Typhus keeps staring at the newcomers. His look is cold, calculating, and strange. Abruptly he laughs. "Chasing mechanical men and mechanical bugs and flesh traitors. Perhaps the stars are falling at last?"
"Uriel, what do you think? Should we try and track down this Ruing, since she seems to be behind a lot of problems, and the one giving orders. I do not find you to be evil men, and were most likely following orders. I will hold my judgment, and ask that I may accompany you to find this Ruing, if Uriel is with me that is."
"Uriel, what do you think? Should we try and track down this Ruing, since she seems to be behind a lot of problems, and the one giving orders. I do not find you to be evil men, and were most likely following orders. I will hold my judgment, and ask that I may accompany you to find this Ruing, if Uriel is with me that is."
"Aye...this Ruing sounds very interesting", says Uriel, his good eye leveled at Typhus. "As long as we're followin' them forged', then you have me."
"Trust me, "Interesting" is where Blondie starts. Don't know where the forged are going. Could be Fort Thorn, could be Khyber itself, though we've got a pretty good imitation of that right here - unless Typhus plans to tell me different. Good to see you back on form."
Malick takes a another long swig from the bottle.
"Time to be moving. One thing I'll say in her favour. Blondie's army is keeping the ghoulies and ghosties away. Let's stay close enough to benefit from that. Rennick or Ferdinand, got any tricks up your sleeves to get us closer without being obvious about it?"
The new and old comrades bound by common goals pack up and set out into the mounland.
The group heads out after the army keeping your selves far enough behind the rearguard as not to be seen.
Trailing them is not a problem as they are moving slower than your group. As night falls the army ahead stops and takes a standing rest they do not light fires or prepare camp as warforged don’t have the need to.
If you want to scout out the camp I will need stealth checks from the ones doing the scouting.
Also tell me how you are setting up your camp.
"Don't much rate myself as a scout. Rennick and Flint are a whole other story."
"Don't much rate myself as a scout. Rennick and Flint are a whole other story."
"Not much of a' scout me self", says Uriel to Malick, his speech clearly affected by the booze, "but I'll be handy here if a scrap breaks out...me and mah wineskin will be at tha' ready, your gov'nership."
"Just "Malick". You got any more of that rot-gut? Been a long day. How's about you tell us more about what you're doing in this gods-forsaken place?"
"I can become as the shadows, as the darkness, as the void between the stars, but only for a brief time. If we come close enough, it ought to be enough time for me to slip closer, see the shades of their souls and return to report. Unless of course the stars devour us all in the meantime. It is a gamble," Typhus looks almost fondly toward that possibility.
"Good odds though. Do a favour to those of us less entwined with the heavens and try and give us a report we can use this time."
"Backup?" Typhus looks confused, "Why would my back be up? I am not offended."
"That's always good to know, Typhus. Go flap around them and see if you can find out anything any of us will find useful."
Typhus will move as close as he dares without being seeable, and then use shadow form. He'll fly low across the ground, keeping to shadows as much as he can, spend as much time in shadows as he can, and then fly back just as the five minutes are up.
The army is arranged in 11 columns of 25 and one command column.
The normal columns contain 20 warforged, 4 big beetles and one salad jar and a supply cart; the carts have 6 legs instead of wheels. 2 of the columns are archers the rest are frontline.
The command column consists of 10 warforged, 3 slaughterstone slicers, and 5 small beetles. It also has a supply cart a command cart and a much larger salad jar with a lot of extra gizmos attached to it.
15 yards sperate each column.
Standard column is arranged like:
W.W.W.W.B.
W.W.W.W.B.
W.W.SJ.W.W.
W.W.W.W.B.
W.W.W.W.B
And the command column like.
W.W.W.S.Sb
Supply cart.Sb.S
Slaad cart.Sb.S
W.S.W.W
Command cart.W.Sb
W.W.W.Sb
Typhus give me a perception and a arcane roll for more detail.
"Just "Malick". You got any more of that rot-gut? Been a long day. How's about you tell us more about what you're doing in this gods-forsaken place?"
Uriel passes Malick an unopened bottle of more of the impressively bad wine. Wiping redish wine stains from his mouth, he gives a rueful snort and says "Let's jus' say I've got an' interest in the whys and hows for what these forged' are doing headin' to Cyre...err what used to be Cyre at least. Official church business an' all that. If things're as bad as they're lookin', then I'm going to be solvin' much of these problems with the edge of me' blade, from what it's lookin' like."
Uriel then gives Malick a suspicious, conspiratorial look, eyeing him with considerable scrutiny. "Ye aren't a heretic are ye, my friend?"
With that he gives Malick a sly smile, creasing and accentuating his weather-beaten face.
"I'm just havin' a laugh, my friend", says Uriel with a friendly smile. Then his look turns dark and full of gravity.
"Whatever be here in these lands, causin' all of this...it's not good...and may not be human...or livin'...an' that's where me and lady Ragna ere' will come in handy. Like it or not...I serve tha' goddess Dol Arrah, an' you and yer mates can count on me...but can we count on you when the s$!$e hits the chandelier?"
Perception
Arcana
Perception 1d20+7
Arcana 1d20+12
You don't see anything else about the main army but you do notice the large slaad tank seems to be acting like a magical transmitter. The main antenna is a black rod topped with a large purple Dragon shard.
"Ye aren't a heretic are ye, my friend?"
With that he gives Malick a sly smile, creasing and accentuating his weather-beaten face.
"I'm just havin' a laugh, my friend", says Uriel with a friendly smile. Then his look turns dark and full of gravity.
"Whatever be here in these lands, causin' all of this...it's not good...and may not be human...or livin'...an' that's where me and lady Ragna ere' will come in handy. Like it or not...I serve tha' goddess Dol Arrah, an' you and yer mates can count on me...but can we count on you when the s#%~e hits the chandelier?"
"Been called some hard things in my time, but "heretic" isn't one of them. Way I see it, I don't bother the gods, they don't bother me. Usually got enough to interest me without hunting for trouble."
Malick downs more wine.
"I'm real simple, Uriel. Alive is good. You help keep us alive, we help keep you alive. Together we may all get out of this. Alone - not so sure. I guess that's the best I can offer. Thing you should know though. Never was much of one for family, but what's left of Oddjob is close enough. That's drink talking."
He takes another long swig and remembers something.
"Gentlemen. Remember when that mist hit? Blondie called down a shield. Why'd she do that, you reckon?"
All
"Perhaps she was just saving her own skin?" Rennik speculates. "Even so, that presents two hypotheses: First, that she didn't have sufficient control or mastery of the shielding magic she used to just contain herself, so she wound up saving the rest of us as well."
"Or second, that she saved us deliberately because she has some use for us. But then I wonder why she would leave us there where we could easily have been torn limb from limb by those undead. Perhaps she just had enough faith in us to think we would survive, which under other circumstances might make one feel very proud."
"All the same, the first hypothesis has a reasonableness to it."
"Been called some hard things in my time, but "heretic" isn't one of them. Way I see it, I don't bother the gods, they don't bother me. Usually got enough to interest me without hunting for trouble."Malick downs more wine.
"I'm real simple, Uriel. Alive is good. You help keep us alive, we help keep you alive. Together we may all get out of this. Alone - not so sure. I guess that's the best I can offer. Thing you should know though. Never was much of one for family, but what's left of Oddjob is close enough. That's drink talking."
He takes another long swig and remembers something.
"Gentlemen. Remember when that mist hit? Blondie called down a shield. Why'd she do that, you reckon?"
All Col. Ruing shouts out words of power and a blue shield of magic spreads to envelope the squad and the nearby soldiers. - from the very first post.
Uriel's curiosity seems piqued upon hearing this. "Your men Rennik and Typhus have any theories about what that could mean? They seem to be familiar with the arcane."
He levels his gaze at Malick, his cheeks and nose ruddy with drink, while his eyes show a keenness about them. "This Typhus fellow...the way you speak of em', he seems ta' be...how could I put it...short ina' sanity department. I understand eccentricity, but do we need ta' be concerned wit' him?"
Typhus reforms from a mass of shadows back into a man. "The slaad tank, we must destroy the crystal atop it. It is the transmitter that controls the mass and it must be destroyed. Now."
"I didn't realize you were hiding an army somewhere, Typhus."
Typhus reforms from a mass of shadows back into a man. "The slaad tank, we must destroy the crystal atop it. It is the transmitter that controls the mass and it must be destroyed. Now."
Looking somewhat disturbed by Typhus's sudden appearance, he rises to his feet slowly, shifting his sword as he does so. "Destroyin' it sounds good, Typhus, but it's that 'now' part that seems ta' be tha problem. Last time I checked, there was some three-hundred or so forged' out there. I'm assumin' you might have a plan or two in yer shadow?"
Ragna quitely listens to the exchange. She has resolved herself to just see how this all plays out, and if she can discover what is really going on.
Staff of Defensive Transposition
Power (Daily, Teleportation): Free Action. Use thispower when you are attacked by an area power. Any allies
in the area of effect, rather than being affected by the
power, are teleported to the nearest unaffected square of
your choice.
Rennik silently ponders, recalling the details of that fateful event, and then has a moment of realization.
"She activated her staff. And if memory serves, when activationing a staff of that sort, one deliberately translocates selected personages in order to protect them from arcane phenomena. It would seem she saved us deliberately."
Uriel's curiosity seems piqued upon hearing this. "Your men Rennik and Typhus have any theories about what that could mean? They seem to be familiar with the arcane."
He levels his gaze at Malick, his cheeks and nose ruddy with drink, while his eyes show a keenness about them. "This Typhus fellow...the way you speak of em', he seems ta' be...how could I put it...short ina' sanity department. I understand eccentricity, but do we need ta' be concerned wit' him?"
"Don't worry, Typhus probably won't try to kill anyone here. Just don't call him a heretic. I've got no idea how he'd react. Might make a pithy comment about faith, might decide to blow your head off in Caiphon's name or some nonsense like that."
Looking somewhat disturbed by Typhus's sudden appearance, he rises to his feet slowly, shifting his sword as he does so. "Destroyin' it sounds good, Typhus, but it's that 'now' part that seems ta' be tha problem. Last time I checked, there was some three-hundred or so forged' out there. I'm assumin' you might have a plan or two in yer shadow?"
"Well, we're not called Ruing's Raiders for nothing. We just need to find a decent spot to ambush them, then break the slaad tanks as soon as we can."
"She activated her staff. And if memory serves, when activationing a staff of that sort, one deliberately translocates selected personages in order to protect them from arcane phenomena. It would seem she saved us deliberately."
"So, do the rest of you remember why you joined? If the rest of you were recruited like I was, well, our little chat's going to be mighty interesting."
"Sounds like our kind of job. Set up a little distraction someplace, concentrate on taking out the slaad tanks."
Malick nods in agreement.
"As for Typhus, he marches to his own drumbeat, but he hasn't killed me yet. Some would say that's a real sign of lunacy, but I reckon it's just good taste."
Rennick's words finally register.
"Blondie saved us? That's mighty interesting. And yes, I remember exactly why I joined."
"Sounds like our kind of job. Set up a little distraction someplace, concentrate on taking out the slaad tanks."
Malick nods in agreement.
"As for Typhus, he marches to his own drumbeat, but he hasn't killed me yet. Some would say that's a real sign of lunacy, but I reckon it's just good taste."
Rennick's words finally register.
"Blondie saved us? That's mighty interesting. And yes, I remember exactly why I joined."
"Ambushin' the forged' sounds like a good option, I'm fer that, and I'm always likin' a good scrap, especially if the odds be gainst' us", says Uriel with a smile. "Now lets get to figurin' out who does whot. I kin' team up with any of you who wants to take a crack at the tanks up close and personal-like, or cover yer' hides if they are a-coming for ye."
"I can get close enough to destroy the crystal without being seen, but following that, I might be in peril. Or the voices might show themselves and aid me in my time of need. Or perhaps I'll become one of the voices in payment for my sacrifice. The Void Between the Stars is nothing if not unpredictable."
"Reckon we can get you out of there Typhus. Just so you all know, I'm not planning on taking on the whole army. We just take out the shard and get ourselves the hell away. You still know how to rustle up ghost steeds, Ferdinand?"
He thinks for a moment.
"Distraction sounds like your department Rennick. Can you set something up to get enough of the forged away from the shard? Typhus goes in and blasts it. Flints covers him. We get them out, followed by all of us out. Sounds like Uriel here is just the man to provide some solid blocking, but I can't say I've figured out your skills yet." He looks at Ragna for enlightenment.
"Ferdinand and I are kind of flexible. I push people around, he adds a little zap to the weaponry. The both of us keep you all alive to tell the tale."
"Hmm. I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve as far as distractions are concerned."
"I am a paladin of the flame, I will protect whoever needs protecting. I think I may need to try and stay close to Typhus, he may need himself pulled out of the fire."
"What kind of artificer would I be if I went around forgetting rituals? I'll conjure them now and leave them here so they don't get destroyed in the fight. You know, speaking of enchantments..." Ferdinand traces a quick sigil on the blade of Malick's halberd before continuing. "There. Just remember to actually use it some time today."
"Hmm. I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve as far as distractions are concerned."
It would only take a minor action to sustain, so yes.
"Only ever forgot the once." Malick grins at Ferdinand.
"Only ever forgot the once." Malick grins at Ferdinand.
btw, what did Typhus mean by "mass"?
btw, what did Typhus mean by "mass"?
Ambush site map.