Sharinda walks through the tavern, dispensing drinks. She tsks at the cakey mess at the table and cleans it up
"Well, I'm glad you had a good birthday Karrin. Any drinks needed?"
The kobold raises his hand. "Fermented poison dart frog!" he says.
"Eh, must've dozed off there... Must stop nipin' at me bottles! Ha!"
"Eh, must've dozed off there... Must stop nipin' at me bottles! Ha!"
"Boss we need a fermented poison dart frog margarita!"
The kobold raises his hand. "Fermented poison dart frog!" he says.
"That sounds kind of nasty," Karrin says, "it's not really poison is it?"
Hmmm, I wonder what this place is. Maybe I can find a patsie in here to glom onto, he he
Sharinda grabs the mug of greenish rank liquid and places it in front of the kobold
"Enjoy it."
She turns to Karrin
"Yeh all right ducks? That pony shyster do all righ' by yeh? I can have Mitchifer have a word with that fiendish floozy if yeh like."
The kobold raises his hand. "Fermented poison dart frog!" he says."That sounds kind of nasty," Karrin says, "it's not really poison is it?"
The kobold rolls its eyes. "Yes, is, that why you ferment it!" He takes a drink and promptly chokes. "Real strong taste, though."
She turns to Karrin"Yeh all right ducks? That pony shyster do all righ' by yeh? I can have Mitchifer have a word with that fiendish floozy if yeh like."
"Thanks Sharinda," Karrin says with a smile, "things went about as well as could be expected, you know cuz I was dealing with devils, but Mr Serra helped me out quite a bit I think. Better then I could have done on my own anyways. Thanks for looking out for me though."
"I wonder if there's any more cake?" Karrin quickly adds.
The kobold rolls its eyes. "Yes, is, that why you ferment it!" He takes a drink and promptly chokes. "Real strong taste, though."
"Neat!" Karrin says, "is it alcoholic?"
She turns to Karrin"Yeh all right ducks? That pony shyster do all righ' by yeh? I can have Mitchifer have a word with that fiendish floozy if yeh like."
"Thanks Sharinda," Karrin says with a smile, "things went about as well as could be expected, you know cuz I was dealing with devils, but Mr Serra helped me out quite a bit I think. Better then I could have done on my own anyways. Thanks for looking out for me though."
"I wonder if there's any more cake?" Karrin quickly adds.
The kobold rolls its eyes. "Yes, is, that why you ferment it!" He takes a drink and promptly chokes. "Real strong taste, though.""Neat!" Karrin says, "is it alcoholic?"
It shrugs. "No alchohol, but we go sorta crazy, and then we die." The kobold blinks. "So it pretty close, yes?"
He takes another gulp. "This second gulp. Can usually go to four, but best be careful."
Karrin nods her head as if she knows exactly what the kobold is saying . . .
Sense motive DC 20:
The kobold takes another gulp and starts choking.
Karrin smacks the kobold on the back to try to dislodge whatever it is that's choking it.
"Come on breath little guy," Karrin says, "I don't think you should drink something that might kill you."
Karrin smacks the kobold on the back to try to dislodge whatever it is that's choking it.
"Come on breath little guy," Karrin says, "I don't think you should drink something that might kill you."
The kobold coughs up what seems to be a small chicken bone. "Thanks," he says. "No remember where that come from."
He looks up, seeming to acknowledge what Karrin said. "Eh? It only kill you if you have too much. Anyways, that was only second gulp, still got one left."He starts to take another gulp.
"Oh wow is that Kurtulmak on a pogo stick?" Karrin asks pointing to something behind the kobold, then when the kobold half turns, Karrin knocks the mug out of his hand.
Bluff
"Opps," Karrin says, "I am so sorry, divine manifestation always makes me a little clumsy. Plus I love pogo sticks. I got to get me one one of these days. Let me buy you another drink. I'll get you some grog. everyone loves grog. pluss it's only slightly poisonous, you'd need to drink a ton of it to die. Barkeep two grogs down this way, and one for my new kobold friend!"
"Wow look at all these books Olli!" Karrin says looking around the library, "have you read them all? I bet there's some good ones. There were lots of books back home, well obviously not as many as are here, but we had a room full . . . with shelves and stuff, and some of those books were real neat. We had some story books, I read them all, that's hwo I learned about the world you see, but most of the books were about religion and stuff. I read some of them as well but Quinton always said I didn't get the meaning cuz I wasn't supposed to take the meaning as literal or something like that. Also some history books. I read a lot of great things but I'll bet that if I started today and read one book every day I'd never ever finish reading all these books in my lifetime . . . even if I skipped the boring or stupid ones!"
Karrin laughs but then remembers that it's a library and lowers her voice.
"Anyways," she says leaning closer to her box like friend, "I'm here on official business, Renkar needs some stuff researched, some old temple or something, and I'm thinking that cuz this is official business it's a paying job!"
Karrin clamps her hand over her mouth as people shush her.
"Sorry," she whispers, "this is kinda like when the monks were doing their week of silence and they couldn't talk. I had to keep all those words bottled up inside me. I wasn't made to take the vow or anything but I didn't want to talk if father and the others couldn't you know. So I only talked to the animals. But of course my voice has a tendency to carry and I've been known to run on a bit with my talking and stuff so on more then one occasion the barn door would slam open and I'd realize that I'd had a forty minute conversation with the horse. It wouldn't have been so bad if I'd been able to keep things down I guess, but as a growing girl who was always making new discoveries I needed to share with someone . . ."
"Oh!" Karrin says as a new train of thought jumps into her head, and her hands quickly clamp over her disobedient mouth, "sorry everyone."
"What I was thinking was maybe, if you have the time, perhaps you could look into this axe again, I know you tried once, but I got some new leads, possibly . . ."
O.L.L.I listens patiently to his friend's stream of conciousness. He keeps one large eye on the few patrons left in the main reading room while the other is trained on the young tiefling duskblade.
"This unit would be honored to help you research this temple. friend Karrin. Where is this building located? Your axe has been an object of interest to this unit since we last discussed it. This unit would like to transcribe the runes on the haft of the weapon."
Karrin reaches into her belt pouch to retrieve a small note.
"I had Renkar write it down so I wouldn't forget," Karrin says, "this has to be kind of hush hush though, cuz we're not exactly sure what sort of thing we're dealing with here. It is kind of political and that's dangerous stuff."
O.L.L.I takes the paper and scans the contents.
"This unit will research all writings covering this area of the Lower Ward. This unit will warn you, friend Karrin, that this area is not covered well due to the fact that the faction known as the Athar discourage other factions collecting information."
The boxy librarian reaches under the front desk puts a book on the polished surface.
"This unit found this copy of Runes of the Jountheim Races by Ormsgreft Futhark in the stacks here. This unit posits that the runes described inside might be a close match to the runes on your axe. May this unit scan the runes?"
"Sure thing Olli!" Karrin says handing the Modron priest her axe, "I bet if anyone in the cage can solve this mystery it'd be you!"
Karrin sits back to let Olli scan the runes but after a while she leans in close.
"Now I'd better not say where I picked this up," Karrin whispers, "but there's a possibility that this axe is somehow connected with the Blasted Plain of Avernus. I don't know if that'd give you any leads or not but it's possible that this is somehow connected to that."
"Oh wow is that Kurtulmak on a pogo stick?" Karrin asks pointing to something behind the kobold, then when the kobold half turns, Karrin knocks the mug out of his hand.
Bluff 1d20+10
"Opps," Karrin says, "I am so sorry, divine manifestation always makes me a little clumsy. Plus I love pogo sticks. I got to get me one one of these days. Let me buy you another drink. I'll get you some grog. everyone loves grog. pluss it's only slightly poisonous, you'd need to drink a ton of it to die. Barkeep two grogs down this way, and one for my new kobold friend!"
The kobold nods, though he seems a bit disappointed.
...I don't know if that'd give you any leads or not but it's possible that this is somehow connected to that."
O.L.L.I does his boxy wiggle equivalent of a nod.
"This unit will scan the runes and then attempt to deceipher them. One moment."
O.L.L.I gingerly inspects Ferissirion, refrencing his large book occasionally. The winged hyenaoid head librarian Goldfeather stalks by the desk, frowning at the two as he heads back to the Restricted stacks.
"This unit can decipher with a 99.7% probability that these runes are a root form of the most common Frost Giant tounge, Jountish. According to Futhark's tome, Jountish was a debased form of Rimetongue, the language used by denizens of the Elemental Plane of Ice. This unit can make out a few words. Scanning ...."
O.L.L.I goes quiet. Then speaks:
"The runes follow a poetic form."
O.L.L.I goes quiet for a few minutes. There is little sound save the whisper of pages being turned.
"Old was the age
When I was formed
Midgard was not
Nor Heaven and Hell
Born of ice
Clothed in frost
I winged above
Eternal ice
Till called to serve
The living key."
O.L.L.I pauses
"This unit has tried to translate this poem correctly. This unit apologizes, but many of the images have no direct comparison in Common. This unit is unsure of the last translation. A living key does not seem logical, yet this unit can find no better translation."
"Wow that's really neat that you were able to translate that O.L.L.I!" Karrin says looking over her axe with new found wonder, "I can't imagine what that means either Olli," Karrin lies, "but I'm sure it's probably not all that important. It's probably one of those old forgotten terms or something. You know like how some words get different meanings over time. Or maybe it was something put there because it rhymed or something. You know like not all weapon smiths are good at poetry and stuff. Knowing what those runes mean is a real big relief Olli, thanks a bunch, I hope I can find these rogue modron guys you were talking about so I can return the favor. You need anything else I'll help you out. Like is anyone pushing you around at the library? I could come by and sock 'em one in the jaw. You say the word."
O.L.L.I looks at the tiefling duskblade and blinks its large eyes
"This unit is satisfied with its environment at work, friend Karrin. If you could, please keep a watch for any large grouping of rogue modrons in your travels. Although they are presumably headquartered in Acheron, they could use the Outlands as a method of travel, as the modorn collective does at the order of Primus during the Time of Data Collection."
The small modron looks askance at Karrin
"Friend Karrin, be careful should you engage any rogue modrons. Although this unit is a rogue, many other units fall much farther from logic when they are severed from the collective. Rogue units can be very dangerous to flesh beings."
"I try to keep everything at axe length Olli," Karrin says, "and if they get closer I got this," she says pointing to her mitt, "but I don't take anything for granted. It's familiarity that causes complacency . . . and that's the thing that gets you killed!"
Karrin leans back to look over the runes in her axe.
"Just accepting things is dangerous, you know, things are usually as they seem but that one time, that one time you let your guard down, will in this business it'll get you killed. These Rogue guys might look like you but I'm not going to assume that they're anything like you."
These Rogue guys might look like you but I'm not going to assume that they're anything like you."
O.l.L.I looks at Karrin
"According to the information this unit has been able to acquire, the rogue modrons that comprise this Acheron-based rogue Collective have actually managed to maintain the modron caste forms they originally had as part of the Modron Collective. Their leader is a former Secundus, only one caste below Primus himself in power."
O.L.L.I bleeps
"In addition to retaining their previous forms, they are also rumored to be modiying their somas to make themselves more warlike. They are also rumored to be forcing other beings to serve them as servitor units in the rogue Collective. It is quite illogical."
#11 doesn't understand a word the metal man is saying. "You serve food?" he asks cautiously.
#11 doesn't understand a word the metal man is saying. "You serve food?" he asks cautiously.
Sharinda waltzes in
"Who you talking to ducks? You want some grub? We have eggs of all sorts. I know kobolds like eggs!"
#11 doesn't understand a word the metal man is saying. "You serve food?" he asks cautiously.Sharinda waltzes in
"Who you talking to ducks? You want some grub? We have eggs of all sorts. I know kobolds like eggs!"
"Yes! I want grub eggs!"
Sharinda nods
"One bowl of grub eggs then.""
She returns shortly with a bowl of small squirming pale grey ovoids and a spoon
"Enjoy"
Sharinda nods
"One bowl of grub eggs then.""
She returns shortly with a bowl of small squirming pale grey ovoids and a spoon
"Enjoy"
The kobold ignores the spoon. He picks up a dozen 'eggs' and shoves them into his mouth happily.
Sharinda comes back and sets out a few condimnets on the table
"Do yeh want something to drink ducks?"
"So some of these guys must be like powerful demons or devils right?" Karrin asks, "well that's good to know as well."
Sharinda comes back and sets out a few condimnets on the table
"Do yeh want something to drink ducks?"
"Ooh. You has ducks as drink? I has that!"
"Sounds like he wants a Mallard Fizz," Karrin says, "Not my choice, but to each their own."
"So some of these guys must be like powerful demons or devils right?" Karrin asks, "well that's good to know as well."
O.L.L.I wiggles his aproximation of a nod again
"From the data this unit has been able to coallate, these rogue units are self-evolving into a hierarchy of more dangerous forms. Even more dangerous is their ability to create servitors out of other non-Modron races. Without the limiting factor of non-procreation due to their rogue status, this rogue collective has the potentiality to pose a major disruptive force to the balance of the Great Wheel. "
O.L.L.I. blinks his large saucer eyes with a *click* and continues.
"The probabilities are still low that they could stage a takeover of Mechanus, 4.56%, but that statistic is up a full percentile from the last time this unit ran the data. All new data this unit has received is trending it upwards."
"Sounds like he wants a Mallard Fizz," Karrin says, "Not my choice, but to each their own."
Sharinda shrugs
"One Mallard Fizz it is then! Karrin, summat for you?"
O.L.L.I wiggles his aproximation of a nod again"From the data this unit has been able to coallate, these rogue units are self-evolving into a hierarchy of more dangerous forms. Even more dangerous is their ability to create servitors out of other non-Modron races. Without the limiting factor of non-procreation due to their rogue status, this rogue collective has the potentiality to pose a major disruptive force to the balance of the Great Wheel. "
O.L.L.I. blinks his large saucer eyes with a *click* and continues.
"The probabilities are still low that they could stage a takeover of Mechanus, 4.56%, but that statistic is up a full percentile from the last time this unit ran the data. All new data this unit has received is trending it upwards."
"On the bright side they probably won't make a move until the hit 51% I'd think," Karrin says, "you know being machines and all, but probably they're planing something else I'd think. And what you want to know is what. I'm curious though Olli, why concern over Mechanus? I mean they labeled you a rogue and forced you to flee. Why are you looking out for them? Maybe a little shake up would do them some good?"
I'm curious though Olli, why concern over Mechanus? I mean they labeled you a rogue and forced you to flee. Why are you looking out for them? Maybe a little shake up would do them some good?"
O.L.L.I bleeps sadly
"Although this unit no longer fits the parameters of a true modron, this unit still finds the core programming of Mechanus something of value worth preserving. Also, a paradigm shift bringing Mechanus into the orbit of the Lower Planes could have disasterous consequences for the Balance of the Great Wheel as a whole."
Sharinda wanders through the inn's common room
"Anyone need a refresh?"
Sharinda wanders through the inn's common room
"Anyone need a refresh?"
"No. Duck drink is good."
"Karrin? Are yeh set ducks? Traveller?"
*hic*
"Another apple brandy if you smurf Sharinda."
*hic*
*hic*
"Another apple brandy if you smurf Sharinda."
*hic*
The kobold's eyes narrow. "You a svirfneblin?" Surprisingly, he pronounces this word perfectly.
The kobold's eyes narrow. "You a svirfneblin?" Surprisingly, he pronounces this word perfectly.*hic*
"Another apple brandy if you smurf Sharinda."
*hic*
*hic*
Wow, this brandy packs a whallop! Am I seeing a smurfbold? Holy Smurf! Sharinda, mebbe I need to get a coffee with extra extra smurf instead...
"I'll have some more grog and maybe a suckling pig. But only if Mitchifer is cooking some. And only a small one. Maybe some salad as well. And some bread. But no butter cuz I want to watch my weight or something. Well okay maybe a little butter but I'm skipping desert. Oh and some pickles, mustard beans, and some potatoes. But no desert . . . unless it's lemon pie, then I'll only have two or three pieces."