Ember Patrol: Death by Desert

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Tikvah
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Post by Tikvah »

I'll give my XP to bookwom for being the most level-headed in the group.
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bookworm
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Post by bookworm »

Excerpt from the journal of Gareth Trevelyan
Our confidence was shortlived as Ezra did not find crossing the pit to be as easy as I had and fell into the glass becoming greatly injured. We managed to pull him back up and recover enough to gingerly continue on. We came upon a curtain that blocked the passageway. Moving it back produced a hissing sound which we took to be gas and jumped back. After carefully examining closer we found the tunnel beyond was emitting mist from the ceiling which gathered at the floor. Ezra, despite my lecture just minutes earlier at the tiles, reached down and put his hand in it. It immediately became partially paralyzed. His thoughtless haste is quickly shifting from worrisome to maddening. Truly, he is going to get himself killed one day if he cannot resist acting on impulse. After more thinking and deliberating, it dawned on me that we were likely making the same mistake of overcomplication yet again. I went to the curtain and opened it, starting the mist. I stepped inside and closed the curtain, the mist stopped. Light seemed to be the trigger. I relayed this to the others and we extinguished our lights, crossing the area slowly, because of the dark, but uneventfully.

Emerging from the curtain on the other side of the tunnel we approached a door. Before I could reproduce my light Ezra rushed forward heedlessly YET AGAIN and took a tack to his foot for it. Will he really just never learn? We went through the door and stood dumbfounded, gazing at the ladder we had entered from. We had made a complete circle! After some brief incredulity as there had only been one way to go through these rooms, we realized there must be a hidden passage somewhere and began the loop again. Coming back to the pit, we paid closer attention to the footprints this time and saw that the trod path ended here; only we had gone beyond. With disbelief we realized that Ezra had been right before the passage when he had fallen earlier. We took this opportunity to rest before proceeding, allowing Ezra to gather his strength, then carefully descended into the pit. Locating the passage, we entered and heard the madman Malvert's voice from up ahead.

He was spouting the expected nonsense about lizards and the emperor's supposed death. Not knowing if he was armed we decided against attempting to rush the capture and tried to engage him as allies. It is fortunate the incident with the mine guard on our previous mission had caused me to seek persuasion training; I was able to use my new diplomacy skill here to initiate negotiation. He seemed willing, though very wary, to trust us; at least he was willing to entertain the notion that we could work together. I reminded the others that our mission was to bring him into custody, so we could play along with his fantasies if it gained us his cooperation, but could not indulge his requests to let him go. Establishing that we would work together to 'avenge the emperor' he agreed we could approach.

Now began a whole new problem: How to get him to the constable. He was willing to go with us for now, but we could not keep up the charade all the way to the prison. My instinct was to tie him up and be done with it, escorting him out and completing our mission. But part of me worried if that direct of an approach wouldn't cause problems. The man was so unstable, there was no way to predict how he would respond. Of course the other part of me worried that too casual an atmosphere would cause problems of its own. I had no idea what was the right choice. In the end I decided it was best to keep up the voluntary cooperation as long as possible, so we moved to the bunker exit without escalating tensions. My thought was to attempt talking him through everything that was coming piece by piece. Outside I would request he leave his weapons, as a show of good faith. When we approached town I would broach the subject of restraining him, just for show so the authorities wouldn't cause problems for us. And so forth. Taking all the steps to apprehend him, but always presenting them as being done in order to allow us to continue helping him toward our 'joint' end goal. Whatever that was. I actually had no clue what it was he thought we were heading off to do; the papers that he claimed held all we needed to know were nothing more than unintelligible scribblings. It didn't matter though, as long as he thought we were helping him hopefully he would think whatever we did needed done to get us in the clear to act.

I learned later that Ezra had a similar mindset, but for different reasons. He had supported the decision not to tie Malvert, in fact he had strongly urged it. He opposed it out of concern it would damage our fragile rapport, like I, but not because the rapport was a front to get him to cooperate - because he genuinely wanted to gain the lunatic's trust! I thought he was surely joking at first, but no, he thought there may actually be some basis of the man's delusions, if not lizards at least something disturbing that had triggered his paranoia, and wanted to play along to feel out his story. He wanted to bypass the constable completely at present, not handing Malvert over for several days, possibly weeks, until he was satisfied he was indeed simply insane. I would not have entertained this possibility for a moment. It wasn't that I was opposed to making sure there was nothing to Malvert's ramblings (though there was no doubt to me it would have been a waste of time, the man is unmistakably unbalanced, that is all there is too it), there was simply too much loss of control. If we didn't hand him over now we never would, I knew. He would lose trust in us in an instant, if there even was any to begin with, and slip away at night. Even if we somehow did manage to strike a real alliance, some whim could cause him to dash off unannounced.

I tried to determine a way to secure him as we approached the constable. My gut said to drop the farce and just bind him now, getting this over with. But something pushed me to try keeping the situation smooth for just a bit longer. In hindsight I don't know what I thought it would gain; I think I was just so concerned by the unpredictability of the man I was second and third guessing every action that crossed my mind, utterly lost as to what was the right one, if there even was a right one in this situation. When we got to the constable I thought he would move to apprehend Malvert, but instead he produced a flashbang. I alone managed to react in time to avoid being rendered senseless. My party, and the constable, collapsed. Malvert was unsteadied but managed to make a rush toward the woods. I ran after him, seemingly gaining, but he somehow eluded me. All we found was a note and some worthless goggles pinned to a tree. Furious, I returned to the constable who was still sprawled on the ground. I dropped down forcefully, pinning his chest with my knee, wanting to demand explanation for what had just transpired, but was unable to utter any words through my rage. He was in no condition to answer even if I had been able to. I glared at him for a long moment, letting my palpable anger do my talking, then stood. I looked over the property in sheer disgust with the entirety of the events of that day.

Back at base we were reprimanded for failing the mission, which I expected. At my debriefing I made it clear that I had made every effort to stay to our objective. I explained my reasoning for not taking a firmer stance on the apprehension, that it was absolutely not to facilitate an escape but just the opposite, that I believed voluntary cooperation was the safest way to keep such an unstable subject subdued. And the escape was not our fault; we extracted him successfully, the constable's bizarre stunt was what had made him bolt. I can only hope they understood; I would be devastated if this incident casts doubt on my abilities or loyalty in their eyes. I hope they can see that I am every bit as upset as they that this mission derailed. Our objective was always in my mind; I was trying to find the right way to accomplish it. Failing the Embers, in anything, is the last thing I want to do.
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Tikvah
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Post by Tikvah »

Olwen's journal entry:

It seems it was Ezra's turn for bad luck. He fell into the pit that Gareth and I had avoided, taking quite a bit of damage and only getting out with our help. We continued on and came to a curtain that when lifted released a numbing gas. After some deliberation, (During which Ezra numbed his hand, heedless one that he is) we discovered that the gas was triggered by light. We put out the lanterns and continued through. We came to a door which Ezra hastened to examine, but only succeeded in stepping on a tack. After going through the door we found ourselves back at the entrance. We had gone in a full circle.
We examined the tile trap again, even going so far as to pry back the plate in the wall, which only revealed some automatic crossbows. I looked at the tracks, and discovered that they only went as far as the pit. Upon closer examination we found the entrance to Malvert's lair in the pit. If only Ezra had been more aware when he fell down. We lowered down on a rope and entered the lair. We located Malvert, and convinced him to turn over his notes on the "lizard men" and to come with us. When we reached the constable, however, the crazy buffoon pulled a flashbang and blinded everybody, himself included. Gareth was the only one alert enough to avoid the blast, and chased Malvert into the woods. He was unable to catch him, but Malvert left some goggles saying they would help against the lizard men. These were given to Ezra, since he believed Ezra the most. Gareth returned in a fury, and was much angered at Ezra for both his impetuous nature, and the fact that he was against restraining Malvert.
We received a good scolding from headquarters. I know that Malvert surely was crazy, but I can't help thinking these "lizard men" and the cult we encountered last mission might be connected. If it is as I fear, we are in more trouble than we would ever get from headquarters.
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bookworm
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Post by bookworm »

Warrant Service, Session 2 of 2
Continued from Part 1
We need a warrant served. Paranoid Malvert's traps have finally obliterated one of the neighbour's cows. We need a squad to venture in through his gauntlet and bring him out to the Blackwater constabulary to face justice.
18:53 <bookworm>: Quick housekeeping before we resume: I just became trained in Persuasion, but I had meant to do that back between the slaver mission and the start of this one, so Skid has okayed me to use it this session if I want. (Normally it would be too soon.) Just an explanation of where that came from in case it comes up.
18:53 bookworm is now known as Gareth
18:55 Tikvah is now known as Olwen
18:55 LIGHTNING is now known as Ezra
18:55 <Skid_GMing>: We left off with our heroes easily swinging across the pit of broken glass.
18:55 <Gareth>: Ezra needs to cross the pit.
18:55 <Gareth>: And he better make it because I already said in my journal that he did :p
18:55 <Skid_GMing>: We're assuming he did.
18:55 <Skid_GMing>: Unless he intentionally throws himself into it.
18:56 <Gareth>: That's cheating but I'm good with it ;)
18:56 <Olwen>: I take back the rope that I tied to my arrow in the last session.
18:56 <Ezra>: ready
18:56 <Skid_GMing>: If the GM lets you cheat, you should question his motives. =p
18:57 <Ezra>: So I made it over the pit? :P
18:57 <Skid_GMing>: Roll a climb or acrobatics check.
18:58 <Ezra>: !roll d20 acrobatics
18:58 <Dicebot>: Ezra, acrobatics: 2
18:58 <Ezra>: no
18:58 <Skid_GMing>: WELL THEN.
18:58 <Ezra>: no no no nononono ononon
18:59 <Gareth>: You were supposed to climb the grate like I did.
18:59 <Gareth>: Only Olwen is acrobatic.
18:59 <Skid_GMing>: Well, rolling a 2 is rolling a 2. =p
18:59 <Ezra>: :D What was that about cheating? Haha! I that that idea.... Wow, have I ever told you how amazing you are Skid?
18:59 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra crashes 10 feet down into the pit, taking 6 points of might damage from falling onto shattered glass.
19:00 <Ezra>: really?
19:00 <Ezra>: "HELP!!!!"
19:00 <Olwen>: I throw down one end of my rope.
19:00 <Gareth>: But presumably failing a climb is less perilous than failing an attempt to jump
19:00 <Skid_GMing>: Which of you are using lanterns?
19:00 <Ezra>: I weakly grab the rope...
19:00 <Ezra>: [me]
19:00 <Gareth>: I am
19:01 <Skid_GMing>: The climb takes you directly over the pit.
19:01 <Skid_GMing>: Same as a jump.
19:01 <Ezra>: "Now, *couch* pull me up..."
19:01 <Gareth>: But he might have slipped from the climb before getting over the pit, if trying to just jump it's all going to be bad.
19:01 <Skid_GMing>: You all hear a maniacal laughter coming as if through the tunnel walls.
19:02 <Olwen>: I pull Ezra up.
19:02 <Gareth>: What is your might at now?
19:02 <Olwen>: "Little help, Gareth?"
19:02 <Skid_GMing>: All right, you pull him out.
19:02 <Ezra>: 0
19:02 <Gareth>: Mhmm
19:02 <Gareth>: You'll want to do something about that before doing any actions.
19:02 <Skid_GMing>: So you're impaired.
19:02 <Ezra>: I need healing...
19:03 <Skid_GMing>: All tasks are 1-level harder for you until you raise your might.
19:03 <Olwen>: Maybe you should take a recovery roll.
19:03 <Ezra>: yeah
19:04 <Ezra>: !roll 1d6+1 10M
19:04 <Dicebot>: Ezra, 10M: 2:1+1
19:04 <Ezra>: GM, what is that?
19:04 <Skid_GMing>: You rest for 10 minutes, regaining 2 HP.
19:04 <Gareth>: Isn't that what you got on the other one? >_>
19:04 <Ezra>: yup
19:04 <Gareth>: You can't even heal for goodness sake
19:04 <Skid_GMing>: You've been rolling the worst possible, it seems...
19:05 <Ezra>: :(
19:05 <Olwen>: "Well, shall we move on?"
19:05 <Skid_GMing>: You pick bits of broken glass out of your skin.
19:05 <Ezra>: How long until I get my roll back GM?
19:05 <Olwen>: Is there anything else around that we notice?
19:06 <Skid_GMing>: Until you rest for 10 hours (the night).
19:06 <Ezra>: yahoo
19:06 <Skid_GMing>: You're looking around?
19:07 <Gareth>: I say "Let's hold up here, no need to rush up to this fool." And we go to sleep.
19:07 <Olwen>: What? No!
19:07 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen: roll perception.
19:07 <Ezra>: "I like the sound of a rest..." I say weakly...
19:07 <Gareth>: He needs his rolls back, he's effectively at zero left.
19:07 <Gareth>: We won't be able to use the longer ones in this context.
19:07 <Gareth>: Remember, he used the 10M already last time, so this one was actually the instant.
19:07 <Olwen>: !roll d20 , Specialised.
19:07 <Dicebot>: Olwen, , Specialised.: 17
19:08 <Skid_GMing>: There were a fair number of footprints on the other side of the pit. Your are the only fresh footprints on this side.
19:08 <Olwen>: "Malvert is down here! We can't just go to sleep!"
19:09 <Gareth>: And we can't capture him with a dead party member.
19:09 <Skid_GMing>: You guys have some healing items, don't you?
19:09 <Gareth>: Just one
19:09 <Ezra>: I cough.
19:09 <Skid_GMing>: And how close are you to actually dying?
19:09 <Gareth>: It's mine :x
19:09 <Gareth>: I'm not, now. I'm holding it for a future mission against deadly poison or something
19:09 <Ezra>: I am 2 Might Points.
19:09 <Skid_GMing>: You're not dead until all your pools are empty.
19:10 <Ezra>: right
19:10 <Skid_GMing>: Anyway, the root-wrapped tunnel turns left ahead, and then is blocked by a thick, black curtain.
19:11 <Ezra>: I stager to my feet. "I can try to go on, if you want."
19:11 <Ezra>: I must have run out of bad luck by now!
19:12 <Olwen>: "Alright."
19:12 <Ezra>: GM, is my light okay?
19:12 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
19:12 <Ezra>: That is good at least
19:13 <Gareth>: I shake my head and continue on in unbelievable affront to better judgment.
19:13 <Skid_GMing>: You hear old-man giggling.
19:13 <Ezra>: "Let us be off then... Look out for more tripwires,"
19:13 <Olwen>: "Should I go first?"
19:14 <Ezra>: "I may as well, odds are with me at last after all..."
19:14 <Ezra>: I slowly go forward, using stealth.
19:14 <Skid_GMing>: Who is in what position?
19:14 <Ezra>: [roll stealth GM?]
19:14 <Skid_GMing>: Yes, roll stealth.
19:15 <Olwen>: I sneak toward the curtain.
19:15 <Gareth>: I'm in the back
19:15 <Skid_GMing>: Who's on point?
19:15 <Ezra>: !roll d20 stealth trained
19:15 <Dicebot>: Ezra, stealth trained: 15
19:15 <Skid_GMing>: You feel very sneaky.
19:15 <Ezra>: [ :D
19:15 <Olwen>: Us too?
19:16 <Skid_GMing>: If you're sneaking. You're all basically at the curtain, it's right around the corner.
19:16 <Gareth>: I listen at the curtain.
19:17 <Gareth>: Trying to tell if the guy is behind there or what
19:17 <Ezra>: I examine the curtain.
19:17 <Skid_GMing>: You hear the giggling die off.
19:17 <Skid_GMing>: The curtain is made from old, patched canvas. and completely fills the tunnel.
19:17 <Skid_GMing>: Roll perception.
19:17 <Ezra>: !roll d20 perception
19:17 <Dicebot>: Ezra, perception: 9
19:18 <Ezra>: ...
19:18 <Olwen>: !roll d20 Specialized perception
19:18 <Dicebot>: Olwen, Specialized perception: 7
19:18 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained perception
19:18 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained perception: 18
19:18 <Skid_GMing>: You can't hear anyone near the curtain.
19:18 <Gareth>: Probably another trap then.
19:18 <Ezra>: yep
19:18 <Skid_GMing>: It's fairly silent.
19:18 <Ezra>: "Too quiet"
19:19 <Gareth>: Is the curtain the passage? Or is it just a side cavern?
19:19 <Skid_GMing>: It's the only way from here, as far as you can tell.
19:19 <Skid_GMing>: Besides going back to the pit.
19:22 <Ezra>: I throw the shaft I picked up through the curtain.
19:22 <Skid_GMing>: The bolt?
19:22 <Ezra>: [yup]
19:22 <Skid_GMing>: The curtain swings slightly as the bolt bounces off.
19:23 <Gareth>: Right
19:23 <Ezra>: "Well, we can tough them anyway..."
19:23 <Olwen>: I carefully move the curtain to the side.
19:23 <Ezra>: I pick up my bolt...
19:23 <Gareth>: I crouch.
19:23 <Ezra>: I press to the wall.
19:24 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you hear hissing on the other side of the curtain as soon as you pull it to the side.
19:24 <Ezra>: "Snakes maybe?"
19:24 <Gareth>: "Drop it!"
19:24 <Skid_GMing>: It's constant.
19:24 <Gareth>: "Gas!"
19:24 <Ezra>: "GAS!"
19:24 <Olwen>: I drop the curtain.
19:24 <Skid_GMing>: The hissing stops.
19:24 <Ezra>: "So, we have a gas trap..."
19:25 <Olwen>: "Alright then."
19:25 <Ezra>: "Let me try to figure out what kind..."
19:25 <Olwen>: Did I see anything past the curtain?
19:25 <Ezra>: I step close to the curtain and lightly sniff the air.
19:26 <Skid_GMing>: If you looked through?
19:26 <Ezra>: [roll Poison Knowledge GM?]
19:26 <Skid_GMing>: You saw the rough roots of the tunnel, and at least two pale orbs about the size of plates in the walls.
19:26 <Skid_GMing>: Yes, roll poison knowledge.
19:26 <Ezra>: !roll d20 trained Poison Knowledge
19:26 <Dicebot>: Ezra, trained Poison Knowledge: 6
19:26 <Skid_GMing>: You don't sense anything in the air.
19:27 <Gareth>: Try it again.
19:27 <Ezra>: Right...
19:27 <Gareth>: To make sure.
19:27 <Ezra>: I stick my head through quickly and take a light sniff.
19:27 <Ezra>: [roll?]
19:27 <Skid_GMing>: Okay. The hissing starts, and stops. Roll.
19:27 <Ezra>: !roll d20 trained Poison Knowledge
19:27 <Dicebot>: Ezra, trained Poison Knowledge: 1
19:28 <Ezra>: [OH COME ON]
19:28 <Gareth>: I quit
19:28 <Skid_GMing>: Hmm.
19:28 <Gareth>: You can't even BREATHE????
19:28 <Skid_GMing>: Well, there's actually nothing terrible that could happen, so you smell dirt.
19:28 <Gareth>: This is ridiculous!
19:28 <Ezra>: Again?
19:29 <Gareth>: Why not
19:29 <Ezra>: Really, I can only go up from here...
19:29 <Gareth>: Nothing to lose we're just standing here.
19:29 <Ezra>: I stick my head through somewhat quickly and take a sniff.
19:29 <Ezra>: [roll?]
19:29 <Skid_GMing>: You get the same as before. Earthy smell, nothing floating on the breeze.
19:29 <Gareth>: "Let's not be hasty, but let's not overthink this again either."
19:30 <Ezra>: yes yes, okay
19:30 <Gareth>: "Could this just be air? Some kind of fake out?"
19:30 <Ezra>: I open the curtain somewhat quickly and take a sniff.
19:30 <Ezra>: [have to set it off I guess]
19:30 <Skid_GMing>: Doing the same thing nets the same result.
19:30 <Ezra>: Right, I give up...
19:31 <Gareth>: Leave the curtain open for a minute.
19:31 <Gareth>: I step back a ways.
19:31 <Ezra>: Let us just open it up, and let me go first with my trained nose...
19:31 <Ezra>: Right.
19:31 <Gareth>: And survey the area behind the curtain.
19:31 <Skid_GMing>: The deadest guy goes first?
19:31 <Olwen>: Eh...
19:31 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you doing this plan?
19:31 <Ezra>: I am the fastest and trained too... :/
19:32 <Ezra>: Why not... A light sniff can not hurt to much....
19:32 <Gareth>: We're going through? We should look first.
19:32 <Ezra>: "Everyone standing back?"
19:32 <Gareth>: Step back for a sec.
19:32 <Ezra>: No, I am just going to open it and test the air.
19:32 <Skid_GMing>: Are you standing just back down the hall (about 10 feet) or around the corner?
19:33 <Gareth>: Just a few feet back.
19:33 <Gareth>: I'm becoming less fearful, thinking we're probably overreacting.
19:33 <Ezra>: Right...
19:33 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, say when you do it.
19:33 <Ezra>: I open the curtain and sniff the gas a bit.
19:33 <Ezra>: [roll?]
19:33 <Gareth>: Just pull the curtain back all the way.
19:33 <Gareth>: And just leave it.
19:33 <Skid_GMing>: Open it all the way?
19:33 <Ezra>: [half way
19:33 <Gareth>: Sure
19:34 <Ezra>: or what ever is just enough to start the hiss, but no more
19:34 <Ezra>: [just incase it is going to explode]
19:34 <Gareth>: Tell us how far that is Skid.
19:35 <Skid_GMing>: It seems to be as soon as the space behind it is starting to be exposed to sight.
19:35 <Ezra>: [It is more than likely flammable gas...]
19:36 <Gareth>: Okay, pull it open about four inches and step back please.
19:36 <Ezra>: I put my lamp out.
19:36 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth you're back 10 feet?
19:36 <Gareth>: Something like that yeah.
19:36 <Ezra>: "Hey, you, the night vision one, stand behind me."
19:37 <Olwen>: Is my night vision still going?
19:37 <Skid_GMing>: You'll need to refresh it.
19:37 <Olwen>: I do that.
19:37 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, who opens the curtain?
19:37 <Gareth>: I also extinguish my lamp.
19:37 <Ezra>: Do so, then stand behind me and look through the curtain when I open it.
19:37 <Gareth>: And pull out my glowstone.
19:37 <Gareth>: Not yet
19:38 <Ezra>: okay'
19:38 <Gareth>: Just open it and wait a minute.
19:38 <Gareth>: Make sure nothing catches fire or anything.
19:38 <Olwen>: I stand behind Ezra.
19:38 <Ezra>: I open the curtain.
19:38 <Skid_GMing>: The hissing doesn't start until the curtain is mostly open.
19:38 <Ezra>: [grand]
19:38 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen, you see a mist spraying from roots in the ceiling.
19:38 <Gareth>: We wait for a few moments...
19:39 <Ezra>: Shall I sniff now?
19:39 <Olwen>: I hold my breath.
19:39 <Skid_GMing>: And two more of those light, organic orbs on each wall.
19:39 <Gareth>: Hmm
19:39 <Ezra>: Hm...
19:39 <Skid_GMing>: There's another curtain just beyond.
19:39 <Gareth>: "We just need to get through probably."
19:39 <Skid_GMing>: So, about 10 feet of leaky root territory.
19:40 <Ezra>: Oh, I think I get it.... The other one sets off the trap, this one just arms it.
19:40 <Gareth>: "This can't be too treacherous, coming from the same coot that set up the tile 'trap'."
19:40 <Ezra>: I sniff the gas.
19:40 <Ezra>: [I hope so.]
19:40 <Skid_GMing>: It's more of a mist that settles on the floor. You'll have to touch it to smell it.
19:40 <Gareth>: "I think we get to the other curtain, it turns back off."
19:41 <Ezra>: Doubt that...
19:41 <Gareth>: Why?
19:41 <Ezra>: I touch the misty floor.
19:41 <Gareth>: The trap would only be here in the middle.
19:41 <Gareth>: ...
19:41 <Skid_GMing>: Your exposed skin instantly goes numb and tingles.
19:42 <Ezra>: Ah! I see!
19:42 <Ezra>: now do I roll?
19:42 <Olwen>: "I think we just need to run though."
19:42 <Gareth>: Yes
19:42 <Skid_GMing>: You can roll.
19:42 <Olwen>: "Or light it on fire."
19:42 <Ezra>: !roll d20 trained Poison Knowledge
19:42 <Dicebot>: Ezra, trained Poison Knowledge: 11
19:42 <Ezra>: :/
19:42 <Skid_GMing>: This substance will numb and possibly paralyze through contact.
19:43 <Ezra>: There you are then...
19:43 <Skid_GMing>: Also, your hand feels clumsy.
19:43 <Gareth>: Ugh
19:43 <Olwen>: "Try burning it."
19:43 <Gareth>: Didn't I just lecture you about acting before thinking? I was sure I did.
19:43 <Skid_GMing>: It's water-based.
19:44 <Ezra>: Should we destroy the roots?
19:44 <Skid_GMing>: Nobody here has mechanical skill, do they.
19:44 <Skid_GMing>: There are a lot of roots, from what little you can see in the dark.
19:44 <Gareth>: I grab Ezra's shoulder and pull him back from the hallway.
19:45 <Gareth>: "First we have to think."
19:45 <Skid_GMing>: Do you pull him around the corner?
19:45 <Ezra>: Oh right, close the curtain!
19:45 <Gareth>: I pour a little water from my canteen onto his hand to see if it does anything.
19:45 <Ezra>: [Is my finger completely numb still?]
19:45 <Skid_GMing>: It's about the same still.
19:46 <Ezra>: It is just my finger, save your water mate! D:
19:46 <Gareth>: Your fighting finger.
19:46 <Ezra>: I close the curtain.
19:46 <Skid_GMing>: The hissing stops when the curtain closes.
19:46 <Gareth>: A paralyzed warrior isn't much help.
19:46 <Ezra>: [I used my left hand of course!]
19:46 <Ezra>: [Don't worry..]
19:47 <Skid_GMing>: So... what next?
19:47 <Gareth>: Is the mist coming straight down to the ground Skid? That is if I go up to it could I stand at the beginning of it for a minute or would it be coming down erratically on my head?
19:47 <Ezra>: Right, we just need to find a way to avoid setting it off...
19:48 <Skid_GMing>: It's spreading a bit.
19:48 <Ezra>: I try to see where the tripwire is.
19:48 <Gareth>: Do we have hoods?
19:49 <Skid_GMing>: You do.
19:49 <Gareth>: "Wait here."
19:49 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, roll a mechanics check in the dim light.
19:49 <Ezra>: He is going for it?
19:49 <Gareth>: No
19:49 <Ezra>: [me GM?]
19:49 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
19:49 <Gareth>: I'm not going I'm just looking.
19:49 <Ezra>: !roll d20 mechanics check
19:49 <Dicebot>: Ezra, mechanics check: 19
19:50 <Ezra>: YAHOO
19:50 <Skid_GMing>: The curtain doesn't appear to be attached to any mechanisms at all. By manipulating it, you realize that the mist starts when light enters the passageway.
19:50 <Ezra>: There we go then
19:50 <Gareth>: "Wait here for a second."
19:50 <Ezra>: We have our answer!
19:51 <Olwen>: Turn off your glowstone.
19:51 <Gareth>: I go up to the curtain. "And don't touch anything please."
19:51 <Ezra>: "Ha, no worries there mate!"
19:51 <Gareth>: I toss the stone to Olwen.
19:51 <Ezra>: I stand very still.
19:51 <Skid_GMing>: Okay.
19:52 <Gareth>: I put on up my hood, pull back the curtain, step inside quickly, immediately turn around and pull the curtain back closed.
19:52 <Gareth>: From the inside.
19:52 <Skid_GMing>: The hissing starts briefly, but you find yourself in completely darkness.
19:52 <Ezra>: "Are you okay?" I shout.
19:53 <Gareth>: The hissing stopped?
19:53 <Skid_GMing>: It stops.
19:53 <Skid_GMing>: As soon as the curtain closes.
19:53 <Gareth>: "Yes; we did it again."
19:53 <Ezra>: "Eh?"
19:53 <Gareth>: "It's not complicated."
19:53 <Olwen>: "What do I do with the stone?"
19:53 <Gareth>: I come back out.
19:53 <Ezra>: "Glad you made it, what have you found?"
19:53 <Gareth>: I put the stone back in my pack.
19:54 <Gareth>: (It doesn't go out)
19:54 <Gareth>: (Unless the magic wears down. But the charge lasts an hour, so)
19:54 <Skid_GMing>: You conceal your only lgiht source. It's dark.
19:54 <Gareth>: "It's just the curtain. We go in, close it back up, the mist stops."
19:54 <Olwen>: I go through the curtain.
19:55 <Skid_GMing>: You go through the curtain.
19:55 <Ezra>: I follow, closing it quickly behind me.
19:55 <Skid_GMing>: In fact, with the light out, it doesn't hiss at all.
19:55 <Skid_GMing>: You fumble around a bit in the dark as you go.
19:55 <Gareth>: "Just keep going forward."
19:55 <Ezra>: We solved it!
19:55 <Gareth>: Slowly
19:56 <Olwen>: I go to the other curtain.
19:56 <Ezra>: I go forward slowly as well.
19:56 <Ezra>: We need to get out fast, remember
19:56 <Gareth>: Once we make it over.
19:56 <Skid_GMing>: Behind this curtain, the hallway turns left again, to a short empty hallway with a door at the end.
19:56 <Ezra>: Yes.
19:57 <Olwen>: I examine the hallway.
19:57 <Gareth>: We're past the other curtain?
19:57 <Ezra>: I quickly go to the other side.
19:57 <Skid_GMing>: Roll perception.
19:57 <Ezra>: [I think so.]
19:57 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
19:57 <Dicebot>: Olwen, specialized: 1
19:57 <Olwen>: -_-
19:57 <Ezra>: At last!
19:57 <Ezra>: It is not me!!!
19:57 <Olwen>: Can I look again?
19:57 <Gareth>: I listen at the door.
19:58 <Ezra>: I examine the area.
19:58 <Skid_GMing>: The hallway is absolutely full of vicious traps. You're sure of it. =p
19:58 <Gareth>: Nice
19:58 <Olwen>: Can I look again?
19:58 <Ezra>: Ha!
19:58 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra and Gareth proceed with utter disregard for the horrible danger.
19:58 <Ezra>: What?
19:58 <Ezra>: I do?
19:59 <Gareth>: She's imagining things. There's nothing there
19:59 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra: roll perception.
19:59 <Olwen>: "GAAAAH!"
19:59 <Gareth>: I jump.
19:59 <Gareth>: "What?!?"
19:59 <Ezra>: !roll d20 perception
19:59 <Dicebot>: Ezra, perception: 7
19:59 <Ezra>: [crys]
19:59 <Skid_GMing>: There doesn't seem to be anything off about this path.
19:59 <Ezra>: I dance.
20:00 <Olwen>: "HORRIBLE DANGER EVERYWHERE!"
20:00 <Gareth>: "..."
20:00 <Skid_GMing>: You want to go across and listen at the door?
20:00 <Skid_GMing>: And are your lights still off?
20:00 <Gareth>: I look around.
20:00 <Ezra>: Yes.
20:01 <Gareth>: Are we past the curtain?
20:01 <Ezra>: I go and listen to the door.
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: I'm assuming you are.
20:01 <Ezra>: Someone give Olwen a hug...
20:01 <Gareth>: I take my glowstone back out and look around.
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you step on thumbtacks in the darkness. It hurts. You take 2 speed damage.
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra.
20:02 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth, roll your percetion for the room. Ezra, listen at the door.
20:02 <Gareth>: How many times do I need to say confer before acting??
20:02 <Gareth>: I rage quit the Embers
20:02 <Ezra>: XD
20:03 <Skid_GMing>: Hey, walking through traps is a perfectly valid method for testing them.
20:03 <Ezra>: Okay, ah, perception check?
20:03 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:03 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth: roll.
20:03 <Ezra>: !roll d20 perception
20:03 <Dicebot>: Ezra, perception: 4
20:03 <Ezra>: I rage quit too...
20:03 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained perception
20:03 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained perception: 20
20:04 <Gareth>: I choose a cinematic
20:04 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra: it's quiet behind the door.
20:04 <Skid_GMing>: You have one in mind?
20:04 <Gareth>: I x-ray vision the rest of this bunker and see all the ways to avoid the rest of the traps.
20:04 <Ezra>: Nice...
20:04 <Gareth>: ^.^
20:05 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth, you thoroughly examine the hallway. It's devoid of dangers save for a few caltrops scattered across the floor. Also, taking 3 left turns brings you back suspiciously close to your starting position.
20:05 <Skid_GMing>: You also realize that the door ahead is untrapped and unlocked.
20:06 <Ezra>: very good
20:06 <Ezra>: Shall I open the door Gareth?
20:06 <Olwen>: Yes.
20:06 <Skid_GMing>: Oh. And nobody has been down this particular hallway in years.
20:06 <Ezra>: ugh
20:06 <Gareth>: I feel enlightened, assure Olwen we're fine, and listen at the door for Malvert.
20:07 <Skid_GMing>: You hear distant laughter.
20:07 <Gareth>: I open the door.
20:07 <Olwen>: "We did not just go in a circle." >-<
20:07 <Ezra>: So if that is true, which way did he go?
20:07 <Olwen>: I look through the door.
20:07 <Skid_GMing>: There's a splinter of roots as you push the door open, bringing you out of a hidden panel next to the ladder you descended on. You're back at the well-trodden entrance.
20:08 <Gareth>: How is that possible?
20:08 <Ezra>: Ugh
20:09 <Skid_GMing>: You have the clues you need on where you should search, actually.
20:09 <Ezra>: A trap door maybe?
20:09 <Gareth>: You said there was only one way to go!
20:09 <Olwen>: Up?
20:09 <Skid_GMing>: From your position in that part of the tunnel, yes.
20:09 <Ezra>: I scan the roof.
20:09 <Skid_GMing>: There giggling to the north, up the tunnel.
20:09 <Skid_GMing>: Past the pressure plates.
20:10 <Ezra>: oh...........
20:10 <Ezra>: in the middle of the loop
20:10 <Olwen>: "He's following us!"
20:10 <Gareth>: I can't envision these things.
20:10 <Ezra>: it goes around and he is at the core! right?
20:11 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you're in a square loop, at the southeast corner. Pressure plates on the east side, pit at the north, poison on the west, thumbtacks to the south.
20:12 <Skid_GMing>: Anyone here skilled in tracking?
20:12 <Gareth>: I need to start drawing these out or something as we go.
20:12 <Ezra>: yeah...
20:13 <Ezra>: So he is in the middle of the square, how do we get in there?
20:14 <Gareth>: Let's go back to the plates I want to check something.
20:14 <Ezra>: why not
20:14 <Gareth>: That's the easiest trap to avoid anyway.
20:14 <Olwen>: "He's on the other side of the pit."
20:14 <Gareth>: I go back to the plate room.
20:15 <Olwen>: I follow.
20:15 <Skid_GMing>: You go over to the plates.
20:15 <Ezra>: I follow them.
20:15 <Skid_GMing>: Lights on or off?
20:15 <Gareth>: I take the same path across.
20:15 <Olwen>: I examine the ground.
20:15 <Skid_GMing>: You cross safely.
20:16 <Skid_GMing>: You see that this area is worn with years of traffic.
20:16 <Gareth>: I go to those holes Olwen saw earlier.
20:16 <Ezra>: I tag along with a muddled look on my face.
20:16 <Ezra>: AH!
20:16 <Olwen>: I follow Gareth.
20:17 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, there are anuber of holes in a metal plate.
20:17 <Gareth>: I wave my hand in front of one and pull it back quickly in case something shoots out.
20:17 <Ezra>: "Perhaps those open door not deactivate the trap after all!"
20:17 <Skid_GMing>: Nothing happens.
20:17 <Olwen>: These are the holes I shoved arrows in, correct?
20:17 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:17 <Gareth>: I wave once more.
20:18 <Gareth>: I sigh and slowly look through one of the holes.
20:18 <Ezra>: How are the holes laid out?
20:18 <Skid_GMing>: It's dark inside.
20:18 <Skid_GMing>: They're in a horizontal row, about waist height.
20:18 <Ezra>: How many? Four right?
20:19 <Olwen>: Are the arrows still in there?
20:19 <Skid_GMing>: I think I said 7?
20:19 <Skid_GMing>: THe arrows are still there.
20:19 <Ezra>: Okay, 7...
20:19 <Gareth>: I step back and make sure I still have my face.
20:19 <Skid_GMing>: Your face is there.
20:19 <Gareth>: "This isn't a trap, it's something else."
20:19 <Ezra>: "Should I kick at it?"
20:20 <Gareth>: "Try pulling first."
20:20 <Ezra>: Right.
20:20 <Gareth>: Since you can grab the hole
20:20 <Skid_GMing>: strength check?
20:20 <Ezra>: !roll d20 strength check
20:20 <Dicebot>: Ezra, strength check: 5
20:20 <Ezra>: UGHGHGHGGHGHGHHGGH
20:21 <Skid_GMing>: A corner of the plate bends, revealing complicated mechanisms behind.
20:21 <Ezra>: Okay, who hear broke a mirror today?
20:21 <Skid_GMing>: You could put some effort into it...
20:21 <Ezra>: *sigh* okay
20:21 <Gareth>: He doesn't have any points to use!
20:21 <Ezra>: !roll d20 strength check, apply effort
20:21 <Dicebot>: Ezra, strength check, apply effort: 18
20:22 <Gareth>: Can't
20:22 <Ezra>:
20:22 <Gareth>: No...
20:22 <Skid_GMing>: Do you have 3 might points?
20:22 <Gareth>: Might is at 2?
20:22 <Ezra>: [I have three, remember?]
20:22 <Ezra>: Oh, waut, it says I have three on my sheet, is that wrong?
20:23 <Gareth>: You were at zero and healed 2?
20:23 <Skid_GMing>: Well, you can't impair yourself with effort, so it doesn't matter.
20:23 <Ezra>: I guess.... Okay
20:23 <Skid_GMing>: No matter, even without the effort the metal sheet pops off completely, revealing 7 automatic crossbows attched to trigger mechanisms.
20:23 <Gareth>: I jump back.
20:23 <Ezra>: I run
20:23 <Skid_GMing>: They don't fire.
20:23 <Ezra>: I run back
20:23 <Ezra>: "ahh, hey again."
20:24 <Skid_GMing>: Unless you flee wildly into the pressure plates...
20:24 <Gareth>: Ha
20:24 <Gareth>: "Not here. Onward."
20:24 <Olwen>: I go to the pit trap.
20:24 <Ezra>: Oh, ugh
20:25 <Skid_GMing>: You're at the pit trap. Once again, you notice that the tracks end at the very edge of it.
20:25 <Ezra>: Those are the holes where the bolts come out of, right?
20:25 <Gareth>: Right
20:25 <Ezra>: ugh
20:25 <Skid_GMing>: Those were, yes.
20:25 <Gareth>: For the red tiles
20:25 <Ezra>: Yahoo...
20:26 <Ezra>: I look at one of the arrows...
20:26 <Skid_GMing>: Also, you notice that it's very quiet.
20:26 <Ezra>: We should look for the laugh...
20:26 <Skid_GMing>: The bolts are fairly normal and cheap looking.
20:26 <Olwen>: I look into the pit.
20:26 <Gareth>: Do we dare try crossing this again?
20:26 <Ezra>: Is that the one I landed in?
20:26 <Skid_GMing>: It is the one.
20:26 <Ezra>: UGH
20:27 <Skid_GMing>: You notice a bit of blood, and the sides of the pit are obscured by loose roots.
20:27 <Ezra>: So I likely was right next to the door... I bet it is down there...
20:27 <Ezra>: Should we lower down?
20:27 <Olwen>: "Someone hold a rope. I'm going down."
20:28 <Gareth>: I grumble and take the rope.
20:28 <Olwen>: I slide down.
20:28 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you descend safely.
20:28 <Ezra>: I am going to use my action recovery roll...
20:28 <Gareth>: You already did.
20:28 <Gareth>: That's what I was saying earlier.
20:28 <Ezra>: That was my 10M one.
20:29 <Gareth>: You used the 10M last time.
20:29 <Skid_GMing>: You used that one last session, didn't you?
20:29 <Gareth>: Yes.
20:29 <Ezra>: oh, right, I forgot this is a part 2
20:29 <Gareth>: Either way both short ones are gone.
20:29 <Gareth>: Thus my suggesting a rest.
20:29 <Olwen>: Do I see anything?
20:30 <Skid_GMing>: You're standing gingerly on a surface of crushed glass, and yes, behind the hanging roots you see a primitive and narrow tunnel leading south.
20:30 <Ezra>: Right... Is it too late for a nap?
20:30 <Ezra>: UGH
20:30 <Ezra>: I was right there...
20:30 <Olwen>: You take a nap, I gaurd the tunnel.
20:30 <Ezra>: I face palm
20:30 <Gareth>: "You can't take another fall, use the rope."
20:30 <Ezra>: Okay! Yahoo!
20:30 <Gareth>: I hold it.
20:30 <Ezra>: Let us rest as she gaurds...
20:31 <Skid_GMing>: You want to camp there for an hour?
20:31 <Ezra>: How long to revive?
20:31 <Skid_GMing>: To reset all rolls? 10 hours. To just use the next one? 1 hour.
20:32 <Ezra>: Right, hour rest then.... :/
20:32 <Gareth>: >_>
20:32 <Skid_GMing>: You could go on without him.
20:32 <Ezra>: WHAT!!!
20:32 <Ezra>: I won't nap if you want to go on! :S
20:33 <Ezra>: Not keen on being alone with crazy joe behind the walls...
20:33 <Skid_GMing>: Someone make the call.
20:33 <Gareth>: I roll my glowstone around idly passing time because I don't need to rest.
20:33 <Olwen>: I stand in the pit.
20:33 <Ezra>: Right, let me roll recovery then...
20:33 <Skid_GMing>: It's eerily quiet.
20:33 <Skid_GMing>: Roll.
20:34 <Ezra>: cross your fingers and rub your cats toes.... :/
20:34 <Skid_GMing>: Very, very, quiet. Olwen, you'll need to refresh darkvision.
20:34 <Olwen>: I light my lantern instead.
20:34 <Skid_GMing>: Fair enough.
20:34 <Ezra>: !roll recovery 1d6+1 1H
20:34 <Ezra>: !roll recovery 1d6+1 1H
20:34 <Skid_GMing>: Recovery has to go after.
20:35 <Ezra>: Ezra, no 'd' in one of the dice parameters.
20:35 <Ezra>: :S
20:35 <Skid_GMing>: !roll 1d6+1
20:35 <Dicebot>: Skid_GMing: 5:4+1
20:35 <Gareth>: "Great. Now use the rope."
20:35 <Skid_GMing>: You regain 5 HP.
20:35 <Ezra>: Yahoo!!!
20:35 <Gareth>: I lower him down.
20:36 <Ezra>: I am lowered.
20:36 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, two of you are down.
20:36 <Ezra>: "What about you mate?" I call up to Gareth
20:37 <Olwen>: Can you tie the rope to something?
20:37 <Skid_GMing>: You can tie the rope off the the overhead grate to get yourself down.
20:37 <Gareth>: Hmm
20:37 <Gareth>: I tie the rope to the grate.
20:37 <Gareth>: And pull on it.
20:38 <Skid_GMing>: It's safe.
20:38 <Ezra>: Which is why it is there in the first place... Why we did not think of tis before I will never know.
20:38 <Gareth>: It could just as easily have been there to climb over as we thought.
20:38 <Skid_GMing>: Because you're not insanely paranoid adventurers yet.
20:39 <Gareth>: I am now.
20:39 <Gareth>: Being with him so much
20:39 <Gareth>: ;)
20:49 <Ezra>: I am not too... :p
20:39 <Skid_GMing>: So, you gather in the pit. The tunnel to the south is dark, narrow, and obscured by hanging roots.
20:39 <Olwen>: I go down the tunnel.
20:40 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you lead the way down the tunnel. It twists and turns, and then you hear a scream ahead. "STOP! GO AWAY!"
20:40 <Olwen>: "What's the matter?"
20:40 <Gareth>: I call again "We still just want to help you Malvert."
20:40 <Skid_GMing>: "YOU'RE TRYING TO TAKE MY SECRETS."
20:40 <Ezra>: "WE JUST WANT TO TALK! WE ARE NOT THE GHOSTS!"
20:41 <Gareth>: Lizards
20:41 <Skid_GMing>: "Wh... What ghosts?"
20:41 <Gareth>: ...
20:41 <Skid_GMing>: "WHY ARE THERE GHOSTS."
20:41 <Ezra>: "WE ARE ALSO NOT LIZARDS! WE ARE NOT BOTH!"
20:41 <Olwen>: -_-
20:41 <Skid_GMing>: Someone roll a diplomacy check.
20:41 <Ezra>: "WE ARE LIKE YOU!"
20:41 <Gareth>: "Because... someone died!"
20:42 <Gareth>: Trained persuasion
20:42 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained
20:42 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained: 6
20:42 <Ezra>: Good...
20:42 <Skid_GMing>: "The emperor died! The lizards killed him! I know!"
20:42 <Ezra>: *sigh*
20:43 <Olwen>: "We just want to protect you!"
20:43 <Gareth>: "Yes, we know, you tried to warn us!"
20:43 <Ezra>: Let me roll to see if he believes what he is saying....
20:43 <Skid_GMing>: We're roleplaying this bit.
20:43 <Gareth>: He's a lunatic of course he does
20:43 <Ezra>: Trained in Detecting Deception]
20:43 <Ezra>: Eh]
20:44 <Skid_GMing>: "I... I can't trust anyone."
20:44 <Skid_GMing>: "Nobody saved him."
20:44 <Gareth>: "You can trust us, we're with the Embers."
20:44 <Gareth>: I'm slowly advancing while we're talking.
20:45 <Ezra>: "Carful Gareth!"
20:45 <Skid_GMing>: "I don't... I don't know!"
20:45 <Skid_GMing>: "Can you avenge the Emperor?"
20:45 <Ezra>: "Yes, we will if you will help us!"
20:46 <Gareth>: "We can expose the imposter."
20:46 <Ezra>: "Yes, we can, if only you will let us."
20:46 <Gareth>: "But you have to do it with us, you're the one that knows the truth right?"
20:46 <Skid_GMing>: "Let me go then. My notes will tell you what you need to know."
20:46 <Gareth>: I motion for the others not to respond.
20:46 <Ezra>: "He seems harmless, but should we trust him?"
20:47 <Ezra>: WAIT This is the perfect time!
20:47 <Skid_GMing>: It sounds like he's probably only around a couple more corners.
20:47 <Ezra>: Trained in Detecting Deception, GM?]
20:47 <Skid_GMing>: Roll to detect deception.
20:47 <Ezra>: !roll d20 Trained Detecting Deception
20:47 <Dicebot>: Ezra, Trained Detecting Deception: 17
20:47 <Gareth>: I motion to huddle up.
20:47 <Ezra>: {at last! :D}
20:47 <Olwen>: "yes?"
20:48 <Skid_GMing>: He believes what he's said, but he's holding something back..
20:48 <Ezra>: We need to figure out what he is not telling us then...
20:48 <Gareth>: "Our mission is to bring him in."
20:48 <Olwen>: "We can't leave him running loose."
20:49 <Ezra>: "Maybe... Are we sure he is insane?"
20:49 <Gareth>: "Right. We can play into being on his side, but not that he can go."
20:49 <Gareth>: "We need to present a reason he needs to stay with us."
20:49 <Olwen>: "Good."
20:50 <Skid_GMing>: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING."
20:50 <Ezra>: "We want to help you take down the lizards."
20:50 <Gareth>: I said not to respond >_>
20:50 <Skid_GMing>: "Then let me go."
20:51 <Ezra>: Can't have him blast us with another trap though!"
20:52 <Gareth>: "We need to all do this together Malvert. Avenging the emperor needs you too."
20:52 <Ezra>: I say again, are we sure he is insane?
20:52 <Gareth>: I'm quite sure.
20:52 <Ezra>: Maybe though he did see something...
20:52 <Gareth>: Even if he's not he needs taken in.
20:53 <Gareth>: He almost killed you! I'm upset and annoyed.
20:53 <Skid_GMing>: It's quiet up the tunnel.
20:53 <Ezra>: Sure, he overreacted, but what if there is really something on the loose?
20:53 <Olwen>: We need to go up there.
20:53 <Ezra>: Yeah... I guess...
20:54 <Skid_GMing>: "HOW DO I KNOW YOU'RE REALLY EMBERS."
20:54 <Olwen>: "We have badges to prove it!"
20:54 <Ezra>: Should we send him our badge?
20:54 <Ezra>: We could send it in on our pet dog?
20:55 <Olwen>: "You mean you?"
20:55 <Ezra>: Yes.
20:55 <Skid_GMing>: "Let me see."
20:55 <Olwen>: "Gareth? What do you think?"
20:55 <Ezra>: Take a badge, put it in my k9 mouth, run it to him.
20:56 <Ezra>: "What say you?"
20:56 Gareth quit (Ping timeout)
20:56 <Olwen>: "He'll see you ."
20:57 <Olwen>: Can we pause?
20:57 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:58 <Ezra>: What shall we do as we wait?
20:59 <Skid_GMing>: Continue plotting?
21:00 <Ezra>: Right, I don't know, but I am going to just assume that these lizards of his are real. We need to run our badge to him.
21:00 <Skid_GMing>: And I apologize for the dungeon design. I asked if I should be evil or really evil in #aio and people said I should be really evil.
21:01 <Ezra>: People=Solo
21:01 <Ezra>: aka Whit
21:01 <Skid_GMing>: Yesss.
21:01 <Olwen>: Why can't we just ask if we can give it to him?
21:02 Gareth joined #Gowers
21:02 <Ezra>: He won't let us get near him.
21:02 <Skid_GMing>: So if there's any maiming to be done, do it to him. I deny any responsiblity for what I created.
21:02 <Ezra>: sending it to him on our "dog" would work tho
21:03 <Ezra>: So I think I should run him a badge...
21:04 <Olwen>: And you sriously think he won't be freaked out by you?
21:04 <Gareth>: "We're still over complicating it. Let me just try being direct."
21:04 <Ezra>: Ugh, you know that won't work!
21:05 <Ezra>: We tried that back at the tree!
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: You might want to specify how loud you talk, just so it's clear who you're talknig to.
21:05 <Olwen>: Try asking if we can show him, Gareth.
21:05 <Gareth>: "Come show me your papers and I can show you my badge. We're on the same side of this Malvert!"
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: "NO. Leave it there. Go back. I'll come look."
21:06 <Gareth>: "I can do that."
21:06 <Ezra>: "What if we sent it to you?"
21:06 <Skid_GMing>: "How?"
21:06 <Gareth>: Stop taking please
21:06 <Ezra>: :P
21:06 <Gareth>: We should only have one negotiator or the dude will just snap.
21:06 <Gareth>: Too much going on.
21:06 <Ezra>: If I do this, we get one of us up to him as well.
21:07 <Gareth>: As a dog
21:07 <Ezra>: Yes
21:07 <Gareth>: Takes a turn to turn back, he'll run away
21:07 <Ezra>: What?
21:08 <Gareth>: He will run away when you change back to human and we lose him
21:08 <Ezra>: I just won't that is all.
21:08 <Ezra>: Until I am out of sight I mean.
21:08 <Gareth>: Then how do we catch him?
21:08 <Gareth>: That's the whole point of this
21:08 <Ezra>: I don't think we will need to tie him up in the end of this.
21:09 <Skid_GMing>: WELL?"
21:09 <Gareth>: If the point of being a dog is just to show him the badge we can just toss it to him
21:09 <Olwen>: We still need to catch him, he's dangerous.
21:09 <Ezra>: Even if we do, you two can handle that.
21:09 <Ezra>: Are you sure though?
21:09 <Ezra>: I still have my doubts he is all crazy...
21:09 <Olwen>: Sure, you tell him, Gareth.
21:10 <Olwen>: That's not the point here.
21:10 <Gareth>: "I can do that Malvert, I'll put my badge down here, okay?"
21:10 <Skid_GMing>: "Get back then."
21:11 <Gareth>: I motion for the others to back up just to the first bend back.
21:11 <Ezra>: He my have seen something though... Okay, do this then, but please don't tie him up until we know what he knows...
21:11 <Ezra>: I walk back down the cave a bit.
21:11 <Gareth>: "If I do this, are you going to bring us the papers?"
21:11 <Skid_GMing>: You see a glimmer of lamplight appear around the bend of the tunnel about 10 feet ahead.
21:11 <Olwen>: I go back to the bend.
21:11 <Ezra>: Don't tie him up until we know what he knows, okay Gareth?
21:12 <Skid_GMing>: "I see... I see..."
21:12 <Skid_GMing>: "You are Embers, or have killed Embers. I will leave them."
21:12 <Gareth>: I hadn't dropped the badge or moved yet...
21:13 <Ezra>: [at this point, ya kinda did]
21:13 <Gareth>: I was trying to establish something first...
21:13 <Olwen>: You have now.
21:13 <Skid_GMing>: You withdrew.
21:13 <Gareth>: No they did
21:13 <Gareth>: I was still talking
21:13 <Gareth>: Whatever
21:13 <Ezra>: So let us get his papers
21:13 <Gareth>: I don't want his papers!
21:13 <Ezra>: I do!
21:14 <Ezra>: I still think he is not all you think Gareth.
21:14 <Gareth>: The point was to get him to BRING the papers.
21:14 <Gareth>: In person, so we can get him.
21:14 <Ezra>: I peek around the corner.
21:14 <Olwen>: Wait, Ezra. Gareth knows what he's doing.
21:14 <Gareth>: Not anymore :p
21:14 <Skid_GMing>: The badge is on the floor, there are some sheets of parchment next to it.
21:15 <Ezra>: At least look at the paper first man!
21:15 <Olwen>: Should we go after him?
21:15 <Olwen>: Get the papers and let's go.
21:15 <Skid_GMing>: Just beyond them squats Malvert, crossbow in one hand, lantern in the other.
21:15 <Ezra>: I pick up the papers
21:16 <Ezra>: [undo
21:16 <Ezra>: [I did not read it yet
21:16 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, waiting for a bit.
21:16 <Olwen>: "Do you see? We're here to help."
21:16 <Gareth>: "Is this what we need Malvert?"
21:17 <Skid_GMing>: "It's what I can give you. Why are you really here?"
21:17 <Gareth>: "Can you please put down the weapon first? Just to show we're on good terms?"
21:17 <Ezra>: Come on, let us get the papers.
21:17 <Ezra>: I don't think he will shoot us. He is all into traps.
21:18 <Gareth>: I don't think so either - I'm worried about him shooting himself!
21:18 <Gareth>: We're supposed to take him into custody.
21:18 <Skid_GMing>: He sighs and lowers the crossbow.
21:18 <Ezra>: Right, just please don't try to tie him up Gareth
21:18 <Ezra>: I want to know what those papers say first.
21:18 <Gareth>: "Good! Now, how can we help you make this right?"
21:19 <Ezra>: Oh, I give up. Let me just pick them up...
21:19 <Olwen>: (Calm down, we'll get them.)
21:19 <Skid_GMing>: "Take what I know and go."
21:20 <Gareth>: "Can't you help us?"
21:20 <Ezra>: Or at the least, please promise not to do anything to him yet!
21:20 <Gareth>: I'm not going to!
21:20 <Ezra>: Okay, good
21:20 <Skid_GMing>: "What could I do. I couldn't save him."
21:21 <Gareth>: "I know, neither could we, but we can at least stop the imposter."
21:21 <Olwen>: "You could help us save everyone else."
21:21 <Gareth>: "We have to do what we can now, to make up for that."
21:21 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, roll diplomacy.
21:21 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth.
21:22 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained
21:22 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained: 19
21:22 <Ezra>: There we are.
21:22 <Skid_GMing>: "You... you're right. I'm finished. I will go with you."
21:23 <Gareth>: "Okay, we're going to meet some allies and form a plan."
21:24 <Gareth>: (So he is expecting to be turned over, so we don't need to restrain him to follow along)
21:24 <Skid_GMing>: "Tell nobody." He says, vehemantly.
21:24 <Skid_GMing>: He's up and moving down the tunnel towards you.
21:24 <Gareth>: "You think we can do this ourselves?"
21:25 <Ezra>: I say again, before we hand him over, we should know what he knows!
21:25 <Gareth>: "We have allies we can trust."
21:25 <Skid_GMing>: "No, but nobody else can. The emperor couldn't stop them. How much worse a chance do you have?"
21:26 <Gareth>: I look at Ezra and then eye the papers.
21:26 <Ezra>: Right, you got it.
21:26 <Gareth>: Nonverbal message: skim those and see if you can gleam something we can use here
21:26 <Olwen>: (I have to go. We're almost done, right?)
21:26 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:26 <Skid_GMing>: Just get moving already.
21:26 <Olwen>: (OK, bye everyone.)
21:26 <Ezra>: I go over and pick up the papers, looking at what they have on them.
21:26 Olwen quit
21:27 <Ezra>: [awe, part 3 is this?
21:27 <Gareth>: I don't have to go yet
21:27 <Gareth>: Do you?
21:27 <Ezra>: [nope I have time
21:27 <Gareth>: We can finish then
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: They have apparently insane scribbling on them, they'll take some time to try to decypher. (you'll get a post mission info drop)
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: And it's kinda dim for reading.
21:28 <Ezra>: I say we don't hand him over yet. We read these papers, talk with him, then judge if he is insane or not...
21:28 <Skid_GMing>: Malvert starts pushing past you towards the exit.
21:29 <Gareth>: The rope?
21:29 <Ezra>: I hold him back.
21:29 <Skid_GMing>: Malvert stops and looks at you, growing suspicious.
21:29 <Skid_GMing>: The rope is still there, isn't it?
21:30 <Ezra>: "Hold up, we need to go together in case there are any lizards around. Safety in numbers."
21:31 <Skid_GMing>: "Then we should move."
21:31 <Gareth>: Yes the rope is still there, I was just seeing what kind of 'exit' we were talking about, one he could easily flee down or not.
21:32 <Skid_GMing>: Well, just down the tunnel until you all reach the pit.
21:32 <Skid_GMing>: You're not sure how spry the old guy is.
21:33 <Gareth>: So I am completely at a loss how to proceed.
21:33 <Gareth>: I have some things I'd like to do
21:33 <Ezra>: Well, we have our friend with us now...
21:33 <Skid_GMing>: Well, he's not going to wait forever.
21:33 <Ezra>: What do you have in mind Gareth?
21:34 <Gareth>: But the unknown craziness makes choosing the wrong one an issue
21:34 <Ezra>: Still, what are your ideas?
21:35 <Gareth>: My gut is tie him up and get him to the constable already. Even if he leaves here with us we can't keep up the charade forever.
21:35 <Gareth>: He's going to bolt.
21:35 <Ezra>: I say no. We need to stay on his side.
21:36 <Gareth>: I know but how can we be sure we do
21:36 <Gareth>: Primary objective is to get him into custody.
21:36 <Ezra>: Is it?
21:36 <Gareth>: Yes
21:36 <Skid_GMing>: And here we have a primary example of lawful vs. chaotic methodology.
21:36 <Ezra>: Maybe I am just as crazy as him, but what if he is on to something?
21:37 <Gareth>: @Skid I'm just wanting to make sure we get paid!
21:37 <Gareth>: If we fail the mission the Embers get mad
21:37 <Ezra>: That should come second, agreed?
21:38 <Gareth>: Completing our mission? No!
21:38 <Ezra>: Getting paid?
21:39 <Ezra>: I want to confirm his insanity first, that is all.
21:39 <Gareth>: If we play along with the lizard people that's great - as long as in the END we turn him in. That is what we are here to do.
21:39 <Gareth>: The problem is we aren't sure we can have it both ways.
21:40 <Gareth>: Playing along might make use lose control.
21:40 <Ezra>: If he saw something unearthly, he might have gone off a bit too much, paranoid and the like.
21:41 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, work this out fast.
21:41 <Ezra>: Okay, let us lay this out. It is rather muddled
21:41 <Gareth>: I have no idea what to do, and am unwilling to risk choosing worng, so you do what you think.
21:41 <Gareth>: I'll try to react if it goes bad.
21:42 <Skid_GMing>: It's... going to go bad.
21:42 <Gareth>: No matter what?
21:42 <Skid_GMing>: No, I'm just being negative.
21:43 <Ezra>: Oh...
21:43 <Gareth>: Are we supposed to get him to the constable or not?
21:43 <Gareth>: That was the mission caption.
21:43 <Skid_GMing>: It's the mission given, but this is a roleplaying game.
21:43 <Ezra>: Okay, here. We play along with the lizards, believe everything he says, if he does something where he is about to hurt someone, we tie him up and take him in.
21:44 <Gareth>: I just don't want to get fired.
21:44 <Gareth>: I climb the rope.
21:45 <Ezra>: I don't want it to end up that there are really lizard people and we helped them.
21:45 <Skid_GMing>: All right. You all move back into the upper tunnels.
21:45 <Skid_GMing>: Malvert looks sad about the broken crossbow cover.
21:46 <Ezra>: "It was a good trap mate! It would have fooled a lizard..."
21:46 <Gareth>: "We thought it was the door is all. We'll fix it later."
21:46 <Skid_GMing>: "Can't come back here. It's comprimised."
21:46 <Skid_GMing>: "I'll go to the mountains."
21:47 <Ezra>: I look at Gareth.
21:47 <Gareth>: Yes?
21:47 <Ezra>: I say again, we should go along with this. Shall we let him take us there?
21:48 <Gareth>: I don't care what we do as long as he doesn't run away.
21:48 <Ezra>: Then we agree on this much for sure. Good.
21:49 <Skid_GMing>: So... onward to the ladder?
21:49 <Ezra>: "Good idea. What part of the mountains did you have in mind?"
21:49 <Skid_GMing>: "Can't tell you that."
21:49 <Ezra>: "Very well."
21:49 <Gareth>: I go first.
21:49 <Ezra>: I let Malvert go next.
21:49 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you reach the ladder.
21:50 <Skid_GMing>: Climb?
21:51 <Gareth>: I go up.
21:51 <Skid_GMing>: You return to the surface. Gareth, Malvert, and then Ezra and Olwen. The tree has extingushed itself, and seems to have calmed significantly.
21:52 <Ezra>: "Which way Malvert?"
21:53 <Skid_GMing>: "Well, you've captured me, haven't you? To town."
21:54 <Skid_GMing>: Roll to detect deception.
21:54 <Gareth>: Ugh
21:54 <Ezra>: He still does not get we want to help him?
21:54 <Ezra>: !roll d20 trained detect deception
21:54 <Dicebot>: Ezra, trained detect deception: 14
21:55 <Gareth>: !roll d20
21:55 <Dicebot>: Gareth: 14
21:55 <Skid_GMing>: He has no intention of reaching town.
21:55 <Ezra>: [he means me I am trained]
21:55 <Skid_GMing>: Nah, you both get that.
21:55 <Gareth>: He (Malvert) was talking to both of us so we both can check
21:55 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:55 <Ezra>: Right, and again I say, we go with him.
21:56 <Skid_GMing>: Well, he's walking towards town right now.
21:56 <Ezra>: "We have not 'captured' you! We want to help you."
21:56 <Gareth>: "We need some help deciphering your notes."
21:56 <Skid_GMing>: "But they can't know that. Keep it down."
21:57 <Skid_GMing>: You see the constable standing at the edge of the clearing, about 50 feet away.
21:58 <Ezra>: Are we really doing this? I still say we should go with him...
21:58 <Gareth>: He's not going anywhere.
21:58 <Ezra>: He will run if we try to hand him over.
21:58 <Gareth>: He will try to run, but we will stop him. If we go on a camping trip with him who knows what will happen
22:01 <Gareth>: He'll probably slink away first night.
21:59 <Gareth>: I need a cell phone so I can call Ember HQ for consultation >_>
21:59 <Ezra>: O_0
21:59 <Ezra>: We have cellphones?
22:00 <Skid_GMing>: You do not.
22:00 <Ezra>: Does anyone?
22:00 <Skid_GMing>: No.
22:00 <Ezra>: Are there even any towers?
22:00 <Gareth>: Lol
22:00 <Skid_GMing>: There are flares, fires, and caravans.
22:00 <Skid_GMing>: That's what you've got for long-range coms.
22:00 <Ezra>: ... right
22:00 <Ezra>: I thought as much... :P
22:01 <Ezra>: Look, let us not turn him in right away.
22:01 <Skid_GMing>: The constable looks... taken aback at how well armed Malvert still is.
22:01 <Ezra>: Worst thing that can happen, we are a bit late...
22:01 <Gareth>: He's armed?
22:01 <Skid_GMing>: Did you search him or take his crossbow away?
22:02 <Gareth>: He put the crossbow down?
22:02 <Skid_GMing>: He lowered it.
22:02 <Gareth>: ...
22:02 <Gareth>: That changes a lot
22:02 <Skid_GMing>: It might.
22:02 <Ezra>: Again I say, to the mountains or where ever he want to go...
22:02 <Gareth>: I hate this
22:03 <Gareth>: I need objectives
22:03 <Skid_GMing>: Use your judgement. What does your character want most?
22:03 <Ezra>: Mine says trust him.
22:03 <Gareth>: My character wants to not get fired by the Embers!
22:04 <Ezra>: Right, so I don't know about you, but we should not hand him over yet.
22:05 <Gareth>: Again, that's fine with me if the key word is "yet"
22:05 <Ezra>: Good. Yet.
22:05 <Skid_GMing>: Well, you're at the constable. If you want the first word, say it now.
22:05 <Gareth>: But if we don't, do we seriously go on a trek into the mountains with him?
22:05 <Ezra>: If we hand him over, the end, if we let him take us out there, there may be yet more to find.
22:06 <Gareth>: I mean is Skid going to do that? Or is it a cinematic ending either way?
22:06 <Gareth>: 'This happens if we turn hin over this happens if we don't'
22:06 <Gareth>: Or do we actually play it out?
22:06 <Ezra>: I do think we can handle him. There are three of us, and his main weapon is his traps which he can not carry.
22:06 <Skid_GMing>: Cinematic either way.
22:07 <Gareth>: Okay
22:07 <Gareth>: That's what I've needed to know
22:07 <Ezra>: What?
22:07 <Gareth>: If we let him go, Skid will tell us what happens.
22:07 <Gareth>: We don't roleplay it.
22:09 <Gareth>: Which makes me even more wary of not completing the mission.
22:09 <Gareth>: With no control of the other option we likely won't.
22:07 <Skid_GMing>: "Malvert." The Constable says. "I'm here to ask you to pay... uh... for... uh."
22:08 <Ezra>: What?
22:08 <Ezra>: Oh I see!
22:08 <Ezra>: I think, GM will tell us what goes down?
22:08 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
22:09 <Ezra>: All the way to the end, or just to the point of us being in the mountains?
22:09 <Skid_GMing>: "And what would that be?" Malvert asks.
22:09 <Skid_GMing>: We'll work out how the after works when you deal with the situation at hand.
22:09 <Ezra>: Okay...
22:10 <Ezra>: Well what harm can letting him take us go up there for a bit have?
22:10 <Gareth>: I watch the crossbow carefully, but don't interfere in the conversation.
22:11 <Gareth>: Because my character is just as maddeningly frozen as I am
22:10 <Skid_GMing>: "Whatever. This should cover the bill." He pulls an item from his belt.
22:11 <Skid_GMing>: Aaand make speed or intellect defense rolls, whatever you're better at.
22:11 <Ezra>: What?
22:11 <Ezra>: Okay?
22:11 <Skid_GMing>: He just pulled a flashbang.
22:11 <Ezra>: !rolls dodge
22:12 <Gareth>: !roll d20 effort
22:12 <Dicebot>: Gareth, effort: 18
22:12 <Ezra>: !rolls d20 dodge trained
22:12 <Ezra>: !roll d20 dodge trained
22:12 <Dicebot>: Ezra, dodge trained: 9
22:12 <Ezra>: yay
22:13 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth, you cover your head just as the bomb goes off you. Your ears ring with the explosion, but you aren't blinded.
22:13 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra, you're just a hair too slow, you're blinded by the flash and deafened by the explosion.
22:13 <Skid_GMing>: The constable goes down, stunned.
22:13 <Ezra>: [indeed]
22:14 <Skid_GMing>: Malvert bolts into the woods.
22:14 <Gareth>: I use force push
22:14 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
22:15 <Gareth>: He wasn't stunned??
22:15 <Skid_GMing>: He's not running very steadily, but he's not down.
22:16 <Gareth>: Could I catch him by running?
22:16 <Skid_GMing>: You might be able to.
22:16 <Ezra>: Here we go again...
22:16 <Gareth>: Hmm, to be clear, the reason I want to push him is to knock him off his feet so I can catch up to him.
22:16 <Gareth>: Can it work that way?
22:17 <Skid_GMing>: Force pushing him can knock him down.
22:17 <Gareth>: I don't want to kill him from the impact or anyhing, just trip him.
22:17 <Gareth>: !roll d20 effort accuracy
22:17 <Dicebot>: Gareth, effort accuracy : 9
22:17 <Skid_GMing>: You miss.
22:17 <Ezra>: Shall I run after him?
22:17 <Skid_GMing>: You're blind, but you can try.
22:17 <Gareth>: I kill Ezra
22:17 <Ezra>: WHAT
22:18 <Gareth>: I told you this would happen!!!!
22:18 <Gareth>: I run after him.
22:18 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for movement.
22:19 <Gareth>: !roll d20 effort
22:19 <Dicebot>: Gareth, effort: 15
22:19 <Ezra>: I told you we should have just gone with him to start with...
22:19 <Gareth>: We couldn't!
22:19 <Gareth>: The constable stopped us
22:19 <Ezra>: I know... *sigh*
22:19 <Skid_GMing>: You start to overtake him. He turns to shoot you with the crossbow. Roll to dodge.
22:19 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained dodging
22:19 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained dodging: 15
22:20 <Skid_GMing>: You evade.
22:20 <Skid_GMing>: The bolt shoot harmlessly to your left.
22:20 <Ezra>: I guess at this point we have no hope of being his allies, eh?
22:21 <Gareth>: I'd say no
22:21 <Ezra>: *sigh*
22:21 <Ezra>: At the least we have these papers...
22:21 <Gareth>: I doubt we ever were to begin with, he's incapable of trusting anyone.
22:21 <Gareth>: I tackle him?
22:22 <Skid_GMing>: But he disappears into the trees. You follow for a while, but he's gone. Pinned to a tree with a bolt you find a note and a hanging pair of goggles. "There isn't much hope left, but you may have a chance. Take these lenses, they will protect you from the lizard's eyes."
22:22 <Gareth>: ...what
22:23 <Ezra>: Just as well...
22:23 <Ezra>: I still tend to believe him...
22:23 <Gareth>: I was overtaking him??
22:23 <Skid_GMing>: Not exactly.
22:23 <Ezra>: Take the googles!
22:24 <Ezra>: We will need them if we see a lizard, if they are real...
22:24 <Skid_GMing>: Need to wrap this up. He's not an encounter to tackle solo in his favoured terrain.
22:25 <Gareth>: I tear the note down, throw the goggles to Ezra's feet, and storm back to the constable.
22:25 <Gareth>: He better still be there.
22:25 <Skid_GMing>: Everyone gets 3 XP for mission completion, 1 XP to give away, and 5 Nobles pay, and a dressing-down from the commander.
22:25 <Ezra>: I take the googles and put them on for the sake of it.
22:26 <Skid_GMing>: The goggles make the world purple-tinted.
22:26 <Ezra>: Nice!
22:26 <Ezra>: What are they called?
22:27 <Skid_GMing>: They're Malvert's Goggles of Lizard Warding.
22:27 <Ezra>: added to my inventory
22:27 <Gareth>: The constable?
22:28 <Skid_GMing>: He's dazed and doesn't seem to remember what just happened.
22:28 <Ezra>: I also have the notes....
22:28 <Ezra>: what are they called?
22:28 <Skid_GMing>: Malvert's Notes.
22:29 <Ezra>: right
22:30 <Gareth>: I drop onto him with force, holding him down angrily, unable to think of how to phrase what I want to question but trusting he gathers the rage surely physically emanating from me
22:30 <Ezra>: XD
22:31 <Skid_GMing>: In the fallout of the next few days Malvert's tree is cut down and sold off for hundreds of Nobles in blackwood. His eviction from the area seems to be a relief for everyone.
22:31 <Ezra>: hm... to easy maybe, or who knows...
22:32 <Skid_GMing>: Oh, much too easy.
22:32 <Ezra>: Knowing you, I thought as much! XD
22:32 <Gareth>: Was there any scenario where this went right?
22:32 <Skid_GMing>: Well, you could have tied him up.
22:33 <Skid_GMing>: Or killed him.
22:33 <Ezra>: Yes, but I still believe him...
22:33 <Ezra>: L8r mates!
22:34 <Gareth>: I was trying to lead things there but the action started too quickly
22:34 <Skid_GMing>: Or I suppose you could have snuck him out and just told everyone he wasn't there at all.
22:35 Ezra quit
22:35 <Skid_GMing>: Maybe a team leader should be agreed on for the next mission.
22:35 <Skid_GMing>: Otherwise people /will/ just keep doing the first thing that comes to mind.
22:36 <Gareth>: In my debriefing I make it clear that I did my level best to stick to the mission objective
22:36 <Skid_GMing>: Yeah, write up a good journal post about how terribly it went.. You will get XP for it.
22:37 <Skid_GMing>: And... search a guy before you arrest him. He's probably got toys on him.
22:37 <Gareth>: Again, I was trying to get to that, but I lagged out and when I got back it was too late
22:39 <Skid_GMing>: From a purely meta-game perspective? You lost out on 20 Nobles in bonus pay. That's about it.
22:40 <Gareth>: The Embers have doubts about my effectiveness now
22:41 <Skid_GMing>: You're a rookie. Kinda to be expected.
22:41 <Gareth>: But this wasn't my fault! Black mark on my record that was avoidable.
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Skid
Still standing tall
Posts: 1343
Joined: November 2006
Location: The Frozen North

Post by Skid »

Sorry about the delay in updates guys, I went down with food poisoning a couple days ago, so there's that.

Bookworm and Tikvah, you each earn 2 XP for thorough journal updates through the last two sessions.

Also, Bookworm has mentioned that he'll probably be available at 6 rather than 7, so if our other regulars show up early we can start then.
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LIGHTNING
Pilgrim
Posts: 255
Joined: February 2015
Location: NC > KY > NV

Post by LIGHTNING »

I give my XP to Gareth, for understanding my mindset, even if not agreeing with it...

-- 09 May 2015, 20:08 --
Personal Thoughts of Ezra as he Awaits Sleep
*lays down, ears still ringing a bit from that flashbomb* Hm, I wonder about that old man... Does he know more than the others think? I think I almost believe him... Ha, maybe I am crazy too... *glances over at my belongings, the goggles rest on the top of the bundle* I think I will keep those handy... One never knows... *turns on my side* You know, this does help... It was a good thing that I joined. The first day was hard, but it is getting easier already... *rolls on my back and wince at the bruises* Ah yes... My epic fall... *sighs* I sure had an unlucky day though... Maybe I am distracted... This all still feels awkward, but I don't know. *thoughts tempt to surface, thought of the past* No, not tonight... It was a good day, all things considered. Though I think that one mage hates me now... At least the old man got away... I think he does indeed have more sense than the others say! Hm, but maybe he is just a very creative yet still just as crazy old man... Well, I hope he enjoys the mountains anyway. *looks over at the goggles again* I will have to study those more. Maybe try them on for a day. *remembers the notes* Ah yes, so much to do, and all in the end to find that he is crazy most likely. *laughs to myself* Lizards... Hm... Still, I will keep it in mind... *slowly rolls over and drifts to sleep*
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Skid
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Post by Skid »

A terrible sandstorm meant a lazy day spent sheltering at the Mean Minotaur in Great Oasis. That was the idea, anyway. Then a child went missing. And giant flying vortex-octopus crash-landed on the stables. And Olwen got eaten by it. But all turned out well in the end.

Rewards: 2 XP a piece to Lightning, Olwen, and Gareth for participation, 1 XP to give away, and 10 Nobles each for mission pay. Gareth and Olwen each earn 10 bonus Nobles for injury-in-combat pay. And Victor offers all three free drinks at the Mean Minotaur for life.
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Tikvah
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Post by Tikvah »

I give my XP to Lightning for protecting the child. (Even if I disagree with how you did it.)
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Post by bookworm »

I give my XP to Tikvah because she almost died. She can use it to buy more pool points sometime or something; we can never let it get that close again!
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Pengwin
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Post by Pengwin »

I again wasn't able to make it. I apologize. :( Tikvah told me that it was gonna start soon on the chat last night, but I was going somewhere so I wouldn't have internet connection and I was away for longer than I thought. Again, I'm sorry =[
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Post by bookworm »

Excerpt from the journal of Gareth Trevelyan
The world is a dangerous place. We learned well last night that even when we are not on assignment we face peril. Indeed, our party endured our most dangerous encounter thus far in an incident which the Embers had no part in arranging.

We were staying at the Mean Minotaur inn between missions. That evening a vicious sandstorm was rolling in so it was bustling with people looking to find secure lodging while it passed. I was taking advantage of the welcome downtime to unwind when Olwen informed me that a mother had lost track of her young son. Of course that was just as the storm hit us full force. Our charge is to aid, assigned mission or no, so we helped her search. Not finding him inside we braved the storm to check the stable area. It was a tense trek around the building, the powerful wind whipping in every direction. At one point Olwen remarked that her badge had flashed. I knew magical phenomena was an element of these storms and so assumed it was a passing portal to The Vortex. Not uncommon. Further on we located the boy. He was properly frightened and eager to be returned to his mother. Our return trip along the wall was interrupted by an entire side of the stable splintering apart. Some of the debris caught me as it blew past, stinging sharply. I thought the damage was due to the violent storm. If only that had been the cause.

We rounded the corner to come face to claw with some kind of tentacle. Carefully advancing past it we saw the origin was a gigantic bloated stalker! The portal may have been passing, but it opened long enough to let something through. Olwen had managed to sever the original tendril, but it quickly lashed out with more, one of which caught her and began dragging her in. Ezra moved to lead the boy back inside. I urged him to stay and help us in the fight as it was clear this creature would need many attacks to defeat, but he would not be swayed. He kept saying we needed to keep the child safe. I didn't understand what his dilemma was, he acted as if the two actions were mutually exclusive, that fighting meant the child would die. Olwen and I were not saying feed the boy to this creature and come help us, of course make sure he made it somewhere safe - all we meant was that didn't mean he needed guided all the way back to the inn this very instant. Take him around the corner and return to help against the monster! If it was as deadly as it appeared it would take our combined effort to best. Leaving us down a fighter was an extremely dangerous proposition, if the two of us were unable to take it on then it left him to face it alone. If two couldn't beat it one certainly couldn't, and then with all of us dead the people in the inn were next. It would have made no difference the boy was taken inside if he ended up eaten anyway! Perhaps the intensity of the situation momentarily confused him, but I am simply unable to grasp what Ezra's reasoning in priorities was there. It should have been clear what the prudent action was, if considering the big picture of the situation. It was reminiscent of our first mission where he had ran ahead and left the rest of us to deal with that bear creature. That time it hadn't been a significant issue, we were able to defeat it relatively easily. This was different though, this was clearly a major threat that required all our firepower.

Ezra did leave however, and so it was up to me to attempt regaining the upper hand while we still could. I mustered all the effort I could to put an extra jolt in my plasma spell and fired it at the beast, which was about to swallow Olwen. I hoped the attack would turn its attention to me, but it was not so easily diverted. I watched in horror as it pulled her into its gaping mouth. Clearly our time was very short, we had to find a way to best this monster now! I heard a bow twang from inside it; Olwen was still fighting! Another tentacle lashed out and caught me with its spikes, causing a nasty wound. Before I could fully process what happened it pulled me into its mouth as well. I found myself alongside Olwen among rows of gnashing teeth. Our situation was most dire. I prepared what may have been the final spell I was able to cast and zapped the beast with everything I had. To our great relief its grip loosened and it began to collapse. We cut ourselves out as the boy was being reunited with his mother.

We were rewarded with the inn's best rooms and free drinks for life. We also took the creature's teeth as trophies. And when the Embers learned of our ordeal they provided us mission pay even though we had not been on assignment, which was very good of them. I certainly would not say the incident was 'worth it' but at least we survived.
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Post by Tikvah »

Olwen's journal entry:

A member of the Ember Patrol never rests. I found that out to my cost while we were awaiting a mission at the Great Oasis. Gareth, Ezra, and myself were staying at the Mean Minotaur Inn when a large sandstorm blew in. It being evident we could not move out till the storm cleared I busied myself talking with a woman traveling with her young son. As I was talking about her travels, I noticed that her son had wandered off. Quickly recruiting Gareth to help, we began to search the Inn. While Gareth searched rooms upstairs, I went to the stables where after some length of searching I found a door that had been partially pulled away, leaving a space large enough for the child to escape. Ezra had followed me to the stables and now went to fetch Gareth, while I opened the door. Together we fought our way around the building toward the Oasis Pit, where we feared he might be. As we went along, I noticed my badge briefly flash purple, but Gareth passed it off as coming from the storm. About halfway around, I heard a large cash against the building. While the others continued looking for the child, I went back to investigate. Rounding a corner, I saw a large dark mass against the house. Foolishly I approached it when suddenly a large tentacle reached out and pinned me against a wall. I heard the others returning when they reached the end of the tentacle that had me pinned. I sliced through the leathery thing with my dagger, only in time to be snatched up by another one and slowly pulled towards it's gaping maw. I heard Gareth behind me fighting it, but Ezra was nowhere to be fond. I later learned that he had gone to return the child to the inn. I admit, when I heard it I was a little confused that he waited to melt the locked door with acid instead of knocking on it and letting one of the many people inside open it.
The giant creature puled me into it's mouth, where it housed a great number of sharp teeth. After struggling with it for a few seconds, I decided that it was hopeless to try and escape. My only option was to take it down from the inside. I pulled out my bow and shot and arrow down it's throat. There was no immediate reaction, but eventually I noticed that the monster seemed to be deflating. Outside, I heard Gareth deliver a mighty blast of lightning at the creature, causing it do slump to the ground, dead. I cut my way out to find Ezra just returning. We pulled out the creature's (which I later learned was called a bloated stalker) teeth and divided them out amongst us.
Later we learned that we were to receive pay from the Patrol, even though we weren't on a mission. I'm glad that for once, the action didn't take place in some dirty cave.
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Post by bookworm »

Sandstorm Attack
A terrible sandstorm means a lazy day spent sheltering at the Mean Minotaur in Great Oasis. That was the idea, anyway...
18:19 bookworm is now known as Gareth
18:20 Tikvah is now known as Olwen
18:38 LIGHTNING is now known as Ezra
18:39 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you find yourselves staying at the Mean Minotaur between regularly scheduled missions. It's a respectable hall perched on the edge of the Great Oasis. The Hall is cool and comfortable despite the blistering desert sun, and Victor the Bartender does a brisk business in magically-iced drinks. The place is bustling with activity, as a rolling sandstorm is about to shut down travel in every direction and caravaneers are vying for the best rooms and stables.
18:41 <Skid_GMing>: You notice a peculular group of mixed company, old and very young, with little in the way of material posessions. They're pilgrims headed for the healing waters of Black Spring.
18:42 <Skid_GMing>: What are you each doing as you plan to settle in for the night?
18:43 <Ezra>: I stand just outside the door, gazing up at the sky and thinking.
18:43 <Gareth>: If we say drinking, do we actually have to buy one from real money?
18:44 <Skid_GMing>: You have a few odd coppers you picked up in your travels that can go to drinks.
18:44 <Gareth>: And what time of day is this?
18:45 <Olwen>: I'm talking with some random traveler.
18:45 <Skid_GMing>: It is evening. The sun will set in a hour, but the sandstorm will arrive sell before then.
18:45 <Ezra>: [let me know when the wind starts to blow, because I will head in then]
18:45 <Gareth>: I'm sitting at a back table with a drink, smoking my pipe, just relaxing.
18:47 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra: As you stand outside and watch the storm approach, it engulfs the desert and begins to blot out the sun. The wind picks up, driving stinging clouds of sand. The last caravaneers turn to get themselves inside.
18:48 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth, you take in the ambiance.
18:48 <Ezra>: I sigh and turn inside.
18:49 <Ezra>: I look around, seeing who is in the tavern.
18:50 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen, you find yourself in in a conversation with a young pilgrim woman. She's taking her 7-year-old son to the springs in the hopes that they will cure him of a malignant rash.
18:50 <Ezra>: I head to a dark corner of the room to watch the goings on, and to study how each person interacts with each other.
18:50 <Olwen>: I ask her where she's from.
18:51 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra, the tavern is jammed with merchants, servants, pilgrims, bards, and assorted scoundrels.
18:52 <Ezra>: For the sake of it I put on Malvert's Goggles of Lizard Warding and lean back.
18:52 <Skid_GMing>: "Cairnport. Where do you come from?"
18:52 <Ezra>: I think about getting a drink...
18:52 <Skid_GMing>: You put your goggles on and blend into the crowd.
18:53 <Olwen>: "I'm from Blacktree."
18:54 <Skid_GMing>: "Ah, then you're far from home. But I guess you're used to this life."
18:54 <Skid_GMing>: "And it must be so much easier without children."
18:54 <Olwen>: "Indeed it is. How long have you been traveling?"
18:54 <Ezra>: [Does anyone stand out for any reason?]
18:55 <Skid_GMing>: "Just this past week. I've never been this far from the coast."
18:56 <Olwen>: "I trust your travels have been uneventful?"
18:56 <Skid_GMing>: The storm arrives with a vengance and the hall groans as gusts of wond begin to rock it on its foundations. Sand sifts in through tiny cracks.
18:58 <Skid_GMing>: The woman cringes. "Until now. Are the storms always like this?"
18:58 <Skid_GMing>: Actually, roll a perception check.
18:59 <Ezra>: !roll d20 perception
18:59 <Dicebot>: Ezra, perception: 11
18:59 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized perception
18:59 <Dicebot>: Olwen, specialized perception: 19
18:59 <Skid_GMing>: All right.
18:59 <Ezra>: [oh, sorry, thought you say me what with the Actually]
19:00 <Olwen>: "Where has your son gone?"
19:00 <Olwen>: I look around.
19:00 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra: All the travellers have unique points, any specific qualities you're looking for?
19:01 <Skid_GMing>: "What...? He was just..." She starts to look around, instantly becoming frantic.
19:02 <Olwen>: "I'll look around, see if I can find him."
19:02 <Skid_GMing>: "Daniel! Daniel!"
19:02 <Olwen>: I go over to Gareth.
19:02 <Ezra>: [underdogs in a fight or scuffle, people that seem notably sad or distressed, or any other people watching from the shadows]
19:02 <Skid_GMing>: She's attracted the attention of nearby travellers who start to look around, idly.
19:02 <Olwen>: "Gareth, you seen a 7-year old named Daniel go through here?"
19:03 <Gareth>: "I haven't, is there a problem?"
19:04 <Skid_GMing>: For general information: There's the double front doors that lead out into the desert. They're barred. There's a side door that leads to the balcony over the oasis pit, and another back door that leads out into the stables.
19:04 <Olwen>: "He's missing, I'll check the stables."
19:04 <Olwen>: I head for stable door.
19:05 <Ezra>: [do I notice any of this?]
19:05 <Skid_GMing>: You notice everything I've been typing in main chat.
19:05 <Ezra>:
19:06 <Ezra>: I walk up to the woman.
19:06 <Ezra>: "What happened? Is everything okay?"
19:07 <Ezra>: [I assume I was unable to overhear them.]
19:07 <Skid_GMing>: You pass through to the stables, the woman right behind. They're far leakier than the main hall, and hot sand lashes against your face as you step through. A few merchants stand around, trying to calm the hundred-odd beasts sheltered here.
19:07 <Gareth>: I frown and survey the room.
19:07 <Olwen>: I look for any clues.
19:07 <Ezra>: [SDC GM?]
19:08 <Skid_GMing>: You catch up with them right as they exit the door.
19:08 <Ezra>:
19:09 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen: The sand and muck that cover the floor are trampled by hundreds of footsteps, and there aren't any boys visible in the hallways.
19:09 <Ezra>: [Do I know she lost her son?]
19:09 <Skid_GMing>: She's still shouting his name.
19:09 <Skid_GMing>: "Daniel! Daniel!"
19:10 <Olwen>: I go to look on the balcony.
19:10 <Ezra>: [right, I will assume so then.]
19:10 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth: roll a perception check
19:11 <Ezra>: I exit the stables and go through the side door to the oasis pit.
19:11 <Ezra>: "Daniel? You here son?"
19:11 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you head toward the balcony door, but find it locked. Victor catches your eye. "Nobody gone out there or going out there in this weather. They'd end up straight down in the pit."
19:12 <Olwen>: I look around the room again.
19:12 <Skid_GMing>: The woman bursts into sobs.
19:12 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained perception
19:12 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained perception: 7
19:12 <Ezra>: I sigh and turn, looking around the tavern again.
19:13 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, there's several peopel standing up and looking around, and a few boys, but most lf them clearly belong to somebody.
19:13 <Olwen>: I go ask Victor if there's any way somebody could get into the pit.
19:14 <Ezra>: I closely look through the boys. "Deniel?"
19:14 <Skid_GMing>: None of the boys respond to that name.
19:15 <Ezra>: I look in the crowd again, seeing if I can see anyone that might have him.
19:15 <Skid_GMing>: "You could walk around from the stables but you'd be a fool to try. It's hundreds of feet down, and I wouldn't trust those rickety elevators on a night like this."
19:16 <Ezra>: [do I over hear them?]
19:16 <Skid_GMing>: You keep going the same palces they do, so yes.
19:16 <Skid_GMing>: If you aren't allowed to hear something I'll try to say it in PM.
19:16 <Skid_GMing>: Well, several people have bags that he would fit in...
19:16 <Olwen>: I go back to the stables.
19:18 <Ezra>: I scan the faces of those people, using Deception Detecting to see if any of them might be the kind who would kidnap.
19:18 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
19:18 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you return to the stables, just a small section of the roof tears loose, inviting the storm inside. You instinctively pull your head wrap up, protecting your eyes and nose.
19:18 <Ezra>: !roll d20 Deception Detecting trained
19:18 <Dicebot>: Ezra, Deception Detecting trained: 10
19:18 <Olwen>: I examine how you would get from the stables into the pit.
19:19 <Gareth>: Is there just the one room here, or should we go search bedrooms or something?
19:19 <Skid_GMing>: There are rooms upstairs, yes.
19:19 <Gareth>: I go upstairs to examine the layout.
19:20 <Skid_GMing>: He would have to exit through one of the doors of the large barns, then hike around the building to the cliffside.
19:20 <Olwen>: Are the doors locked?
19:21 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth: You find a small common area with a pair of tables, each hosting a card game and a few spectators. Beyond, two hallways lead to about 8 rooms each.
19:21 <Ezra>: [what do I detect?]
19:22 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra: Some of these people might do it, but being trapped in a building for the next several hours with a hundred witnesses hardly seems the ideal opportunity for a slaver.
19:23 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen: The doors are barred and locked... except for one. The lower third of this door was shattered some time ago, and opens into the fury of the storm.
19:23 <Olwen>: Anything around it that could be a clue?
19:23 <Gareth>: I start down one hall, knocking on a door "Daniel?" pausing a moment, then going to the next.
19:23 <Skid_GMing>: Roll perception.
19:24 <Ezra>: I go ask Victor if he has seen the boy.
19:25 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth: You get the regular mix of annoyed responses. "Go away!" "What? do you want?" "That better be my drinks."
19:25 <Gareth>: I try the other hallway.
19:26 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen: Roll perception/forensics?
19:26 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized perception
19:26 <Dicebot>: Olwen, specialized perception: 20
19:27 <Ezra>: [nice]
19:28 <Skid_GMing>: Before the sand blew in, this hole would have been large enough for the boy to slip through. You imagine that the sandy indentations around the hole would have been just the size of a child's feet as well...
19:28 <Olwen>: Oh bother...
19:28 <Ezra>: I go to Olwen.
19:29 <Olwen>: "I'm pretty sure he's out there."
19:29 <Ezra>: "Have you found another way out?"
19:29 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra: "The kid with the messed-up face? Sure, he's been running around."
19:30 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth?
19:31 <Ezra>: [Sorry, so I heard him say that then I went to Olwen]
19:31 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
19:31 <Ezra>: "Have you found another way out?" I ask Olwen
19:31 <Olwen>: "Just here."
19:31 <Gareth>: I ask the people upstairs if they have seen a child running around recently.
19:32 <Skid_GMing>: They've seen lots of children running around.
19:32 <Ezra>: I look around for another way to get out.
19:33 <Olwen>: "I think we should go out after him."
19:34 <Ezra>: "I agree!"
19:34 <Gareth>: OOC: I think you should get me first :p
19:34 <Gareth>: I don't know how I'll find you otherwise
19:34 <Olwen>: (I know.)
19:34 <Ezra>: [just waiting for Skid to let me roll a perception check]
19:34 <Olwen>: "One of us should find Gareth."
19:34 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
19:35 <Ezra>: !roll d20 perception
19:35 <Dicebot>: Ezra, perception: 1
19:35 <Skid_GMing>: There's the hole in the stable roof.
19:35 <Ezra>: [not again, as if last time was not bad enough]
19:35 <Ezra>: "I will go get him, you find a way outside."
19:36 <Ezra>: I go upstairs and look for Gareth. "Gareth? You up here mate?"
19:36 <Gareth>: "Here."
19:36 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth: magic knowledge check.
19:36 <Olwen>: I try climbing up to the hole in the roof.
19:37 <Skid_GMing>: Oh, if you're trying to get ouside you could just unbar the door.
19:37 <Gareth>: !roll d20 specialized
19:37 <Dicebot>: Gareth, specialized: 1
19:37 <Olwen>: O.O
19:37 <Skid_GMing>: You don't notice anything then.
19:37 <Gareth>: Nope
19:37 <Ezra>: Hm...
19:37 <Ezra>: Do it again?
19:37 <Gareth>: I didn't know I was looking for anything, so probably not
19:37 Skid_GMing prepares invisible bad things.
19:38 <Ezra>: oh boy
19:38 <Skid_GMing>: No, that was really a check to notice something.
19:38 <Gareth>: Right
19:38 <Ezra>: oh dear
19:38 <Skid_GMing>: If you can just try something over and over again, there's not much point in forcing a roll in the first place.
19:38 <Ezra>: "Gareth, Olwen thinks she found where the boy got outside!"
19:39 <Gareth>: I extinguish my pipe and follow.
19:39 <Ezra>: I lead us to Olwen.
19:39 <Olwen>: "We need to go check the pit."
19:40 <Ezra>: "Right, let us unbar the door."
19:40 <Skid_GMing>: Strength check from whoever unbars the door.
19:40 <Olwen>: I put on my stealth cloak.
19:41 <Ezra>: [go for it Gareth, you are the strong one]
19:41 <Olwen>: Also the headwrap in the Patrol gear.
19:41 <Gareth>: I am?
19:41 <Gareth>: !roll d20
19:41 <Dicebot>: Gareth: 18
19:41 <Ezra>: [I thought so... ]
19:41 <Skid_GMing>: Yes, assuing you guys are wearing appropriate gear.
19:41 <Ezra>: [yes, see? ]
19:41 <Ezra>:
19:42 <Gareth>: I'm pretty strong, but didn't think I was the 'strength member'.
19:42 <Gareth>: Since I use range attacks
19:42 <Ezra>: [I get that idea... Ask GM]
19:42 <Gareth>: I'm not a brawler
19:42 <Ezra>: [are any of us?]
19:43 <Gareth>: I think Penguin is?
19:43 <Skid_GMing>: The currenty party has Might like a bunch of pixy sticks.
19:43 <Skid_GMing>: The wind catches the door, heaving it inwards. You catch it before it tears loose from its hinges.
19:43 <Olwen>: "Can we go now?"
19:44 <Ezra>: I glance at Gareth. "Can we?"
19:44 <Gareth>: I try to see anything outside through, I presume, thick sand.
19:44 <Skid_GMing>: You see lots and lots of sand.
19:45 <Gareth>: "Be careful."
19:45 <Olwen>: "Might want to put on the sandstorm gear."
19:45 <Ezra>: I walk through the doorway. "Right."
19:45 <Gareth>: Skid said we were. If not I put it on.
19:45 <Ezra>: [remember, I am wearing it already, from when I was looking at the sky]
19:45 <Skid_GMing>: Anything beyond about 10 feets is invisible, and sand is drifting against this side of the building.
19:45 <Skid_GMing>: The storm outside is vicious, blinding, and tries to knock you from your feet as soon as you step through the door. What direction do you want to go?
19:45 <Olwen>: I go through the door.
19:46 <Ezra>: I look for tracks without much thought of success...
19:46 <Olwen>: Which way to the pit?
19:46 <Skid_GMing>: There are no tracks.
19:47 <Skid_GMing>: You've basically got left along the wall, right along the wall, or out into the storm. Either direction will take your around the building to the edge of the Oasis.
19:47 <Ezra>: I head left.
19:47 <Olwen>: I go left.
19:47 <Gareth>: I go to the left, keeping a hand on the wall to keep my bearing.
19:49 <Skid_GMing>: All right, you circle around the building as the wind alternately presses you against the wall, then sweeps you along it.
19:49 <Ezra>: I keep moving.
19:49 <Olwen>: As do I.
19:50 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, Ezra and Olwen, make perception checks.
19:50 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized perception
19:50 <Dicebot>: Olwen, specialized perception: 2
19:51 <Gareth>: I do to. Assume I'm following unless I do something else.
19:51 <Skid_GMing>: You can't for this roll, result of your crit fail.
19:51 <Ezra>: !roll d20 perception
19:51 <Dicebot>: Ezra, perception: 15
19:52 <Gareth>: Sure but I'm with them
19:52 <Skid_GMing>: Yeah.
19:52 <Olwen>: "Guys! my badge just flashed purple!"
19:52 <Ezra>: "Magic??"
19:53 <Ezra>: "Gareth, what can you tell us about this? You are a mage, right?"
19:53 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you can roll for that.
19:54 <Gareth>: !roll d20 specialized magic knowledge
19:54 <Dicebot>: Gareth, specialized magic knowledge: 10
19:55 <Skid_GMing>: You know that magical phenomena are a an element of the desert storms. Sometimes attached to creatures from The Vortex.
19:55 <Ezra>: "Gareth?"
19:55 <Gareth>: I share this information, as requested.
19:56 <Skid_GMing>: You've all reach the corner of the building. From what you know of the place, the barn is about 50 feet wide, so you've got 25 feet to reach a locked door and another 25 to the next corner.
19:56 <Ezra>: "What is The Vortex?"
19:56 <Olwen>: I keep going along the building.
19:57 <Ezra>: I follow.
19:57 <Skid_GMing>: It's the massive magical phenomena whirling over The Spire. It's where samples of magic and aether are captured for spells and enchantments.
19:58 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, make strength or speed (whichever you're better with) checks as you go around the corner.
19:58 <Olwen>: !roll d20 speed
19:58 <Dicebot>: Olwen, speed: 14
19:58 <Gareth>: What is "better"?
19:59 <Skid_GMing>: whatever you can put effort into most painlessly, if you want to effort it.
19:59 <Ezra>: !roll d20 speed
19:59 <Dicebot>: Ezra, speed: 17
19:59 <Gareth>: !roll d20 strength
19:59 <Dicebot>: Gareth, strength: 19
19:59 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, the wind buffets you, but you all manage to stay on your feet by a supreme effort.
20:00 <Ezra>: [are we near the door yet?]
20:00 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: If you don't want to interact with it, you can carry on to the next corner.
20:01 <Olwen>: I carry on.
20:01 <Ezra>: [which door is this again?]
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: There's a door in the middle of each side of the stables building.
20:02 <Ezra>: I carry on as well.
20:02 <Skid_GMing>: You're moving down the short side of the barn, nearing the corner where the barn connects with the hall itself.
20:04 <Ezra>: [I am getting a bit lost, sorry, where is the pit?]
20:04 <Olwen>: "I think we need to go back. I just heard something around the corner."
20:04 <Skid_GMing>: Around this next corner there's a very short section of wall, and on the inside corner where it joins the Tavern, sits what appear at first to be a large bundle of rags.
20:05 <Ezra>: You head back, I see something up ahead.
20:05 <Olwen>: I turn around and head back.
20:05 <Ezra>: I go to examine the rags.
20:05 <Gareth>: I go with Ezra.
20:07 <Skid_GMing>: You realize that the rags are, in fact, a very small boy, crying, and wrapped in an oversized cloaks.
20:07 <Gareth>: "Daniel?"
20:07 <Ezra>: I bend down to the boy.
20:08 <Skid_GMing>: "Wha...?"
20:08 <Ezra>: "Are you okay son?"
20:08 <Skid_GMing>: "Who are you?"
20:08 <Gareth>: "Your mother asked us to help find you."
20:08 <Skid_GMing>: "I want my mooom." He sobs.
20:09 <Ezra>: "We are here to help you. It's okay.""
20:09 <Gareth>: "Let's get back inside!"
20:09 <Ezra>: I pick him up.
20:10 <Skid_GMing>: You pick up the boy.
20:10 <Skid_GMing>: Make strength checks to fight your way back up the building against the storm.
20:10 <Gareth>: !roll d20
20:10 <Dicebot>: Gareth: 16
20:10 <Ezra>: !roll d20 strength
20:10 <Dicebot>: Ezra, strength: 8
20:11 <Ezra>: [a low roll? such a surprise ]
20:11 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra, you fall and slide backwards along the building a few feet.
20:11 <Ezra>: [no harm done?]
20:11 <Skid_GMing>: The boy shrieks.
20:12 <Ezra>: "It's okay, I got you!"
20:12 <Ezra>: I carry on.
20:12 <Skid_GMing>: Well, there is a cliff who knows how far behind you...
20:12 <Ezra>: "What do you thing Olwen heard?" I ask Gareth
20:13 <Gareth>: "I don't know how she heard anything through this storm. We'll see when we get back there."
20:13 <Skid_GMing>: Anyone who is currently standing up, make speed checks as splintered wood suddenly whips along the side of the building.
20:13 <Skid_GMing>: Or dodge rolls, rather.
20:13 <Ezra>: [have I stood up yet?]
20:13 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained dodging
20:13 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained dodging: 10
20:13 <Skid_GMing>: You have not.
20:13 <Ezra>: [K]
20:14 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained dodging.
20:14 <Dicebot>: Olwen, trained dodging.: 16
20:14 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth, a plank catches you across the body, dealing 3 might damage.
20:15 <Skid_GMing>: You can all hear splintering even above the storm now, as the east side of the stables are torn apart.
20:15 <Gareth>: "Let's move!"
20:16 <Skid_GMing>: How are you moving?
20:16 <Gareth>: However we can get back inside.
20:16 <Ezra>: I stand up.
20:17 <Skid_GMing>: Do you want to be inside fast, or slow?
20:17 <Skid_GMing>: Bacause walking is going to get you hit with debris.
20:17 <Skid_GMing>: Or blown over the cliff, unless you do something clever.
20:17 <Ezra>: [whichever is the safe way]
20:17 <Ezra>: "How did you get out here?" I ask the boy.
20:17 <Skid_GMing>: "I wanted to see the camels."
20:18 <Ezra>: I make a note to face palm later.
20:18 <Skid_GMing>: So describe what you do. You're in sand, next to a wall.
20:18 <Ezra>: "Well, let us get you where it is safe."
20:18 <Gareth>: I 'want' to get inside as soon as possible, but it won't probably be by moving fast, if that's even possible in the wind.
20:18 <Gareth>: Just trudging on forcefully
20:19 <Gareth>: Crouch-ished if debris is still an issue
20:19 <Ezra>: I look around at my surroundings...
20:19 <Ezra>: "Gareth, remember, look before act?"
20:19 <Gareth>: "Right!"
20:19 <Gareth>: I look around also.
20:19 <Skid_GMing>: Your surrounding are blowing sand, a wall to your right, and planks blowing past you from ahead.
20:19 <Ezra>: I can not resist a smile even as the storm blows on...
20:20 <Gareth>: I continue along the wall determined, but carefully.
20:20 <Skid_GMing>: Okay.
20:20 <Skid_GMing>: You stay low and creep along the wall.
20:20 <Gareth>: "Olwen?"
20:20 <Ezra>: I follow behind.
20:21 <Olwen>: [I don't know what I'm doing right now.]
20:21 <Skid_GMing>: You're with them.
20:21 <Skid_GMing>: So, crawling along the wall.
20:21 <Ezra>: [you are being eaten by magic beasts]
20:21 <Gareth>: We met back up?
20:21 <Ezra>: [oh, that is nice to know]
20:21 <Olwen>: When did that happen?
20:22 <Gareth>: Or she was the whole time?
20:22 <Ezra>: [yeah?]
20:22 <Ezra>:
20:22 <Olwen>: I went back to check the noise.
20:23 <Skid_GMing>: Over the storm, you hear the bleating of panicked camels.
20:23 <Skid_GMing>: Oh. In that case, you're back at the long side of the barn.
20:23 <Gareth>: We're not back there yet?
20:23 <Olwen>: What have I been doing?
20:23 <Ezra>: We could sure use some of those camels...
20:24 <Skid_GMing>: Through the lashing sand you see the splintered remains of northern wall and a huge, dark mass, the size of a small house, resting against it.
20:25 <Gareth>: Her? Or all?
20:25 <Skid_GMing>: Her first.
20:25 <Ezra>:
20:25 <Olwen>: I go look at it.
20:25 <Ezra>: [And where are we again?]
20:25 <Ezra>: [We are still back at where we found the boy right?]
20:25 <Skid_GMing>: You're coming up the short side of the building.
20:26 <Skid_GMing>: As you approach, a flailing tendril lashes out. Dodge check.
20:27 <Ezra>: !roll d20 Dodge Trained
20:27 <Dicebot>: Ezra, Dodge Trained: 12
20:27 <Skid_GMing>: Sorry, not you. Olwen.
20:27 <Ezra>: [that was me]
20:27 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained dodge, 1 effort to speed
20:27 <Dicebot>: Olwen, trained dodge, 1 effort to speed: 8
20:28 <Ezra>: [you can just null her last roll]
20:29 <Skid_GMing>: From the dark moass it passes you and strikes the building, immediately pullnig taught and pinning you against the wall. It's as large around as your arm but boneless, and covered in dessicated leather.
20:30 <Olwen>: [Who are you talking to?]
20:30 <Skid_GMing>: You.
20:30 <Gareth>: We continue down the wall?
20:30 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth, Ezra, you round the corner of the building, and find a clawed tentacle there, gripping the building with all its might.
20:31 <Ezra>: [So what? Did it hit me?]
20:31 <Skid_GMing>: No.
20:31 <Gareth>: I stop abruptly.
20:31 <Ezra>: I examine the tentacle.
20:31 <Skid_GMing>: It's about eye level. The pad at the end of the tendril is as large as a frying pan, and features ugly bone spikes.
20:31 <Olwen>: Are my arms free?
20:32 <Skid_GMing>: Your arms are wiggleable free.
20:32 <Olwen>: Can I reach my dagger?
20:32 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:33 Skid_GMing goes to draw a quick tactical map to make things simple.
20:33 <Olwen>: I stab the tentacle and try to pull free.
20:33 <Skid_GMing>: Not taking turns yet, move as you have idea.
20:33 <Skid_GMing>: Okay. You saw into the tenacle, it's tough, but begins to separate.
20:34 <Olwen>: I keep cutting.
20:34 <Ezra>: [good, I am really lost]
20:34 <Ezra>: [wait, does it have her?]
20:35 <Gareth>: We're not back to her yet
20:35 <Gareth>: These are two different 'arms'.
20:35 <Gareth>: Oh wait
20:35 <Gareth>: Actually this is probably the end of the arm wrapped around her.
20:35 <Gareth>: We don't know that yet though.
20:35 <Ezra>: [How many arms am I using to hold the boy?]
20:35 <Skid_GMing>: One.
20:35 <Ezra>: [I am so lost... did Gareth get hit by a stone?]
20:36 <Skid_GMing>: Yeah, the tentacle sproings towards you guys.
20:36 <Ezra>: [I rounded the corner?]
20:37 <Ezra>: [I so need that map... What is everyone doing at this moment GM?]
20:37 <Ezra>: [and who is being attacked?]
20:37 <Gareth>: Olwen is pinned to the wall by a tentacle
20:38 <Ezra>: [Oh, what about you and I?]
20:38 <Gareth>: The tentacle is probably attached to this claw, but we don't know that yet.
20:38 <Skid_GMing>: http://i.imgur.com/cSYPieZ.png
20:38 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, tactical map. And roll for initative.
20:38 <Gareth>: I was right :)
20:38 <Gareth>: !roll d20
20:38 <Dicebot>: Gareth: 7
20:38 <Olwen>: [me too?]
20:38 <Ezra>: [Wait, what is this map? Are we the red? What is the rest of it?]
20:38 <Ezra>: !roll d20
20:38 <Dicebot>: Ezra: 1
20:39 <Ezra>: [surprise]
20:39 <Gareth>: Its okay, not a fail here.
20:39 <Gareth>: You just go last.
20:39 <Skid_GMing>: You guys are red, the tentacle creature is green/black/swirly, the building is black.
20:40 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen went first, successfully to sever the tentacle.
20:40 <Ezra>: okay, wow, it is huge!!!
20:40 <Gareth>: He said house sized
20:40 <Skid_GMing>: It's large.
20:40 <Gareth>: The tentacle is down?
20:40 <Skid_GMing>: The tentacle has sprung limp.
20:40 <Gareth>: Then I plasma the blob.
20:41 <Skid_GMing>: You can only see the mass intermittently from that distance.
20:41 <Ezra>: None of my range weapons will work with this wind, plus I still hold the boy.
20:41 <Skid_GMing>: But you can roll for it.
20:42 <Gareth>: I advance then.
20:42 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you move up to join Olwen.
20:42 <Ezra>: I let the others lead.
20:42 <Gareth>: That's my whole turn? Or how much distance was it?
20:43 <Skid_GMing>: About 25 feet in really bad weather.
20:43 <Skid_GMing>: Monster's turn? Three more tendrils whip down the building. Two lodge themselves far above your heads the but the lowest necessitates a dodge from the forward party members.
20:44 <Ezra>: [What is the turn order now?]
20:44 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen, Gareth, Monster, Ezra.
20:44 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained dodging
20:44 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained dodging: 11
20:44 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained dodging, 1 effort to speed.
20:44 <Dicebot>: Olwen, trained dodging, 1 effort to speed.: 2
20:45 <Gareth>: Good thing your edge gives free effort or that would have been a real waste
20:45 <Ezra>: [Do I do anything?]
20:46 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen, the tendril hits you, digging its claws into your for 4 damage, and attempting to drag you from your feet. Might defense.
20:47 <Olwen>: !roll d20
20:47 <Dicebot>: Olwen: 12
20:48 <Skid_GMing>: You're dragged along the ground to the side of the creature, a surface that can only be described as 'writhing' with leathery tentacles. It is, indeed, huge.
20:48 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra.
20:49 <Ezra>: [Right, so I have the boy, thus what are my options?]
20:49 <Skid_GMing>: You could advance to where you know there's an open door, or at least a big hole inthe wall, or go back around the building.
20:50 <Ezra>: [What was around the back of the building again?]
20:50 <Skid_GMing>: Well, there's the locked door you could enter the stables through, or you can keep going to the edge of the cliff and hop onto the balcony.
20:51 <Ezra>: [Balcony? The one with the oasis pit?]
20:51 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:51 <Ezra>: [How far down is the balcony?]
20:51 <Skid_GMing>: The balcony is at the top of the cliff.
20:52 <Skid_GMing>: The oasis is a couple hundred feet down.
20:52 <Ezra>: Oh. Are there any doors leading off of the balcony?]
20:53 <Skid_GMing>: There's the locked one that goes inside.
20:53 <Ezra>: [Well, I can not help fight, and that seems like the best option what with the boy...]
20:54 <Gareth>: You can fight
20:54 <Gareth>: I can give you my sword...
20:54 <Ezra>: [With a boy in both arms? :] Not chuck noris mate...]
20:55 <Gareth>: Drop him. We're more important :noway:
20:55 <Olwen>: What? No!
20:55 <Ezra>: [right..............]
20:55 <Gareth>: :p
20:56 <Ezra>: I turn and head back. "I will get the boy safe!"
20:56 <Gareth>: Olwen better land a mighty blow here then
20:56 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra vanishes. (Separating scenes.)
20:57 <Gareth>: I have flashbacks of the first mission where Ezra ran off leaving us to face a beast ourselves.
20:58 <Gareth>: This one seems more vital to have all hands on deck for.
20:58 <Olwen>: He'll come back.
20:58 <Olwen>: Hopefully.
20:58 <Gareth>: He better.
20:58 <Ezra>: I have flashbacks of the first mission where I ran off to rescue some slaves I thought might be on fire...
20:59 <Gareth>: Not at that time, you were just looking ahead.
21:00 <Ezra>: I consider droping the 7-year-old buy in the sandstorm, but then realize that it is simply Gareth trying to use mind control on me and I ignore him.
21:00 <Gareth>: :)
21:00 <Ezra>: :P
21:00 <Ezra>: [ ;) ]
21:02 <Gareth>: Dropping him to help fight doesn't automatically mean he dies >_>
21:03 <Gareth>: You guys make me seem like a monster
21:03 <Ezra>: [right...]
21:03 <Gareth>: I'm trying to make sure we ALL survive, boy included.
21:04 <Ezra>: [Me too, and dropping the boy in this storm lowers his odds, would you agree?]
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: Well, you could set him down without immediately losing him over the cliff.
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: Anyway. Olwen, you are currently hugging a house made from spiky spagetti. What do you do.
21:05 <Olwen>: Am I pinned or anything?
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: You're hooked on one tentacle. If you act fast, you might be able to get away before any more grab you.
21:05 <Olwen>: I try and move way from the thing, using dagger as needed.
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: Okay... I'll let you use a speed action for that.
21:05 <Olwen>: roll?
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:05 <Olwen>: !roll d20 1 effort to speed
21:05 <Dicebot>: Olwen, 1 effort to speed: 1
21:05 <Olwen>: -_-
21:05 <Olwen>: I'm going to die.
21:06 <Gareth>: And then me, since I'm the only one left
21:06 <Skid_GMing>: Welp. You see a cavernous, gaping maw appear in front of you.
21:06 <Olwen>: He'll come back.
21:06 <Ezra>: [Yep, as soon as the boy is inside.]
21:06 <Skid_GMing>: Next?
21:06 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth?
21:06 <Gareth>: I finally plasma the blob.
21:07 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
21:07 <Gareth>: I shout "Go back to the void from whence you came!"
21:07 <Gareth>: !roll d20 effort to damage
21:07 <Dicebot>: Gareth, effort to damage: 13
21:08 <Skid_GMing>: Lightning crackles and tenacles thrash as you score a hit on it with electrical power.
21:08 <Ezra>: [oh, ha, not me...]
21:09 <Skid_GMing>: Monster's turn, hmm.
21:09 <Olwen>: O_O
21:09 <Gareth>: Sigh
21:10 <Gareth>: It turns its attention to me since I just hit it maybe?
21:10 <Gareth>: :angelsmiley:
21:10 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen, the tentacle pulls you into the giant-toothy maw of the beast. You take 6 damage.
21:11 <Skid_GMing>: And it lashes out at Gareth. Dodge roll.
21:11 <Gareth>: :x
21:11 <Gareth>: It gets two actions all of a sudden?
21:11 <Ezra>: [also, what if it trys to eat the boy.......]
21:11 <Skid_GMing>: It's a boss-class monster. Yes.
21:11 <Gareth>: Why didn't it before then?
21:12 <Ezra>: [... It just got here...]
21:12 <Olwen>: (BTW, I'm at 0 might.)
21:12 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained dodging
21:12 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained dodging: 20
21:12 <Gareth>: I got this, hang on
21:12 <Skid_GMing>: You're clear. The spiked sucker snakes through the sand harmlessly.
21:12 <Gareth>: What is it lashing with, a tentacle?
21:12 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:12 <Gareth>: I do the matrix dodge.
21:13 <Skid_GMing>: You do indeed.
21:13 <Gareth>: ^.^
21:13 <Skid_GMing>: Ezra?
21:14 <Ezra>: [Right, so where is the closest door that leads to the tavern?]
21:14 <Skid_GMing>: If you want to try your luck busting down a locked door?
21:15 <Ezra>: [or leads to a place outside of the storm where the tavern can be reached from]
21:15 <Skid_GMing>: The nearest one that goes straight to the tavern is the balcony one.
21:15 <Skid_GMing>: You would have to dangle the kid over the cliff to make it there.
21:15 <Skid_GMing>: Act fast.
21:15 <Ezra>: [ah... What about the other door?]
21:15 <Ezra>: [yes]
21:16 <Skid_GMing>: You're at the side foor to the stables. It's locked.
21:16 <Ezra>: [where does it lead and what is it made of?]
21:16 <Skid_GMing>: Wood.
21:16 <Ezra>:
21:17 <Skid_GMing>: Don't think too long on this.
21:17 <Ezra>: I go to the door and throw an acid grenade on it.
21:18 <Skid_GMing>: Make... a dodge roll.
21:18 <Ezra>: [okay?]
21:18 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:18 <Ezra>: !roll d20 dodge trained
21:18 <Dicebot>: Ezra, dodge trained: 14
21:18 <Ezra>: [oh good, that's not bad...]
21:18 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, the acid doesn't splash on you, and what doesn't blow away starts eating through the door. Olwen.
21:19 <Ezra>: [good, I can kick it in by next turn]
21:19 <Skid_GMing>: Your arms are free. Your torso is caught. You're beeng dragged though many rows of teeth.
21:19 <Skid_GMing>: Also, it smells like old furniture and death in here.
21:19 <Olwen>: I shoot an arrow down it's throat.
21:19 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
21:20 <Gareth>: I don't think she can miss :p
21:20 <Olwen>: !roll d20 1 effort to accuracy.
21:20 <Dicebot>: Olwen, 1 effort to accuracy.: 17
21:20 <Olwen>: Effort increases my chances.
21:20 <Gareth>: Should have done damage...
21:20 <Ezra>: [yes].....
21:20 <Skid_GMing>: Your arrow shoots down its throat and disappears.
21:20 <Ezra>: [well, we know you will hit at the least]
21:20 <Gareth>: You're IN the throat, already had accuracy ;)
21:21 <Ezra>: [does the beast lick it's lips? :/ ]
21:21 <Skid_GMing>: The monster continues chewing on you for 6 damage. (which will come from your speed pool.)
21:21 <Skid_GMing>: And tendril-lashes at Gareth, again.
21:22 <Gareth>: !roll d20 trained dodging
21:22 <Dicebot>: Gareth, trained dodging: 2
21:22 <Ezra>: [this is bad...]
21:22 <Olwen>: [yeah, REALLY need some help.]
21:22 <Gareth>: If only someone had the thought that having an extra warrior would be a great idea here...
21:23 <Skid_GMing>: The spikey frying pan hits you square in the chest for 4 damage, and tries to pull you off your feet.
21:23 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen, perception check.
21:23 <Ezra>: [With a kid in tow?]
21:23 <Ezra>: [he is almost safe...]
21:23 <Gareth>: Yes with a kid in tow! If we die out here he dies in there next!
21:23 <Ezra>: [i don't get your logic...]
21:23 <Gareth>: My logic is WE NEED TO KILL THIS THING
21:23 <Gareth>: What is hard to get about that?
21:23 <Skid_GMing>: Gareth, might defense against getting pulled in.
21:23 <Olwen>: !roll d20 Specialised perception
21:23 <Dicebot>: Olwen, Specialised perception: 4
21:23 <Olwen>: I really am dead.
21:24 <Olwen>: [In three more turns.}
21:24 <Gareth>: !roll d20
21:24 <Dicebot>: Gareth: 1
21:24 <Olwen>: -_-
21:24 <Skid_GMing>: Whee.
21:25 <Olwen>: GMs should never say that.
21:25 <Skid_GMing>: The creature yanks you from your feet and you're sucked into the tentacle mass. Ezra!
21:25 <Olwen>: "Whee" sounds so ominous.
21:25 <Ezra>: [Join the low-rollers club mate...]
21:25 <Olwen>: SAVE US ALL.
21:25 <Skid_GMing>: Ezraaaa.
21:26 <Gareth>: Its my turn!
21:26 <Olwen>: Also, I think I popped it.
21:26 <Ezra>: I kick the door in.
21:26 <Ezra>: [and set the kid inside as well if I can]
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, Gareth, Go.
21:27 <Ezra>: [seeing as how it is week with acid, do I even need to roll?]
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: Yes, you will.
21:27 <Ezra>: [right... okay...]
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: Doesn't really matter since you two are separated.
21:28 <Ezra>: [So do I roll now?]
21:28 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:28 <Gareth>: !roll d20 effort to damage
21:28 <Dicebot>: Gareth, effort to damage: 16
21:28 <Olwen>: :]
21:28 <Ezra>: !roll d20 strength effort to damage
21:28 <Dicebot>: Ezra, strength effort to damage: 13
21:29 <Skid_GMing>: You shock the monster through the body for 7 damage, the arms flail, lose their grip on you, and go limp.
21:30 <Gareth>: I was going to say, it's got to be about there - I've done something like 14 damage just myself!
21:30 <Skid_GMing>: The body collapses in on itself, shrinking into a limp, leathery mass.
21:30 <Olwen>: o_o
21:30 <Ezra>: [oh, yay... It was that easy? Is it dead?]
21:30 <Gareth>: 'That easy'?? Olwen is like one hit away from dead!
21:30 <Olwen>: Oh no...
21:31 <Skid_GMing>: Olwen, you're trapped under a leathery parachute with teeth.
21:31 <Gareth>: I extracate myself.
21:31 <Ezra>: [oh, and is the door down now?]
21:31 <Gareth>: I pull Olwen out.
21:31 <Olwen>: My turn? or no turns now?
21:32 <Skid_GMing>: Yes, the door is down. You emerge into the storm-lashed stables. The north wall is gone, and panicked animals are whirling around in the passageway. A number of men with pikes stab at the beast slumped against the wall and roof.
21:32 <Skid_GMing>: No turns.
21:32 <Skid_GMing>: Combat complete.
21:32 <Olwen>: I use my dagger to cut my way out.
21:33 <Ezra>: oh, then it is healing time I guess...
21:33 <Skid_GMing>: You're out and free.
21:33 <Olwen>: Yay!
21:33 <Ezra>: I set the boy with the men.
21:33 <Skid_GMing>: Well, that pretty much wraps up the mission.
21:33 <Olwen>: ouch.
21:33 <Ezra>: I go to Olwen.
21:33 <Skid_GMing>: The boy is reunited with his tearful mother.
21:33 <Gareth>: I lambast Ezra for leaving us to die.
21:33 <Ezra>: oh,
21:34 <Ezra>: "Her is your son ma'am, I suggest a leash, maybe a ball and chain..."
21:34 <Olwen>: I rest on the ground for a while.
21:34 <Ezra>: I bend over Olwen.
21:34 <Skid_GMing>: Hey, after fighting that thing, the finest bed in the inn is yours.
21:34 <Gareth>: Darn right it is.
21:34 <Ezra>: "Where are you wounded?"
21:34 <Olwen>: "Go 'way."
21:34 <Ezra>: [that is nice of them]
21:35 <Skid_GMing>: A side note: a child is a level 1 creature. A level 1 creature has 3 HP. Tentacles do 4 damage.
21:35 <Ezra>: See?
21:35 <Ezra>: One hit could have killed him!!
21:35 <Gareth>: He wouldn't have been hit!
21:35 <Olwen>: Not if he didn't get hit.
21:35 <Olwen>: We could have put him at a safe distance.
21:35 <Gareth>: Right! I didn't say push him at the creature I said YOU come help
21:36 <Ezra>: You expect me to fight a monster with a kid in my arms?
21:36 <Gareth>: NO I DON'T - put him down! No one said you had to keep holding him!
21:36 <Skid_GMing>: You could have left the kid where you picked him up...
21:37 <Olwen>: I'm not doing that again...
21:37 <Ezra>: I would have to double back for that anyway...
21:37 <Olwen>: But less distance than going to a door and melting it with acid.
21:37 <Ezra>: No.
21:37 <Gareth>: Yeah you would have been back in two turns
21:38 <Ezra>: ___D___K___B
21:38 <Ezra>: The D is the first door, then K was the kid, then B was the balcony.
21:38 <Ezra>: D was what I was kicking in...
21:38 <Gareth>: Where was Penguin? :x
21:38 <Skid_GMing>: You do not want to see the stats I made for this thing if it was a 4-person encounter. =p
21:39 <Gareth>: It was already clearly designed to be unbeatable: one-hit kill if you're sucked in, which it gets TWO chances to do each turn
21:39 <Gareth>: Ridiculous
21:39 <Olwen>: Did we gain anything from this mission?
21:39 <Ezra>: Well I don't care what you say... Children first. Always. Moving on.
21:40 <Skid_GMing>: Anyway! 2 XP a piece for participation, 1 XP to give away, and 10 Nobles each for mission pay. Gareth and Olwen each earn 10 bonus Nobles for combat pay. And Victor offers everyone free drinks at the Mean Minotaur for life.
21:40 <Ezra>: Skid was in a mean mood after his food poisoning... :P
21:40 <Ezra>: Noted. Do I get a free-drink-card? :/
21:40 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:40 <Gareth>: We got mission pay for an unplanned encounter?
21:40 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:41 <Gareth>: That was cool of them.
21:41 <Ezra>: What is it called? :)
21:41 <Ezra>: [the drink-card]
21:41 <Skid_GMing>: Well, you don't get a card, but Victor will know who you are.
21:41 <Olwen>: What was the creature called?
21:42 <Skid_GMing>: Well, it's a Bloated Stalker in my notes. But since you guys killed it, you guys can name it.
21:42 <Ezra>: oh, okay... How do I mark that on my character card?
21:42 <Skid_GMing>: You don't have to It goes in Victor's character notes.
21:42 <Ezra>: Oh, okay... Wait, he has them too? Okay, I will have to look for those later...
21:43 <Skid_GMing>: Not notes thet you guys get to see. =p
21:43 <Olwen>: Can I pull it's teeth out and keep them?
21:43 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
21:43 <Olwen>: =]
21:43 <Skid_GMing>: You want big teeth or little teeth?
21:43 <Olwen>: big teeth.
21:44 <Ezra>: I take some too...
21:44 <Ezra>: they might be worth something, or at the least, lore points
21:44 <Gareth>: How big are the big teeth?
21:45 <Skid_GMing>: Well, then you can get your hands on a few 8-inch bloated stalker teeth.
21:45 <Skid_GMing>: Would actually make a nice dagger.
21:45 <Ezra>: How many?
21:45 <Olwen>: How many precisely?
21:46 <Olwen>: How big are the small?
21:46 <Skid_GMing>: Let's say 15 of them available total.
21:46 <Olwen>: That's 5 each.
21:46 <Ezra>: You gather them up, I will take what is left.
21:46 <Ezra>: Right.
21:46 <Skid_GMing>: Victor offers to buy the large ones at 2 nobles a piece.
21:46 <Ezra>: Olwen, you name the beast.
21:46 <Olwen>: Eh, not good with names.
21:46 <Ezra>: I sell four of the five large ones I get
21:47 <Gareth>: I think Skids name was fine
21:47 <Ezra>: okay
21:47 <Olwen>: Yes.
21:47 <Gareth>: I keep all them for now.
21:47 <Ezra>: oh, hey
21:47 <Ezra>: they may be woth more else where... good idea
21:47 <Ezra>: me too
21:47 <Gareth>: Probably not; I just didn't want to sell yet.
21:47 <Skid_GMing>: The small ones go progressively all the way down to really tiny.
21:48 <Gareth>: I want some marble sized just for souvenirs.
21:48 <Gareth>: A handful or whatever.
21:49 <Ezra>: Yes, how many small ones per each of us?
21:49 <Skid_GMing>: As many as you can carry.
21:49 <Gareth>: I take two handfuls then.
21:49 <Gareth>: And take a well earned sleep.
21:49 <Ezra>: um... How many can I carry then?
21:49 <Ezra>: a number
21:49 <Skid_GMing>: Like 40 pounds of them?
21:49 <Gareth>: Lol
21:49 <Ezra>: okay?
21:49 <Ezra>: are there that many?
21:50 <Skid_GMing>: But the litter ones aren't anything special.
21:50 <Gareth>: Can we get a storage unit somewhere?
21:50 <Ezra>: not worth anything or have any cool look to them or anything?
21:50 <Ezra>: +1 Gareth
21:50 <Skid_GMing>: Yes. Add a "Stash" to your character sheet under inventory for items you want to keep but only access between missions.
21:51 <Gareth>: Cool
21:51 <Skid_GMing>: They'll be stored at Dawn Fortress in a corner of the archive.
21:51 <Olwen>: Meh, I'll take a pound.
21:51 <Skid_GMing>: Heh.
21:51 <Ezra>: Nice!
21:51 <Ezra>: Right, I take 40 pounds then... :P
21:51 <Gareth>: I symbolically take x pounds, where x is the number of hits it took to down the beast.
21:52 <Gareth>: I'll figure it out later.
21:52 <Ezra>: Are these teeth 1 inch?
21:53 <Skid_GMing>: From 3 inches down to human-sized.
21:52 <Skid_GMing>: There's also some sand you can take as much as you can carry of, if you want some of that. It's free too. =p
21:52 <Ezra>: XD
21:53 <Gareth>: I actually thought of that earlier :p
21:53 <Ezra>: Stash: 40 pounds of 3-inch bloated stalker teeth.
21:53 <Ezra>: yahoo
21:53 <Ezra>: :P
21:54 <Olwen>: Well, we took some of that 40 pounds..
21:54 <Skid_GMing>: If you build a chainsaw sword from those I will hurt you.
21:54 <Ezra>: Oh!!!
21:54 <Ezra>: Thank you for the idea!!!
21:54 <Ezra>: Okay, later guys! Gareth is going to hate me again...
21:54 <Gareth>: Well we almost died this time. It's not like just missing out on some pay.
21:54 <Skid_GMing>: I'm seeing just how close I can get to killing you guys, yes.
21:54 <Gareth>: Obviously
21:54 <Olwen>: -_-
21:54 <Ezra>: But no one did die, including the boy......
21:55 <Skid_GMing>: Also, I'm kinda disappoints nobody got a chance to throw a grenade down its throat.
21:55 <Olwen>: I got swallowed by a monster.
21:55 <Gareth>: I don't have grenades.
21:55 <Skid_GMing>: I know. Which is why I'm sad.
21:55 <Ezra>: No slaves or kids next time we all hope.... ;)
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LIGHTNING
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Post by LIGHTNING »

I give my XP to Olwen for the brave attack she pulled from within the monster itself!
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bookworm
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Post by bookworm »

Since the group had to skip a week we decided to hold our own session just for fun. The characters will be gathered around a campfire or something just hanging out and talking.

This can be a fun way get to know the characters, for us the players and for them in-game. Building camaraderie in the party in a visible way rather than just assuming it's happening between missions.
It can be talking about missions we've done, sharing reflections on them and lessons learned for the future, or it can be completely new content introducing details of your character's backstory or personal ambitions. Whatever they feel like sharing. :)


This session will take place tonight at 7pm PDT
Logline: The party has made camp after completing their first mission. Discuss the events of the day, thoughts on the future, or anything else on your mind.
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Post by LIGHTNING »

Good up mate! Thanks for the intel... I look forward to it! :D
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Post by bookworm »

Team Bonding (Extra Session)
The party has made camp after completing their first mission. Discuss the events of the day, thoughts on the future, or anything else on your mind.
18:56 LIGHTNING is now known as Ezra
18:56 Woody is now known as Leviticus
19:00 <bookworm>: Okay. Before we go I just want to check if anyone had specific topics they planned to discuss? To make sure we hit them. Because I have a somewhat plan where conversation is going, if not.
19:00 <Tikvah>: Nope.
19:03 <Ezra>: No plan of any topic. Just want to enjoy the fire and meet my new companions. :)
19:03 <bookworm>: Okay that's good, just follow the flow then and join in on subjects you wish to.
19:04 <bookworm>: Alright; This was my idea so I declare myself GM for the evening. We shouldn't have need of one beyond setting the scene; but just in case. Skid is here "In case anyone has easily-answered details of the world they want filled in or established."
19:04 <bookworm>: [GM text will be enclosed in brackets to differentiate from my character behavior. There is a slightly planned track for this, but nothing firm, we'll just see where it goes and go until people need to leave.]
19:05 <bookworm>: [This session is taking place shortly after the conclusion of the Slaver Infiltration.]
19:05 <bookworm>: [We have successfully completed our first mission for the Embers. Thoughts from the experience swirl in our minds, developing our outlooks on the world, each other, and ourselves. We are encouraged by what we perceive went well, enlightened by what we believe could have gone better, and perhaps concerned by what we were mysteriously not given: full closure.]
19:05 <bookworm>: [Commander Ursa, after cryptically charging us to bury all memories concerning the cult we encountered, has directed us to camp in the hills for a few days before proceeding to Setter's Pit to await our next assignment.]
19:05 <bookworm>: [As evening is already well upon us, we journey only a short distance from the mine before making camp for the night.]
19:05 bookworm is now known as Gareth
19:06 <Gareth>: I start a campfire and sit by it examining the carving I took from the guard tent, but find myself reflecting more on the events resulting in the acquisition of the piece than its craftsmanship.
19:06 Tikvah is now known as Olwen
19:11 <Olwen>: [So do we just start doing stuff?]
19:12 <Gareth>: [Start doing stuff, then we'll start saying stuff :) ]
19:12 <Gareth>: [Whatever you want; no wrong tonight]
19:12 <Ezra>: I stand just at the edge of the fires light, looking at the sky and thinking.
19:12 <Olwen>: I sit by the fire, cutting new arrow shafts.
19:13 <Olwen>: {Is Ursa around? Or did he go of on some other mission.}
19:15 <Gareth>: [He took the freed slaves away]
19:15 <Gareth>: I sit in silence, wanting to bring up Ursa's strange behavior, but unsure if I should.
19:15 <Olwen>: "So what's up with Ursa? He seemed a bit edgy."
19:16 <Ezra>: I turn to Olwen. "Which one of you is he again?"
19:17 <Gareth>: [Ursa was the NPC]
19:17 <Olwen>: "Ursa was the Commander sent with us this mission."
19:17 <Gareth>: [Remember, he freaked out about the cult and said to forget we saw anything]
19:17 <Ezra>: "Oh, I remember the man." I pause to think.
19:18 <Gareth>: "Apparently we stumbled onto something serious."
19:18 <Ezra>: "It is obvious he knows quite a bit about this..." I recall that we were meant to forget about it.
19:18 <Olwen>: "It's strange, indeed."
19:19 <Gareth>: "Yes, he clearly knows what it was; he just doesn't want us to..."
19:19 <Ezra>: "Hm, I wonder if he has any personal history with it. Of any manner..." I turn back to the sky.
19:20 <Gareth>: "I know he said to drop it, but I can't help being intrigued.. "
19:21 <Ezra>: "Well, it may be a simple matter in the end. I would wish to speak with him on the matter at some point however, as the topic seemed to rise a number of emotions..."
19:21 <Olwen>: "Well, I don't know what we can do by worrying about it."
19:21 <Gareth>: "...I think..." I pause to try feeling out how this will be received.
19:22 <Ezra>: "Go on, say what you will."
19:22 <Gareth>: "I'm going to look into it." I quickly add "Not outright; I'm not going to make a quest out of it, I respect Ursa's reticence."
19:23 <Gareth>: "But if I happen to find some further information..."
19:24 <Olwen>: "Indeed. But until then we cannot spend all our time worrying on it. It will come to no good end."
19:25 <Gareth>: 'Well... I still have those papers."
19:25 <Ezra>: "It is wise to consider things in detail, even if they seem unimportant or out of your hands..."
19:26 <Gareth>: I retrieve the papers and look over them more thoroughly.
19:26 <Olwen>: "Whatever. I never was one for thinking."
19:28 <Ezra>: "One should always think. Think about everything, the obvious and the absurd. Failure in this may prove more fatal than the strike of the sword." I shift into hawk.
19:28 <Ezra>: I fly to an overhead branch and continue to view the sky.
19:29 <Gareth>: [Technically you don't have that ability yet, but it can slide.]
19:29 <Ezra>: [Right. Time travel, got it, but thanks.]
19:29 <Gareth>: "We should certainly keep this to ourselves, in any event. I don't hold onto the matter to defy the Embers, only to understand what is going on."
19:29 <Olwen>: "Alright, you think about it then."
19:30 <Gareth>: I study the papers in silence for a while.
19:31 <Olwen>: I finish making arrow shafts and put them in my pack.
19:34 <Gareth>: I frown and sit in thought for a moment.
19:34 <Gareth>: I look over at Olwen.
19:35 <Olwen>: "Yes?"
19:35 <Ezra>: I look down and watch them.
19:35 <Gareth>: I look back at the papers, then move over to her.
19:36 <Gareth>: "I've been able to make out most of this."
19:36 <Olwen>: "And what do these papers say?"
19:36 <Gareth>: [Skid, please repeat]
19:38 <Skid>: From what you can piece together, these papers are half alchemical text and half cultist manifesto. They refer to the blood of dragons as containing the means to the lesser immortality. The greater immortality can only be achieved by the supreme dragon through ultimate devouring shared by the worthy. The presence of an unworthy soul in the devouring would lead to the death of the supreme dragon.
19:38 <Skid>: They include a heavily-revised alchemical formula for detecting some form of impurities in blood. While you're not certain what it's testing for, positive results turn the blood sample to [unintelligible]. 'Still occasional false negatives. 97/100 ac. Less trill powder?' is scribbled across the corner.
19:41 <Gareth>: [Any reactions?]
19:41 <Olwen>: [nope]
19:42 <Ezra>: [I am simply watching as of now.]
19:42 <Gareth>: [Really? Not even a "O.o"?]
19:42 <Gareth>: [Alright :p]
19:42 <Gareth>: "Ursa said to destroy these." I look at the fire. "But I think we should keep them for now. We might need the information to defeat these people, it sounds like serious stuff." (I explain why I don't burn the papers so it's clear I'm not wanting the information for its own sake or anything weird like that.)
19:43 <Ezra>: I am glad the papers are not going to be burned.
19:43 <Skid>: Or does he...
19:43 <Gareth>: [You be quiet]
19:44 <Gareth>: I return the papers to my pack.
19:44 <Olwen>: "So, Ezra. Is that how you normally sleep at night? As a bird?"
19:45 <Ezra>: I fly down next to Olwen and shift into a human. "No, I sleep as a human, or a wolf."
19:45 <Olwen>: "Then what was with the whole bird thing just now?"
19:46 <Ezra>: "I like to be above the earth at times. Thinking is easier when one is free of it, even to just a small level."
19:47 <Olwen>: "Hmm. I usually stand on my hands for that."
19:48 <Gareth>: [We hear the sounds of someone approaching from around a dune.]
19:48 <Ezra>: I glance out to the dunes and put my hand to my dagger.
19:48 <Leviticus>: [that would be me?]
19:49 <Gareth>: [Yes]
19:49 <Olwen>: [Who's he?]
19:49 <Gareth>: [Might become an adventurer later; right now he's just a traveler who came upon the camp.]
19:49 <Olwen>: [Alright.]
19:49 <Leviticus>: A howl sounds from behind the dune
19:50 <Ezra>: I move outside of the firelight.
19:50 <Ezra>: I ease closer to the dunes.
19:50 <Olwen>: "What was that?"
19:52 <Gareth>: "Who approaches?" I call
19:52 <Ezra>: I shift into a wolf and howl a reply.
19:52 <Olwen>: I pick up my bow and ready an arrow.
19:53 <Ezra>: I slink over the edge of the dune, eyes keen.
19:53 <Gareth>: [Roll perception I guess]
19:53 <Ezra>: [XD Why not...]
19:53 <Leviticus>: A wolf trots toward Ezra, wary in case of attack
19:53 <Gareth>: [Didn't plan on any dice tonight, but whatever we'll run with it ;)]
19:54 <Gareth>: [Since I'm GM I can make sure it goes the right way.]
19:54 <Ezra>: !roll d20 perception
19:54 <Olwen>: [Let the games begin :P]
19:54 <Dicebot>: Ezra, perception: 16
19:54 <Gareth>: [You sense that the wolf is simply cautious, not aggressive.]
19:54 <Ezra>: I bark a warning to the wolf, but get closer.
19:55 <Ezra>: I inquire in wolf what he wants.
19:55 <Leviticus>: The wolf does not reply
19:55 <Olwen>: "Is he trying to talk to a dog?"
19:56 <Leviticus>: A young man approaches from the direction the wolf came from
19:56 <Ezra>: I inquire again, more forceful, whipping my tail. and spiking my fur.
19:56 <Leviticus>: "Ah, so that's why you ran off, Numbers. Smelled a fellow wolf."
19:56 <Ezra>: I jump back at the sight of the human.
19:57 <Olwen>: "Who goes there?"
19:57 <Leviticus>: The man pats his wolf
19:57 <Ezra>: I eye the man, but find him non-hostile.
19:57 <Leviticus>: "Leviticus is my given name, but I much prefer Levi."
19:58 <Leviticus>: "And who might you be, lass?"
19:58 <Olwen>: "I am Olwen, member of the Ember Patrol. What brings you to these parts?"
19:58 <Ezra>: I trot back to the fire, looking back at Levi.
19:59 Skid gets used to the idea of there being another him running around.
19:59 <Olwen>: [Hehehe]
19:59 <Ezra>: [Skid's name is Levi?]
19:59 <Gareth>: [Yes]
19:59 <Leviticus>: "My wolf ran off. I assume he came here because he smelled your wolf."
19:59 <Ezra>: I grin as only a wolf can...
19:59 <Leviticus>: Levi pats the other wolf[Ezra]
20:00 <Leviticus>: "What's his name?"
20:00 <Ezra>: I pant and wag my tail for the show.
20:00 <Gareth>: "Mm, he's not a wolf really."
20:00 <Olwen>: I snicker softly. "That's Ezra, our third companion."
20:00 <Ezra>: I roll over.
20:00 <Gareth>: I roll my eyes.
20:00 <Leviticus>: Levi laughs. "May I take it, then, that I am in the precense of a werewolf?"
20:01 <Ezra>: I shift into a human. "Close my good man." I laugh.
20:01 <Ezra>: "I am a shifter." I reach to shake his hand.
20:02 <Leviticus>: "Clever," Levi replies. "I have only heard legends of such men. It is an honor." Levi shakes Ezra's hand
20:03 <Ezra>: "Your honor is ill placed, but I thank you for the complement."
20:03 <Gareth>: "What brings you into the wilds this evening?"
20:04 <Leviticus>: "I live in the wild," Levi answers.
20:04 <Ezra>: I smile.
20:04 <Ezra>: "Then indeed, welcome. Will you stay for a moment?"
20:05 <Olwen>: "Have you any companions?" I ask, a little suspicious.
20:06 <Leviticus>: "If you please," Levi replies. "I live a life of solitude, and enjoy a rare bit of social involvement."
20:06 <Ezra>: I use Trained Deception Detecting, for the sake more than for doubt.
20:06 <Leviticus>: "Only Numbers," I answer to Olwen
20:07 <Olwen>: I set my bow down.
20:08 <Ezra>: [I may as well roll, eh Gareth?]
20:08 <Gareth>: [Nah, auto success. You are content he has no hidden motives.]
20:08 <Olwen>: "So long as you're not a bandit, I don't care if you live in the bottom of a pond."
20:09 <Gareth>: I return to my seat.
20:23 <Ezra>: "Nice wolf, I should know. Where did you get him?'
20:24 <Leviticus>: "Believe it or not, we first met when he attacked me"
20:24 <Ezra>: I lean in, intrigued.
20:24 <Ezra>: "Really, how did you become such good mates with a start such as that?"
20:25 <Gareth>: I take out my knife and continue working on the carving, leaving the others to the idle conversation.
20:26 <Leviticus>: "I'm afraid I had to kill his companion, and wound him to protect myself"
20:27 <Ezra>: "What did you not just kill him after?"
20:27 <Leviticus>: "I was lonely"
20:28 <Leviticus>: "I took him to a healer, and exchanged some repair services for his recovery."
20:29 <Leviticus>: "He has been my companion ever since."
20:29 <Ezra>: I smile. "They say loneliness makes companions of us all..."
20:29 <Leviticus>: "And what is your story? How did you aquire this incredible ability?"
20:31 <Ezra>: "Ah, the simple answer is I do not know..." I sigh. "I rather discovered it. In a situation that ironically involved wolves."
20:32 <Leviticus>: "I wonder what Numbers would look like as a human," Levi chuckles
20:33 <Ezra>: "An interesting thought..."
20:33 <Olwen>: I laugh. "Sometimes I wish I was a mage, just to test these things out."
20:34 <Leviticus>: "So how did you become involved with the Embers?"
20:35 <Olwen>: "I had nothing else to do after my group broke up, and it seemed like a good idea at the time."
20:35 <Leviticus>: "And was it?"
20:36 <Olwen>: "Well, I've only just completed my first mission, so I can't say yet. You certainly get a fair share of excitment."
20:37 <Leviticus>: "Sounds interesting."
20:37 <Ezra>: I look at the sky. "Well. I needed something," I then glance north to the mountains... "Let us say I needed something to give my mind to do. Also, I hope to find someone someday..."
20:39 <Leviticus>: "If you ever need some unofficial help, signal Numbers. He'll lead me to you"
20:40 <Olwen>: "Sounds great. We might need someone less attatched to the law."
20:40 <Ezra>: I sigh and turn back to Levi. "Hm, thanks." I smile. "I will keep this in mind.
20:40 <Leviticus>: "Was it you who took down those slavers this afternoon?" Levi asks.
20:41 <Ezra>: "That was our doing, yes."
20:41 <Gareth>: "Our first assignment as a group."
20:41 <Leviticus>: "Well done. They were a menace to the area"
20:42 <Olwen>: "They were disgusting."
20:42 <Leviticus>: They attempted to capture me one of the nights I was with the healer. I barely escaped"
20:42 <Gareth>: "You were fortunate."
20:43 <Ezra>: I glance at Olwen. "What happened to your old group? Why did they break up?"
20:43 <Olwen>: "Bandit attack. They took our supplies, and we didn't have the money to continue traveling."
20:44 <Olwen>: "We were traveling performers."
20:44 <Leviticus>: "Oh? What was your act?"
20:44 <Ezra>: I pause and think, then nod.
20:44 <Gareth>: "Ah, that explains your acrobatic prowess."
20:45 <Olwen>: "I was the acrobat. For a cople years I was also part of the trickshot act."
20:45 <Olwen>: "It helped my archery a great deal."
20:45 <Ezra>: "Why Ember though?"
20:46 <Ezra>: "Is that not quite an extreme from the stage?"
20:46 <Olwen>: "Our business was destroyed by bandits. I thought I would help make it safer for others."
20:47 <Gareth>: I nod.
20:47 <Olwen>: "We had planty of adventures, so it might not be as big of a change as you think."
20:47 <Ezra>: "Hm... Where are you from?"
20:47 <Olwen>: "Blacktree."
20:48 <Ezra>: I keen up. "Oh?"
20:48 <Ezra>: "Did you ever go neer the mountains?"
20:49 <Olwen>: "Yes, we traveled throught them quite a bit."
20:49 <Ezra>: "Have you ever heard word of a man by the name of David Hunter?"
20:50 <Olwen>: "No, I never did. Unless he was of the type that likes watching circuses, It's unlikely that I would have run across him."
20:51 <Ezra>: "Hm... Alright."
20:52 <Ezra>: I return to pensive thought. "Oh, what about you Gareth, what is your story?"
20:52 <Ezra>: "Why did you join?"
20:54 <Gareth>: "Straightforward. I'm an academic; traveled around researching, hunting artifacts. Thought being with the Ember Patrol would be a good opportunity to gain some of their knowledge. I'm hoping to get to do some work in their archive."
20:55 <Ezra>: "Any particular kind of items you find most intriguing?"
20:56 <Gareth>: "Well, as a mage naturally I'm drawn to those with magical elements."
20:57 <Ezra>: I nod at Numbers. "Ha, could you make him a human?"
20:58 <Gareth>: I chuckle. "Not at the moment."
21:05 <Gareth>: "How many forms can you take at present, Ezra?"
21:06 <Olwen>: I watch interestedly.
21:06 <Ezra>: "Only the two, however I am gaining more every year. It has only been recently that I have been successful in such training."
21:07 <Gareth>: I nod.
21:08 <Ezra>: "I find the hawk to be a milestone."
21:08 <Ezra>: "I tried a bird once before, it ended badly..."
21:09 <Olwen>: "Because it's the first one you learned on purpose?"
21:09 <Ezra>: "Quite so!"
21:09 <Ezra>: I smile, pleased that she understands.
21:12 <Olwen>: "Well, I'm going to turn in."
21:14 <Gareth>: "You were a welcome guest after our mission, Levi."
21:14 <Ezra>: I look towards my tent, considering doing the same.
21:14 <Ezra>: "Yes, more than welcome!"
21:15 <Olwen>: "Well, nice talking to you, I'm out."
21:15 <Olwen>: [Goodnight, everyone.]
21:15 <Ezra>: "Sleep well Olwen."
21:16 <Gareth>: [That's a wrap :) ]
21:16 <Gareth>: Alright; I don't think we need to journal about this since we just said what our characters are thinking; I'll just post the transcript to the thread when I'm able. :)
21:16 <Olwen>: OK.
21:16 Olwen quit
21:16 <Gareth>: And I think we should get XP for team bonding; but Skid will have to decide that. (He actually raised the possibility himself before I mentioned it though, so I think there's a good chance.)
21:16 <Gareth>: I think this was nice. Should we have more of these every few missions as a way to show how our characters feel about things as they progress as a team?
21:17 <Skid>: Yes, everyone who participated in this gets an XP.
21:17 <Gareth>: :D
21:17 <Ezra>: [Agreed! That would be nice.]
21:17 <Gareth>: Oh, Levi go ahead and play out your exit if you would like
21:18 <Gareth>: Didn't mean to abandon you in the middle of camp :p
21:18 <Skid>: Rocks fall. Everyone dies. The end. =p
21:19 <Gareth>: That's why I said you have no power tonight!
21:19 <Gareth>: Oh I get it
21:19 <Gareth>: You're Skid in here!
21:19 <Ezra>: [I don't get it...]
21:19 <Gareth>: I told Levi to go
21:20 <Gareth>: But the real one went, instead of the character.
21:20 <Ezra>: [Oh... right... sure... ahhh... yeah...]
21:21 <Gareth>: [Olwen goes to her tent.]
21:21 <Ezra>: I shift into a wolf and lay down next to the fire.
21:23 <Leviticus>: I wave to Ezra and Gareth
21:23 <Ezra>: I nod at Levi.
21:23 <Gareth>: "Perhaps we shall meet again."
21:23 <Leviticus>: "Don't forget my offer. I would be interested in sharing an adventure with you. Who knows, I may even join the Embers."
21:24 <Ezra>: "I would be glad to have your company!"
21:26 <Gareth>: [Levi moves onward into the desert.]
21:26 <Gareth>: I sit for a while longer gazing at the fire in thought, then turn in.
21:27 <Gareth>: [And that's a real wrap. :) ]
21:27 <Gareth>: Good show everyone
21:27 <Ezra>: This was fun!
21:27 <Ezra>: We really should do this after most missions!
21:27 <Gareth>: It was. And Woody's character added a nice element.
21:28 <Ezra>: Agreed!
21:28 <Gareth>: We will definitely do it again, after major plot points drop.
21:28 <Gareth>: Good way to track how things are developing.
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Skid
Still standing tall
Posts: 1343
Joined: November 2006
Location: The Frozen North

Post by Skid »

Okay. Bookworm and Tikvah each earn an XP for journal posts, and all participants in the hangout get 1 XP for roleplaying.

-- Fri May 15, 2015 4:45 am --

Side mission with Tikvah: Package collection gone wrong. She earns 2 XP and 10 Nobles Pay, plus loot.

Mission transcript:
Continued by Package Protection
Takes place between the Sandstorm Attack and the Search and Rescue mission
18:58 Tikvah is now known as Olwen
19:01 <Skid_GMing>: You're headed for Balor's Conquest for this one. A patron of the Ember Patrol has requested that a package be delivered personally by the Embers from his home to a contact in Cairnport.
19:01 <Olwen>: Alright then.
19:03 <Skid_GMing>: You've been given a sealed note for the Patron, and directions to his house, with instructions to use discretion. It's a small mansion in the high quarter, flanked by statues of swans.
19:04 <Skid_GMing>: What time of day would you like to begin the package retrieval?
19:04 <Olwen>: In the early afternoon.
19:05 <Skid_GMing>: Of note: Entering Balor's Conquest puts you outside the Ember Patrol's commission. You do not carry force of law in here.
19:05 <Olwen>: Alright.
19:05 <Olwen>: :D My character has always wanted to go to Balor's Conquest.
19:06 <Skid_GMing>: Well, if you want to do any sightseeing, now's the time. =p
19:07 <Olwen>: I don't. Just noticed that it said that in her bio.
19:07 <Olwen>: I'm ready to begin.
19:07 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you arrive in Balor's Conquest during a beautiful sunny afternoon. You pass through the bustling grand marketplace where every kind of good and trinket is sold, and the scent of delicious spices hangs in the air.
19:08 <Olwen>: What are my directions?
19:09 <Skid_GMing>: High Quarter, Erin's Street. House with Two Swans. Use the side entrance.
19:09 <Olwen>: I look at my surroundings.
19:12 <Skid_GMing>: You're in the market district. To the north you can see the high marble towers and red ceramic roofs of the High Quarter surrounding the Imperial palace.
19:12 <Olwen>: I head towards the high quarter.
19:12 <Skid_GMing>: To the east, a rainbow shimmer of magical power rises from the University.
19:13 <Skid_GMing>: You enter the noble's quarter, full of the most extravagant gilding and statuary that money can buy. Erin's Street exits just off the main Imperial Highway.
19:14 <Olwen>: I follow Erin's street, looking for the correct house.
19:16 <Skid_GMing>: You find it. The Swans are enormous, flanking an elaborately carved set of marble stairs and imposing double doors of steel-banded cedar.
19:16 <Olwen>: Anything unusual about it?
19:17 <Skid_GMing>: Roll perception.
19:17 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
19:17 <Dicebot> Olwen, specialized: 19
19:19 <Skid_GMing>: You can't see much from the front. The curtains in the upper windows are closed, as are the doors. A small but tidy alleyway leads off along the north side.
19:19 <Olwen>: I follow the alleyway.
19:20 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, the alleyway brings you to a servants' entrance, which is closed.
19:20 <Olwen>: I knock on the entrance.
19:20 <Skid_GMing>: You get no immediate response.
19:21 <Olwen>: Uh-Oh.
19:21 <Olwen>: I knock again.
19:21 <Skid_GMing>: Still nothing.
19:21 <Olwen>: Is it locked?
19:21 <Skid_GMing>: You try the handle and find it unlocked.
19:22 <Olwen>: I open it a crack.
19:22 <Olwen>: "Hello?"
19:22 <Skid_GMing>: You see a sliver of kitchen, and get no response.
19:22 <Olwen>: Is there anything around outside?
19:24 <Skid_GMing>: There's a barrel sitting next to the door, and maybe some loose rocks. The alley continues on to join with other alleyways.
19:24 <Olwen>: I look in the barrel.
19:24 <Skid_GMing>: It's half-full of trash.
19:24 <Olwen>: I go back to the door and open it wider.
19:25 <Skid_GMing>: You look in on a larger slice of the kitchen, there are a couple onions lying on the floor, and a unwashed dishes on the counter.
19:26 <Olwen>: I go inside and look around.
19:26 <Skid_GMing>: Okay. Perception check.
19:27 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
19:27 <Dicebot> Olwen, specialized: 10
19:29 <Skid_GMing>: The smell of onions stings your nostrils as you survey the kitchen. There aren't any people here, but you appear to have arrived in the middle of the preparation for a meal. A large bird is roasting over the fire, and various side-dishes and implements cover the countertops. In the south-west corner, spiral stairs lead up. To the west and east, doorways open into other rooms. A hallway leads south from the southeastern corner.
19:30 <Olwen>: "Hello!"
19:30 <Skid_GMing>: The onions on the floor are half-chopped and spilled haphazardly.
19:31 <Skid_GMing>: You hear feet thump upstairs.
19:31 <Olwen>: I pick up an onion.
19:32 <Skid_GMing>: You've got an onion. The feet head towards the spiral staircase.
19:32 <Olwen>: I reach for my bow.
19:33 <Skid_GMing>: The feet begin to descend, breaking into a run.
19:33 <Olwen>: I hide behind a table.
19:33 <Skid_GMing>: Stealth check.
19:33 <Olwen>: !roll d20
19:33 <Dicebot> Olwen: 12
19:34 <Skid_GMing>: You conceal yourself behind a wooden table, restricting view from the stairs.
19:34 <Olwen>: I look around it.
19:35 <Skid_GMing>: Perception check.
19:35 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
19:35 <Dicebot> Olwen, specialized: 20
19:37 <Skid_GMing>: A short, stubby man in blood-stained servant's clothes descends into view at a run, both hands gripping daggers. He scans the room and then heads for the room on the western side. This will take him past your table.
19:37 <Olwen>: I jump out in front of him.
19:37 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, that's not a full action, do you do anything else?
19:38 <Olwen>: I pull out my bow.
19:38 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you level an arrow at him?
19:38 <Olwen>: Sure.
19:39 <Skid_GMing>: Roll... intimidate?
19:39 <Olwen>: !roll d20
19:39 <Dicebot> Olwen: 20
19:39 <Olwen>: 0_0
19:40 <Skid_GMing>: He swears loudly and slides to a stop, your arrow at his throat.
19:40 <Olwen>: "Who are you?"
19:40 <Skid_GMing>: He stutters and looks around, wild-eyed.
19:41 <Olwen>: "Answer me!"
19:41 <Skid_GMing>: Roll sense motive.
19:41 <Olwen>: !roll d20
19:41 <Dicebot> Olwen: 10
19:42 <Skid_GMing>: He's not a servant, and he's extremely desperate.
19:42 <Olwen>: Am I between him and the door?
19:42 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
19:43 <Skid_GMing>: Of note, he's still holding the daggers.
19:43 <Skid_GMing>: "Ah... ah. Let's be reasonable here." He takes one step back.
19:43 <Olwen>: "Drop your weapons!"
19:43 <Skid_GMing>: He raises his hands surrenderingly, but does not.
19:44 <Olwen>: "You have 3 seconds!"
19:44 <Skid_GMing>: "You take your little bow back out that door and forget you saw anything. Nobody has to get hurt here."
19:45 <Skid_GMing>: He still doesn't drop his daggers.
19:45 <Olwen>: "2.."
19:45 <Skid_GMing>: roll sense motive.
19:45 <Olwen>: !roll d20
19:45 <Dicebot> Olwen: 9
19:46 <Skid_GMing>: He lowers his stance slightly, glancing at your bow.
19:46 <Skid_GMing>: "You don't want to get mixed up in this, kid."
19:46 <Olwen>: "1..." I get ready in case he attacks.
19:47 <Skid_GMing>: Roll initative.
19:49 <Olwen>: !roll d20
19:49 <Dicebot> Olwen: 5
19:49 <Skid_GMing>: He lunges for you, slashing to cut your bowstring. Dodge.
19:50 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained
19:50 <Dicebot> Olwen, trained: 5
19:50 <Olwen>: o_o
19:51 <Skid_GMing>: He slices through the string and your arrow falls limp. Your turn.
19:52 <Olwen>: I bash him on the head with my bow.
19:52 <Skid_GMing>: Uhm. Medium weapon, improvised, -1 to accuracy. Okay, roll for it.
19:53 <Olwen>: !roll d20 effort to accuracy
19:53 <Dicebot> Olwen, effort to accuracy: 11
19:53 <Skid_GMing>: Oh. Remember to list effort for speed actions.
19:53 <Olwen>: (Wold that be speed?)
19:53 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
19:53 <Olwen>: (I don't lose any, right?)
19:53 <Skid_GMing>: You've got three edge, right?
19:53 <Olwen>: Yes
19:54 <Skid_GMing>: Yes. You got your first effort free.
19:54 <Skid_GMing>: He deflects the bow with a wrist while slashing for you with the other dagger. Dodge.
19:55 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained
19:55 <Dicebot> Olwen, trained: 9
19:55 <Olwen>: -_-
19:55 <Skid_GMing>: You sidestep clear of his strike.
19:55 <Skid_GMing>: Your turn.
19:56 <Olwen>: I kick him in the shin.
19:56 <Skid_GMing>: Unarmed strike...
19:56 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
19:57 <Olwen>: !roll d20 effort to accuracy
19:57 <Dicebot> Olwen, effort to accuracy: 10
19:57 <Olwen>: (Is there a downside to putting effort on everything?)
19:57 <Skid_GMing>: None.
19:57 <Skid_GMing>: If you have the edge for it.
19:58 <Olwen>: :D
19:58 <Olwen>: (I do, right?)
19:58 <Skid_GMing>: You connect with his shin.
19:59 <Skid_GMing>: He cringes and turns to slash at you with a long, low swipe at your thigh. Dodge.
19:59 <Olwen>: (can I put speed effort to dodging?)
19:59 <Skid_GMing>: Yes.
20:00 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained, effort to speed
20:00 <Dicebot> Olwen, trained, effort to speed: 12
20:00 <Olwen>: (I will then.)
20:00 <Skid_GMing>: You dance clear, deflecting his slash with your bow.
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: Your turn.
20:01 <Olwen>: I hit him in the head with my bow.
20:01 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
20:02 <Olwen>: !roll d20, effort to accuracy
20:02 <Olwen>: !roll d20 effort to accuracy
20:02 <Dicebot> Olwen, effort to accuracy: 18
20:02 <Skid_GMing>: You whack him right between the eyes.
20:03 <Olwen>: (Is he taking any damage from this?)
20:03 <Skid_GMing>: His forehead is bruised and bleeding profusely.
20:03 <Skid_GMing>: He tries to bull rush you, both daggers forward.
20:04 <Olwen>: Where am I in relation to the door?
20:05 <Skid_GMing>: The door to the outside is to your left.
20:05 <Skid_GMing>: You need to dodge this now though.
20:05 <Olwen>: I flip over his head.
20:05 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, roll for it.
20:06 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained acrobatics, dodging, one effort to speed
20:06 <Dicebot> Olwen, trained acrobatics, dodging, one effort to speed: 14
20:07 <Skid_GMing>: You do a flying flip over his head, his rush carrying him into the wall.
20:08 <Skid_GMing>: Your turn.
20:08 <Olwen>: I hit him in the back of the head with my bow.
20:08 <Skid_GMing>: Roll for it.
20:09 <Olwen>: !roll d20 effort to damage.
20:09 <Dicebot> Olwen, effort to damage.: 13
20:09 <Olwen>: (That comes out of might, right?)
20:09 <Skid_GMing>: Speed still.
20:10 <Skid_GMing>: It's a medium weapon.
20:10 <Olwen>: sweet.
20:10 <Skid_GMing>: He slumps to the ground, mid-turn. His daggers clatter to the floor.
20:10 <Olwen>: I tie him up and take the daggers.
20:11 <Skid_GMing>: He groans and flails a little while you tie him, but provides no real resistance.
20:12 <Olwen>: I search him.
20:13 <Skid_GMing>: He's carrying very little besides the daggers, servants clothes, and two nasty lumps on his head.
20:13 <Olwen>: Can I keep the daggers?
20:14 <Skid_GMing>: If you want them. They're of average blade quality, but the workmanship of the hilts is rather impressive.
20:15 <Skid_GMing>: You could probably get a good price for selling them.
20:15 <Olwen>: I look around for anything I could use as a weapon.
20:16 <Skid_GMing>: There are a variety of kitchen knives, frying pans, etc...
20:16 <Skid_GMing>: The bird over the fire is looking increasingly burnt.
20:16 <Olwen>: I pick up a frying pan and head up the stairs.
20:18 <Skid_GMing>: Okay. You climb the stairs and emerge in a large dining hall, hung with tapestries of singing swans.
20:20 <Skid_GMing>: It runs north-south. Various door lead off the west and east sides. A large marble stairway leads down from the southeast corner.
20:20 <Skid_GMing>: Make a perception check.
20:22 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
20:22 <Dicebot> Olwen, specialized: 3
20:22 <Olwen>: ouch.
20:22 <Olwen>: Are any of the dors open?
20:22 <Skid_GMing>: None of them seem to be.
20:24 <Skid_GMing>: There also doesn't appear to be anyone around. The table is set for for eight.
20:24 <Skid_GMing>: Oh. I forgot to mention. The stairs go up another level.
20:25 <Olwen>: Do I hear anything?
20:25 <Skid_GMing>: The place is deathly silent.
20:25 <Olwen>: I go up the stairs.
20:27 <Skid_GMing>: Okay, you emerge in a sort of sitting-room with plush sofas and detailed wood carvings. Doors on the north, west and south, and a curtained windows looking out over the street.
20:27 <Olwen>: Any open doors?
20:28 <Skid_GMing>: Yes, actually the one to the north is open. It leads into a bedroom decorated with pink.
20:28 <Olwen>: I look in.
20:29 <Skid_GMing>: Perception roll.
20:29 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
20:29 <Dicebot> Olwen, specialized: 14
20:30 <Skid_GMing>: It's a girl's room, very pretty, with stuffed toys carefully arranged on shelves, a canopied bed, and large wooden wardrobe.
20:31 <Olwen>: I go back and check in another room.
20:31 <Olwen>: The west one.
20:32 <Skid_GMing>: You open the west room. Immediately you smell blood and see a body lying on the floral carpet.
20:32 <Olwen>: I examine the room
20:34 <Skid_GMing>: It would be the master bedroom, large and ornate. The body on the floor is a man's, well dressed and bleeding from several stab wounds.
20:34 <Olwen>: I search the body.
20:35 <Skid_GMing>: Roll a perception check.
20:35 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
20:35 <Dicebot> Olwen, specialized: 13
20:37 <Skid_GMing>: He's a gentleman who must have been about 40 years old. You go through the victims pockets. There's a hankerchief embroidered with the swan crest, An handful of Nobles (13), and a box of matches.
20:38 <Skid_GMing>: You hear a low sob.
20:38 <Olwen>: I look around for the cause.
20:39 <Skid_GMing>: You spend some time poknig around and find yourself in front of the girl's wardrobe.
20:39 <Olwen>: I open it.
20:39 <Skid_GMing>: Roll a dodge.
20:40 <Olwen>: !roll d20 trained 1 effort
20:40 <Dicebot> Olwen, trained 1 effort: 18
20:40 <Skid_GMing>: A young girl springs out, gripping a heavy glass bottle and swinging ineffectually at you.
20:41 <Olwen>: "Woah now, I don't want to harm you."
20:41 <Skid_GMing>: "You killed them! You killed them!" she screams.
20:41 <Olwen>: "Who?"
20:41 <Skid_GMing>: "MY PARENTS YOU MONSTER."
20:42 <Olwen>: "I didn't."
20:42 <Skid_GMing>: She lunges for you again, without result.
20:42 <Olwen>: "I'm here to help."
20:42 <Skid_GMing>: Roll a diplomacy check.
20:42 <Olwen>: !roll d20
20:42 <Dicebot> Olwen: 12
20:43 <Skid_GMing>: She doesn't seem convinced.
20:44 <Olwen>: I put down my frying pan.
20:45 <Skid_GMing>: She's still going for you, but seems to be getting tired.
20:45 <Olwen>: "How long have you been hiding?"
20:46 <Skid_GMing>: She's really not responding to questions with much besides screaming, crying, and ineffective attacks.
20:46 <Olwen>: Does this city have police?
20:47 <Skid_GMing>: There's a city guard.
20:47 <Olwen>: Hmm.
20:48 <Olwen>: "Look, I'm going to leave now, but I'll be back."
20:48 <Olwen>: I exit the room and close the door.
20:48 <Skid_GMing>: She's starting to look mystified between the sobs.
20:49 <Skid_GMing>: She stays inside.
20:49 <Olwen>: I look in the East room.
20:50 <Skid_GMing>: It's an office space. There's a woman's body slumped in the chair.
20:50 <Olwen>: I look around for the package I was meant to deliver.
20:51 <Skid_GMing>: You're not sure what to look for. There doesn't seem to be anything marked "for the Embers".
20:51 <Olwen>: I search the body.
20:53 <Skid_GMing>: She's a woman, maybe 35, wearing a simple but elegant dress. It doesn't have pockets, but does have several stab wounds.
20:53 <Olwen>: Entirely dead, right?
20:54 <Skid_GMing>: Very much, yes.
20:54 <Olwen>: I examine the letter I was given earlier.
20:55 <Skid_GMing>: Ah. It's a folded and sealed note.
20:55 <Olwen>: What does the seal look like?
20:55 <Skid_GMing>: It's wax and marked with the Ember insignia.
20:55 <Olwen>: I examine the room for any other clues.
20:57 <Skid_GMing>: Which room?
20:57 <Olwen>: The one I'm in.
20:59 <Skid_GMing>: It's an office. There's paperwork and spattered blood. On the desk lies a partially-written letter to "Uncle Louis" thanking him for an upspecified favour during these "dangerous times".
21:00 <Olwen>: I go back downstairs to look in the other rooms.
21:02 <Skid_GMing>: You go downstairs and start opening doors. You find other lesser bedrooms, a parlour, a room dedicated to an enormous collection of butterflies, a bathroom which contains a dead janitor, and various storage spaces.
21:03 <Olwen>: Ugh. What am I missing?
21:03 <Olwen>: I go back down to the kitchen.
21:03 <Skid_GMing>: Well, you've got a sealed note to a dead guy.
21:03 <Skid_GMing>: And a tied up assassin.
21:04 <Olwen>: Is he still there?
21:04 <Skid_GMing>: He's still there, actually.
21:04 <Olwen>: Awake?
21:04 <Skid_GMing>: He's wormed his way partway across the room, but he's still there.
21:05 <Skid_GMing>: He glares at you as you approach.
21:05 <Olwen>: "What did you do here?"
21:06 <Skid_GMing>: "What I was paid to." He sneers.
21:06 <Olwen>: "Who paid you?"
21:07 <Skid_GMing>: "Heh. Big untouchable men with deep pockets."
21:07 <Skid_GMing>: "What's it worth to you?"
21:07 <Olwen>: "Worth?"
21:08 <Skid_GMing>: "I think we can cut some sort of a deal."
21:08 <Olwen>: "What sort of deal?"
21:09 <Skid_GMing>: "A deal where you don't kill me with this and you don't get hung for murdering all these innocents."
21:10 <Olwen>: "Or how about you tell me who you work for and I don't throw you out the third story window."
21:11 <Skid_GMing>: "And you would do, it wouldn't you. Everyone knows the Embers take any old psycho who can handle a sword."
21:12 <Olwen>: "Unluckily for you I'm not old. Who do you work for?"
21:14 <Skid_GMing>: "I work for the Count Everstead. I was visiting my dear friends here when I was assaulted by you, who went on to slay the entire family."
21:15 <Olwen>: "Nice try. You know I don't have to learn it from you. I have other sources."
21:16 <Skid_GMing>: "Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? I have the perfect alibi now."
21:16 <Olwen>: "Really? Then why would I report this to the city gaurd?"
21:18 <Skid_GMing>: "Many reasons for you to do that. But it'll come down to your word vs. mine. And I think my word carries a little more weight around here."
21:18 <Olwen>: "Oh really?"
21:19 <Skid_GMing>: "Hmm. See for yourself."
21:19 <Olwen>: I move away and take out the letter.
21:20 <Skid_GMing>: You've got the letter.
21:20 <Olwen>: I open it.
21:22 <Skid_GMing>: You open the letter. "Your 'package' will be safe with bearer of this message. I am sorry for the trouble you have found in the capital. She will be safe with us until matters can be resolved."
21:23 <Olwen>: Ugh.
21:23 <Olwen>: I go through the other door.
21:23 <Skid_GMing>: In the basement?
21:23 <Olwen>: Yes
21:24 <Skid_GMing>: You find the cook dead on top of sacks of potatoes.
21:24 <Olwen>: If I don't find something I'm going to stuff that onion up the assassin's nose.
21:25 <Olwen>: Anything else?
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: Well, there's the usual potato storage stuff.
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: And lots of blood.
21:27 <Olwen>: Did I miss any rooms?
21:27 <Skid_GMing>: Not important ones.
21:28 <Olwen>: Hmmmm...
21:28 <Skid_GMing>: Onion time?
21:29 <Olwen>: The bottle the little girl was holding, what did it look like?
21:29 <Skid_GMing>: It was an empty bottle, or really more of a tall vase.
21:30 <Olwen>: I go back to her room.
21:30 <Skid_GMing>: She's sitting on the floor, leaned against the bed. She doesn't look up as you come in.
21:30 <Olwen>: "We need to go, alright?"
21:31 <Skid_GMing>: "Where?"
21:31 <Olwen>: [question, how did he know I was an Ember?]
21:31 <Olwen>: "To where you'll be safe."
21:31 <Skid_GMing>: You've got your cloak on. It's fairly distinctive Ember equipment.
21:31 <Olwen>: ...right.
21:31 <Skid_GMing>: "To Uncle Louis?"
21:32 <Olwen>: "I will try and take you to Uncle Louis."
21:32 <Skid_GMing>: "Dad said I had to go to be with him until it was safe."
21:33 <Olwen>: "Yes, you will be safe."
21:33 <Olwen>: "Come on."
21:33 <Skid_GMing>: She gets up and sniffles.
21:33 <Olwen>: "What's your name?"
21:34 <Skid_GMing>: "Lillian"
21:34 <Olwen>: "Well, then Lillian, let's go."
21:34 <Skid_GMing>: She follows you.
21:35 <Olwen>: I pick her up and head down to the exit.
21:35 <Skid_GMing>: She's not that little, but she goes with you.
21:35 <Olwen>: I don't want her to wander where she shouldn't.
21:35 <Skid_GMing>: You hold hands.
21:36 <Olwen>: Is there anyone in the alley?
21:37 <Skid_GMing>: There isn't anyone in the alleyway, but she pulls back as you get to the door. "I can't go outside."
21:37 <Olwen>: "Why not?"
21:37 <Skid_GMing>: "They'll see me."
21:38 <Olwen>: "Why don't you wear my cloak? Then no-one will recognize you."
21:39 <Skid_GMing>: "Oh... okay."
21:39 <Olwen>: I put it on her and lead her outside.
21:40 <Skid_GMing>: She creeps along behind you.
21:40 <Skid_GMing>: You can go out through the alleys, or the main street.
21:40 <Olwen>: Alleys.
21:41 <Olwen>: I want to take her where I would take the "package"
21:42 <Skid_GMing>: Okay. You'll head for the edge of the city then. You're due to hand the package over to another agent at The Gullet.
21:42 <Olwen>: I go for the edge of the city then.
21:43 <Skid_GMing>: Roll a stealth check.
21:43 <Olwen>: Can I use effort?
21:43 <Skid_GMing>: It's speed, so yes.
21:43 <Olwen>: !roll d20 1 effort
21:43 <Dicebot> Olwen, 1 effort: 3
21:43 <Olwen>: Oh No..
21:45 <Skid_GMing>: You get strange looks as you start to pass through the market district. A guard starts drifting in your direction.
21:46 <Olwen>: *contemplates throwing an onion at his head*
21:46 <Olwen>: How far away is the gate?
21:46 <Skid_GMing>: It's a few more minutes of walking.
21:47 <Skid_GMing>: Lillian sees him and pulls your hand, drawing you towards a gap between market stall.
21:47 <Olwen>: I follow her.
21:48 <Skid_GMing>: The guard tilts his head back and shouts. "Hail there! Stop!"
21:48 <Olwen>: Is there anyone between me and the gate?
21:48 <Skid_GMing>: You slip between the carts, emerging into a narrow alleyway between low buildings. It's piled high with crates and baskets.
21:48 <Skid_GMing>: There are lots of people between. It's a busy city.
21:49 <Olwen>: Any guards?
21:49 <Skid_GMing>: Most of them are busy people though.
21:49 <Skid_GMing>: You don't have a clear line of sight to the gate, but there's probably one or two.
21:49 <Olwen>: Can I get into the crowd at a different point?
21:50 <Skid_GMing>: Exiting the alleyways will bring you back into the streets.
21:50 <Olwen>: I bundle up the cloak and enter the crowd.
21:50 <Olwen>: Hiding my badge too.
21:50 <Skid_GMing>: So you took the cloak off her?
21:51 <Skid_GMing>: Okay. Disguise check. (intellect roll)
21:51 <Olwen>: She can carry a bedroll to hide her face in.
21:51 <Skid_GMing>: Hmm, okay.
21:51 <Olwen>: !roll d20 1 effort
21:51 <Dicebot> Olwen, 1 effort: 17
21:53 <Skid_GMing>: All right. She takes the bedroll and unwraps the blanket, using to to hide her face and cover up her fine-quality dress. You slip back into the crowd and head towards the gate.
21:53 <Olwen>: OK.
21:55 <Skid_GMing>: There's a tense moment as you slip past the gate guards, but you make it into the clear. You're outside the walls now, and back in your territory. Nobody will threaten you in an official capacity here.
21:55 <Skid_GMing>: Make a perception check.
21:55 <Olwen>: We head for the gullet, then.
21:56 <Olwen>: !roll d20 specialized
21:56 <Dicebot> Olwen, specialized: 13
21:57 <Skid_GMing>: You're relatively sure you're in the clear for now.
21:57 <Olwen>: OK.
21:57 <Olwen>: Sooo..
21:57 <Skid_GMing>: In short: you win.
21:57 <Olwen>: Yay.
21:58 <Skid_GMing>: The rest of your mission is fairly uneventful. After stopping to buy unobtrusive travel clothes for Lillian, you make it to the Ember waystation and pass her on to the next agent.
21:58 <Olwen>: OK.
22:00 <Skid_GMing>: We've been playing for... 3 hours? That's a full mission. 2 XP. 10 Nobles pay, the two daggers you picked up, and an onion.
A Note: Several of us have discussing moving the game from Saturday evening to Tuesdays, since there are a couple players who would be more available at that time. This week's session will take place at the usual time, but we will very likely be delaying the following week's to fall on Tuesday.
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Tikvah
Catspaw Rocks!
Posts: 801
Joined: December 2012
Location: The balmy frozen north.

Post by Tikvah »

Would I get an XP if I wrote a journal entry for my one-off?
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Skid
Still standing tall
Posts: 1343
Joined: November 2006
Location: The Frozen North

Post by Skid »

Actually, I'd like to do a short debriefing with you before you write a journal entry for this one. The mission ended up having implications for the rest of the campaign.
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