then followed Ser Armithia down the ladder, looking about.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27

The priest watched Kardas curiously as he performed his short spellcraft, the Rashemi man transforming into a gargoyle right before their eyes. The show of the arcane was more than the man had typically shown the group before...Zane wondered what other powers the strange man had that he could tap should they be needed. He was just glad Kardas was on their side.

Zane grinned equally widely as the group linked hands, gripping Azarra's tightly before they were winked away to the top of the pyramid. The cleric's nose wrinkled and he coughed as the group was immediately assaulted by the caustic fumes on top of the structure. He checked on the half-elf, trying to recall a blessing that might help her and Ser Armithia, but Helm's gifts to His champion did the trick to get the duo functioning again.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18 The dice gods are at it again...

"I'd rather not get close enough to the shackles to try anything like that. Maybe when we get the flow of this filth turned off we can investigate further."

Zane eyed the top of the pyramid uneasily, but since his own argument also was that no one actually knew where their objective resided within the structure, one place was as good as any other. His tone full of resolve, he replied, "Ok, then. Let's do it."

The muscles on his forearm flexed as he gripped his weapon tightly, his jaw clinched as he awaited the sorcerous power that would transport them the distance to the top.

Zane's heart raced as the party endured the nerve-wracking crossing of the poisoned waters of the Stojanow to get to the banks of Sorcerer's Isle. The priest practically jumped out of the glass canoe when it was beached and then helped lug it further onto land before any of the monstrosities in the water could make a lunge for them.

When everything was stowed away, the priest eyed the pyramid with the rest of the group, eyeing the top of the structure skeptically. "There's definitely benefits to each approach. Do we even know if what we seek is at the top of the structure?"

Sorry, I thought we had said Open Water.

Eyeing the waters nervously, the priest hoped that the wards they had placed would be enough to get the group across. He hopped into one of the glass canoes, picking up a paddle and doing his best to try to get the conveyance across the water as quickly as possible.

Profession (Sailor): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Zane considered Ishta's words, then nodded. "Yes, follow them. We might learn more of the structure itself and what other guardians it might contain."

Addressing them all, he continued, "If we have been spotted, conflict seems unavoidable. I don't believe Ser Armithia and I could move quietly even if we wanted to. We should probably focus our attention on the humans, then press for parley with the lizardfolk and hope that the humans are the overseers and that the lizardfolk will negotiate once they are incapacitated. Unless Ishta sees something else that might enlighten us further..."

Unless Ishta or someone else forestalls the group

Zane implored the Morninglord to provide him the powerful miracle from the previous evening, biting his lip as he eyed Azarra and Ishta before transferring the power to Ser Armithia. With Kardas being able to fly on his own, the cleric decided that the two most ferocious warriors could buy the other three time to get across should things on the opposite bank get dicey.

The priest called upon his deity to grant the blessing providing a modicum of protection against acid before the group headed out across the water, waiting until the glass canoes were out and ready to disembark before touching everyone in succession to transfer the abjuration to them. Taking a deep breath, he helped push the canoe out into the water, hopping in and beginning to paddle.