# Eye of Profane Truth



## Rkhet (Aug 12, 2005)

A lurid dream, of gods and demons, barely remembered, fading.

You wake to the sound of waves.

You sit up, look around. You are at a beach, but there is no wind, no cry of seabirds, only the gentle sound of waves. The sand beneath you is fine-grained, gray like volcanic ash. Looking inland, you see an endless, flat expanse of gray sand, stretching into the horizon. To your west is the sea, and the water, too, looked gray, blending in the distance with the gray sky. The setting sun, muted red against all the colourlessness, seems to bleed into the ocean. Straining your eyes, you see a wharf to your south, the only hint of human existance in a featureless landscape.

You are not alone. Three figures are picking themselves up off the sand as you are. You instinctively know that they are your siblings, created from the same divine energies.


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## Pyrex (Aug 12, 2005)

Lessa lies in the sand, the surf washing over her toes, and her eyes open.  The first thing her new eyes see is the setting sun; a splash of red across a world that so far appears to be only gray.

Sitting up she sees some things scattered nearby.  Somehow she knows they are hers and begins picking them up and putting them on.  

She shivers as a chill breeze sweeps in from the ocean; and, almost without thought, she invokes an _Endure Elements_ to keep warm.

She sees the others, and there is a tickling sensation at the back of her mind, like she should know them.  But something is not right, it almost feels as if she is looking at poorly drawn pictures of people she once knew long ago.  But how could she have known them long ago when she has only known the past few moments?  Why do they look so familiar but also so disturbingly wrong?

She tries to speak, but, bewildered, she barely manages a croak "Where?"


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## Nephtys (Aug 12, 2005)

"In Hell."
 
A young man with a pained expression answers in a cold and despairing tone. "We are in Hell. Not the true Hell, but Hell nevertheless. Torn away... 

This place... it shouldn't be." 

He rises onto his knees and looks out over the sea.  "I do not understand."


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## Albedo (Aug 12, 2005)

The freak awakens to a feeling of nausia. His horribly mutated body aches a little. _So is the price of perfection._ Without getting up, he senses the other beings nearby. He decides to pretend he is still asleep and observe his companions. _One should be careful of those around him._


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## silentspace (Aug 12, 2005)

Rhakzan feels the ground gingerly.  This wasn't right, feeling gravity like this. He should be floating in the ether.  The ground just felt wrong...

Rhakzan studies the others as if they were objects, not living creatures.  He considers dominating them, or assassinating them.  Then he feels it.  These creatures, hideous as they might be, were his kin, his siblings even.  It was a revolting thought.

But there, to the south, was a wharf, something that human or humanoids made. 

"Let us go to the wharf.  There will be beings there, beings for us to enslave or kill."

With that, Rhakzan's form shifts, taking on the appearance of a grizzled old human fisherman, and starts walking south.


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## Pyrex (Aug 12, 2005)

As Rahkzan speaks, Lessa wonders at the instant and deep contempt in his voice.  What had these humans done to earn his emnity?  Surely they could not be responsible for all the dim, gray coldness she was being forced to endure, could they?

Having no answers, nor knowing where to find them, Lessa turns and follows Rahkzan, her arms wrapped around herself, still shivering in the cold; neither her tattered clothing nor her spells doing anything to warm her.


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## silentspace (Aug 12, 2005)

ooc: ethergaunts consider humanity to be a plague that's infesting _their _ world.  they consider it still theirs even though they haven't had a presence on the material plane for thousands of years.


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## Albedo (Aug 12, 2005)

_Ah, so there are more here._ Cann gets up and follows his other two companions. _I must learn as much as I can. The key to absolute perfection won't find itself._ The freak hangs back from them though, and keeps an eye out for what his other sibling is up to. _There is much to learn in so little time._


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## Rkhet (Aug 13, 2005)

As you move towards the wharf, you notice a lone figure, a middle-aged man in simple clothes, sitting on the wharf with a fishing rod, humming to himself.

You move closer, wondering whether to call out to him.

He speaks, not bothering to turn around.  The sound seemed to originate from just beside your ear.

"Ah.  I see you are all awake."

"You have questions.  Ask."


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## Albedo (Aug 13, 2005)

"I guess the most obvious question would be 'What are we doing here?', but I'm more interested in what you have to offer me if I perform whatever service you have summoned/created me for." _This one is different. I figure there may be a great deal of power to be had here. He may be the one to get me closer to my goal of ultimate perfection._


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## Rkhet (Aug 13, 2005)

"Here? This is... my retreat, that is all. A place to be away from the voices of mortals, who are ever so demanding of their gods. They call to me, asking for impossible things, day and night. It saddens me, but I cannot help them."

The man idly swishes his fishing rod around. Looking down into the water, you notice that the line ends in a hook, without bait. Shadowy fish-shaped things nibble at the hook, but their mouthes pass right through.

"Just as, I am afraid, I cannot help you.  The power you seek is not mine to give. In return, I ask nothing of you."


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## Albedo (Aug 13, 2005)

"Then why should I stay in this desolate place? If the power I seek isn't here, I shall have to venture elsewhere to find it." _He's hiding something. This could be dangerous._


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## Nephtys (Aug 13, 2005)

He speaks in quiet wrath, trembling slightly.
"You are a God, and yet you have no power. You created me, so why should I not destroy you? The children always devour their parents, that is the way of all life and the way of your death."


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## Rkhet (Aug 13, 2005)

Albedo said:
			
		

> "Then why should I stay in this desolate place? If the power I seek isn't here, I shall have to venture elsewhere to find it." He's hiding something. This could be dangerous.




"A little patience, my child.  I do not mean to keep you here; you are free to leave at any time.  But it is not every day that you can have the counsel of a god; this you should not waste.  Come.  Have a seat."

"Sadly, my counsel is all that I can offer you, for now.  I can feel the taint in you all, the pain, weighing down on your souls.  It would be dangerous to burden you with anything more."



			
				Nephtys said:
			
		

> He speaks in quiet wrath, trembling slightly.
> "You are a God, and yet you have no power. You created me, so why should I not destroy you? The children always devour their parents, that is the way of all life and the way of your death."




The Perfect looks to you with sadness in his eyes. "If I can heal you, I would.  But I cannot.  Just as you cannot hope to slay me.  Can you kill the ocean?  The sky?  The sun?  Calm your wrath.  It has no place here."


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## Nephtys (Aug 13, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> The Perfect looks to you with sadness in his eyes. "If I can heal you, I would. But I cannot. Just as you cannot hope to slay me. Can you kill the ocean? The sky? The sun? Calm your wrath. It has no place here."




 He looks once again out over the ocean, seeking something, but looks down in resignation.

"I can try... But I will not. Your death would remove my purpose. Your death would destroy me and I do not yet wish to cease to be. You may live, because this pain is my purpose."


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## Pyrex (Aug 13, 2005)

Lessa looks from Rahkzan and the fisherman, wondering what karmic bond has caused them to adopt guises that are so similar



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> "Here? This is... my retreat, that is all."




"Not here by the water.  Why are we here in this world, where everything is so cold and hard and gray?  Why is there so much pain?  Are we being punished?"


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## silentspace (Aug 13, 2005)

*Rhakzan, black ethergaunt assassin*

Rhakzan sits on the wharf and studies the Perfect.

"Why have you created us? For what purpose?"

Even as he asks it, an answer seems to form in his mind, as if it were a distant, hazy memory.

"Naramyr Wrymslayer is preparing to bring death and devastation to the world, and you created us to stop him.  These creatures, humans and humanoids, you wish them to live, and keep their lives on the material plane?"

"Naramyr Wyrmslayer, he was once a force of what humans call good in this world?  But the Eye of Profane Truth has change him.  What is the Eye?  What power does it bestow to Wyrmslayer?"


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## Nephtys (Aug 13, 2005)

Moreth looks at the Ethergaunt fisherman, speaking normally at first before sinking into a hypnotic chant, "Yes, yes. The Wyrmslayer... He is our true creator. I have looked upon the Eye and been blinded...
The power of the Eye is profane and profound, pernicious and proud, perverse and productive. It is the Mirror of Souls. The true corrupter, our true Lord. We bear His mark upon our souls, and it burns brighter than the first."


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## Albedo (Aug 14, 2005)

_Hmm...the Eye. I should restart my quest to gain access to it. If even a god can't grant me the perfection I desire, maybe it can. _Cann looks around at the others. _Maybe I should humor those who would call themselves my siblings awhile longer. After all, I am not perfect...yet. I may need their assistance._ "Now, you want something from us. Speak, so we may perform your desire." _The sooner we get started, the better._


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## Rkhet (Aug 14, 2005)

Pyrex said:
			
		

> Lessa looks from Rahkzan and the fisherman, wondering what karmic bond has caused them to adopt guises that are so similar
> 
> "Not here by the water. Why are we here in this world, where everything is so cold and hard and gray? Why is there so much pain? Are we being punished?"




"You have not noticed?  This is not the mortal world.  This is my demiplane."

"I suppose you would not recognize it. It used to be a much brighter place. And," he gestured at the fish-wraiths, "it used to have better fishing. "

"But divine energies are fickle while the Eye is open.  In these troubled times, even a god must conserve his power."

He looks to you, notice that you are shivering.  "This is temporary, but... there is no need to be cold, at least."

He touches you on the forehead, and warmth returns to your body. An inner glow infuses you, and even your sickness seem to subside a little. The energy is slowly dissipating even as it warms you, and you realize that it would not last.



			
				silentspace said:
			
		

> Rhakzan sits on the wharf and studies the Perfect.
> 
> "Why have you created us? For what purpose?"
> 
> ...




"The Wyrmslayer... you speak the truth, or at least a fragment of it. Should he achieve his goal, a great number of souls will perish. But you must understand that in the greater scheme of things, even this means little."

He stares into the setting sun, and it seems that his mind has wandered far from here. "I have... wronged him, perhaps. And he seeks satisfaction. I will not tell you any more of this, for I do not wish to bias your judgment. His story is a popular one amongst mortals. If you wish to know it, you have but to ask them."

"As for the Eye: that knowledge is forbidden to you.  I will tell you nothing more."



			
				Nephtys said:
			
		

> Moreth looks at the Ethergaunt fisherman, speaking normally at first before sinking into a hypnotic chant, "Yes, yes. The Wyrmslayer... He is our true creator. I have looked upon the Eye and been blinded...
> The power of the Eye is profane and profound, pernicious and proud, perverse and productive. It is the Mirror of Souls. The true corrupter, our true Lord. We bear His mark upon our souls, and it burns brighter than the first."




The Perfect looks to you and frowns.  He mutters under his breath, and you find that you recognize a few of the words:

_"...I am the categorical imperative... the transcendental ideal... I am the greatest of deceivers, and the world my grandest illusion..."_

He touches you on the forehead also.  Your mind clears, and you are brought back firmly into reality.



			
				Albedo said:
			
		

> Hmm...the Eye. I should restart my quest to gain access to it. If even a god can't grant me the perfection I desire, maybe it can. Cann looks around at the others. Maybe I should humor those who would call themselves my siblings awhile longer. After all, I am not perfect...yet. I may need their assistance. "Now, you want something from us. Speak, so we may perform your desire." The sooner we get started, the better.




"Want?  I want the world to be returned to the way it was, uncorrupted.  Can you deliver this?"

He shakes his head sadly. "No, of course not. Therefore I will not ask. You are my beloved creations, imperfect though you are. I will not press on you the impossible. Do not worry: the world will not end, either way."

The Perfect studies you for a moment, then looks away. "I have advice for you, but whether you heed it is a choice you will have to make: do not seek the Eye's power. It is useless and dangerous to you."

He stands up, looks at each of you in turn. "All things must come to an end. I have given my counsel, and soon I will transport you to the mortal realm. Live out the remainder of your days as you see fit."

"Any last questions before I do so?"


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## Albedo (Aug 14, 2005)

"An uncorrupted world you say? One scrubbed of the Eye's taint? Is this really such an imposible task?" Cann smiles, "If one can overcome an impossible task, then surely he must be perfect. I shall attempt it. It shall be a good test for me if I finally achieve my goal. But I do wonder, if we do go on to live our lives, are we to ever see you again?"


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## Nephtys (Aug 14, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> The Perfect looks to you and frowns. He mutters under his breath, and you find that you recognize a few of the words:
> 
> _"...I am the categorical imperative... the transcendental ideal... I am the greatest of deceivers, and the world my grandest illusion..."_
> 
> ...




Moreth's eyes clear, and he looks down in shame.
"One question only. Why were we created? I feel the power to destroy within me, is that our only purpose? Is that the meaning you intended with our lives? Or is there more?"


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## Rkhet (Aug 15, 2005)

Albedo said:
			
		

> "An uncorrupted world you say? One scrubbed of the Eye's taint? Is this really such an imposible task?" Cann smiles, "If one can overcome an impossible task, then surely he must be perfect. I shall attempt it. It shall be a good test for me if I finally achieve my goal. But I do wonder, if we do go on to live our lives, are we to ever see you again?"




"Who is to say?  I do not intend to interfere in your destinies, but the web of fate ensnares even ones such as I.  Perhaps we will meet again.  I hope we do so in happier times."



			
				Nephtys said:
			
		

> Moreth's eyes clear, and he looks down in shame.
> "One question only. Why were we created? I feel the power to destroy within me, is that our only purpose? Is that the meaning you intended with our lives? Or is there more?"




"Meaning?  Even as we speak, a billion souls, mortal and immortal alike, born and die.  Great armies of demons and fiends lock themselves in eternal war with little but their own shadows.  Newborn universes devour each other and hasten their death in their gluttony.  Who is there to give meaning to it all?"

"Life is meaningless.  Interpret this how you will."

He meets your gaze, his eyes gray as the sea.

"Think of me sometimes, when the urge to destroy becomes unbearable.  Think of me, and perhaps stay your hand.  Thus you will have my grace."


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## Rkhet (Aug 15, 2005)

You feel a dizziness coming over you.  The world seemed to swirl and grow insubstantial.  Then you collapse and fall into a deep, peaceful slumber...

"Hey, wake up!  No loitering!"  You are awoken unceremoniously by the prodding of something unpleasant.  You open your eyes groggily, to see a man in light armor, a city guard by his looks.  

You realize that you are lying on the pavement of a bustling street.  Peddlers lined the sidewalk and people milled about them, conversing and haggling, creating the sort of ambient noise common to markets.  Strange and ungent aromas filled the air, and you can hear in the distance the rowdy music of pan pipes.  A small crowd has gathered around to watch your spectacle.  

The guard is going around and prodding each of you in turn with his foot.  "You adventurers are all a bunch o'fools, know that?  Just your luck I happen to be here, or you lot woulda been found naked and with your throats slit!"


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## Albedo (Aug 15, 2005)

Cann quickly covers up his freakish looking face with his hood. "Thank you good sir, for saving us from such an embarasing fate. Now, do tell, what city are we in?" _Prod me will he? If hes not careful it will be HIM found with his throat slit._ "Me and my companions here were caught in a most...unusual... occurance and we seem to have lost track of our location. Also, would you be able to point me in the direction of the nearest inn? I would like to find myself a "safer" place in which to rest."


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## Nephtys (Aug 15, 2005)

Moreth awakens, glaring coldly at the guard while contemplating how to end his life as painfully as possibly. He stands up, covered in dust, and answers the man, " It is you who are lucky, commoner. You would already be dead, if not for the direct and personal plea of God for me to spare your life.
Now tell us, you who are less than we are, what is this filthy place? Who rules here and where do they reside? We have been sent from the heavens on a task of great importance. Cooperate and you will continue to live for a while longer."

--ooc: Diplomacy: +40


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## Albedo (Aug 15, 2005)

"Now now Moreth, no need to tip our hand. We should try to move through these lands as quietly as possible until we know just what it is that awaits us here. Your violent ways, while admitedly entertaining, will serve no purpose at this time other than alerting possible foes to our prescence." _Then again, I could always wait for them to come and kill you, alerting me to THEIR prescence._


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## Nephtys (Aug 15, 2005)

"You know as well as I do that the only way our possible enemies can find us is if we let them.* And even if they do, they couldn't possibly be powerful enough to cause us any significant harm.** But for now I see no reason to hide our purpose from these mortals, whose comprehension is so limited. Let us give them a choise of accepting our salvation or suffering the consequences of refusal. Or would you rather spend the evening skulking around inns, when the souls of millions are at stake?**"

He casts Mindblank on himself. (duration 24 hours)


(*ooc: he referrs to Mindblank, shape-altering magic and the like)

(**ooc: Bluffing for the audience)

ooc: I figure we might as well get into the action as quickly as possibly, an audience with the king (or whatever) would be a lot more interesting than chatting with bartenders and street-people about obscure rumours.  (Pbp games move so much more slowly than face-to-face that we'll have to take some shortcuts to get anywhere.)


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## Albedo (Aug 15, 2005)

"We do not need followers and worshipers. Who cares what these people do or say. But if we start threatening them and killing them, we bring attention to ourselves. If you wish to seek an audience right now, thats fine with me. But try not to let your concern over mortal affairs get in the way."

OOC: Its not the directness thing I was commenting on, but more of the way you like to threaten people. I'm the type of guy who would rather find the foe and kill him in his home (hopefully unsuspected of course) than stir up attention and have him ambush me. But that was just roleplaying my character. You can do what you feel is best of course.


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## silentspace (Aug 15, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "Who is to say?  I do not intend to interfere in your destinies, but the web of fate ensnares even ones such as I.  Perhaps we will meet again.  I hope we do so in happier times."
> 
> 
> 
> ...




The Perfect's words resonate in Rhakzan's soul.  He must mediate on them.

When kicked by the guard, he merely lies there, unmoving, as his brothers talk.  Then he slowly rolls over, careful that he is still in fisherman form, and leans against a wall.  Smiling up at the guard, he says "We had a crazy night, as you can probably guess.  Humor my friends, will you, and tell them what city we're in and whatever else they want to know."

ooc: diplomacy +52.  if that fails, rhakzan will use his ethergaunt dominate ability


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## Nephtys (Aug 15, 2005)

"It is my hope that it will not be necessary to kill them, but if they place obstructions in our path then they are choosing their own fate. Indeed, I seek only the power to save them*, and time is not unimportant. Let us see who will oppose us, only then will we know who our enemies are." 

*ooc: Lie.

ooc: But we have not decided who our foes are yet, so how could we search them out and kill them? Granted that my character is doubtlessly provoking the attention of a lot of powerful individuals if he goes trough with his plan, but their reactions will only cause them to reveal themselves to us. Since we haven't chosen sides yet there might well be appeals and offers from both factions for an alliance, and that would (after defeating those who attempt to attack us directly) give us a strong negotiating position. 
My character wouldn't be opposed to taking power over the mortals, but he really doesn't strive for anything right now except the general goals of advancing himself and inflicting pain upon the world. At the moment he's just feeling his way around. 
He holds no regard for human lives and would not hesitate to threaten or kill them to get his way. But his casual contempt is mostly a way to give them an impression of our vast superiority, to awe then into obediance without having to kill them.


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## Albedo (Aug 15, 2005)

"If you want to make an impact then, maybe this will suit you." Cann turns to the guard, "Which way is it to the castle?". 

OOC: I'm not arguing over your methods. I gave my characters in game opinions. Theres no point in discussing this OOC.


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## Rkhet (Aug 15, 2005)

The guard frowns at Moreth and Cann. He has seen his share of drunks and madmen in the past, and now considers you among them. The crowd laughs and cheers at Moreth's speech, and it is obvious that he is not alone in his assessment.

Turning to Rhakzan, who seems like the sole voice of reason, he speaks, shaking his head. "Yeah, I know how it is. I've done a few stupid things myself, back when I was young. This is Vinecastle, obviously. Known for the Vinecastle Vintage. That's probably how you lot got so drunk in the first place."

"Tell'em bout the elves, Vince!" Says someone from the back of the crowd, which is growing. This brought some laughter from the onlookers.

Vince the guard chuckles. "Aye. We've got the finest elves in the land, too, if you've got the coins fer'em. Cuz we're right next door to the forest where they breed'em, see? You want food? A bed? An elf on it? Try the Trickster's Head. You go down that way, turn left, then head straight across. There's a bloody big sign. Tell'em Vince sent ya."

"You have some business with the nobs, you'll wanna head that way. Keep going down that road, 'til you see that big white thing. That's where the King and his paper-pushers are. Though you'll wanna sober up first, obviously, cuz they won't be so kind like ol' Vince."


/ooc: post something, pyrex.


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## Albedo (Aug 15, 2005)

"If you want to make an impression, bodies speak better than boasts. What do you think, should I meander my way down to the castle and slaughter a noble or two to prove how valuable we are? I'm sure we'd get lots of offers after that."


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## Nephtys (Aug 15, 2005)

Moreth's eyes widen incredulously at the derision of the commoners. Rage threatens to overtake him, before his mood suddenly changes again a split second later. "Indeed," he says, answering his brother, "Boasts prove nothing. So let us offer something more substantial." With a flourish he utters a brief incantation, places a jade circlet on his head and changes shape into a radiant angel. Smiling benevolently at the gathered crowd he answers them in an otherworldy voice, carrying the threat of sudden violence. "Do you still doubt me? Do you insist on testing my patience further?"
.
ooc: cast Shapechange => 30HD Solar

If he can't shapechange (for lack of knowlege about any creature, except humans, shadowy fish, gods and ethergaunts) he'll cast Blasphemy (excepting the squares inhabited by his siblings).


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## Albedo (Aug 15, 2005)

Cann shakes his head as he walks down the road to the castle, "Still wasting your time with weaklings huh? Perhaps one day you will learn." He goes as far as the guards will allow him in an attempt to gain an audience with the king, but he really just wants to learn the location of the throne room.


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## Albedo (Aug 15, 2005)

On his way to the castle, Cann is also going to cast foresight on himself.


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## Pyrex (Aug 15, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> /ooc: post something, pyrex.




OOC:  I'll add an IC section to this post as soon as I catch up.  Just as a general FYI, I can generally post once or more per day during the week, but I'll very rarely be able to post more than once over the weekend.

~IC~
For a time, again, there was peace.  Then, again, there was pain, this time physical; her material form was being mistreated.  Clawing her way back from the ignorant bliss of unconsiousness Lessa woke to find herself curled up on a rough cobblestone street; being roughly awakened by a city guard.

She sits up, taking a moment to survey the scene around here while listening to Moreth and Cann's "discussion" with the guard who awakened them.

She rises, a bit unsteady on her feet; the lingering, but quickly fading, warmth of the Perfect granting her a short reprieve from the cold.



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> "Keep going down that road, 'til you see that big white thing. That's where the King and his paper-pushers are..."




She turns to the guard, "King?  Who is the king of this realm?"


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## silentspace (Aug 16, 2005)

"Sure is a lovely town, Vinecastle," Rhakzan replies, yawning and stretching.  "Thank you Vince, its lucky you found us first then!"  He rises unsteadily to his feet, leaning against the soldier for support.  "Ah, more questions!"  he says as Lessa speaks.


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## Rkhet (Aug 16, 2005)

Cann: you reach the King's residence, and notice that it is not a castle: it is a huge tower made out of some white material that shined in the sun. As you walk closer, you notice a steady stream of people, commoners, artisans and nobles alike going in and out of the tower.

You enter, and the guards at the door do not try to stop you. You feel heavy as all your equipment are disabled: the interior of the tower is covered in antimagic.

Looking around, you see that the inside of the tower is far larger than the outside. You are either in a non-space like a portable hole, or a demiplane. People are milling about and queuing at various tables, where clerks sign and stamp and scribble on various papers and forms. It is clear that this is the administrative centre of the kingdom.

The king is nowhere to be found, nor is there anything like a throne room.

/ooc: Nephtys: you can Shapechange into any form in the SRD. Anything else is subject to DM approval. You can't change into advanced monsters, nor can you change into anything with more than 25HD. I'll assume you changed into a normal solar.

Moreth: as you changed your form, half the crowd - including Vince - ran away in terror, screaming. Others fell to their knees in prayer. You notice that they, too, are terrified. The marketplace is in sudden riot as more and more people saw you.

Amidst all this chaos, a middle-aged man in fine clerical garb approaches you, a grim look on his face. He bows, then speaks:

"I greet you on behalf of the Church of the High Lord, master arcanist. I ask that you dismiss your spell. Impersonating a Legionnaire is a grave offense on imperial soil."

Lessa, Rhakzan: your questions fall on deaf ears, as a terrified Vince runs away.

/ooc: everyone has read my post in the ooc section, yes?


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## Nephtys (Aug 16, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> Moreth: as you changed your form, half the crowd - including Vince - ran away in terror, screaming. Others fell to their knees in prayer. You notice that they, too, are terrified. The marketplace is in sudden riot as more and more people saw you.
> 
> Amidst all this chaos, a middle-aged man in fine clerical garb approaches you, a grim look on his face. He bows, then speaks:
> 
> ...




Moreth looks around, his angelic face radiating a joyous satisfaction. Stepping closer to the cleric he flexes his wings, before shifting back into human form*. Returning the cleric's bow he answers, "A lesson of respect has been taught and, it seems, has been taken to heart. Fear will do them good in the times ahead." 
He shakes his head slightly and smiles, "But now, no more talk of threats and offenses. It seems my display has attracted a person of substance, and we do have some questions that need answers. First of all, one for my lady companion. She would know who rules here. Who is the King, or does an Emperor rule the Empire? It seems clear, from the universal presence of the Church and the power of the Legion that the Church also holds considerable influence here. So is it perhaps the Father of the Church who is the true ruler of the Empire?
Secondly, one for myself. How goes the War? Does the power of Naramyr still hold the Legions at bay?"



*but still keeping the Shapechange spell activated.

--
Active spells:
 Mindblank
 Shapechange


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## Rkhet (Aug 16, 2005)

The priest offers no reactions at your first remark.  [sense motive: he does not think much of your 'lesson', but he is determined not to show it.] As you ask your questions, he looks at you, a little surprised.  Perhaps he did not expect you to ask something so obvious.  But he humors you nevertheless.

"I am but a humble priest, I'm a fraid.  Hardly a person of substance.  This is Vinecastle, and King Sarim II reigns.  He is, of course, but a vassal to the Holy Empire, one of many.  Our most benevolent Emperor Xervus sits at the crystal throne."

"We of the Church are concerned only with spiritual matters.  We would not deign to interfere in the mundane administrations of the state, nor does the state concern itself overly with our affairs." [sense motive: these words are well-rehearsed.]

"The war goes well.  We may have suffered setbacks from trickery most foul, but even now the devout and brave souls of the Empire are heeding our call to arms.  Next spring, we will launch the counter-offensive.  Heed my words: the Defiler's armies shall be scattered, and he shall be driven from our lands."  [sense motive: well-rehearsed, but he speaks with conviction.]

"As for the Legion... well.  It would not do for us mortals to question the ways of the Holy Ones."  He studies the three of you.  "You are not from these lands, I take it?  If you wish to learn more, our Oracle would surely love to speak with you."


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## Albedo (Aug 16, 2005)

Cann surveys the tower and then leaves. Then he cast greater invisibilty on himself, and finds a peasant thats in a back alley or other secluded place and kills him. He will then throw the corpse in the street and watch. 

OOC: I don't know if you want me to make any rolls for this, so just tell me what you want in order to make this happen.


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## Rkhet (Aug 16, 2005)

/ooc: you're level 30.  you can kill a commoner without screwing up.  I'll assume that you did this in front of the tower.

 The corpse is noticed almost right away. There was some commotion, and as with all things morbid, onlookers quickly gather. A noblewomen daintily presses her handkerchief to her nose, looking horrified, but is nailed to the spot. Somewhere a baby is crying. The man who first discovered the corpse looks pale and nauseated. 

A few moments later, the tower guards take notice. Several of them disperse the crowd and seal off the road, redirecting people to use an alternate entrance. One covers the corpse with a large piece of cloth. They take notice of the fresh wounds, and are looking around warily. One guard leaves the scene, presumably to notify the proper authorities.

A mortician and his apprentice, pulling a cart, arrive a few minutes later. They briefly examine the corpse, converse with the guards, then cart the corpse away. 

Two dozen watchmen arrive shortly after. Their leader converses with the tower guards. The rest spread out to do a sweep of the area.


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## Pyrex (Aug 16, 2005)

Lessa watches Moreth's antics with a blend of amusement and irritation.  As she sees the townspeople flee in terror she feels, almost hears, a sweet singing.  The Fires Below call to her; begging, pleading to be released.  She may be cold, but she has to power to make things beautifully warm; at least for a time.  Lost in the call of the Fires, Lessa raises her hand, preparing to rain Fire down upon the fleeing townspeople.  Then, the heat blistering at her fingertips, Lessa sees the older man walking towards them, and a momentary echo of the visage of the Perfect stays her hand.  She releases her grasp on the Fire and shivers violently for a moment, almost as if by denying the Fire it's release it fled from her completely.



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> "You are not from these lands, I take it?  If you wish to learn more, our Oracle would surely love to speak with you."




Lessa looks at the man and speaks quietly "Yes, I have many questions."


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## Albedo (Aug 16, 2005)

The hunt is on. Cann will wait for one of the guards and stalk him. While he is doing so, he is going to load a twinned force orb and a split rayed polar ray into his sword. He is also going to cast sadism on himself. Afterwards, provided he hasn't been seen by the guard, he will cast a timestop and cast a moment of prescience and then a quickened true strike (on the last round). Before the timestop ends, he will ready an action to make an attack with his longsword (+44) for 1d8+9 damage with an additional 1 negetive level and 2 con damage. He will add his 6d6 sneak attack if applicable. If he successfully deals damage, he will release his stored spells into the guard (Force Orb = 20d6 damage, Polar Ray = 21d6 twice). Should the guard still be standing, he will cast a quickened twinned force orb on the him (ranged touch attack +23) using his rod of empower on it to deal 20d6x1.5 damage.


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## Nephtys (Aug 16, 2005)

"Yes, show us to the Oracle. We are new to this world, and would hate to suffer..." A sudden stab of intense pain hits him causing him to grab his head with both hands and moan quietly trough clenched teeth. Looking at the cleric, his eyes tearing, he too imagines the Perfect before him. Whispering hoarsely he asks the hapless cleric, "Why, Father? Why were we made to suffer? Is that the gospel you've sent us here to preach? Or is there truly no meaning to it all, like you told us? How can I believe that when my entire being burns?..." 
Snapping out of the fit of delusion he once again stands on the brink of genocide, and backs down. The pain subsides, but never quite goes away. Breathing heavily, he smiles. "Yes, there is still time to ask questions."
.


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## silentspace (Aug 17, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "The war goes well.  We may have suffered setbacks from trickery most foul, but even now the devout and brave souls of the Empire are heeding our call to arms.  Next spring, we will launch the counter-offensive.  Heed my words: the Defiler's armies shall be scattered, and he shall be driven from our lands."  [sense motive: well-rehearsed, but he speaks with conviction.]




"Next spring.... when is that? What season is it now?"


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## Rkhet (Aug 17, 2005)

The priest diplomatically pretends that he did not notice Moreth's outburst. To Rhakzan, he replies: "It is now the heart of winter. You won't notice, for the weather is quite mild in these parts, but to the north-east where the war is fought, the cold is such that not even the Despoiler is mad enough to push his armies onwards. As for when the counter-offensive will start... frankly, I know not. Such things are closely guarded secrets. Now, if you will all come with me..."

The priest takes you to the Church of the High Lord. It is a grand and imposing cathedral, and even from a distance you can feel divine power radiating from it, concentrated by the force of faith.

The Oracle is an old and matronly woman, blind, but moving with an unearthly grace. She greets each of you in turn. Then she asks:

"To what ends have you come here, travellers?  What do you seek?"

*

Cann:

/ooc: did you kill one of the tower guards, or one of the watchmen?

[hit roll: 18]

You drive your blade into the man's neck, and he is instantly slain. Your spells activate and his wound bursts, showering blood and bits of flesh everywhere. The rest of his body is frozen solid, shattering when it hit the ground.

You realize that you have just wasted much of your magic on a weakling.

If you search his body, you find nothing of interest except a love letter to a girl named 'Mordia'.


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## Albedo (Aug 17, 2005)

OOC: It was a watchman

Cann will take the letter and teleport away. Since he hasn't been seen yet, he will then dispel his spells and go to an inn to gain lodging. Cann is gonna fiddle with his spells prepared list once he rests and then read the letter.


OOC: I'm going on a little trip for a few days, and I don't know what kind of internet access I'm gonna have so bear with me ok. I should be able to post within three days, but if I can't its just a temperary thing.


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## Pyrex (Aug 17, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "To what ends have you come here, travellers?  What do you seek?"




Questions begin flashing through Lessa's mind. What does she want?  Answers?  To what questions?  Meaning?  Purpose?  Justice?  Revenge?  Power?  Power to do what?  Doesn't she have enough power already?  A wave of dizziness washes over Lessa and she shudders as the rot within her bubbles up, demanding release; showing her visions of all the painful messy ways she could destroy the old woman in front of her and watch her suffer.  But it is warm in the church, and that warmth keeps the rot from overwhelming her.  For now.

As the dizziness subsides, Lessa speaks "I seek an end to the pain."


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## silentspace (Aug 18, 2005)

Rhakzan senses the innter turmoil Moreth and Lessa, his siblings, are in.  He feels and understands the turmoil, but doesn't know what to do about it.  Yes indeed, an end to the pain.  Rhakzan stands silent for a moment, pondering...


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## Nephtys (Aug 18, 2005)

"Yes, an end to pain. Or the strength to accept it, embrace it and turn it into wisdom and power."


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## Rkhet (Aug 18, 2005)

Cann:

The inn you find is a seedy little place. The owner, a greasy, balding old man, eyes you suspiciously, but accepts your coins without argument. The room is nothing impressive: the walls are cracked and mildewed, the bed hard and uncomfortable, and the sheets, though clean, are frayed and paper-thin from overwashing.

You read through the letter. The watchman is named Brenat. He has known Mordia from childhood, but has apparently never made his feelings known. He also could not spell. The letter contains no addresses: perhaps he intended to deliver it in person, or perhaps he never intended to deliver it.

You decide to get some rest. Despite a flea-bitten bed, you fall quickly into a deep slumber.

[one hour later]

Someone is shaking you. You wake, immediately noticing that your arms are shackled. The one who is shaking you, a woman in black robes with most of her face covered, stops and steps back, all without a word.

A voice sounds from a corner of the room, its tone jovial. "Ah, I see that the murderer is awake."

Turning your head, you see a handsome, regal-looking man in his mid-thirties. He is in exquisite clothing, sitting comfortably with his legs crossed and his hands folded on his lap.

Looking around the room, you notice three other figures in black robes. Your gear is stacked in a neat pile on the floor.


At the Church:
The old woman looks puzzled for a moment. She tips her head slightly, as if listening to some voice only she could hear. Then she produces a small, gold-handled knife from her pocket and gestures Lessa to stick out her hand. When Lessa does so, she makes a small incision on her finger. [Lessa notices that the wound closes almost immediately - the knife likely has magical properties.]

She smells the blood on the knife, then gingerly tastes it. She spits it out immediately. Her expression turns grave. 

"I see."

"I have heard of such cases from the front lines, good, noble men corrupted by the power of the Eye, warped into bloodthirsty lunatics and worse. But those can be cured by magic of sufficient power. This, however, seems to be a part of your very soul..."

She turns her milky white eyes towards Moreth and Rhakzan. Though she's blind, you know that she is studying you in detail.

"I see..."

"I see." She thinks for a moment, then chuckles. "You have some nerve coming here, the two of you, Ethergaunt and ur-priest."

"No, do not do anything rash. I will not summon the Legionnaires. Because," she smiles, "I would be dead before they arrive, yes?"

"These are extraordinary times, and one must make allowances as such. You seek an end to your pain? I will tell you now: I have no ready solutions, no magic balms that will cure you once and for all. I have... speculations. That is all."

"But an oracle does not offer her wisdom to those unwilling to earn it."


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## Pyrex (Aug 18, 2005)

Lessa is unsurprised by the Oracles words.  Disappointed, and a bit angry, but not suprised.  If the Perfect would not help them why would one of his subjects?  Even though she does not expect much, a blend of hope and desperation would have her hear the woman's offer.

"What is the price of your... speculations?"


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## silentspace (Aug 19, 2005)

Ignoring the woman's remarks, Rhakzan finally conveys the following message - "I seek three things. I seek to destroy Naramyr Wyrmslayer's army, eliminate the threat of Naramyr himself, and destroy or exile the Eye of Profane Truth."


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## Rkhet (Aug 19, 2005)

"The oracle smiles at Rhakzan's words. "You do? And, I suppose, you seek an alliance with the Church? There are practical difficulties with this, you understand. I am not the only one blessed with the Sight, and others may not be so flexible. At any rate, if your intentions are as you say, you too have an interest in what I am about to ask."

"To quell the Defiler's forces, vassals of the Holy Empire are required to contribute troops and materiel. The quota set for the kingdom of Vinecastle is 20,000 men. So far, King Sarim has sent less than half of this, and what troops he has sent are weak and poorly trained. They are barely fit for supply duties, let alone the front lines. His elite knights, the Order of the Frost, has not contributed a single soldier."

"We of the church thinks that he is no longer fit to be king, having shirked his duties to the Empire. In fact, Lady Velshara, who is well-liked amongst the people and a pious member of the Church, would make a much more fitting leader instead."

"But you must understand the delicate nature of this. Badly handled, it could lead to war. The Empire could hardly afford a war on two fronts, right now. At any rate, the Church should not meddle in local politics."


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## Nephtys (Aug 19, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "I see." She thinks for a moment, then chuckles. "You have some nerve coming here, the two of you, Ethergaunt and ur-priest."





Moreth looks surprised, "You can see that, even trough the power of my Mindblank? So, the Perfect has betrayed my secret. There is no other who knew, besides perhaps for Naramyr..." _He promised me his blessing if I was merciful to his cattle, I have upheld my end of the deal, but no more. If this is the value of his blessing then I do not want it._



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> "But an oracle does not offer her wisdom to those unwilling to earn it."



 
_And I dont offer my mercy any more freely._



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> _"We of the church thinks that he is no longer fit to be king, having shirked his duties to the Empire. In fact, Lady Velshara, who is well-liked amongst the people and a pious member of the Church, would make a much more fitting leader instead."_
> 
> _"But you must understand the delicate nature of this. Badly handled, it could lead to war. The Empire could hardly afford a war on two fronts, right now. At any rate, the Church should not meddle in local politics."_





"So, you seek to have the King assassinated, in such a way that he cannot be brought back? To have his soul imprisoned or destroyed? And you would entrust that task to us because we,unlike the other individuals powerful enough to do the deed have no other loyalties and no reason to beray you. 
There is no doubt we can do it, but do you really want to lower yourself to such methods?"


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## Rkhet (Aug 19, 2005)

She chuckles.  "Your magics do not help when your very thoughts are written in the way you move and in the sound of your pulse, leech."

"There is no need for him to die.  If you can convince him to give up the throne willingly, then all the better.  But if you cannot... you must understand that much is at stake here.  Why does Sarim hoard his troops?  Perhaps he seeks a bargain with Naramyr.  Perhaps he seeks to betray the Empire while we are distracted.  Even if he does not, 20,000 of Vinecastle's best could be the difference between winning or losing the war.  Troubled times call for desperate measures.  If slaying Sarim is what is required, then sobeit."

"The King's agents are many.  But I know that you are not among them.  This is why I am asking you."

"But I am going ahead of myself.  Your companions have stated their desires.  What is yours?  What can the Church offer you?"


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## Pyrex (Aug 19, 2005)

A little voice in the back of Lessa's head tells here there is just something _wrong_ about a follower of the Perfect and self-proclaimed Oracle hiring assassins, even in the name of the "greater good".  But Lessa brushes the thought away.  If King Sarim is not fit to rule he should be removed from power.



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> "In fact, Lady Velshara, who is well-liked amongst the people and a pious member of the Church, would make a much more fitting leader instead."




"Is it certain that this Lady Velshara would ascend to the throne were King Sarim... removed?"

The little voice comes back, questioning Lessa's willingness to trade the life of King Sarim for not even the certainty, but just the hope of saving her own, but she brushes it aside again.


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## Albedo (Aug 19, 2005)

OOC: That wasn't nice. i didn't say anything about going to sleep . Oh well, go with the flow.

"I'm impressed. You guys got here pretty quick. One sec, I gotta get comfortable." Cann casts timestop and then uses a greater teleport to go near his things, deciding NOT to take the manacles with him. He will then use whatever actions he has to pick up as much of his stuff as possible (sword and buckler first, gloves second, everything else is last). If he has more than two rounds in his timestop, he will ready an action to cast timestop if the guards make any hostile moves towards him. Should all this go to plan, he will exit the timestop and resume the conversation. "Thats better. Now, do tell. Who are you and how did you get me so quickly? Not that I really care. I was just testing the law enforcement around here to see if it was up to par."


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## Rkhet (Aug 19, 2005)

Pyrex said:
			
		

> "Is it certain that this Lady Velshara would ascend to the throne were King Sarim... removed?"




"Others will strive to fill this vacuum, certainly. Lady Valshara is as much of the royal bloodline as any of the other candidates could claim. The difference, however, is that she will have the full backing of the Church."


/ooc: Albedo: well, you mentioned fiddling with your spells list...  Don't worry, this one is not lethal.

Cann: The man smiles politely and pauses while you go through the motions of your spell. You notice that none of the four robed figures are trying to stop you. Then you knew why: you are inside an antimagic field. The shackles on your arms are more than they seem.

The man speaks on as if uninterrupted: "Perhaps introductions are in order. I am Sarim Khizareth, King of Vinecastle." He gestures at one of the robed figures, who unlocks your shackles. "And, as you can see, I come in peace."

Even so, you notice that the four robed figures have taken position around you, ready to strike at a moment's notice.



> "...how did you get me so quickly?"




"That is something I'm quite proud of, actually. Surely, you must understand the difficulties of policing a city this size with simple, average human soldiers." The robed figure to your left hands you what seems to be a small strip of human skin. You notice a criss-crossing pattern, a tattoo of some kind.

"A trinket of lesser magic, cheaply mass-produced by the mage-foundries. This alerts the palace and shows me the last moments of a guardsman's death. It was quite impressive, by the by."

"Of course, that you prefer to sleep without your protective spells was a boon to us, too."


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## Nephtys (Aug 19, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> She chuckles. "Your magics do not help when your very thoughts are written in the way you move and in the sound of your pulse, leech."
> 
> "There is no need for him to die. If you can convince him to give up the throne willingly, then all the better. But if you cannot... you must understand that much is at stake here. Why does Sarim hoard his troops? Perhaps he seeks a bargain with Naramyr. Perhaps he seeks to betray the Empire while we are distracted. Even if he does not, 20,000 of Vinecastle's best could be the difference between winning or losing the war. Troubled times call for desperate measures. If slaying Sarim is what is required, then sobeit."
> 
> ...




Cold rage bubbles up to the surface, replaced in an instant with equally cold calculation.
"Leech? I am no more a leach than you are, and no less. Normally I suppose an Ur Priest would argue the point, but let's just say that the matter personal choice and responsibility makes your moral judgements irrelevant. Insult me again, however, and I will reduce this church to ruins. And all I'd have to do is what any commoner could do, denounce your treachery. There are spells that can prove my word, to King or court, beyond any doubt." 

"The question, then, is what can you offer me? To keep your secret and to remove your enemy. What do I need that you can offer?" 

"You cannot offer salvation, because you are not greater than your God and what he has failed to do you can never accomplish. Nor can you offer answers, because you have revealed yourself as a deciever and your church as an institution of betrayal. No, what I want from you is quite simple. Wealth, magic and power."

"Now," he smiles far too widely, eyes remaining midnight cold, "make me an offer I will not find insulting."


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## Pyrex (Aug 19, 2005)

Lessa waits to see how she responds to Moreth, then asks "What else can you tell us of King Sarim?"


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## Rkhet (Aug 20, 2005)

"Do not think to blackmail me, ur-priest. That the church plots against him is nothing new to the king. If he could reduce the church to ruins, with no fear of the Legion, then he would have already done so."

"On the other hand, ur-priests are greeted with sword and fire anywhere, imperial soil or otherwise."

"But there is no need to exchange threats. You wish wealth? Vinecastle is rich from its export of wine and elven slaves. I will make sure that Lady Valshara rewards you all handsomely, once she sits on the throne. As for magic and power, the church has a few items it no longer has need for. We are fully aware of the need to reward well those that serve us. Especially," she nods in Rhakzan's direction, "if any of you would fight alongside us once this is over."

"The Kizarethian bloodline dates back to the War of the Dragons. Sarim can claim descendency from Talric Kizareth, who, while not as prominent as the legendary Wyrmslayers, was a great general and hero in the Empire's founding. When the First Emperor died and the empire was at the brink of civil war, it was him that lead the Knights of the Frost into the Imperial City and suppressed the warring factions with great slaughter, securing the throne for the second Emperor, Kaalt. For this he was granted his own kingdom. From Talric down, Sarim is the fifteenth monarch of Vinecastle."

"He came into power nine years ago, still wet behind his ears. It was a compromise between various factions, meant to provide little more than a puppet. But he proved much better at courtly intrigues than anyone imagined. Nowadays, you would be hard-pressed to find a force in the city not at his beck and call. Save for us."

"Sarim has studied the arcane arts, and he is an adequate swordsman, but far as we could tell he does not have the kind of power that you possess. However, we know that he has gathered many powerful beings around himself. Moreover, the Order of the Frost is absolutely loyal to him. Your task will not be an easy one."

"Have you been to the palatial tower? It is a replica of the legendary Black Tower, almost an artifact in its own right. Far as we know, it contains at least nine 'floors', each a non-space, similiar to a portable hole but much larger. The ground floor is open to all - it is where the day-to-day business of the kingdom is conducted. The other floors are accessible only by those wearing amulet-keys. Sarim spends most of his days in one of the higher floors, out of sight of even our most powerful divinations. The church has been barred from most of the palace, so I cannot tell you much more. But I suspect that the floors are heavily trapped and warded - it would be most unwise to attack him there."


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## Pyrex (Aug 20, 2005)

"Then it appears we must lure him out of his tower.  When is he known to leave it?"


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## silentspace (Aug 20, 2005)

oracle said:
			
		

> "I suppose, you seek an alliance with the Church? There are practical difficulties with this, you understand. I am not the only one blessed with the Sight, and others may not be so flexible."




"This _Church of the High Lord_ that you speak of so proudly and vainly. What is it? Why would I seek an alliance with it?"


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## Nephtys (Aug 20, 2005)

""The truth could ruin you in more ways than one. And if my identity is revealed it would only force me securely into the camp of your greatest enemy, making him that much more powerful. But for now, very well. I'll do your wicked bidding."

"Can the demiplane of the Palace be entered at any point, by divination or Gate? Can its wards be broken or dispelled? Are the wearers of the keys fully protected against scrying? If these options are closed to us we must try to draw him out of hiding, and the best way to do that is to threaten something he values. Now, before I burn half the city to the ground, do you have a more specific suggestion?"


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## Albedo (Aug 20, 2005)

OOC: My mentioning of the tinkering was just a forewarning. Theres no way I'd sleep without making a few preperations. But I probably should have made that clearer.

"So, what does the almighty king want with a nobody like me?" Cann smiles a crafty smile.


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## Rkhet (Aug 21, 2005)

> "This Church of the High Lord that you speak of so proudly and vainly. What is it? Why would I seek an alliance with it?"




"Wherever the Imperial Standard flies, there is the Church. We worship the Perfect as the High Lord of all, and we venerate the heroes of the Empire as saints and martyrs. In times of peace, our clerics heal the sick, shelter the poor, and do what we can to ease the hardships of daily life. In times of war, our warpriests join the ranks of imperial soldiers, as healers, advisors, and sometimes as generals."



> I'll do your wicked bidding.




"I offer no defense, and I suspect that this will weigh heavily on my soul when my judgment comes, but that is the choice I have made."



> Can the demiplane of the Palace be entered at any point, by divination or Gate? Can its wards be broken or dispelled? Are the wearers of the keys fully protected against scrying?




"The interior of the tower cannot be scryed from the outside - this I know from personal experience. Nor could it be scryed from one level to another. As for planar travel... our diviners have not been able to locate the demiplanes of the tower, and not for lack of trying. With no idea where they are in the multiverse, it would be impossible to Gate inside."

"The tower draws its power from the very land it stands upon. Dispelling and the like cannot affect it. It may be possible to dispel individual wards inside, but even those will regenerate quickly."

"Key amulets should not to be too difficult to find, for the lower levels at least. Many of his generals and advisors, and even some of the tower's servants and guards carry them, and they mostly live outside the tower. Keys for the upper levels are rarer, though, and Sarim has the only key to the uppermost level in his signet ring."

"If you are to try this, you will need to obtain Identity Rings. Those rings are attached to their wearers by magic and turn into dust if forcibly removed. Anyone entering the tower without them will alert all its guards."



> "Then it appears we must lure him out of his tower. When is he known to leave it?"




"There are rumors that the King likes to, as they say, sow his wild oats. If this is so, then he must have been very discreet, for we do not know who his mistresses may be. But that is a lead you can follow up on."

"Alternatively, you could try the mage-foundries, the Arcane Order guildhouse, or the barracks. He inspects them periodically. He is always heavily defended in those occasions, however."

*

Cann



> "So, what does the almighty king want with a nobody like me?" Cann smiles a crafty smile.




"Nobody? Strangely enough, that is true. For someone so skilled in the deadly arts, you have not the reputation to match, and nor does your companions. Perhaps you would care to divulge your origins? In any case, you and your companions are not of Empire or Church, nor do you appear to be agents of the Wyrmslayer. For now, that is enough."

"The Empire has exhausted its might. The Legion is nowhere to be seen. Yet Naramyr has overextended his forces and will ultimately fail. For a man with ambition and the power to match, opportunity beckons. What I want from you, and from your companions should you be able to convince them, is loyalty."

"Serve me, and you shall have whatever you desire, so long as it is within my power. Serve me, and whatever I gain in the war to come, you will be guaranteed a share. If you are ever offered a better deal, come to me, and I will double it."

"And when I sit upon the crystal throne, you will have your own kingdom to rule or ruin as you see fit."


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## Nephtys (Aug 21, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "The tower draws its power from the very land it stands upon. Dispelling and the like cannot affect it. It may be possible to dispel individual wards inside, but even those will regenerate quickly."




"And weakening the tower by corrupting the land would probably be an undertaking beyond our abilities, and would either way be highly destructive to the surroundings... 




> "Alternatively, you could try the mage-foundries, the Arcane Order guildhouse, or the barracks. He inspects them periodically. He is always heavily defended in those occasions, however."




"If you could alert us the moment you notice he has arrived in any of those locations for an inspection we should be able to strike hard enough to kill him before he can escape. You should expect quite a lot collateral damage, though."


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## silentspace (Aug 21, 2005)

Oracle said:
			
		

> "Wherever the Imperial Standard flies, there is the Church. We worship the Perfect as the High Lord of all, and we venerate the heroes of the Empire as saints and martyrs. In times of peace, our clerics heal the sick, shelter the poor, and do what we can to ease the hardships of daily life. In times of war, our warpriests join the ranks of imperial soldiers, as healers, advisors, and sometimes as generals."




Rhakzan nods at the oracle, and turning, says to his siblings "It is the church of our Father, one of His infinite churches on His infinite worlds. As such, it is our church as well."

Turning to the Oracle, he continues "You think you are bartering with mercenaries. The truth is we are the Perfect's children, and should be venerated by you and your church as saints.  Your poor soul may scarcely conceive of it, but cast your divinations and you will find it to be true."

Edit: Oops, misread the posts above, sorry! 
Edit: once more


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## Rkhet (Aug 21, 2005)

/ooc: eh. dude. that second part is meant for cann, who is in a different conversation. it doesn't come from the oracle, nor velshara.

/edit: you'll wanna change that again... that 'serve me' part is for cann as well.


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## Albedo (Aug 21, 2005)

"Well king, that sounds like a fine offer, except for one thing. Something you will learn about me is that while my services can be bought, my loyalty cannot. That is something I must judge you worthy of and can only come in time. Though, I will say, if you gain it then no price in the world will sway it. Only your direct actions can destroy such a bond. But enough with the loyalty junk. In terms of buying my services, I am not interested in rulership, but merely the means in which to perfect myself. I desire access to research and resources that will allow me to reach this goal. As for my so called "companions", I do not know what they will want to do, nor their price. But should you enlist my services, I shall ask them."


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## Rkhet (Aug 22, 2005)

Moreth said:
			
		

> "If you could alert us the moment you notice he has arrived in any of those locations for an inspection we should be able to strike hard enough to kill him before he can escape. You should expect quite a lot collateral damage, though."



"I will do this, but do not think you have been given licence to kill innocents indiscriminately. Do so, and you will answer to me."



			
				Rhakzan said:
			
		

> "You think you are bartering with mercenaries. The truth is we are the Perfect's children, and should be venerated by you and your church as saints. Your poor soul may scarcely conceive of it, but cast your divinations and you will find it to be true."



The Oracle turns to you and is silent for a moment, then she speaks.

"You think you speak the truth, but that is hardly worthy evidence. The church has seen its share of false prophets. Your memories may have been tampered with, or you may be delusional. The Perfect has risen from the mortal realm and no longer directs its affairs, trusting the Church to carry out His will here. That is His word and so it shall always be."

"Even if He were to send His avatars into the world, they would not be so tainted as you. I would advise that you do not speak to anyone else of this madness. Such heresy is tantamount to treason."

---



			
				Cann said:
			
		

> "while my services can be bought, my loyalty cannot."



"Very well. I am a patient man. For now, your services are enough, so long as you do not betray me for another. My offer stands, and you will be well-advised to deliberate on it. Such opportunity does not come often."



			
				Cann said:
			
		

> "I am not interested in rulership, but merely the means in which to perfect myself. I desire access to research and resources that will allow me to reach this goal. As for my so called "companions", I do not know what they will want to do, nor their price. But should you enlist my services, I shall ask them."



The king thinks for a moment. Then he throws to you a small object. It is a medallion, made out of some silvery-blue metal and cold to the touch. On it is the pattern of a snowflake.

[untrained Know(Religion): The pattern is associated with Indra the Ice Maiden, a godess of weather, war, and healing.]

"Wear this prominently, and you will be marked as one of my favored. You will find such status convenient while you traverse the city. Take it to the Arcane Order guildhouse. I will send word that you are to be admitted as a senior member, with full access to their labs, their libraries, and any other resources you may require."

"Come see me tomorrow, at the palace, with or without your companions.  I have a task for you.  You will be well-compensated."

With this, the king and his guards take their leave.  You notice that they have left the shackles behind, along with its key.


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## silentspace (Aug 22, 2005)

Rhakzan fixes his gaze on the Oracle.

"You call yourself an oracle, when the best you can do is tell if someone _believes _ he is speaking the truth or not?  Each of us has divination powers far greater than that."

Turning to his siblings, he says "This _oracle _ has told us little we could not find out from a local barkeep.  Is there a reason to let her live?"


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## Pyrex (Aug 22, 2005)

Rhakzan said:
			
		

> "This _oracle _ has told us little we could not find out from a local barkeep.  Is there a reason to let her live?"




Lessa turns toward Rhakzan and responds, "What reason have you not to?  She has neither acted against us nor threatened to."  She then turns to the Oracle "You have, however, asked much of us and been... less specific... about what you offer in return."


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## silentspace (Aug 23, 2005)

"But she has threatened us, and insulted us..." Rhakzan eyes the blind woman with distaste.


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## Albedo (Aug 23, 2005)

Cann takes the key and the manacles and stuffs them in his backpack. Then he leaves to go find his companions. (gather info if he must use it is to find them is +25. If its another skill let me know.)


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## Rkhet (Aug 23, 2005)

/ooc: what does cann do with the medallion?  is he going to wear it?


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## Rkhet (Aug 23, 2005)

silentspace said:
			
		

> "But she has threatened us, and insulted us..." Rhakzan eyes the blind woman with distaste.




"Do you really think that an Oracle would be defenseless in her own temple?  Try anything foolish, and you will regret it."

The oracle turns to Lessa.

"Your greed does not become you, my child.  I have said that you will be well-rewarded and so you will, but do not pester me for details.  Know that your services are not indispensible.  If you would refuse, then do so and be done with it.  I have other matters that require my attention."


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## Albedo (Aug 23, 2005)

I suppose Cann will put on the medalion. Lets see what it does.


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## silentspace (Aug 23, 2005)

_Not to mention extremely rude... and arrogant..._  Rhakzan would rather assassinate the Oracle than deal with her, but he knows his siblings still have questions for her, and might want to deal with her.  

His face, though betrays none of his thoughts [bluff +46]. Instead, he says "Wait, wait, why the rush?  I thought assassinating king and agreeing to peripheral damage to the populace would be rather high on your list of things that 'require attention'.  Really, this impatience is quite unbecoming of an Oracle, don't you think?  How do you expect to hire assassins and overthrow your government if all you have for your potential hires are threats and insults?  I'm sure your used to dealing with fawning supplicants, as I can tell by your manner.   If you think about it for a moment though you'll see the questions we're asking are extremely reasonable.  It's clearly not the questions you object to, but us.  Yet if you want to perform assassinations and take down an ally of the empire, you'll have to deal with us or others like us.  It's been clear from the start that even if we agree to work with you, you'll never be inviting us home to meet the family.  But still, if you want to work with us, the least you can do is treat us less as 'leeches' and more as business associates, and answer our questions, no?" [diplomacy +52]


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## Nephtys (Aug 23, 2005)

silentspace said:
			
		

> Turning to his siblings, he says "This _oracle _has told us little we could not find out from a local barkeep. Is there a reason to let her live?"




"No. It is clear we can never be more than expendable servants to her. And her personal arrogance is, I suspect, nothing compared to the haughty self-righteousness of the angels of the Legion. Any long term business-relationship between us is doomed from the start, but perhaps a short-term agreement could be useful..." The headache starts to build again. "But I believe that is a matter we need to discuss in private." 
"Shall we?" Moreth traces a symbol for planar travel in the air. 

Whenever Rkhazan and Lessa indicates that they want to leave Moreth will cast Planeshift and take the three of them to a random location on the (mostly empty) Plane of Air.
Once there he will use 1 9th level Pearl of power and 1 8th level pearl to regain his cast Shapechange and Mindblank spells. Assuming Lessa allows him he will then cast Mindblank on her, regain the spell with another 8th lvl pearl and cast it again on Rkhazan. With the group then safe from scrying he will say, "The Church can never be our ally, it is an obstacle that must be removed and the sooner it is done the better. Let us prepare and then let's kill that arrogant ." He grins madly.

ooc: 
Pearls used:
8x2
9x1

Spell slots used:
arcane 8x1, Mindblank.
divine 5x1, Planeshift

Spells active:
Mindblank
Shapechange


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## Rkhet (Aug 23, 2005)

Cann: you put on the medallion and find your way back to the market where you were separated from your siblings. Order has been more-or-less restored here, though there are less people than before.

A patrolling guardsman salutes you smartly as you walk past. When you ask him where the others went, he tells you that they were last-seen leaving with a priest and, judging by the direction, probably went to the Church of the High Lord. He gives you detailed directions. You notice that he addresses you as if you are a superior officer.


Rhakzan:

[bluff: failed]
[diplomacy: 52+17-10 circumstantial penalty =59, failed]

/ooc: you should realize by now that she is using epic sense motive to read your thoughts; that's what she meant when she said Moreth's thoughts are betrayed by his pulse and the way he moves.

The oracle frowns at you. "It is true that the church wishes your services. You have been given the task, and you have been promised riches and magic at its completion. But the church has other means to achieve the same goals, if needs be. Do not think that you are irreplaceable."

"I will take my leave now. It is time for the daily prayers. Discuss the offer amongst yourselves, but have an answer ready when I am back."

With this, the oracle leaves you to your own devices.

/ooc: let's speed things up a little. get to the action faster. do not feel pressured into accepting the oracle's offer, though.


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## Rkhet (Aug 23, 2005)

Moreth: your _planeshift_ fizzles.  The temple is likely warded by a _dimensional anchor _effect.

/ooc: you expend a _planeshift_ but no other resources.


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## Pyrex (Aug 23, 2005)

"Let us move outside to discuss.  Many will overhear our discussion here."

OOC: And besides, if we move outside first we can meet up with Cann and include him in our discussions.


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## silentspace (Aug 23, 2005)

Assuming the four meet up and planeshift somewhere discreet...

"It's clear there can be no deal with the Church. If they don't try to kill or cheat us right away, they will later.  The Oracle clearly has no honor.  There is greater honor, as they say, among thieves..."

"But this kingdom is significant, Father would not have placed us here if that were not so.  The Church wants to seize the kingdom, and the king wants to seize the Empire.  And what does Naramyr Wyrmslayer want? To seize the Empire also? Or destroy the world? We have been dropped into a web of intrigue, and are relatively powerless here.  I am for siding with the king for now, and go against the Church."

_Maybe the king will be weakened in the process and we can destroy the king, and seize the kingdom.  Then turn our attention to Naramyr, or the Empire_.

OOC: I just realized Rhakzan can communicate with his siblings telepathically. Some of the things he said out loud should have been said telepathically, but I'm sure the Oracle would have read his thoughts anyway   I'm not sure if his siblings can communicate back or if its one-way though...


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## Nephtys (Aug 23, 2005)

Whenever Rkhazan, Lessa and Cann indicates that they want to leave Moreth will cast Planeshift and take the three of them to a random location on the (mostly empty) Plane of Air.
Once there he will use 1 9th level Pearl of power and 1 8th level pearl to regain his cast Shapechange and Mindblank spells. Assuming Lessa allows him he will then cast Mindblank on her, regain the spell with another 8th lvl pearl and cast it again on Rkhazan and repeat the trick on Cann. With the group then safe from scrying; 
"The Church can never be our ally, it is an obstacle that must be removed and the sooner it is done the better. Let us prepare and then let's kill that arrogant bitch." He grins madly. "But is the King a worthy ally? He is surely far weaker than than either the Empire or Naramyr, but also likely easier to replace. Either way, cooperating with him against the church and the Empire doesn't exclude the possibility of betraying him later. Naramyr... He is our creator nearly as much as the Perfect, perhaps he's the only one who can truly accept us and the only one worthy of us. Or should we punish him?"


ooc: 
Pearls used:
8x3
9x1
5x1

Spell slots used:
arcane 8x1, Mindblank.
divine 5x1, Planeshift

Spells active:
Mindblank
Shapechange


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## Nephtys (Aug 23, 2005)

silentspace said:
			
		

> OOC: I just realized Rhakzan can communicate with his siblings telepathically...




ooc: But not if we're Mindblanked, I think...


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## Pyrex (Aug 24, 2005)

"We have heard the Church's offer.  I would hear the King's offer as well."


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## Albedo (Aug 25, 2005)

Cann will continue on to find his companions, following the directions of the guards, and every other person he asks, until he is re-united with them.

OOC: I stated earlier I was gonna do some changes to my prepared spells. I've got a little more work to do on them but I'll post the new list next time I'm on.


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## Rkhet (Aug 26, 2005)

/ooc summary: you're all on the elemental plane of air, and have hopefully exchanged information by now.  so...

The air around you seems to thicken, filling with the smell of copper. The wind is picking up speed, shifting from a barely audible moan to howling fury.

[spot checks: Rhakzan 54, Moreth 59, Cann 31, Lessa 47]

In the distance Moreth spots a cloud-like shape. It is approaching extremely fast. The lack of reference points in the plane of air makes it difficult to discern its size or distance, however.

Moreth shouts out a warning to his companions, alerting them.  However, it is still too far away for Cann and Lessa to see.

[init: stormcloud 36, Rhakzan 22, Moreth 24, Cann 22, Lessa 18]

/ooc: everyone post a single round's worth of actions.


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## Nephtys (Aug 26, 2005)

Moreth immeditely breaks out into a flurry of motion, touches a bead sewn into one of his pockets and casts a succession of spells almost faster than the eye can see. Shanging shape into a Solar he speaks loudly in Auran:
"This is a private gathering, Cloudpuff, remove yourself or you will be removed."


ooc:
Standard action: Activate bead of Karma (Caster level now Arcane: 33, 39 vs SR. Divine: 23, 29 vs SR.) 
Quickened spells: Deathward (div), Protection from Energy (electricity) (div), Mirror Image (arc).
Free Action: Shanges shape.
-
Active Spells: Shapechange, Mindblank, Deathward, Protection from Energy (electricity), Mirror Image.


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## Rkhet (Aug 26, 2005)

/ooc: A quickened spell is a swift action.  You get one per round.


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## Nephtys (Aug 26, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> /ooc: A quickened spell is a swift action. You get one per round.




ooc:
I've taken the Epic Feat Multispell two times. It allows me to cast two additional Quickened spells per round, for a total of three Quickened spells per round.




			
				SRD 3 said:
			
		

> MULTISPELL [EPIC]
> 
> *Prerequisites:* Quicken Spell, ability to cast 9th-level arcane or divine spells.
> 
> ...






edit: But maybe I can't change shape with my already cast Shapechange too in the same round, using a free action... Could I instead use a move equivalent action to do that?


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## Rkhet (Aug 26, 2005)

/ooc: ah. right. missed that.  shapechange is fine - that's a free action, which doesn't interfere with your swift actions.


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## Albedo (Aug 26, 2005)

OOC: Did I roll a one on my spot check? I have +30 and I got a 31.

Anyways, heres the spell list revisions I promised.

[SBLOCK]
Spells Prepared:
Lv 0 (4): Light, Detect Magic x2, Read Magic
Lv 1 (8): True Strike x4, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield, Magic Missile, Fist of Stone
Lv 2 (7): Sadism x2, Masochism x2, Mirror Image, Blur, See Invisibility, 
Lv 3 (7): Greater Magic Weapon, Keen Edge, Vampiric Touch, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Displacement, Flame Arrow
Lv 4 (7): Orb of Force, Orb of Fire, Assay Resistance, Unluck, Absorb Strength, Empowered Flame Arrow, Improved Invisibility
Lv 5 (6): Cloudkill, Greater Blink, Claws of Bibilith, Twinned Vampiric Touch, Quickened True Strike, Contingency
Lv 6 (6): Twinned Force Orb x2, Greater Heroism, Brilliant Blade, Empowered Cloudkill, Teleport
Lv 7 (6): Greater Teleport x2, Planeshift, Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion, Energy Immunity, Forcecage
Lv 8 (5): Twinned Cloudkill, Bestow Greater Curse, Ottiluke’s Telekinetic Sphere, Horrid Wilting, Twinned Maximized Vampiric Touch x2
Lv 9 (6): Moment of Prescience, Timestop, Split Rayed Empowered Chained Ray of Enfeeblement, Superior Invisibility, Shapechange, Twinned Quickened Force Orb
Lv 10 (2): Split Rayed Polar Ray x2
Lv 11 (2): Twinned Maximized Empowered Vampiric Touch x2 [/SBLOCK]

As for my actions, I'm going to cast Timestop, which I'm going to Empower with my rod.


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## Rkhet (Aug 27, 2005)

/ooc: mmkay.  you will get the revised list next time you rest.


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## Albedo (Aug 27, 2005)

Thats fine with me. As for whats going on now, what did I roll for the timestop?


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## Albedo (Aug 27, 2005)

These are my (Cann's) actions so far in timestop: (I still need to know what I rolled on the timestop)

Round 1: I'm going to cast Moment of Prescience. Then I'm going to use my my move action to load a Chained, Twinned Force Orb into my sword.

Round 2: I'm going to cast Superior Invisibility. Then I am going to use my move action to load a Split Rayed Polar Ray into my sword.

Round 3: I'm going to cast Sadism. Then, since I was warned there was something going on and I dind't see it, I'm going to use my move action to make a spot check again (+30).

Round 4 (If I get it): I'm going to cast True Seeing. I am also going to activate the haste feature on my Boots of Swiftness. If I don't roll high enough to get this round, I'm going to cast it on round 2 as a quicken spell using my Greater Rod of Quicken. 

Round 5 (If I get it): I'm going to cast Foresight. If I fail my previous spot check again, I'm gonna use my move action to try again. If not, I'm gonna make a check to hide (if there is no cover available I'm gonna hide behind one of the party members).


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## Rkhet (Aug 27, 2005)

The stormcloud moves closer; and you see that it has a gigantic face, distorting itself as its constituent clouds roiled and churned.



> This is a private gathering, Cloudpuff, remove yourself or you will be removed.




The howling wind becomes the cloud's voice, booming angrily in the air around you.  It speaks Auran.

"The Lords of Air welcome thee not, godspawns!  Do not bother us with the petty quarrels between thy god and his Eye!  Begone!"

Cann: Time Stop = 4 (3+1).  You don't need a spot check; the stormcloud had better initiative than you and has moved close enough to see since last time.

knowledge(planes) checks:
Rhakzan: +26, 30
Moreth: +46, 59
Cann: untrained, 10
Lessa: untrained, 10

All unsuccessful.


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## Nephtys (Aug 27, 2005)

"The Lords of Air do not concern us. Our precense here is incidental, but we will not be moved by threats. Leave us, or die, either way we will leave on our own volition when we are done."

--
Current round: 

Assuming the cloud doesn't go away on its own Moreth will sneer savagely at it, cast a Maximized (Greater Rod of Maximize) Sonic Meteor swarm at it, followed by three Maximized (Lesser Rod of Maximize) Fireballs. If the Sonic Meteor Swarm did damage then all three Fireballs will be Sonic too, but if the MS mostly failed one of them will be Fire, one Acid and one Cold.


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## Rkhet (Aug 27, 2005)

/ooc: we're still in round 1.  I'm waiting for actions from the other two.


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## Albedo (Aug 27, 2005)

Ummm, are you counting the empower I used on the timestop (Via my Greater Rod of Empoer) for that roll?


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## Rkhet (Aug 27, 2005)

/ooc: you rolled a 3(2+1) on your timestop.  empower adds 50%, rounded down.  so that's 4 rounds.


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## Albedo (Aug 28, 2005)

k, thanks. I just wanted to know if the roll included the plus one in it. Since I don't need to make a spot check, I'm going to go ahead and make a hide check instead (+48). Other than that, everything is gonna stay the same.


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## Nephtys (Aug 29, 2005)

ooc:
Bump.

Pyrex, silentspace, c'mon let's kill mr Windbag.


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## silentspace (Aug 29, 2005)

howling wind said:
			
		

> "The Lords of Air welcome thee not, godspawns! Do not bother us with the petty quarrels between thy god and his Eye! Begone!"




"We have no quarrel with you. We are just passing through. Are you an enemy of the Perfect?"

OOC: readying dominate monster against any hostile action.


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## Pyrex (Aug 30, 2005)

OOC:  As noted in the OOC thread I was out of town a few days.  As should be intuitively obvious, I'm back now. 



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> Moreth shouts out a warning to his companions, alerting them.  However, it is still too far away for Cann and Lessa to see.
> 
> /ooc: everyone post a single round's worth of actions.




~Round 1~
At Moreth's alarm, power flows through Lessa, toughening her body in anticipation of battle. (Standard Action: Spend Wild Shape attempt to activate Oaken Resilience.  Quickened Spell: Barkskin)

~Round 2~


			
				Howling Wind said:
			
		

> "The Lords of Air welcome thee not, godspawns! Do not bother us with the petty quarrels between thy god and his Eye! Begone!"




Ready Action:  Cast E.M.Q. Flamestrike and E.M. Fire Storm if it attacks.

"We have no quarrel with the inhabitants of this plane.  Leave us to our business and we will leave you to yours."


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## Rkhet (Aug 31, 2005)

/ooc: round 2.  I am going to use co-ordinates to record positions.  Points given will be the upper-leftmost corner of a square.  Current positions: 

Moreth: x=-10, y=-10, z=0
Lessa: x=0, y=-10, z=0
Cann: x=-10, y=0, z=0
Rhakzan: x=0, y=0, z=0

Whirlwind: centred on x=165, y=0, z=0


The cloud changes its shape, becoming a great, howling whirlwind and moving even closer.  It is close enough now to guage distance: about 150 feet away, and its size is Collossal(tall).



> "We have no quarrel with you. We are just passing through. Are you an enemy of the Perfect?"






> "We have no quarrel with the inhabitants of this plane. Leave us to our business and we will leave you to yours."




The whirlwind offers no reply.


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## Nephtys (Aug 31, 2005)

Moreth watches the approaching storm with a calm smile on his angelic face. In a voice intended to be mocking, despite its exalted tones he speaks, "Then you will be the first to die by my hand. You will have that honour, though you do not deserve it." 

Then, suddenly beating his wings, he flies 100 feet up, moving him out of the path of the whirlwind, and unleashes a powerful barrage of spells.

ooc:
Maximized (Greater Rod of Maximize) Sonic Meteor swarm cantered on the cloud, followed by three Maximized (Lesser Rod of Maximize) Fireballs. If the Sonic Meteor Swarm did damage then all three Fireballs will be Sonic too, but if the MS mostly failed one of them will be Fire, one Acid and one Cold.

[SBLOCK]
ANGEL, SOLAR (what's relevant for Shapechangers)

Speed:	50 ft. (10 squares), fly 150 ft. (good)
Armor Class:	+5 Dex, +21 
Space/Reach:	10 ft./10 ft.
Special Qualities:	Damage reduction 15/epic and evil, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, immunity to acid, cold, and petrification, protective aura, regeneration 15, resistance to electricity 10 and fire 10, spell resistance 32, tongues
Abilities:	Str 28, Dex 20, Con 20, 
[/SBLOCK]


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## Pyrex (Aug 31, 2005)

Lessa Delays until after Moreth, waiting to see what effect his assault has on the creature.

Edit: Not that I needed to delay.  Now that I find the initiative I find that I'm last anyway...


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## silentspace (Sep 1, 2005)

As he watches warily, ready to cast his spell, Rhakzan studies the strange creature, trying to gauge its intentions.


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## Albedo (Sep 1, 2005)

Pending on the whirlwinds actions (since Cann goes after it in initiative), he is going to cast timestop. Using his Gloves of Storing, he will call his sword to his hand. For the first round of the timestop, he is going to cast Greater Magic Weapon on his sword, giving it a +5 enhancement bonus. He is then going to use his movement action to move right up to the whirlwind (or 110 feet if the whirlwind does not end up close enough to reach at the end of its turn). For the last round (if I get more, it doesn't really matter to me), he is going to finish moving up to the creature if he isn't already there (if I have the movement to do it, I'm gonna try and make sure I'm behind the creature, not in front of it), then cast a Quickened True Strike, then as a free action call his Rod of Quicken to his hand using his other glove of storing, and then use his standard action to ready an action to attack the whirlwind when the timestop ends. Once the Timestop ends, he will make his attack, using his Impromtu Sneak Attack ability to deny the creature its Dex bonus to AC. His attack is at +51, and will deal 1d8+16 damage + 1 Negative Level +1 Con Damage, unless the creature is not immune to critical hits, in which point it does an additional 6d6 sneak attack damage and an additional point of con damage. If I do hit, I will also discharge the two spells in my sword. The Orb of Force will deal 20d6 damage (No save, No SR), and the polar ray which I will cast as Sonic damage will deal 42d6 points of damage (No save). If the creature has SR, I will use my Moment of Prescience to add +21 to my roll, making it a +42 check to beat the SR. Finally, after my attack I will place my sword into my glove of storing as a free action and cast a Quickened Twinned Orb of Force, dealing another 10d6 damage twice (pending 2 successful range touch attacks at +23, though there is no save and no SR). Afterwards, since I have not taken any movement actions in the actual round, I will move 35 feet back. I will end with a reminder that I am currently under the effect of the Greater Invisibilty Spell, so if the creature does not have a method for detecting invisibility, it can't see me. As part of my movement action though, I'm going to add a hide check (+88 since I am invisible) using my invisibility as concealment, so that the creature has a harder time using a spot check to discover which square I am standing in.


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## Rkhet (Sep 1, 2005)

order: stormcloud -> Rhakzan -> Cann -> Moreth (delay) -> Lessa

Cann:
/ooc:
[sblock]the stormcloud's action was to move to 150' from the party and change into a whirlwind.  It's already done for the round.

You can't take a readied action and a regular action at once.  From SRD, ready:

Your initiative result becomes the count on which you took the readied action. If you come to your next action and have not yet performed your readied action, you don’t get to take the readied action (though you can ready the same action again). If you take your readied action in the next round, before your regular turn comes up, your initiative count rises to that new point in the order of battle, and you *do not get your regular action that round.*

The thing that triggers your readied action is the ending of Time Stop.  Because no objective time passes, your Initiative order does not change.  What you'll want to do instead of Ready is Delay, because this way you get a full-round action.  Assuming you do this...

(I'd appreciate it if people follow this format for complicated actions in the future)

Time Stop roll: d4+1=3
Before Time Stop has ended: Move to (x=180 y=0 z=0), cast True Strike

Standard Action: attack +51, 1d8+16+1 NL +1Con, +20d6 Force, +42d6 Sonic (SR)
Free Action: Rod of Quicken to hand using glove of storing
Swift Action: touch attack +23 x2, Quickened Twinned Orb of Force, 10d6 each
Move Action: move to (x=215 y=0 z=0), Hide +88

Resolution:

Attack: 
Physical: Attack roll 61, hit, damage: 12 Slashing, +1 NL, +1 Con. 
Force: 20d6 = 72
Sonic: SR: 21+21+d20=54, successful, 42d6 = 136
Reflex save: 25+d20 = 41, failed; Cann takes 16 damage.
Reflex save: 25+d20 = 42, failed; Cann takes 15 damage and is sucked into the whirlwind.  Take a -4 penalty to Dex and -2 to attack rolls.  Cannot move.  Attempting to escape is a move-action.

Quickened Twinned OoF: action cancelled.

Total damage dealt to whirlwind: 220, 1 negative level, 1 Con

Move: 
cannot move for the round.  (do something else with the move action, if you wish.  You can still full-attack, for example.  Or you can attempt escape as a move-action.) [/sblock]

Cann chants powerful arcane phrases, and, for a few moments, time itself grinds to a halt.  To an onlooker, he seemed to disappear and immediately appear behind the whirlwind.  He strikes a blow on its back, releasing the bound spells on his sword.

The blow lands and the whirlwind howls with pain and fury.  Cann is sucked inside by the powerful currents, bleeding a little as the raging wind cuts into him like knives.


Moreth:

/ooc: [sblock]
Modified Solar stats (incl. inherent and enhancement bonuses):
Str 39, Dex 31, Con 31
Ranged Attack: 9+10dex+1comp+5epic = 25

Move to x=0, y=0, z=100

Sonic Meteor Swarm:

Attack roll: 8, 5, 13, 7
SR: d20+39 = 56 (successful)
damage: 144 sonic + 24 blunt

Sonic Fireballs:

SR: 48, 51, 43 (all successful)
DC: 26
Saves: 20, 9, 5
damage: 90 sonic

Total damage dealt to whirlwind: 258
[/sblock]

The whirlwind writhes and twists under the barrage of sound.  Though there is no blood or gore, Moreth intuitively knows that he has wounded it.

The howl of the wind sharpens to a loud, piercing shriek.  On an empty plane like this, it is likely to be heard for miles or more.  It may be calling for allies.

Rhakzan, Lessa:

The creature seems to be enraged and ready to attack - all the more so after being blasted by Cann and Moreth.  It does not appear to have significant protections against force or sonic energy.

/edit: fixed the maximized damage.


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## Nephtys (Sep 1, 2005)

All my spells were Maximized (with Rods), even if it would have made all its saves it should have taken more damage than that. At least 132 points of damage.


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## Rkhet (Sep 1, 2005)

fixed.


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## Pyrex (Sep 1, 2005)

Trying to encompass as much of the whirlwind as possible without hitting Cann, Lessa unleashes the fire within her, blasting the whirlwind.

Move: Z+30, X-30
Swift: Enhanced Maximized Quickened Flame Strike

If the elemental still stands

Standard: Enhanced Maximized Fire Storm

(do you want us to roll or will you be posting the results?)


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## Rkhet (Sep 1, 2005)

/ooc: 
[sblock]I'll roll.

EMC Flame Strike: 15x6+10d6, Reflex half, SR applies.

SR: 39+d20=45, successful.
Ref Save: 10
Damage: 64

EM Fire Storm: 20x6+10d6, Reflex half, SR applies.

SR: 39+d20=59, successful.
Ref Save: 12
Damage: 77

Total damage: 141
[/sblock]

The fire has burnt away some of the whirlwind's essence.  The repeated assault has badly wounded it; it almost seems to shrink with each attack.


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## Nephtys (Sep 1, 2005)

ooc: I think Solidspace readied a Dominate Monster earlier.


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## Albedo (Sep 2, 2005)

OOC: Ok, there are a few things wrong with how you did my actions. First of all, I stated specifically that when I cast my polar ray, I would use my moment of prescience to improve the SR check by 21. You didn't account for that. Which means my polar ray may just make it through the SR if its SR is less than 54. Second of all, I never used a rod to cast that quicken spell, it was actually in my prepared spell list. No charge wasted. Besides, if I ended up trapped inside the whirlwind, odds are I wouldn't be attempting to cast that spell in it (which means I won't bother to put my sword away). Now, in terms of being sucked into the whirlwind, I haven't actually made contact with it, but if you want to suck me up thats fine. If that is the case, I won't bother attempting any swift actions this round. I will remind you though that I get a free reflex save every round because I can fly, as well as next round I get bonuses to my saves, attack rolls and skill checks equal to 1 tenth of the damage I dealt this round from sadism (if that polar ray beats the SR with the +21, its gonna really help).


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## Albedo (Sep 2, 2005)

OOC: Also, you did my damage total a little wrong. It doesn't really matter, but I did cast greater magic weapon, increasing the damage by 4, as well as I am using my arm to attack, increasing the damage by another 2 (clawed arm gives +4 str bonus).


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## Rkhet (Sep 2, 2005)

/ooc:

1. MoP: this is what happens when you have all your text in a big block.  I'll revise it again. 

2. I thought you used a rod, since you had one in your hand.  Make it clearer next time.  It is true that you do not have to cast if conditions are bad - I'll revise that too.

3. You made a melee attack and it landed.  That counts as contact in my book.

4. Generally speaking, if you want your bonuses to count, you will have to show them.  I can't be expected to remember everything - epic character sheets are complicated.  If you want your sadism bonus, list it with your next action, along with all other numeric details.  Also, list spells active.

5. I used the equation you gave for damage: 1d8+16 damage + 1 Negative Level +1 Con Damage.  I think that already accounts for the GMW bonus.  It does do less damage than it appears, for valid in-game reasons.


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## Rkhet (Sep 2, 2005)

/ooc:



			
				Nephtys said:
			
		

> ooc: I think Solidspace readied a Dominate Monster earlier.




Ah. Right.  In that case I'll resolve that now.  It would kick in when Cann is sucked into the whirlwind; next round his initiative would be just before Cann's.

Dominate Monster, caster level 18, DC 42:

SR: 18+d20 = 25, failed to penetrate.

(if you have spells that would modify this, speak up.  In the future, *everyone should list their active spells.*)
/ooc

Rhakzan attempts to control the creature, but its innate resistance against magic makes the task impossible.


/ooc: Round 3 will come later today, or tomorrow.


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## Albedo (Sep 2, 2005)

Alrighty. I realize as a DM things can be kind of stressful, I also know that sometimes my action layout may be a little complicated. I will note however that for my SR check, I did actually include the moment of prescience in the modifier I posted earlier. For future reference as well, I always posted before the name of the spell I cast the rod I used on it, if one is used. If I don't state the name of the rod I use on a spell, that means there is no rod used on it. I'm just making it clear for you. As for the damage, well I didn't think the monster had DR 10 or less so I brought it up just in case. Thanks for the corrections.


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## Albedo (Sep 2, 2005)

Now, as for spells active:

Greater Invisibility, True Seeing, Greater Magic Weapon, Sadism, Haste (From the boots).


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## Rkhet (Sep 2, 2005)

/ooc: There's a difference between complicated and messy.  Try to avoid the latter.  I know you had mentioned MoP, but when you do it in the middle of a big block of text along with a bunch of other numbers, sometimes it gets lost.  Anyways...

---Round 3---

Initiative order: whirlwind ->Rhakzan ->Cann ->Moreth ->Lessa

[sblock]The whirlwind is using the Run action to move into each PC's square, attempt to suck him/her in, then moving to the next one.  It provokes no attacks of opportunity, but it loses its Dex bonus to AC for the round.

Reflex saves:

Rhakzan: +28
28+d20 = 37, failed, take 17 damage
28+d20 = 42, failed, take 20 damage and is sucked into the whirlwind.

Lessa: +23
23+d20 =35, failed, damage nullified by DR
23+d20 =30, failed, take 12 damage and is sucked into the whirlwind

Moreth: +29 (modified for Solar form)
29+d20 =45, failed, take 3 nonlethal damage
29+d20 =49 successful (nat 20)

Cann: +25 (the attempt is on his initiative order):
25+22 (sadism)+d20 = 51, failed.  Take 26 damage, still inside.

Positions:  Cann, Rhakzan and Lessa are inside the whirlwind.  Moreth is where he was.  The whirlwind ends its round 100 feet above him.

Incidentally, I was wrong about escape being a move-action last round.  On closer reading you get one attempt per round for free, but you cannot get another attempt with a move-action.
[/sblock]

The whirlwind charges forward in a burst of speed, moving over each of its opponents, attempting to draw them into itself.  Rhakzan and Lessa are drawn into the vortex, but Moreth steps aside just in time, as the whirlwind rushes past him from below.  Cann attempts to pull himself free, but the winds prove too strong for him.


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## Pyrex (Sep 2, 2005)

Lessa growls as the winds buffet her; then, adapting to the new situation draws the essence of the plane into herself.

Active Effects: Barkskin, Oaken Resilience

Swift Action: Quickened Freedom of Movement (Concentration +34, automatically succeeds)
Move Action:  Fast Wild Shape into an Elder (huge) Air Elemental
Std Action:   Move Z+100

(I'll post wild-shaped stats later this morning)


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## Nephtys (Sep 2, 2005)

Moreth laughs, most unsolar-like, as he sidesteps the Whirlwind's attempt to engulf him. Intoxicated with power he unleaches another barrage at the whirlwind, shaping the area of the spells to avoid hitting his siblings.  

Spells cast: Maximized (rod) Disintegrate, Quickened (rod) Sonic Meteor Swarm, Quickened (mulitspell) Maximized (rod) Sonic Fireball, Quickened (multispell) Enervation.

"You are defeated," he gloats, "flee or die."

Spells Active: Mindblank, Deathward, Shapechange (Solar), Mirror Image, Protection from Energy (electricity).
Equipment Effects: Bead of Karma, Ring of Freedom of Movement.

-
Metamagic Rod slots used for the day:
Greater Quicken: x1
Greater Maximize: x1
Maximize: x1
Lesser Maximize: x4
-


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## Albedo (Sep 2, 2005)

Alrighty, the first step is obvious. Cann is gonna full round the thing. 

Full Round Action: 4 Attacks: +54/+54/+49/+44: Damage = 1d8+16 damage + 1 Negative Level +1 Con Damage

After the Full Round Action, I'm going to attempt a Greater Teleport using my Rod of Quicken.

Swift Action: Greater Teleport: Concentration Check: +29 (If I'm not mistaken the DC should be 30 for 10 base + 13 for half continuous damage dealt + 7 for spell level. If I'm wrong please let me know what I'm missing for future reference). 

I shall use the Greater Teleport to move 100 ft behind the creature, 100 feet to the left, and 75 feet in the air.


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## Rkhet (Sep 2, 2005)

/ooc:

The Concentration DC is far higher than 30.  It is 1/2 HD + strength mod +10.  Exact DC will not be made known.

As the creature will likely die this round, I will do the mechanics after silentspace posts, so that we can work out who deals the killing blow.


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## silentspace (Sep 3, 2005)

_I am not prepared for fighting in this element.  I must prepare more direct damage magic for the future.  Luckily, my siblings are prepared, and prepared well._

ooc: Rhakzan attempts to slip away with an automatic silent dimension door (concentration +41) to behind Moreth, where he attempts to hide in plain sight (hide +72).  His goal is to place himself so he gets total cover from Moreth, so he won't have to hide in plain sight, but he'll hide anyway.


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## Albedo (Sep 3, 2005)

OOC: Hmmm, I'm confused. Since when did the creatures HD or strength have anything to do with me making a concentration check? Unless something like that uses its cloud ability (which I thought affects the outside of the elemental) I thought the concentration was based off damage dealt.


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## Rkhet (Sep 3, 2005)

/ooc: It's a special ability in the creature's entry.  If I'm being strict about it, I would make you make this Concentration check AND the damage-based Concentration check.  But I think they overlap.


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## Rkhet (Sep 3, 2005)

Rhakzan: 
Concentration 41+d20 = 61.

Dimension Door ends your round, so you cannot attempt to Hide afterwards.

With a heroic effort of will, Rhakzan teleports his way outside the whirlwind.

Cann:

54+d20 = 57, hit
54+d20 = 66
49+d20 = 59
44+d20 = 64 (target immune to crit)

All hit.  

Total of 45 damage, 4 Con damage, and 4 negative levels.  

Concentration +29+d20 = 49, failed.  Spell lost.

Cann's assault leaves the creature almost destroyed, but his attempt to escape fails.

Moreth:

Maximized Disintegrate: 

SR: 39+d20 = 48, successful
Fort save DC 29, saved against.
damage: 5x6 = 30.

Sonic Meteor Swarm:

SR: 39+d20 = 58, successful.
(at this point the whirlwind has 2hp left, so I'll assume it dies.)

Lessa:

Actions cancelled.


Moreth's meteors of solid sound disrupts the essence of the whirlwind, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks and gushing air.  The wind dies down; the creature is no more.


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## Rkhet (Sep 3, 2005)

Damage tally:

Cann: 57

Rhakzan: 37

Lessa: 12

Moreth: 3 nonlethal, but Regenerates by next round.


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## Albedo (Sep 3, 2005)

"All too easy." Cann walks away from the group for a moment as he uses his pearls of power to regain his two timestops, his greater magic weapon, his greater invisibility, his quickened true strike, his true seeing and his sadism. 

OOC: Does the air elemental leave any sort of a corpse? This is important for me to know.


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## Rkhet (Sep 3, 2005)

/ooc: a bit of dust; but in a plane without ground, and with the heavy winds at its death, it has scattered by now.


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## Nephtys (Sep 3, 2005)

"All too easy," Moreth agrees, "but still it is disturbing..." He says thoghtfully, "Is our nature so perverse, and so obvious, that we will be faced with hostility wherever we go? There was no reason for the elemental to attack us, other than fear and disgust. Will our reception be the same when we encounter other beings of power in other planes, so that only those who are as 'tainted' as ourselves will accept our precense? If they will not show us our due respect, what can we do but kill them all?"
"We need to consider our goals, but this is not the place to discuss that. Let us move on to somewhere more private."
Moreth activates his Rod of Security, taking the others with him into his personal planar sanctuary.


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## Albedo (Sep 4, 2005)

"There is one man who will accept us Moreth. The King of that city we were in before... You know I never actually bother to figure out the name of that place... Anyways, back on track. That King has made an offer for us to join him if we wish. I have accepted the offer, for it suits my own needs. You all are free to make your own decisions though."


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## Nephtys (Sep 4, 2005)

Moreth, shifting back into human form, leans back against a bent and desiccated tree. His face twists in agony, but he pushes back the madness. "Then let us make ourselves indispensible. We must gather our own followers, build our own power. The ability to kill is not enough to ensure control."

He reaches into a series of small pockets sewn into the inside of his robes and touches the pearls held in place there by tiny adamantium chains. One after one he regains his cast spells.

-
Spells regained: Meteor swarm x2, Disintegrate, Fireball x3, Mirror Image, Protection from Energy, Deathward =All cast spells

Pearls used for the day: 
9: 3
8: 4
6: 1
5: 1
4: 1
3: 3
2: 1
-
Metamagic Rod slots used for the day:
Greater Quicken: x1
Greater Maximize: x1
Maximize: x1
Lesser Maximize: x3
-
Other:
Bead of karma: x1


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## Albedo (Sep 4, 2005)

"I didn't even think control was one of our objectives. As for that matter, I don't know what "our" objectives are in the first place. I am aware only of my plans. Do what you will, I will throw my lot in with the king."


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## Nephtys (Sep 4, 2005)

"And I'm throwing my spells down against the Church, whatever path I choose there is no room for the Legion in my plans. I suppose that makes us allies, for now."

Moreth pulls out his Mirror of Mental Prowess and begins to scry for:
1: Large concentrations of Empire troops.
2: Celestials on the [name of planet].
3: High level clerics of the Church of the Perfect in the Empire.


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## Rkhet (Sep 4, 2005)

/ooc: the only Scrying effect a MoMP can produce is Clairvoyance, which doesn't let you search for things you're unfamiliar with.  All you can do with it is spy on a known locale.

Place names: the world/planet does not really have a name to mortals, since for most of them it is the only world they have ever known.  Outsiders typically call it 'the mortal realm', or sometimes 'Samsara'.

The city you were in is called Vinecastle, which is also the name of the kingdom.  When people wish to differentiate, they call it 'Vinecastle City'.


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## Nephtys (Sep 4, 2005)

ooc: My bad,
Then he'll take a look at Vinecastle, at a visual range of 400 feet +40/level with a constantly moving sensor, to create a mental map of the city. Once that is done he'll study the temple, in as much detail as possible. If he notices any important-seeming cleric he'll try to read their thoughts.

Relevant spells active: 
Mindblank (protects against all divinations)


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## Albedo (Sep 5, 2005)

"Hmmmm, you seem to have a nice vandetta going against the church. I shall go and see how that shall fit into my plans. I shall see you all later." Cann is going to Greater Teleport to the King's tower, and go in to see the king.


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## Pyrex (Sep 5, 2005)

Lessa shrugs "I have no quarrel with the church or it servants.  I have heard their offer and would consider it.  I would also hear the offer of the King whom Cann has already spoken with.  It would seem that though they cannot ally themselves their objective is similar.  They would both see the end of the Wyrmslayer.  Given that both groups would ally themselves with us to achieve this end the only reason I can see to side with one or the other would be who makes us the better offer."

Assuming others are going to speak with the King, Lessa will accompany them when they leave.  Of course, she pretty much has to follow them anyway since Druids can't _Plane Shift_...


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## Albedo (Sep 6, 2005)

OOC: Oh ya, on another plane. Add a planeshift to my list of actions please.


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## Rkhet (Sep 6, 2005)

Moreth: The city is huge; you place the population at at least two hundred thousand, probably more.  It seemed to have been built haphazardly, with little or no pre-planning.  A detailed study of the city, even with the aid of divination magic, could take days or even weeks.  Nevertheless, you take a cursory look around the place, noting landmarks and such.

You realize that some parts of the city are hidden to you; others contain discrepancies characteristic to illusions.  You cannot find the city's barracks or any noticeable defenses, for example.

When you study the temple through your mirror, you see that it is sheathed in a blinding white light.  The light blocks out all detail and makes spying impossible.  You study the surrounding areas instead: there is a river to the west, and busy ports has been built on both sides.  The market where you first arrived is to the south-west.  To the east and north are residential areas, the neighbourhood becoming increasingly dirty and poor the further east.  One of the more obvious discrepancies lie somewhere in the slums.

You find a priest of the Church giving a speech in one of the city's many squares.  A modest crowd has gathered; others are going about their business with disinterest.  You cannot hear sounds while scrying with the mirror, so instead you tap into his mind to read his surface thoughts.

The speech is a fundraiser for the war.  The priest, Merdith, is feeling bored, tired and dispirited, having been doing this all day to little effect.  The words are coming out almost automatically, while his mind is on something else:

"...the main ledger lists the shipment as cold iron, but judging by this month's expenditure we clearly paid for adamantine.  The backup ledger lists correct costs, but there are other, minor discrepancies... this would be so much easier if only I could take a look at the foundry's book.  Either way, something's not right here.  Maybe one of the apprentices didn't do the sums right; but maybe someone has their hand in the till..."

The rest of his thoughts involve complicated and boring mental calculations.

You find a few other priests doing similiar, priestly things: healing the sick, raising money, evangelizing, et cetra.  None of them have very interesting thoughts, though one is having an affair with a barber's wife.  The high-ranking priests are nowhere to be found; perhaps they're inside the temple, or perhaps they are well-shielded against scrying.

Cann, Lessa: you make your way to the ground floor of the tower.  Cann shows his medallion to a receptionist and explains the purpose of the visit.  The receptionist scrutinizes the medallion carefully before giving it back.

You are taken to a small room to the south, a place outside the blanketing antimagic.  The floor of the room is covered in magical symbols - your deep understanding of magic reveals that it is a modified, deactivated Teleportation Circle, though not its destination or how it is modified.  The receptionist thumbs his key amulet and utters a command word, activating the circle, then politely asks you to enter.

Silentspace: is Rhakzan going with them?  Or doing something else?


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## Nephtys (Sep 6, 2005)

Moreth frowns into the Mirror, studying the City of Vinecastle. Conflicting emotions war in his mind, fear for his sanity and a desire for peace against an ever growing need to Kill again. To see a thousand mouths cry out in agony as their lives are extinguished, to turn the Oracle's arrogant smirk into bloody ribbons of tortured flesh. The battle against the Elemental, the glorious intoxicating rush of destructive power... He feels so cold without it. 

Seeing his siblings prepare for departure, separating to pursue their own goals, he feels a momentary sadness. They had been his only companionship, the only ones he could trust, but soon he would experience loneliness for the first time.
He gestures at the Mirror, turning the sensor into a portal to an empty alley near the castle and bids them to step trough. 
"Save a spell, you're likely to need it." He couldn't very well admit to them that he would miss them, could he? "When we see each others again pray that we are not at different sides of the war."


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## Pyrex (Sep 6, 2005)

Lessa looks at Moreth before returning to the prime; Why do you not join us?  Your pocket realm may be pleasant, but it is somewhat dull."


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## silentspace (Sep 6, 2005)

Rhakzan ponders his siblings actions.  Before they leave, he offers a thought

"The Perfect created the four of us at the same time. It's taken some time for me to realize this, that even though I am Khen-zai, or ethergaunt, and you are not, we are all brothers.  I agree with you all, I would rather ally with Vinecastle then with the Church.  But my first alliance must be with the three of you, my kin."

"Go meet with the king.  I will stay with Moreth for now, and study this city further.  Afterwards, I will scout the areas hidden from us, in the shadows."


Rhakzan rests to gain new spells (not sure which ones just now).


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## Albedo (Sep 7, 2005)

Cann enters the circle without a second thought.


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## Pyrex (Sep 7, 2005)

Not really trusting the humans, but more trusting Cann, Lessa follows him into the circle.


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## Rkhet (Sep 8, 2005)

Cann, Lessa: the portal takes you to a great hallway lined with gigantic marble statues.  Three beautiful female figures with perfect marble skin approaches you.  Though their movement is lithe and graceful, on closer inspection you realize that they are constructs.

One of the constructs speaks: "Welcome to the palace, my lord, my lady.  The king is ready to see you.  Please remove your weapons and any items of magical power - it is a matter of custom."

"Rest assured that your safety will be absolutely guaranteed while inside the palace.  And we will handle your equipment with the utmost care."


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## Albedo (Sep 8, 2005)

Cann hands over his weapons to the construct, pauses, and then asks, "And what kinds of magical items are you wanting me to hand over? Do you want all of them, or just the dangerous ones?"


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## Pyrex (Sep 8, 2005)

OOC: *Looks at Albedo*  *Points at Judgement Day thread*  

"I bear no weapons.  Nor do I have any reason to trust your guarantee."


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## Rkhet (Sep 8, 2005)

To Cann: "All of them, my lord.  Though permanently attached grafts are not included, of course."

To Lessa: "I am but a simple golem; My sole guarantee is the word of my master the king.  If that is not sufficient, then I'm afraid I cannot offer you passage."

"What I can offer is some of the finest wines, cousines and entertainment in all of the Empire.  If it would please my lady, feel free to sample them in one of our guest chambers."


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## Albedo (Sep 9, 2005)

Cann begins the long, ardouos process of taking off all of his magic items. When about a quarter of the way done, he turns to the construct and says, "You know, they really should make a spell that does this." He then finishes up.


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## silentspace (Sep 9, 2005)

"Brother," Rhakzan says after he has finished preparing new spells.  "What was it the Priest was saying? Someone is stealing from the church?

"Perhaps there is another power group in Vinecastle. A shadow guild of some sort, hidden there, in the slums?"

"And what of Naramyr Wyrmslayer?  Perhaps he has agents in the city as well..."

"I'd like to scout around in the slums. Care to join me?"


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## Nephtys (Sep 9, 2005)

Pyrex said:
			
		

> Lessa looks at Moreth before returning to the prime; Why do you not join us?  Your pocket realm may be pleasant, but it is somewhat dull."




"I have heard the King's offer, but I do not know his power. Nor do I know the power of those he would oppose.
 Vinecastle is just one kingdom of many in the Empire, and the Empire is allied to the Church and the Legion. Empire, Legion and Church are all tied down by the power of the Eye alone. I must therefore assume that the Eye is the strongest side in the conflict, and that Vinecastle is the weakest. The Church is our natural enemy, but of our only possible allies we know neither well enough to make a choice. Thus, I try to learn more."


----------



## Nephtys (Sep 9, 2005)

silentspace said:
			
		

> Rhakzan ponders his siblings actions.  Before they leave, he offers a thought
> 
> "The Perfect created the four of us at the same time. It's taken some time for me to realize this, that even though I am Khen-zai, or ethergaunt, and you are not, we are all brothers.  I agree with you all, I would rather ally with Vinecastle then with the Church.  But my first alliance must be with the three of you, my kin."
> 
> ...




Moreth looks at the human-shaped Ethergaunt intensely, nodding in agreement. "You speak the truth. The only ones we can afford to trust are each others. Whoever else we ally with, if they are victorious, will eventually try to get us out of the way. Our origin, our power, makes us too great a threat."
-

Once the others have left he speaks again, "But I do not trust Cann's amulet. It might be more than it seems."




			
				silentspace said:
			
		

> "Brother," Rhakzan says after he has finished preparing new spells.  "What was it the Priest was saying? Someone is stealing from the church?
> 
> "Perhaps there is another power group in Vinecastle. A shadow guild of some sort, hidden there, in the slums?"
> 
> ...




"Perhaps," Moreth's gaze studies the ever changing view of the City intensely. "That might be worthwhile, for this city will surely be of importance in the weeks to come. But the Continent is vast, and I yearn to get to the heart of the problem. 
When I have rested today I intend to find the Capital of the Empire, the armies in the north and Naramyr's seat of power. 
Once I have seen that I can make my choice."


----------



## Nephtys (Sep 9, 2005)

Moreth continues looking, searching for large warehouses and the like. Strategies chase each others in his mind like rabid dogs in heat.


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## Pyrex (Sep 9, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> To Lessa: "I am but a simple golem; My sole guarantee is the word of my master the king.  If that is not sufficient, then I'm afraid I cannot offer you passage."




"Why should I trust one who would show no trust in return?"
Lessa shrugs, then turns and begins walking back toward the portal.


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## Rkhet (Sep 10, 2005)

Moreth: 

You spend some time looking around, not looking for anything in particular.  Large warehouses exist, mainly near the docks, but their contents are mundane trade goods.

You chance upon a warehouse that has been converted into a holding pen for slaves.  Judging by the ears and figure, they are elves.  They are hobbled and shackled, and you can tell by their pallid features and some of the wounds they bear that they are mal-nurished and ill-treated.

When you look around, you find a few more holding pens around the city, of varying sizes.  They seemed to be quite common, and one is even guarded by a few Watchmen.


Lessa: 

"Please, do not take offense, my lady.  It is not a matter of trust, but of tradition.  None but royalty and their guardians may bear arms or magic inside the tower.  Thus it is written, and thus it shall always be.  Though His Highness may be Lord and Master, even he must observe the tower's rules, and so must his guests."


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## Albedo (Sep 10, 2005)

Cann turns back to Lessa, "Go if you must Lessa, but I am continueing on. Do you think I have implicit trust of this man? We have only just met, and I have just begun to scratch the surface of his being. I would not go in here unless I had some... lets just say "contingencies" planned for if things go sour. If one cannot feel comfortable on his enemy's ground, how can he wage a war?" Cann turns to give the construct a broad smile, "Not that I'm saying the king is my enemy of course." He cracks the knuckles of his fiendish hands, "Now lets get this over with. I have much to do today. We should stop wasting time."


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## Nephtys (Sep 11, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> Moreth:
> 
> You chance upon a warehouse that has been converted into a holding pen for slaves.  Judging by the ears and figure, they are elves.  They are hobbled and shackled, and you can tell by their pallid features and some of the wounds they bear that they are mal-nurished and ill-treated.




"I believe," Moreth says to Rkhazan, "that this might lead us to yet another faction. If the elves are opposed to the Empire they may prove quite useful.
Try not to kill them unless you absolutely have to."

With that Moreth shanges shape (ooc: I imagine the Shapechange spell is still in duration, since it should have lasted him five hours or so) into an elderly Elven gentleman and steps trough the mirror into the pens.
"My brothers and sisters!" he speaks, in an ancient but powerful voice, "You will soon be free. But first you must tell me where the one who holds your keys is."


----------



## Rkhet (Sep 11, 2005)

Moreth: your sudden appearance causes a slight commotion, but to your surprise, the elves seems rather unenthusiastic at the prospect of escape.  Some of them goes back to what they were doing; others regard you with a mixture of sadness, pity, and boredom.  An old, frail-looking elf with half of one ear missing speaks up:

"You are not from around here, are you?  Don't trouble youself, friend.  There is nothing you can do for us."


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## Nephtys (Sep 12, 2005)

Moreth smiles "I very much doubt that." 
Casting a Greater Arcane Sight Moreth identifies any enchantments in the area.
 If the chains are enchanted he then casts a Greater Dispell Magic centered on the speaker, followed by a quickened Acid Fireball shaped to avoid hitting any elf (but the chains binding them).
 If the elves are bound by a mind affecting enchantment he casts a Miracle spell to replicate a widened Break Enchantment on the maximum possible number of elves.

If the area is free of enchantments (besides his own aura and the signature of his Mirror-gate), he asks the speaker. "Well then, tell me what binds you here and I will remove it. What prevents your freedom?"


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## Pyrex (Sep 12, 2005)

Albedo said:
			
		

> I would not go in here unless I had some... lets just say "contingencies" planned for if things go sour. If one cannot feel comfortable on his enemy's ground, how can he wage a war?"




Lessa watches Cann as he speaks, considering his words carefully.

"Very well."

Then, with a somewhat unnerving lack of modesty (given that she isn't wearing anything that isn't enchanted) undresses and hands her clothing and equipment to one of the golems.

"Now that the rules have been observed may we proceed?"


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## Rkhet (Sep 13, 2005)

> Casting a Greater Arcane Sight Moreth identifies any enchantments in the area.
> If the chains are enchanted he then casts a Greater Dispell Magic centered on the speaker, followed by a quickened Acid Fireball shaped to avoid hitting any elf (but the chains binding them).
> If the elves are bound by a mind affecting enchantment he casts a Miracle spell to replicate a widened Break Enchantment on the maximum possible number of elves.




The chains are unenchanted and of poor quality.  The elves are not affected by enchantments, far as you can tell.  There is no magic in sight anywhere, except what you have brought with you.



> "Well then, tell me what binds you here and I will remove it. What prevents your freedom?"




“Nothing, save the command of the Triune, our immortal god-kings.”

Seeing your puzzled expression, the old elf explains further.

“After the War of the Dragons was won, the treacherous humans turned on us, and many of our finest warriors were slain in their sleep by none other than their former allies.  Our kingdoms were crushed, our people scattered – but this is nothing you do not already know.”

“We, the Estheran, fled to the outskirts of the Selarian Jungle just west of here, where the Triune pushed back the warped, ancient creatures that lived there, and made it our home.  But all was not well – the humans quickly discovered our presence, and their vile slavers raided us frequently.  We fought back fiercely and slaughtered many of them with arrows and magic, but our numbers steadily dwindled.  Even worse, the Empire took notice, and it was a matter of time before they marched against us.”

“In the end, the Triune struck a deal with the king of this place.  Every year, each clan would send a few elves here, to sate somewhat the humans’ greed.  In return we would have peace with the Empire, and a measure of protection against the slavers.”

“This is known as the Blood Tithe.  And we,” the old elf smiles bitterly and points to the rune branded into his face, “are the Tithed.”

“Where would we go, if you free us?  Certainly not back whence we came – there we would be treated as traitors.  Everywhere else is human land, where an escaped slave can expect no sanctuary.  Do not trouble youself, friend.  Our fate is sealed.”




> Lessa watches Cann as he speaks, considering his words carefully.
> 
> "Very well."
> 
> ...




The constructs seem unperturbed.  The weapons and gear are placed inside a large basket and taken away.  One of the constructs produces a white robe with golden trimmings seemingly from nowhere, and gives it to Lessa.  Though the style is simple, you can see that the material and worksmanship is exquisite.

You are each presented with a ring, a simple iron band.  The leading construct explains that it is the only way to traverse the palace without setting off its traps and alarms.  When you put it on, it melts into your flesh, leaving nothing but a tattoo-like, criss-crossing design.  You are assured that it will be removed when you leave.

The constructs take you to the other end of the hall, where you make use of yet another teleportation circle.  This takes you to the palace proper.  It is a grand and imperious place, and heavily guarded, but the baroque full-plates worn by the guards look more ceremonial than functional.  A guard takes you to the king’s study, knocks on the door, and bids you to enter.

The king is not alone.  He is playing chess with a little girl of no more than nine or ten, the daughter of a high-ranking noble, judging by dress.  She is chatting excitedly about a music-box she received for her birthday, and he is replying amicably.  A cursory look at the board reveals that, surprisingly, the king is losing.

The girl draws a sharp gasp at the sight of Cann and his grafts, and recoils in fear and disgust.  The king looks up and smiles.  He stands and place a placating hand on the girl’s head.  “Ah.  Welcome.  I believe introductions are in order.  This fine lady here is Meredith Valshara, daughter and heiress of the great Lady Valshara herself.”

The girl gives a nervous little smile and curtseys.  

“And they are…  I’m sorry, I never caught your names…?”  

You give your names and exchange greetings.

“Now, run along, dear.  Uncle Sarim has some boring kingly business to attend to.”

Meredith was all too eager to be dismissed, giving a wide berth to Cann as she leaves the room.  When she is out of earshot, King Sarim speaks:

“Lovely little lass.  Sweet and mild-tempered.  If only I can say the same about her mother, though…  Now, where were we?”


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## Nephtys (Sep 13, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> “Where would we go, if you free us?  Certainly not back whence we came – there we would be treated as traitors.  Everywhere else is human land, where an escaped slave can expect no sanctuary.  Do not trouble youself, friend.  Our fate is sealed.”




"The multiverse is infinitely larger than you know, my friend. But perhaps you're right, freeing you now would be a mistake. I shall have to discuss the matter with your Triune first... If you can tell me what I need to know to contact them perhaps I could make them a very generous offer. I imagine they will not be easy to find with spells alone."


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## Albedo (Sep 13, 2005)

Cann smiles at the king after the girl leaves, "Finally, a chance to conduct business. I have two goals to reach at this moment. The first, I wish aid in magical research that could allow me to cast magic in places where it cannot usually be used. I am also looking into ways in which to hold off a spell from finishing itself for a few seconds after it is cast. But these research notes aside, I have another issue which I find much more important. You see, this body is rather new, and it has not been properly broken in yet. And so, I would like to request that you provide me a target. Something for me to destroy, to gain a full workout of my near perfect self. My fellows here do not seem to be particularily fond of the church. Do you have any grievances with them?"


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## Pyrex (Sep 13, 2005)

"Cann has stated that you were interested in meeting us and... acquiring our services.  Is this true?"


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## Rkhet (Sep 15, 2005)

> "The multiverse is infinitely larger than you know, my friend. But perhaps you're right, freeing you now would be a mistake. I shall have to discuss the matter with your Triune first... If you can tell me what I need to know to contact them perhaps I could make them a very generous offer. I imagine they will not be easy to find with spells alone."




"You... you seek audience with the Triune?  Then I would advise you to be more respectful of them.  They are gods and should be treated as such, no matter how much power you think you have.  Finding them is easier than you think, for they walk amongst us; but they are busy, and you cannot expect them to see you for no reason."

"Go west, into the jungle - our settlement should be easily found; it is not hidden by illusions as it once was.  Ask the priests at our temple.  Perhaps they will deem you worthy."




> Cann smiles at the king after the girl leaves, "Finally, a chance to conduct business. I have two goals to reach at this moment. The first, I wish aid in magical research that could allow me to cast magic in places where it cannot usually be used. I am also looking into ways in which to hold off a spell from finishing itself for a few seconds after it is cast. But these research notes aside, I have another issue which I find much more important. You see, this body is rather new, and it has not been properly broken in yet. And so, I would like to request that you provide me a target. Something for me to destroy, to gain a full workout of my near perfect self. My fellows here do not seem to be particularily fond of the church. Do you have any grievances with them?"




The king appears thoughtful for a moment, then shakes his head.  "I cannot claim expertise in matters of magic.  I'm certain that there is nothing I know that you would not.  Ask at the Guild.  Perhaps they can give you a more satisfactory answer."

"The Church... truthfully, I would love to see them gone.  But it is not so simple.  It is an open secret that the Church is a way for the Emperor to keep an eye on his vassals.  If I were to move against the Church, it would be considered a rebellion, and bring down the full wrath of the empire.  Even if they were greatly harmed through no fault of my own, I would be suspect."

"Nor is the Church an easy mark.  The Oracle is powerful, and I am told that they have the protection of the Legion - though this has never been proven.  Not to mention that the city is full of its faithful, making things... delicate."

"I have told you that I intend to strike back at the Empire when it is most vulnerable, but this is not yet time.  When I am ready to do so, the Church shall be the first to fall."

"In the mean time, there will be opportunities aplenty for you to exercise your power."




> "Cann has stated that you were interested in meeting us and... acquiring our services. Is this true?"




"Certainly, my lady.  In these troubled times one could never have too many allies.  You have heard my offer from Cann, yes?  But I understand that some things are not for everyone.  So what is it that you want?  What is it that you would consider worthy of your services?"


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## Pyrex (Sep 15, 2005)

Lessa looks at the king, trying hard to focus, to find the right words; but this language is so _incomplete_.  "My... intrinsic essence... is not as it should be.  I seek the means to correct it."


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## Rkhet (Sep 15, 2005)

Pyrex said:
			
		

> Lessa looks at the king, trying hard to focus, to find the right words; but this language is so _incomplete_.  "My... intrinsic essence... is not as it should be.  I seek the means to correct it."




"You mean your soul has been corrupted somehow?  I suppose your sickness is but a symptom of this... do you know how your condition came about?  Or what can be done to reverse it?"


----------



## Albedo (Sep 15, 2005)

CAnn smiles at the king. "You know, you really are an amazing beurocrat. I asked of you two requests, and you responded without acknowledging either of them. I applaud you. But, seriously, I would like you to assist me on these matters. I never thought you would have alot of knowledge in the art of magic, and yes I figured you had a guild. What I want from you is the allocation of a guild research team and sufficient resources to continue my research without constant survalliance. That way I am free to serve you as best I can without having to worry about it. As for a target to destroy, you still haven't named one. I know you probably have some sort of well thought out plan, but all I need is a "sacrifice" of sorts in which to get this body up to speed. I would appreciate it if you would find me a target ASAP. Now that I think about it, I will also need a place to study as well. My spells must be replenished before such an action is to take place. Now don't take this as a threat or anything, but are you going to give me what I want or should I stop wasting time and go around blowing up random targets of opportunity?"


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## Pyrex (Sep 15, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "You mean your soul has been corrupted somehow?"




Lessa shakes her head, "That is not quite right, but probably close enough for our discussion."



			
				Rkhet said:
			
		

> "...do you know how your condition came about?  Or what can be done to reverse it?"




"No, but the power of the Eye is the most likely cause."


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## silentspace (Sep 15, 2005)

Rhakzan listens silently to Moreth's exchange.

_Everyone's a god, or so it seems..._


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## Nephtys (Sep 16, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "You... you seek audience with the Triune?  Then I would advise you to be more respectful of them.  They are gods and should be treated as such, no matter how much power you think you have.  Finding them is easier than you think, for they walk amongst us; but they are busy, and you cannot expect them to see you for no reason."
> 
> "Go west, into the jungle - our settlement should be easily found; it is not hidden by illusions as it once was.  Ask the priests at our temple.  Perhaps they will deem you worthy."




Moreth sighs, _Even when I seek to befriend the helpless they offer insults in return._ 
"Then tell me, for I am indeed new to this world, how does a wordly Emperor have the power to bend Gods to his will? Why do your Gods, powerful as they no doubt are, cower at the threats of mere Humans? Is it the Legion they fear or does the Empire have other resources of relevance? For surely its mundane armies are of little consequence."


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## Rkhet (Sep 17, 2005)

> What I want from you is the allocation of a guild research team and sufficient resources to continue my research without constant survalliance. That way I am free to serve you as best I can without having to worry about it.




"You shall have it, then.  In fact, as senior member of the guild, it was well within your authority to initiate such research.  But perhaps you do not wish to worry about the beurocratic details.  I will have someone contact them with your requests."

"As for a place to stay..." the king opens a drawer and rummages through it.  He finds what he was looking for - a pair of small, golden keys.  He gives one to you and the other to Lessa.  "The Threndith manor is empty at the moment.  It is yours."



> Lessa shakes her head, "That is not quite right, but probably close enough for our discussion."
> 
> "No, but the power of the Eye is the most likely cause."




"Yes, exposure to the Eye leaves some rather unfortunate side-effects, so I hear.  I suppose you have already tried your magic, to no avail?  I will have the Guild do some research on this also.  I cannot promise you a cure right away, but we will certainly spare no effort.  Ultimately, once the Empire is no more, we could search its vaults and libraries for anything that will reverse the effect - I hear that they have accumulated many strange artifacts over the centuries.  Or, perhaps, we and the Wyrmslayer could come to an agreement."

"At any rate, surely it is better to have the full force of Vinecastle behind you than to search alone."



> I know you probably have some sort of well thought out plan, but all I need is a "sacrifice" of sorts in which to get this body up to speed.




"I suppose you could go and destroy the Cult of Ascension, if you wish.  That doomsday cult has been making a nuisance of themselves lately."

"But I invited you here with something else in mind: I need you to start a war."

------




> Moreth sighs, Even when I seek to befriend the helpless they offer insults in return.
> "Then tell me, for I am indeed new to this world, how does a wordly Emperor have the power to bend Gods to his will? Why do your Gods, powerful as they no doubt are, cower at the threats of mere Humans? Is it the Legion they fear or does the Empire have other resources of relevance? For surely its mundane armies are of little consequence."




The old elf shakes his head sadly. "Who is to say?  Our gods are powerful, but even they have their limits, though it pains me to think so.  Perhaps this is fate.  Perhaps destiny has marked this age the age of humans.  Before the Wyrmslayers, who would have thought that a handful of mortals could slay the Dracolich herself?  And who would have thought that the Empire's greatest hero would become its worst nightmare?  History is a strange creature, my friend, and I am just a slave.  Even before I was sent here, I was but a silversmith.  Truth to tell, I know little of the Empire or its ways, save what I was taught by the priests when I was but a whelp.  You will have to direct your questions elsewhere.  "

"But nevertheless, we revere the Triune not because of their power, but because of all that they have done for us.  To disrespect the Triune is to disrespect the Estheran.  If you wish to have dealings with us, then you will need to pay homage to them."


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## Albedo (Sep 17, 2005)

"Hmmm, a war you say? Now thats something that will interest me. Providing of course, that we can get the ball rolling quickly. My thirst for destruction is growing."


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## Nephtys (Sep 17, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> ...
> "But nevertheless, we revere the Triune not because of their power, but because of all that they have done for us.  To disrespect the Triune is to disrespect the Estheran.  If you wish to have dealings with us, then you will need to pay homage to them."




"Homage, perhaps. Respect, certainly. They are, after all, what holds elvendom together in these evil times." _And I need them united to wield them against the Empire._ He smiles sagely.
"Farewell then, brave martyrs. I pray that your hour of freedom is soon to come."

He steps back trough the gate (together with Rkhazan, probably) and closes it after them. "Well, this could be useful. It certainly reveals a lot about the morality of our probable enemy... Perhaps there are greater rifts in the Empire than we suspected. A society that both uses Angels to wage their wars and openly condones racism and slavery has to be fractured. The treachery of Cann's King is just the most obvious sign of its decay."
He smiles, and changes back to his own Human form.
"We have arrived at the dawn of a wonderful new age."

He keeps watching the elves for a few moments then begins to move the sensor in great random leaps to the west (dozens of miles every second), searching for the Elven jungle.


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## Pyrex (Sep 19, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "But I invited you here with something else in mind: I need you to start a war."




"Are you not already _at_ war?"


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## Rkhet (Sep 20, 2005)

> "Are you not already at war?"




"The Empire is at war.  For now, we're just watching."

"There is an elven settlement west of here, deep in the jungle.  They call themselves the Estheran.  In the past, they have accounted for much of Vinecastle's prosperity, keeping up our slave trade.  But they, too, have their ambitions.  My spies tell me that they are preparing for war.  If I war against the Empire, they will likely strike me in the back.  This needs to be taken care of."

"What I need from you is a way to make them strike early, when they are unready.  The Empire has asked me for troops.  In a few days, I intend to provide them.  In fact, I intend to provide so many that the city would appear vulnerable.  I need you to make sure that the elves take advantage of this opportunity."

---




> He keeps watching the elves for a few moments then begins to move the sensor in great random leaps to the west (dozens of miles every second), searching for the Elven jungle.




The jungle is easily found.  In fact, it was impossible to miss it - it covers the entire western flank of the city, an imposing wall of green that seems to stretch on forever.

The outer forests seemed quite normal, but it is far less pleasant further inside.  It is dark; the thick foilage has blocked out the sun.  The trees are older here, gnarled and almost sinister, growing to impossible sizes.  The thick undergrowth would have made travelling by foot almost impossible.  You see no moving creatures save for huge swarms of strange insects, but you cannot shake the feeling that you are being watched.

Scrying is more and more difficult as you go deeper, and finally you find it impossible.  This does not seem to be a man-made effect; rather, the jungle itself is resistant to your divination.  You speculate that it may be why the elves chose to make their homes there.


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## Nephtys (Sep 20, 2005)

Moreth guides his sensor deeper into the jungle, until he finds if impossible to scry anything at all. Then he moves the sensor under ground, (ooc: so that it cannot be detected) changes shape into a Spectre, opens the portal and steps trough. Rising to the surface, he looks around and drains the life out of some minor life-forms to see what they taste like.
After that he changes shape into an Elder Air Elemental, rises a couple hundred feet and begins to search the jungle for signs of habitation.

ooc: 
Spells active:
Shapeshange
Mindblank
Deathward (?)
Greater Arcane Sight (?)
Protection from Energy (Electricity) (?)


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## Albedo (Sep 20, 2005)

Cann strokes his chin thoughtfully, "I see three basic ways to accomplish this task. The fist is the most obvious. Pretend to be an Elven simpathiser and gain their trust enough to betray them. Or we could pretend we were promoted to being one of our dear king's generals and put ourselves into a situation where we can be captured, interogated, and able to pass on the false information. The last option is my favorite. Make the knowledge of your forces going away a secret, one that is hard, but not impossible, for the elves to get on their own. At the same time, spread news of reenforcements coming from the army to lockdown the city and start a total genocide of the elves. Say something like "the elves have betrayed us all and must be punished", and then state that you will be holding an information ban and seal this area off. The elves will want to get back to their own people, rather than waste the time to confirm yoiur facts. Then all you have to do is make a couple day gap between when your "supposed" re-enforcements get here to solve the problem and when your own forces are going away. This will seem like a closely hidden weakness, and the elves will feel they have to strike. Complicated, I know, but as long as you can find an excuse to give to everyone outside this affected area, it should work. What do you both think?"


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## Rkhet (Sep 21, 2005)

Moreth: 

/ooc: Shapechange and Mindblank is active.  The rest have worn off.

seeing nothing alive save for plants and insects, you reach for a fat catepillar on a branch beside you.  You close your grip around it, and is startled when thousands of tiny spines shoot out of its body, impaling your hand.  Fortunately, being incorporeal, you are unharmed.

The catepillar screeches furiously as you drain its life away.  The spines shiver in the air, oozing a yellowish liquid from the tips, possibly poison.

Its life-force is unusually strong for a creature of its size, filled with a mad primal urge to kill, consume, and mate, but tastes every bit as vile as the creature looks.

You search is fruitful; half an hour later you chance upon a trail, which eventually leads to the elven city.  You cannot shake the feeling that you are being watched, however.

The elves have made this place much more pleasant than the jungle outside.  The city is a mixture of Human and Elven architecture; some of its buildings are living wood; giant intertwining trees hollowed out by magic.  Others are the no-nonsensical stonework favored by the Empire.  Beautiful, living sculptures of wood and marble lined the streets.  The jungle seemed to thin out and become more subdued around the city, the trees smaller and straighter, losing much of its menace while allowing the sun to shine through its foilage.

/ooc: need actions from Rhakzan here...


Cann:

"Killing a large number of slaves would be shooting myself in the foot, for elven slaves are in demand all over the Empire and, as I have said, account for much of Vinecastle's wealth.  The elves know this as well as I do.  Also, the elves too have their diviners and spies.  While there are ways of hiding the movement of large forces, it is prohibitively expensive.  Therefore moving my troops to the north would be immediately obvious to them, as would a ruse of reinforcements."

"The elves will have reasons aplenty to attack me; all I need from you is the hair that will break the camel's back - without making it look like a trap."


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## Pyrex (Sep 21, 2005)

"Can you suggest a target whose destruction, followed by our return here, would provoke them to attack?"


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## Nephtys (Sep 21, 2005)

ooc: Rkhet, I'm really enjoying this . Great job.
-

Descending to the ground Moreth changes back to his natural appearance. His headache having vanished he's in a cheerful mood and he smiles pleasantly (if somewhat exaggeratedly) to the people he meets. 
Making his way to the centre of the city, admiring the architecture along the way, he searches for anything resembling a major temple or palace. Once there he enters, or requests to enter, and announces his wish for an immediate audience with the Triune.


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## Nephtys (Sep 24, 2005)

ooc: Bump


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## Rkhet (Sep 25, 2005)

/ooc: thanks for the compliment.  I try my best.



			
				Pyrex said:
			
		

> "Can you suggest a target whose destruction, followed by our return here, would provoke them to attack?"




"I cannot; you will have to use your own judgment.  The elves are a religious lot.  They claim that their kings, the Triune, are living gods.  They are bound to have a relic or two that they wouldn't want lost or defiled."

"The reason I'm having you do this is because I want to avoid a drawn-out war of attrition.  The elves think that they are safe in their city, for the jungle is dangerous to us.  If you can show them otherwise, then perhaps they will want to end things quickly."


---


Moreth:

You make your way to the elven temple.  It is not an overly impressive building compared to the church in Vinecastle, but it radiates a sense of tranquility.

The elven priestess glances up from the book she is reading.  She seems rather surprised to see a human here.  "...An audience?  Do you have an appointment?"


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## Nephtys (Sep 25, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> Moreth:
> 
> You make your way to the elven temple.  It is not an overly impressive building compared to the church in Vinecastle, but it radiates a sense of tranquility.
> 
> The elven priestess glances up from the book she is reading.  She seems rather surprised to see a human here.  "...An audience?  Do you have an appointment?"




Moreth laughs, then falls suddenly silent, "No, but I come regarding a matter of utmost importance, bearing with me the possibility of a permanent ending to your people's enslavement by their human inferiors. The Triune will want to see me."


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## Rkhet (Sep 25, 2005)

Nephtys said:
			
		

> Moreth laughs, then falls suddenly silent, "No, but I come regarding a matter of utmost importance, bearing with me the possibility of a permanent ending to your people's enslavement by their human inferiors. The Triune will want to see me."




"Is that so..." the elf looks at you up and down, clearly unconvinced.  "And who might you be?"


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## Nephtys (Sep 25, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "Is that so..." the elf looks at you up and down, clearly unconvinced.  "And who might you be?"




"That is not your concern." Moreth says impatiently, "My name would mean nothing to you, but my offer should mean everything. If you continue to obstruct my path I will leave your race to its fate, the survival of your people lies in your hands."


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## silentspace (Sep 25, 2005)

Rhakzan continues watching, staying in the shadows (possibly Moreth's shadow).


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## Rkhet (Sep 26, 2005)

Moreth:

An elven warrior in mithral full-plates approaches.  Though he is walking normally, you do not hear the clanking of metal.

He stares at you for a moment, then turns to the priestess.

"What is this... _human_ doing here?"

"He wishes to see the Triune, my lord.  He says he holds the key to, quote, 'the survival of our people'."

"Hmph."  The warrior turns to you.  "I am Dorthonian, Lord Chamberlain of House Alcarin.  If you have something to say, then say it to me."

Rhakzan:

/ooc: clarify what you're doing/where you're hiding.  You can't hide in Moreth's shadow - you're taller than him, and he is right next to the elven priestess.)


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## Pyrex (Sep 26, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "The reason I'm having you do this is because I want to avoid a drawn-out war of attrition.  The elves think that they are safe in their city, for the jungle is dangerous to us.  If you can show them otherwise, then perhaps they will want to end things quickly."




"Then perhaps we should simply burn it down around them."


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## Rkhet (Sep 26, 2005)

Lessa:

The king raises an eyebrow.  "You are... a Druid, yes?  I'm surprised that you do not find the very idea abhorrent."


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## Nephtys (Sep 26, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> Moreth:
> 
> An elven warrior in mithral full-plates approaches.  Though he is walking normally, you do not hear the clanking of metal.
> 
> ...




Moreth breathes deeply, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he tries once again to fight his impulse to answer disrespect with annihilation. 
"Then let us move this conversation to a more suitable location," he hisses acerbically. "Unless your decrepit people usually discuss delicate matters of state in public view."


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## Pyrex (Sep 26, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> Lessa:
> 
> The king raises an eyebrow.  "You are... a Druid, yes?  I'm surprised that you do not find the very idea abhorrent."




Part of Lessa recognizes what should be truth in the King's words; but the corruption within speaks more loudly; showing glimpses of the plane of Fire.  "Were the world remade in that image", it speaks in her mind, "you'd never be cold again."
"The Inferno is no less a part of nature than the Green; simply less common here."


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## Rkhet (Sep 27, 2005)

Moreth: Dorthonian gives you a withering stare, and for a moment it seems he would attack.  But he controls his temper.

"Very well.  But if I find that you are wasting my time, then you will regret it."

He turns to the priestess.

"I will make use the Room of Thought."

"Yes, my lord."

You are lead to a small room.  It is carpeted, but otherwise bare.  The room smells pleasantly of incense.

Dorthonian: "None can hear us here.  Speak."


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## Rkhet (Sep 27, 2005)

Lessa:

"In that case, you are welcome to try.  But you will not be the first.  These jungles are unnaturally resistant to fire and axe.  Some say that it is cursed."

A page approaches.  He whispers in the king's ear.  You study the king's expression, but he gives nothing away.

He nods in your direction.  "You must excuse me.  It seems that there are some things that require my attention."

He rings a bell, summoning a butler.

"Jonathan here will see to it that you have anything that you need.  It has been a pleasure."

The king takes his leave.


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## Nephtys (Sep 27, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "Very well.  But if I find that you are wasting my time, then you will regret it."
> 
> You are lead to a small room.  It is carpeted, but otherwise bare.  The room smells pleasantly of incense.
> 
> Dorthonian: "None can hear us here.  Speak."




"And if I find out that I'm wasting my time on a minor functionary your race will regret it." Moreth smiles predatorically.
-
Moreth follows the officer, casting a Greater Arcane Sight before entering the building. When the door closes behind them he answers the elf.

"First of all, there is one thing you need to understand and one rule you need to observe. I expect to be treated with courtesy. If you fail in that the consequences will be dire. I do not make empty threats."
"Second, I will tell you something else about my nature. I have just resently arrived on this world from the plane where I was created. And in that time I have discovered, as I've already suspected, that I am one of the most powerful individuals on the planet. My siblings equal my power, but few indeed exceed it. The fact that I am here, in the heart of the elven domain, and demanding your respect should be evidence enough. For I do not fear your petty rage. But if you need further evidence I will be pleased to provide it."
"Furthermore, I have not yet committed to any other alliances than the one I would suggest to your Gods. I am still neutral, and as such an enormous potential resource for your degraded people. You have allowed yourself to be treated like cattle, by a race you once considered inferior. You should be grasping at straws, if you have any pride left in your hearts, and I am so much more than that.
"The Human Empire is at war, with an enemy that might well be their equal, and there are signs that point towards its disintegration. If ever you should strike against them it should be soon, before they overcome their difficulties. You must strike hard, fast and utterly ruthlessly, or be doomed to fade away and be lost forever. Time, as always, is working against you. And yet, you may already be too weak to reverse your decline...
"Do you not need an ally? I may be your last hope."

ooc: Diplomacy +40

If the elf is still uncooperative Moreth will cast Dominate Person on him.


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## Pyrex (Sep 28, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "Jonathan here will see to it that you have anything that you need.  It has been a pleasure."




Lessa watches the king leave then turns to the page "The king has given us the Threndith manor.  Where is it located?"


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## Rkhet (Sep 29, 2005)

Moreth:

Greater Arcane Sight:

[sblock]The walls of the room radiates Strong Abjuration, Strong Illusion, and Moderate Enchantment.

Dorthonian has no spell-like abilities.  He is carrying several magic items, minor by your standards.[/sblock]

"Your vanity does not become you, _human_.  The lesser races may build their empires, and this one has been strong, but such things fall quickly before the onslaught of the centuries.  It is the natural way of things that the Empire shall wither away, restoring us as the rightful masters of this land, with or without your help.

But very well - show me your 'power'.  If you are indeed worthy of the courtesy you demand, then perhaps the Triune will wish to see you.  They will require proof that you are not a spy, but I will leave such things to the divine."


Lessa:

The page has left with the king.  you are speaking with the butler.

"Ah, may I congratulate you, milady.  It is in the southern manor district, fifteen minutes or so by carriage.  Does milady wish to see it?"


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## Nephtys (Sep 29, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> Moreth:
> 
> Greater Arcane Sight:
> 
> ...




"And in the mean time your race will be enslaved, your blood will be diluted and your culture and religion corrupted, eroded and ultimately forgotten. The Empire may fall in time, but your people will be lost forever. If you fail to understand that then you are not only vain, but also foolish." He casts _True Seeing_.

"But very well, your request is reasonable." He casts _Spellturning_ "I shall demonstrate my power," He casts Mirror Image (Q), Deathward (Q), and Displacement (Q) "and I shall do so against your worst enemy, wether or not you realise that obvious fact." He changes shape into a Solar. "Scry, if you will, The Cathedral of Vinecastle." He casts _Greater Teleport _ to 400 feet directly above the Cathedral.


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## Pyrex (Sep 29, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> "Ah, may I congratulate you, milady.  It is in the southern manor district, fifteen minutes or so by carriage.  Does milady wish to see it?"




"Yes.  And we will need our belongings returned as well."


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## Rkhet (Sep 30, 2005)

Rhakzan: your shadow has just left.  Do something.

Moreth:

/ooc: so long as Mindblank is active, you cannot be scryed (though I suppose if you set off any fireworks, it will be seen).

The cathedral is eerily silent.  If anyone is there, then they must be indoors.

Cann/Lessa: you are taken back to the hallway of the giant statues, where your gear is returned to you and your rings removed (the woman-shaped construct simply touches them and they slide off easily).  A carriage is waiting outside.

You hear loud cries behind you.  You turn, to see two watchmen trying to restrain a beggar.  He has a glint of madness in his eyes, and smells of alcohol.  He must be stronger than he looks, for the guards, though much bigger, could not pin him down.

He is yelling at the top of his lung.  You pick up a few snatches -

"...the Winged Lord!  He shall come, and he shall bring absolution to the chosen! The world is a lie!  The Perfect is a lie!  Even the Eye is a lie!"

"...The Angel of a Thousand Wings shall come!  It is written in the book of lies!  It is plain as day, yet the sighted are blind!"

"...There is naught but liars in this world, yet He will come, and bring truth and death to you all!  Repent!  It is not too late!"

Thrashing about wildly, he catches a glimpse of you two.  He points to you, screaming:

"YOU!  EYESPAWNS!  HOW DARE YOU!  HOW DARE YOU DEFILE THE SACRED AND STILL LIVE!  HE WILL COME FOR YOU!  MARK MY WORD!  HE WILL COM- oogh!"

One of the guards strike him hard in the stomach while he is distracted, knocking the air out of him.  They rough him up a little more, then drags him away.

The butler Jonathan clears his throat, a little embarassed.  "Do ignore him, please.  These crazed cultists have been acting up lately.  Really, something ought to be done."


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## Nephtys (Oct 1, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> Moreth:
> 
> The cathedral is eerily silent.  If anyone is there, then they must be indoors.




The Angel curses silently to himself. _The Oracle has foreseen everything. From a single glance she has known that I would come here, and arranged an evacuation and a trap. She must die, but I don't have a convenient means to make her death permanent.
Well, I'll just have to make do with what I have..._

"The Time of reckoning is at hand" His powerful voice calls out across the abandoned city, "The Church of Vinecastle has fallen from our graces, ruled by assassins corrupted by greed and false pride. The Heavens have judged them, but you can still be saved if you put your faith in the true prophets. Hold on to heresy, and share their fate. This is just the beginning."

He casts an Earthquake at the main dome of the cathedral, followed by three maximized (minor rod) Fireballs of Acid, Fire and Cold at the surrounding temple complexes, then he plummets 240 feet (flying downwards, at double speed) (if he can do so without crashing into a building.


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## Rkhet (Oct 1, 2005)

/ooc: I need to stat this out a bit.  expect a delay.


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## Nephtys (Oct 1, 2005)

Rkhet said:
			
		

> /ooc: I need to stat this out a bit.




Hehehe...


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## Rkhet (Oct 3, 2005)

/ooc: hmm... the new semester is starting, and it seems that the others have lost interest.  I think I'll put this game on hiatus, for now.  I need some time to catch up on coursework.


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## silentspace (Oct 4, 2005)

ooc: ok


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## Nephtys (Oct 4, 2005)

Too bad. But your schoolwork is more important. I'll be here when you get back.


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