Olana (full HPs) d20+13=17 d20+9=11 Tuesday June 24th, 2003 1:08:29 AM
Feeling SOOOO much better, and after giving Bertram a hug for his efforts, Olana attempts to figure out a way to drag the stretcher behind one of the horses, while maintaining a level of comfort for Tremaine on the return journey. (Rope Use DC 17, Animal Empathy DC 11) "Will it be okay if we walk?" she whispers to Milo, suggesting it might have enough of a load dragging Tremaine.
"Well, my specialities are tracking, I have some rogue skills, and I have my bow and my swords," she says as some kind of organisation is discussed, not quite sure how they should go into the mix.
Ingrge Tuesday June 24th, 2003 7:45:12 AM
As they walk along Ingrge continues his discussion. No, friend Lian, you misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that we actually rethink our "roles" per se, but that we need to rethink how we approach situations and how we react to them. Too often, and I am at fault here as well, we delay doing things until after discussion, and by then sometimes it is too late. We need an action plan that we know by rote about how we go about approaching things. This does not mean that everything we run into is going to fit into this/these templates, but they at least give us something to work from as opposed to starting from scratch each time. In the past many of the challenges that we faced were, not as strong as we were and we were able to smash our way through them, but we are making a name for ourselves and that means there are going to be people asking us to help with more difficult things and those may well be over our heads as things stand right now. Not because of a lack of skills, but because of a lack of organization of those skills.
For instance Lian, Did you know that with my bow I am possibly the most effective of all of here, but rarely do you see me use it? Is that necessarily a smart thing? I dont know. But if we had stood off a bit and peppered Tremaine and the beasts with a few arrows things might have gone more smoothly in combat.
Lian Tuesday June 24th, 2003 4:39:00 PM
"I, perhaps, did misunderstand you friend Ingrge, I humbly apologize." The monk bows. "Perhaps your bow would make a great addition to our combats.
I purpose that we state our strong skills, I will start. My strengths are moving through combat and into combat quickly. Therefore, I will happily pause for the spell casters to prepare. I can also, if needed, backup Milo in scouting and surveilence. Not saying Milo is not very talented at those tasks, but sometimes things happen." The monk bows with a smile to the halfling Justicar.
K'Nara Wednesday June 25th, 2003 1:22:50 PM
"Well, I can tell you ONE thing for sure..." K'Nara said with a bit of a disappointed sigh, "...I know that I certainly didn't act as fast as I would have liked...re-evaluating my 'Battle Buddy' system would seem in order--especially if people are assuming that keeping tabs on your Battle Buddy means you HAVE to fight by their side all the time.
"My original thought was to simply make sure that each of us is definitely aware of one of the others--my 'Battle Buddy' idea was spawned by the fact that one of the Talons had come to the point of death in one particularly nasty battle, but practically nobody who could have helped him by either healing him or assisting with his specific foe even realized he was in trouble."
OOC: we can email each other with our PC's strengths and weaknesses, and discuss a few pre-planned battle tactics...it can only help.
ACDM Jan Wednesday June 25th, 2003 5:32:41 PM
((OOC - Sorry for the hold up folks, I'm trying to find out if our DM is okay. We'll get things rolling tomorrow, come what may. Thanks for being patient.))
Travel back to Emerald City (DM Greg) Wednesday June 25th, 2003 10:05:36 PM
[OOC: Sorry about the delay, all.]
The party gradually makes their way back to Emerald City, talking over their tactics as they travel. Regardless of their best efforts, they cannot wake Tremaine from his coma. Even magical healing from Brother Bertram seems to have no effect. The shifter continues to ride, unmoving, in the stretcher. Occasionally, a toubled look crosses his face, and once, the stretcher bearers hear him mumble, something like, "Stop him..." or "Stop it..."
The two weeks of travel go by quickly, and without incident, although hauling the unconscious Tremaine does slow the party down a bit. As near within 5 miles of Emerald City, they meet more and more travellers. They get a few odd looks from the other travellers, eyeing the figure on the stretcher. They are even approached by a travelling healer, a cleric of Alemi, who offers his services. However, they turn him down with thanks.
The party approaches the gates of the city...
Ingrge Thursday June 26th, 2003 5:05:04 PM
Duirng the trip back, Ingrge first casts a remove curse on Tremaine after the first two days of not waking and then sometime during the trip back he, along with Figment, identify both the items of Tremaine's and any pieces of the aparatus that were deemed magical.
Entering Emerald City (DM Greg) Thursday June 26th, 2003 10:47:29 PM
Milo searches the bag for traps, just to be safe. Finding no traps, he opens the bag, to find it is in fact the items that he had purchased at the Catacombs. Along with the wand and the two scrolls, there is a small note, saying, "Thank you for your business, Milo. We hope that you will be satisfied with your purchases, and that we see you soon."
As the party approaches the entry to the city, one of the watch hails them. "Halt, good ladies and sirs. Please state your business in our fair city. And please explain how that person came to be carried on that stretcher."
Olana d20=16 Thursday June 26th, 2003 11:56:53 PM
Olana glances toward the others then steps forward.
"Hello!" she says with a bright smile. "My name is Olana, we were traveling through Culverwood, and we found this poor man, and you know what Culverwood is like. We've healed him as much as we can, but now he needs his friends and family." ((CHA DC16))
Milo Friday June 27th, 2003 2:33:51 AM
Milo's gaze darts up toward Olana's face, and the halfling attempts to withhold a snort as he realizes that while Olana isn't technically lying, she isn't really telling the whole truth either. He eyes the guards to see if they go for it.
K'Nara Friday June 27th, 2003 7:15:04 AM
"He probably fell in with a bad crowd..." added K'Nara, also observing whether or not this explanation of events was acceptable to the guard.
Brother Bertram Friday June 27th, 2003 12:42:23 PM
Bertram allows the leaders to talk, intent upon watching Tremaine and contemplating where he may next be led.
Figment Saturday June 28th, 2003 5:24:11 PM
The mage helps Ingrge and uses his Identify spell on the trip, relying on the others to protect him while he is vulnerable from fatigue. By the time they get back to the city, he intends to have al the items he was carrying identified and examined for special properties or curses perhaps left by the HOL.
As Olana speaks he decides to simply be quiet as he is wondering why they weren't immediately recognized by the city guard and escorted with all haste to the city castle and the Green Wyrm. As always, things are never what they should be in this place...
Figment, cont. Sunday June 29th, 2003 12:09:42 PM
During the trip, the mage also pulls out 2 items from their snake god adventure - a ring and a wand. "One of the children in the city gave me these as we left and I had no time to identify them. I will now. One of these I'm pretty sure is a wand of lightning, the other, I'm not sure...". During the 2 week trip Figment idetifies these 2 items too. (OOC: Sorry, I forgot about these 2 things from the last adventure.).
To the Talon HQ (DM Greg) Tuesday July 1st, 2003 1:52:46 AM
Not having been specifically alerted to look for the PC's, the gate guard does not appear to recognize them. He approaches the strecher, to take a closer look at the unconscious form. he bends over Tremaine, and almost appears to recognize him ... then stands up, and shakes his head. He turns to Olana and says, "Well, he looks like he needs more than his friends and family. I reckon he needs a skilled healer. However, you may pass." Then he moves aside, and the party enters the gate into the city.
It is midafternoon, and the city is a very busy place. There are green streamers and flags strung from the balconies, and it appears that the people of the city are getting ready to celebrate some sort of festival. Everyone is hustling just a little faster than normal, as if frantic to be ready for the coming celebration. As the party makes its way to the Tine headquarters, anyone taking the time to look at the passersby notices that there are many more frowns and worried looks than smiles, however. This seems strange, given the festive, colourful air in which the city appears to be decorated.
The party winds their way through the streets to the Tine headquarters. There is a young man leaning up against the unmarked doorframe. One of the party memebers gives the proper sign, and the young man answers with the proper response. He opens the door to let the party in, and his eyes grow wide as he recognizes who is being carried in the stretcher. The PC's enter a smallish room with two doors exiting, one from the right and one from the far side. An older, portly gentleman is seated behind a simple desk, writing in a large ledger. He looks up as the party enters, and double-takes when he sees Tremaine on the stretcher. He stammers, "Pppplease wait hhhere." Then he turns and rushes through the far door. In about 30 seconds, he returns with two teenage boys, and a tall, elderly half-elf. The portly gentleman is talking as he enters the room, "...and then they just appear at the doorstep with Caiden in the stretcher. I hope you can help him, Lucius."
The tall half-elf steps forward, and says, "I see you have returned safely, with our leader. I am Lucius, the resident healer. It appears Caiden is the worse for wear. Please allow me to take him to our recovery room, so I can see what can be done for him."
Assuming the party allows it, Lucius signals the two teenagers to take the stretcher, and the half-elf leaves with the teenagers and Tremaine in tow.
The portly gentleman moves toward the party, and says, "Welcome back. I am Marton. Don't worry, I already know each of you, at least by reputation. Please, let me take you to our guest rooms, where you can freshen up. The city is making ready to celebrate Parnoth's birthday, and we plan to have our own 'celebration'. Why don't you freshen up, and I will send someone to get you for dinner?"
DM Greg OOC Tuesday July 1st, 2003 1:53:52 AM
Who was the DM when you picked up those other two items: the wand and the ring?
Brother Bertram Tuesday July 1st, 2003 3:36:02 AM
Bertram looks to the others to gauge thier reaction to this Marton fellow. Bertram looks about suspicously, his hand going to his axe unconsciously from time to time.
(OOC Matt was the DM at that time if I recall-Was given to FIgment by the little girl that Bertram raised from the dead.)
Figment Tuesday July 1st, 2003 9:06:42 PM
The mage graciously accepts the hospitality, once again falling comforatably into the amenities of the city. He takes note of the new name given Tremaine. "You may need to restrain him. He's been brainwashed or cursed in a way we have been unable unravel...".
(Matt was DM. One of the kids took Figment to a hiding place and gave them to him. I'm not sure which kid.).
Olana Tuesday July 1st, 2003 10:16:38 PM
The elf wrinkles her nose at the mention of Parnoth's birthday, and remains concerned about Tremaine's health. "I hope he'll be alright," she says with a sigh as he's carried off. "Oooooh, I could do with a nice hot bath, right now. Thank you," she says to Marton.
Milo Wednesday July 2nd, 2003 1:36:50 AM
Milo is lost in thought as he considers the news of the day. Then, as Olana mentions a bath Milo's ears perk up, and the halfling smiles, "I could use a scrub myself."
Ingrge Wednesday July 2nd, 2003 2:54:04 PM
"Freshen up? That sounds like a marvelous idea. A bath and a glass of wine would be just the thing to ease some of the tension from the road."
K'Nara Wednesday July 2nd, 2003 8:18:08 PM
The tall redhead nodded to Marton, her eyes narrowing when the man added something about "our own celebration"...but Marton's words swept her question aside for now.
"You mean...freshen up...as in taking a bath...in a REAL tub..? With hot water and everything...?" K'Nara said in a very uncharacteristically wistful voice. "I can count on one hand the opportunities we've had over the past year to take a real bath..."
A much needed bath, and a feast (DM Greg) Thursday July 3rd, 2003 12:41:19 AM
The ladies and gentlemen of the Talons are led down a flight of stairs, to two separate rooms, (ladies to one and gentlemen to another) and are told, "These are the change rooms, and the baths are through that door." Sure enough, anyone passing through the doors see two large tubs, each capable of holding 6-8 bathers. Anyone trying the water finds it to be warm, but not hot.
After a bath (or not), the party is escorted back upstairs to a large room, for dinner. The tables are set in a large 'U', with the, presently empty, head of the table at the bottom of the U, and the party members, along with other Talons, seated along the arms of the 'U'. All told, there are about 25-30 others already seated. As the party is led in, they notice the room is decorated with the same green banners and green cloth as in the streets, but the banners and cloth have all been splashed with blotches of red dye, looking as if blood has been spilled across the cloth.
The party sits down, and is immediately served wine or beer (or water), as they choose. A few minutes later, a small gong is rung, and the Talons rise to their feet. Seven people enter the room from a side door, and seat themselves at the head of the table. At the far left of the head table, the party recognizes Marton, and sitting on the right side, the elder gentleman healer. At the center of the head table, a large bearded man in his early 30s is seated.
The bearded man has a brief discussion with the woman seated on his right, and then stands and says, "Talons, I propose a toast, to the ultimate defeat and complete destruction of the tyrant, Parnoth! May scavengers pick the rotting flesh from his bones, while his soul rots in whatever hell will accept him!" He, and all the others in the room, shout, "Death to Parnoth!" and then all drain their glasses.
He continues, "Today, we celebrate Parnoth's birthday. I propose it be his last! Let us eat and drink and celebrate the safe return of our leader Caden Tremaine. Although he yet lies in an unconscious state, I am sure it is only a matter of time until he regains his senses, and takes the reins of power again. Until then, I will be in charge. Now, let us celebrate, and when we have eaten our fill, discuss our next moves against the tyrant."
He claps his hands twice, and a number of youngsters enter by another side door, carrying the trays of food and drink. Everyone who wishes to can partake in the feast.
Identifying the items (DM Greg) Thursday July 3rd, 2003 1:17:14 AM
Ingrge's and Figment's identify spells turn up the following information on the magical items from Tremaine, and earlier:
Wand of lightning bolts (5th level) 20 charges remaining Ring of feather falling
From Caden Tremaine: Ring of Protection +3 Periapt of Wisdom +2 Cloak of Resistance +3 Staff casts lesser restoration and has 8 charges remaining (and has more abilities, but will take an analyze dweomer spell to get all the information on the staff)
Olana Thursday July 3rd, 2003 1:29:22 AM
The elf dives into the tub and has a nice warm bath. Ooooooh, that felt so good. After braiding her hair and putting on some clean clothes, Olana joins the others, and takes a seat next to Milo at the table.
As Tremaine's 'successor' gives his speech, her eyes find themselves drifting uneasily toward her fellow Talons. To her, he seemed just as mad as Tremaine did What the heck was going on?
Brother Bertram Thursday July 3rd, 2003 3:28:10 AM
After a much needed and long overdue bath, Bertram goes to eat with the others. At the people's words, he sees that Tremaine was not alone in his delusions. Excusing himself as soon as possible, Bertram will start looking for any servants of either Domi or Gargul, to get more information.
Figment Thursday July 3rd, 2003 6:41:21 AM
After hearing the toast the mage wonders how they will be accepted after Tremaine wakes up - since they very well may have preserved the life of the Green One. "So what has Parnoth been doing since we were here last?".
Milo Thursday July 3rd, 2003 12:13:35 PM
Milo enjoys the bath thoroughly, and once clothed again, joins his fellow Talons at the table.
As the toast is made, Milo is inwardly astonished to hear the sentiment, as his personal take on Parnoth has somewhat changed of late. His face however remains as calm as a placid lake.
Interested to discover more, Milo uses Figment's conversation as cover to excuse himself, claiming a need to visit the privy...
K'Nara Thursday July 3rd, 2003 3:48:13 PM
The only thing that kept K'Nara from diving into the tub herself was the fact that the delighted elven ranger had beat her to it. Nonetheless, the leader of the Talons hopped into the water with alacrity, taking the time and care to scrub every inch of her body, wash her hair and scrub all over again (just because she could!) By the time she reluctantly left the bath, K'Nara resembled a prune, but she was grinning from ear to ear.
She almost didn't go to the meal, because having taken a bath, K'Nara's only clean change of clothing was her rather formal green gown, last seen when the Gold Dragons had given that banquet and presented the Talons with magic items--including the now-intelligent Lucia. K'Nara opted to don only the basic green gown itself, leaving the silk and embroidered overgown and accessories in her backpack. She also made it a point to wash the normal clothing she had and put it out to dry.
Appearing at the meal in a gown felt a bit odd to her at first, but then K'Nara simply shrugged and brushed off her self-consciousness. She simply didn't have time for it.
The bearded man's speech made the warrior woman's eyebrows elevate, so she leaned towards the man and asked him in a pointblank way:
"Excuse me, sir, but we haven't formally met. I am K'Nara of the Emerald Talons, and a member in good standing of this chapter of the Tines...who are you and by what authority are you now the leader of the Tines...if I may be so bold as to question..?" K'Nara added that last bit as a half-remembered effort to be diplomatic.
Introductions all around (DM Greg) Tuesday July 8th, 2003 12:15:56 AM
The new head Talon smiles at K'Nara, and says, "Of course I know you, and your partners. I am Endrin Redthroat, and I will be leading the Tines until Caiden recovers from whatever is keeping him in a coma. The leadership here has selected me to fill in." He motions to the others at the head table. Then he stands, raises his glass, and addresses the other celebrants, "And so, I offer a toast to these fine adventurers, who recovered our lost leader, Caiden. It is only fitting that they receive just reward for their heroic actions, which I am sure that they will fill us in over our dinner tonight. I presume that you found the small magic items that Caiden was wearing, since our healers could find no signs of them. I propose that you keep the items that you found, as your reward. Don't worry, when Caiden regains his senses, we will be able to outfit him as befits our leader. Now, please fill us in: how did you find Caiden, and how did he come to be in a coma? What transpired in the Culverwood?"
[OOC: The response to Figment's question about what Parnoth has been up to will have to wait a bit, while I find out from the campaign DMs.]
[OOC: Seeing as how some of you wish to explore the Tine hideout, let me give you more information. The hideout is located in a huge warehouse, converted into many rooms. You have only been in about one-third of the building, in the section that holds the guest quarters, the baths, a few offices and guard chambers, and the large dining room and attached kitchen. The rear two-thirds of the building is unfamiliar to you all, yet. Does Bertram plan to wander the building, trying to find someone that obviously displays a sign of Domi or Gargul, or does he have a strategy in mind?]
Meanwhile, Milo slips out of the dining hall to try to find Tremaine's quarters and office. He steps out into the hallway, pressed up against the wall. The halls are lit by lanterns set regularily along the wall, providing some shadows. However, given the celebration taking place to mock Parnoth's birthday, there is much regular movement through the halls, and it will be very difficult to carry out an undetected search of the building, not knowing which direction to go. As Milo pauses in the hallway outside the dining hall, the passage left heads back to the guest chambers and entrance that the party used. The hallway to the right extends about 40' and turns right. There are two doors off the hall, almost opposite each other. The one on the left is open, and the one on the right is closed. It looks like this might be a much longer trip to the privy than Milo expected...
Milo (invisibility) d20+26=41 Tuesday July 8th, 2003 2:43:18 AM
Not discouraged in the least, Milo reaches into his satchel, and palms his potion of invisibility as he moves quickly to find a corner where he can have but a moment's peace. When he believes that he is unobserved, he consumes the potion fully intending to move down the hall away from the guest quarters and take the right turn, moving silently the whole way. (OOC: Assuming that Milo finds a moment's peace to drink his potion, even if in the privy itself, his Move Silently check is DC 41.)
Figment Tuesday July 8th, 2003 10:06:57 PM
Having possession of Tremain's items for now, the mage decides to refrain from saying anything. He allows the warrior woman to explain what she sees fit about the adventure and especially the tree. Prior to the formal toasts and such, he decides to compliment K'Nara. "My dear, you look most beautiful tonight...".
Brother Bertram (Jan) Tuesday July 8th, 2003 11:58:15 PM
Bertram waits until after the toast and some polite conversation before having a wander off. "I always like to compliment the chef," he says. This isn't a covert search as such, just a general stroll around, perhaps to strike up a conversation here and there, get a general feel for whats going on.
The kitchen seems as good a place as any, so thats where he's headed, and if he spots a fellow cleric, so much the better.
Olana Wednesday July 9th, 2003 12:10:08 AM
Olana fidgets at the table, joins the toast with a polite smile, and silently wonders what Milo was up to. He looked to have that twinkle in his eye on his way out of the room. She hoped he wasn't up to anything dangerous.
She bites her lip as Redthroat asks about how Tremaine got to be in his current condition. That was going to be a difficult thing to answer. Technically it might have been because of trauma they'd dished out, but then again it could have been a reaction to his state before they found him.
She's also wondering other things - this Redthroat fellow - what if was he that had set Tremaine on his previous course? Wasn't it supposed to have been the Hands of Love that had done that? What if he was secretly something other than a Tine. Mind you - they'd been away from Emerald for a while - Figment's question was valid - if the dragon had imposed new rules, as bad as the old ones, then it would certainly have got everyone's blood up.
Oh well, time would tell. Truths and lies always showed themselves in the end.
K'Nara Wednesday July 9th, 2003 10:00:54 AM
"We went on that mission to stop Tremaine and get him back." K'Nara said with a shrug of her shoulders. "So we stopped him without killing him and brought him back. He was very much the able fighter and put up a lot of resistance. I believe the Talons were as lucky as we were determined." The human female fighter seemed to concentrate more on her food than on appeasing Endrin Redthroat's curiosity.
When Figment complimented her, however, K'Nara's initial reaction was to stare pointedly at the spellcaster with a raised eyebrow--but then she belatedly realized that she wasn't wearing her armor over traveling clothes...she was wearing a nice dress. Her face got almost as red as her hair, but she nodded at her colleague.
"Thank you for saying so, Figmentary," K'Nara said, her voice a bit flustered, "I'm...not used to compliments. You...uh...you look nice tonight, yourself." While her words weren't as elegant or flowing as a bard's, K'Nara's accompanying smile was, nonetheless, sincere. Then she seemed to recall something else and turned her attention to Redthroat once more.
"By the way...you never DID answer Figment's questions here." she said to the man. "What kind of 'surprise' are you planning for Parnoth's birthday..?"
Orson Wednesday July 9th, 2003 11:15:35 AM
Orson bathes along with everyone else, glad to have the chance to relax and cleean up a bit. He spends a fiar amount of time cleaning his weapons as well, and polishes up his armor a little when he is told of the feast. He attends in a clean set of travelers cloths and armor, having given up all his party atire long ago.
He acts a little out of place at the feast, passing on drinks (save sipping a glass of water), ignoring the Tines toasts, and silently listening to the conversations that occur.
Orson excuses himelf from the table (when not interrupting any discussion), "Have excerises to get done, and feel a lot more comfortable in a training circle than with these people," he says quietly to K'Nara, letting the Talons leader know where hes going. "Nice dress, by the way," he adds, patting her lightly on the shoulder, "Looks great on you." He quickly heads to the door, glad to be out of the enviornment he spent most of his teenage years in.
He asks a servant or lower looking member of the Tines for directions, hoping to get a good round of excerises in, or possibly someone to spare against.
Figment Wednesday July 9th, 2003 11:12:46 PM
The finely dressed mage smiles and nods at K'Nara's stilted but sincere compliment. He sits in his flowing finery (hand made of the finest fabrics course) and listens to the new Tine leader respond to K'Nara's points.
At the banquet, and outside the banquet (DM Greg) Thursday July 10th, 2003 12:52:16 AM
Endrin responds to K'Nara, "Well, the Tines want to thank you for returning our wayward leader to us. I am afraid that his plan was, shall we say, not very well thought out. Hopefully, when he recovers his senses, we can determine why he acted the way that he did, so very rashly. As for Parnoth himself, he has not made an appearance in the city for a good long while. There are rumors that he is caught up in something big, but just what that is, I am not sure. Even though he is away, his cronies and syncophants have made sure that the city still celebrates his birthday. Tonight, we celebrate as well, the safe return of our leader, the impending downfall of the scaled tyrant, and the new information that we have just discovered that will help us cause that downfall. But first, let us eat!" He claps his hands, and more food and drink is brought in. The centerpiece is a large roast pig, decorated to look like a green dragon: dyed green with a long fake neck and tail. The roast is set in front of Endrin, and then the servers proceed to carve large chunks from the pig and pass it around to the diners.
As he begins to eat, Endrin looks up and around at the tables, and says, "Hrrmph. I see that some of our guests have decided to leave before the feast. Their loss." He looks pointedly at the chairs vacated by the missing Talons.
Milo, standing in the hallway, downs his invisibility potion, and disappears from sight. He moves down the hallway, and turns right at the end. He looks down a much longer hallway, almost 100' long, with a side passage off to the left, and numerous doors leading to the right and left, some open and some closed. At the end of the long hallway is a staircase leading upstairs.
Bertram walks out of the dining hall, and turns towards the kitchen. He stands at the doorway, and watches as over 15 kitchen staff prepare the remainder of the Tine feast. No obvious clerics are present, unless big white hats have suddenly become a holy symbol (grin).
Orson heads for the main doors leaving the dining hall, and asks one of the serving boys where he can find a training room, and perhaps some sparring partners. The boy answers, "Out of the dining hall, turn right, and right again. Along both sides of the long hallway are the general quarters for the regular Tines, and the staff. Partway along the hallway, there is another hallway to the left, that leads to the open part of the warehouse at the back. There is a gym and training facilities set up back there. At the end of the long hallway, just before the stairs, there are a couple of common rooms. I expect that some of the Tines are 'celebrating' in those rooms, and you can likely find someone itching for a scrap, or a 'practice'."
Milo (invisibility) d20+21=32 Thursday July 10th, 2003 1:16:05 AM
Thinking back to his younger days as a burglar with the Guild, Milo seemed to recall the important stuff always being upstairs, further out of reach, and generally more work. So, quietly he creeps, up the stairs, away from the party, and hopefully toward some useful information regarding the tines' current plans. (OOC: Milo moves silently at normal speed. The -5 modifier for doing so is already figured into his skill check, which is DC 32).
Exploring the Tine shop (DM Greg) Thursday July 10th, 2003 11:12:21 PM
Milo makes his way invisibly down the long hallway. For the 30 seconds or so it takes to travel the 80'-100', he does not bump into anyone. The open doors on either side lead into 2- and 4-person barracks, and the occasional storage room. Two of the barracks have occupants; sleeping figures snore softly in a couple of the beds. Along the left side, a short hallway leads at right angles, into a large room. As Milo moves down the hall, he can hear voices coming from the doorways at the end of the hall. When he comes parallel to the far doorways, he can see they are both occupied with a number lower-level Tines, celebrating, playing cards, and drinking in larger common rooms. As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he sees a sign posted at the side: SENIOR TINES ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT.
Does he continue up the stairs?
K'Nara Friday July 11th, 2003 10:31:56 AM
K'Nara looked around, only just noticing that not all the Talons were at this meal.
"Probably practicing." she said out loud, shrugging and seemingly returning her attention to her meal. "What time do I report to whatever meeting it is you're having about this newest effort against Parnoth?" The tall redhead looked almost bored as she broke open a roll and used it to mop up some juices on her plate before taking a bite.
Milo (invisibility) Friday July 11th, 2003 1:13:17 PM
Milo stops at the door with the sign, and searches it for possible traps, magical or mechanical. He takes his time at this, wanting to do a thorough job of it. (OOC: Milo takes 20 searching the door. This gives him a Search DC of 30, but takes 2 minutes to complete.)
Figment Friday July 11th, 2003 3:15:07 PM
The mage digs in with the others. He decides to simply enjoy the moment and the food as he seldom gets to see K'Nara in this light. "Your meal is delicious, sir. Being an acomplished chef myself I rarely get to enjoy a truly well-prepared meal as we are on the road so often. My compliments to your cooking staff.".
Olana Friday July 11th, 2003 9:38:16 PM
Olana tries not to fidget, or look in horror at the pig-dressed-up-as-a-dragon course. Just the thought of eating that.... All her life she had been at the mercy of Parnoth's whims, and it was well known that he didn't like elves, or merely thought of them as tools to be used. He was a green - that made him evil, but then after the great war he'd released her kind from slavery. Did she feel thankful? Or should she still bear the same resentment, like Redthroat here. Giving a sigh, she picks at some of the veggies. It was all very confusing, and the bottom line was - she didn't think destroying Parnoth would have quite the cathartic effect that it was supposed to. It was too late - damage had been done. Of course if the green brute was slipping back into his old ways....
She listens to the conversation at the table, making eye contact and nodding occasionally.
"I'm a bit confused about all of this," she whispers to Ingrge at one point with a rueful smile.
Bertram (Jan) d20=16 d20+6=26 Saturday July 12th, 2003 12:22:53 AM
(Charisma check DC 16, Diplomacy DC 26 nat 20) Bertram will attempt to establish whether some of the kitchen staff have time to talk or not. If not - he thanks the kitchen staff for their hard work and will head back to the banquet.
If they do - along with the thanks, he'll attempt some small talk, being as diplomatic as possible, and try to get the general mood of Emerald City folk if he can - how they feel about Parnoth, and this new leader chappie.
Ingrge Monday July 14th, 2003 12:55:11 PM
Watching and listening, Ingrge nibbles a bit on select items being served and shakes his head as the abense of several of the Talons is noted. As Olanna whipers to him, he smiles and responds.
"I would think that Parnoth promotes and creates confusion. That is after all a powerful tool for control. I expect that our green leopard has not changed his spots. I think that he has, perhaps, just temporarily covered them up. I am sure that we will se far more of hi evil than we want to in the future."
Kent Monday July 14th, 2003 7:32:53 PM
(OOC Greg, is there goign to be any PC down time in between adventures? not necessarily for RP purposes but for say scroll making etc.....)
Greg DM OOC Monday July 14th, 2003 11:19:20 PM
Kent, there will be no real down-time between adventures, as will become clear over the next couple of days. There will be an opportunity to replenish supplies in a little while. OK?
More information, a proposed course of action, and...an alarm! (DM Greg) Monday July 14th, 2003 11:56:42 PM
Bertram engages one of the kitchen staff in a brief conversation about the situation in Emerald City, and the Tine headquarters. During the discussion, the sous-sous-sous-chef has this to say, "Emerald City and Parnoth? We haven't seen the Great Green One for a fair long time. The city celebrates his birthday today, as it always does on this day, even though he hasn't made his usual appearance. As for this new Tine leader, well, he is ice to Caden Tremaine's fire. I didn't think that I would ever meet anyone who hated Parnoth as much as Caden, but Endrin seems to have the same attitude towards Parnoth, only he plans and schemes more. If anyone has the chance to remove the Green Tyrant from the throne, it just might be Endrin Redthroat. He sure did rise through the ranks of the Tines in a hurry."
At the banquet, once everyone has eaten their fill and has a refilled goblet, Endrin waves the kitchen staff and waiters out of the room. He looks around at the gathered Tines, and then looks more closely over at the PCs. He says, "The time of celebrating is over, and the time for planning has come." He pushes his chair back and rises to his feet.
"Through our research, we have developed a plan that we feel sure will seriously hurt, if not cripple, the Green Tyrant's power. However, to put this plan into action, a powerful item will first need to be recovered. The item is a small rod, 18" long, carved and magically shaped out of solid emerald. Parnoth is desperately searching for this rod, but if we can gain possession of it first, we think that we can turn its power back against him."
"Our research has divined the location of the rod. We are certain it can be found in one of the most magical places in the Woldian universe. This place is said to contain the riches of a thousand dragon hoardes, but it also contains the creatures that protect and battle over these hoardes. Many powerful Woldians have travelled to this place, but few have returned. A wise bard once wrote about the place, 'Welcome to the richest treasure chest in or out of the Wold! And welcome to your deaths.' The name of this fantastic place is..."
Suddenly, a series of loud bells ring from outside the doorway of the dining room, and down the hall. Endrin shouts, "Intruders, on the stairs! Quickly, move to capture them!" Upon saying this, two of the diners at the head table say a quick magical phrase, almost in unison, and disappear from their seats.
...Meanwhile, Milo has been carefully ascending the stairs, searching for traps, mechanical and magical, as he moves from stair to stair. [OOC: There is no door at the bottom of the stairs, only an opening to the stairs themselves, with the sign posted at the bottom of the stairs.] As he reaches the middle stair, the magical alarm spell is triggered, and bells ring at the top and bottom of the stairway. [OOC: I took a little license, since there is no door to search, and Milo had already expressed the desire to climb the stairs. I presume since Milo is taking 20 in the search, he is moving very slowly up the stairs. Also, an alarm spell cannot be detected by a search skill.]
Olana Tuesday July 15th, 2003 12:16:47 AM
Olana thinks over what Redthroat is saying. An item? An artifact? And where was this place? It sounded dangerous.
Leaping to her feet as the alarm sounds, the startled elf moves toward the doorway.
Hang on a minute though - where was Milo? And Bertram? And Orson?
Milo (invisibility) d20+26=44 d20+28=44 Tuesday July 15th, 2003 2:44:34 AM
Seeing that he has set off an alarm, Milo descends to the bottom of the stairs quickly and quietly, before trouble arrives. Finding a corner to hide in, despite the fact that he is already invisible, he waits for trouble to show up, hopes that it will pass him by in their search for an 'interloper.' (OOC: Made a move silently and hide check, both at DC 44. Even if they can see invisible, they still have to make a Spot check greater than DC 44 to see Milo. Do not forget that his Hide ability is magically enhanced by the elven cloak he wears, so his ability to blend in, is not entirely mundane.)
K'Nara d20=4 Tuesday July 15th, 2003 8:27:30 AM
She'd heard that phrase somewhere before, K'Nara was just sure of it...
...Welcome to the richest treasure chest in or out of The Wold! And welcome to your deaths...
The alarums interrupted just then, though...and K'Nara's half-formed recollection flew from her thoughts (OOC: voluntary Intelligence/Knowledge check was only 4, anyway!) as she leaped to her feet.
"Find the rest of the Talons." she ordered the rest of her own group who were present. "I don't get a good feeling from this...Endrin fellow. Something about him..." The human bladesinger let her sentence trail off. "...just let's get our group back together. I'm going to get my sword...look for the others and then come back here when you've found them..!" K'Nara started to move, but her gown was not conducive to speed, so she bent over, grabbed fistfuls of fine emerald green material, hitched most of the skirt above her knees and then sprinted off towards her room, intending to snag Lucia and start looking for her missing Talons.
Orson Tuesday July 15th, 2003 12:19:11 PM
Orson breathed heavily as he stared across the room, the 5 men were really giving him a good workout. Alone he could have taken any of them in a matter of moments, but unarmored and with wooden practice weapons, they teamed up to be quite formitable.
He spent about 45 minutes practicing against the Tines members, honing the finesse side of his fighting, rather than the pure strength he had wielded against the beasts in Culverwood. Panting heavily, Orson took a slight breather as two scrambled to stand after being triped, and two others look dumb-founded at their shattered wooden swords, quickly hurrying to the weapons rack to grab two more. Orson was slicked with sweat, and could already make out a few angry red welts on his bare chest and arms where their weapons had slipped through his attempts at parrying.
He braced himself as they all stood and prepared for another round, but then a distant (or not so distant, not quite sure about the layout of the place here) alarm was heard ringing. All glanced towards the door in unison, then towards one another.
"Well, guess that calls it a night gentlemen?" he questions his opponents, already on his way towards the door. Tossing the wooden practice swords aside, he tosses his slinged longswords over his shoulder, and scoops up his shirt and chain armor. Exiting the training room, he quickly jogs down the hall, turning left and heading back towards the dining area. He wasn't sure what was happening, and thought best to find the others instead of exploring on his own.
Brother Bertram Tuesday July 15th, 2003 1:28:22 PM
The alarm sounds and Bertram immediately reaches for his axe. He begins moving towards the sound immediately looking for signs of trouble as he moves.
Ingrge d20+15=34 Tuesday July 15th, 2003 3:49:16 PM
Listening, Ingrge gets an antsy feeling about what Endrin is discussing and a picutre of an ancient Elven magical place comes forward in his mind (Knowledge Arcana DC 35). Hoping beyond hope, that he is wrong Hthey are interupted by the sounding of alarms. Standing quickly, Ingrge mutters under his breath to Olanna, "If this is because of that nosey little Halfling friend of ours, I might just turn him into something.
The alarm is raised (DM Greg) Wednesday July 16th, 2003 12:01:05 AM
Milo manages to hurry to the bottom of the stairs, and pushes tight against one wall between the bottom of the stairs, and one of the side doors in the hallway. Just in time, too, as two loud pops sound: one at the top of the stairs, and one at the bottom (about 10' from Milo), heralding the arrival of the two robed figures from the head table in the dining room. Milo can see the one at the bottom of the stairs clearly, and notices that the figure is shaking his head, as if to clear cobwebs from his brain. The figure is facing up the stairs. At the same time, Tines are racing out of the two doorways at the stairway end of the hall, from their celebrations. One of them calls out, "What set off the alarm? We have seen nothing pass by our door."
The rest of the party hurries out to the hallway, and around the corner to the long hallway leading to the stairs, mixed in with the other Tines from the dining room (except for K'Nara, who is hurrying to her room to collect her sword).
Endrin rounds the corner and calls out down the long hallway, "Seal the building! Nothing and no-one gets in or out! Plankett and Landrum, find the intruder, or whatever set of that alarm!" The Tines hustle to do his bidding. Then he turns and looks at the members of the party that are out in the hall, and asks, "Did any of you have anything to do with this? I was led to believe that you could be trusted! I certainly hope for all our sakes that I have not misplaced my trust!"
Milo (invisibility) d20+21=36 Wednesday July 16th, 2003 1:50:04 AM
Realizing that he can get no further with this course of action today, Milo moves as silently as possible down the hallway away from the stairs, and turns the corner, heading toward the privy. (OOC: Made a move silently check DC 36, to move silently at full speed. The -5 penalty for doing so is already figured into the check.)
Olana Wednesday July 16th, 2003 12:09:02 PM
Olana's eyebrows raise in shock, realising what Ingrge has just said and that Milo might be in trouble.
"Maybe it was the cat?" she exclaims toward Redthroat, along with a shrug.
Well maybe it was, she thought. And maybe it was Milo, and maybe it was something worse. What was being discussed here wasn't for everyone's ears. If the dragon knew...
She moves to help with the search.
K'Nara d20=17 Wednesday July 16th, 2003 7:10:16 PM
K'Nara immediately siezed Lucia and ran back to where she'd come from, drawing the weapon out along the way.
"Sorry for the rude awakening, Lucia," she said out loud, pushing past a few other Tines as the traffic milled about the place, "But we may be under attack...although it may also be something--not so sinister, too. I won't know until I get there..."
(OOC: made a voluntary Intelligence check for K'Nara to deduce where the major players of the Tines have gone to [and, thus, get to the hallway where everyone else is now.] The result is 17.)
Figment Wednesday July 16th, 2003 8:03:19 PM
The mage listens to the commentary and gets a cold chill as he realizes the place they are going...
After moving into the hall with the others, the mage begins looking around for evidence. He casts detect magic and begins scanning the area. "I can't say who was responsible but I can look around for you...". He looks up and down the stairs for magical residue but keeps his discoveries - if any - to himself.
The culprit is found? (DM Greg) Thursday July 17th, 2003 7:16:48 PM
The two robed Tines at the top and the bottom of the stairs cast a spell, and scan the stairs, then call out, "No-one on the stairs!" The one at the top of the stairs moves out of sight, and the one at the bottom of the stairs moves back along the long hallway, looking left and right.
The party joins in the search. Figment casts detect magic and moves along the hallway, scanning. Many people and things detect as magic (all the Tines carry magic, party members have magic, the hall is lit by magical torches, etc.), but Figment figures out that they are all as they should be. By chance, Figment and the Tine wizard arrive at the door to the privy at the same time. Both can detect magic on the other side of the door, many magical auras overlaid. The magician pushes open the door, and moves into the privy, which is made up of a long shallow trough with running water (for washing hands) on the left side, and four stalls behind simple wooden doors on the right side. He begins to scan the room, detecting for the source of the magic.
Olana Friday July 18th, 2003 2:10:05 AM
Olana follows the others toward the privy, her imagination running wild. Parnoth's spies in the privy! Milo in the privy! Mind you - wasn't that where he was going anyway, she seemed to remember?
Okay.... and K'Nara was talking to her sword. She did a double take on that, too.
Ingrge Friday July 18th, 2003 2:56:59 PM
Remembering that Milo said he needed to use the Privy as he left the dining room, comments to olanna as they walk next to each other, just loud enough to make sure that Milo can hear as well,
"I do hope that whoever broke in here hasn't waylaid and harmed Milo. He did say he was going to the privy didn't he."
Figment Friday July 18th, 2003 8:56:38 PM
The mage also continues his scan. He calls out since it is obvious that whoever is in there knew they were trapped. "Milo, you in here?".
Milo (invisibility) d20+21=33 d20+11=30 d20+7=25 d3+1=2 Saturday July 19th, 2003 12:19:32 AM
Moving into the privy just ahead of the Tine wizard and Figment, Milo scootches quickly into a stall, and after quietly closing the door, drops his pants and sits. (OOC: Move silently DC 33)
As the two enter the privy looking for him, Milo remembers to himself, Oh yeah, I'm invisible still. Looking around quickly, Milo locates a resident insect or arachnid, and lashing out with the palm of his hand attacks the critter, smashing it, and simultaneously becoming visible. "Darn bugs!" Milo proclaims loudly as he smacks the critter dead. Milo smiles inwardly. (OOC: Made a Spot check DC 30 to locate bug/spider, and then an attack roll hitting AC 25 for 2 hps of subdual damage.)
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