Thinking Outside the Demon Box

[Dracos]

Oct 19 19:30:02 <Kotono>   The party rests, recovers and prepares. Near the end of the preparations, Mari returns. With her(besides Arinzah) is another. A woman with as tiff, proud bearing. She wears a breastplate and carries a halberd. Her gaze is cold and unyielding, looking about the room immediately.
Oct 19 19:31:00 *   Adail eyes the woman, recognizing her from the vision shown by the Lady earlier. But rather then immediately greet her, he looks over to Mari and raises a curious eyebrow.
Oct 19 19:31:11 *   Nikkolai opens his eyes from his meditative pose on his bed, noting the new arrival with a slight tinge of sadness on his face. "I see you made your choice, Mari. Would you introduce us?"
Oct 19 19:31:12 <Knight>   Knight pauses in her exercises, and shoulders her sword to return the newcomer's level gaze.
Oct 19 19:32:25 *   Mari looks around. "Um, everybody? This is my sister." She seems rather lost as she sets her eyes on each of her friends again. "Introduce yourselves, guys?"
Oct 19 19:33:41 *   Nikkolai rises from the bed. "I'm Nikkolai. And you must be Ami. Your sister has said much of you in our travels together."
Oct 19 19:34:07 <Knight>   "Ah, so you decided to take action," notes Knight, with some approval. "I am Knight. You are rather fortunate, I must say," she adds, directing the last comment to Ami.
Oct 19 19:34:28 <Kamvakua>   "Who...?"  Kamvakua blinked, gazing down at the woman from where he was standing.  "I...see."  He sounded a bit sad to hear that.  "Kamvakua the heavenly trail Niomel."  He introduced himself.
Oct 19 19:34:30 *   Adail places his paws together and gives a monk's bow to the woman, "Adail Levif, of Elysium, obviously."
Oct 19 19:35:46 <Kotono>   Ami returns Knight's gaze. Her eyes are unflickering, refushing to turn away or blink. "You at least have the look of a warrior," Going right past Nikkolai and to Knight, "You know some discipline." After that she glances at Nikkolai with disinterest, Adail with thinly held coldness and Kamvakua without much expression at all.
Oct 19 19:36:03 <Mari>   "And there's a Yulia around here somewhere..." Mari says, looking for the courre.
Oct 19 19:36:37 <Kotono>   Yulia flutters out from behind the bed. She comes around over to Kamvakua, settling onto her head. "Hi...?"
Oct 19 19:37:24 *   Nikkolai gestures at Yulia, trying again. "This is Yulia, my companion and our good friend."
Oct 19 19:38:21 <Knight>   "It is necessary to survive," replies Knight. "Heavy infantry, I presume? There are few positions which more require an iron heart."
Oct 19 19:39:26 <Mari>   "Ami's, uh...It seems pretty important to her to find herself through combat, yeah. I thought maybe she could go with you guys when you're all done on this plane, since, you know, we wind up fighting strange things and all the time, and the odds would be better than the Blood War, right?"
Oct 19 19:39:38 <Kotono>   "Calvary for you," Her voice is still curt, without even glancing at Yulia or Nikkolai. "You have the look and feel of a rider. Have you served in the War?"
Oct 19 19:39:56 <Kamvakua>   "You're staying here?"  Kamvakua wondered, hoping the answer was no.
Oct 19 19:41:01 *   Mari looks at Kam as if from a great distance. "I guess I'm going wherever my new boss tells me to go. I just--I didn't have a choice, okay?"
Oct 19 19:42:28 *   Nikkolai shrugs, only slightly offended that he and Yulia were being ignored. "She will see the wisdom in having a wandering agent. If not, I'll simply have to talk her into it. If Mari will be able to go with us, then I will stay here and keep her company."
Oct 19 19:42:33 <Knight>   "A long time ago, but I was not a cavalier then," replies Knight. "I have come to prefer independance since. Forging one's own future is preferable."
Oct 19 19:42:43 *   Adail shakes his head, "Never think that. Never let anyone make you think you have no choice, Mari. You did, and you made it. Whether it was the right choice or not remains to be seen, but never let someone take your choice away from you."
Oct 19 19:43:50 <Kotono>   "Hmph." With a light glower that is complimented by a wet, thick rumble from her throat, "Foolishness. Independence is nothing compared to the strength of unified Baator. You speak more as a yugoloth than a devil. The taint of chaos has touched your heart."
Oct 19 19:44:05 *   Kamvakua nods, understanding.
Oct 19 19:45:00 <Mari>   "Listen to Knight, Ami. You have a chance to live for yourself, so you should take it while you can! I think everyone here's seen more of the planes than you have. I mean, how can you know what's the best way to live if you haven't been around? You should travel some and think things over."
Oct 19 19:45:07 <Kamvakua>   "That is nonsense."  Kamvakua turned his eyes to Ami, not quite willing to let that pass.  "Discipline is a road to strength, but one who cannot carry their own freedom upon their back is weak."
Oct 19 19:45:23 <Adail>   With a chuckle, Adail actually smiles at Ami's comment but changes the subject, "So, have you worked with monks before Ami?"
Oct 19 19:45:28 <Knight>   "It is true that a unified nation is stronger than any one individual," remarks Knight. "But if the means to my desires cannot be found in thrall to a greater institution, then there is no choice but to go alone."
Oct 19 19:46:12 <Kotono>   Ami's boot stomps down, "Freedom is weakness. Unity is strength. A determined and ordered mind crushes a mind seeking freedom or disorder. Baator is that and the answer." Nonetheless she turns back to Knight, "What are the capabilites of this unit?"
Oct 19 19:48:40 <Kamvakua>   "If baator is strong, then why in all of the time they have been waging war, have they not won?"  Kamvakua eyed.  "Nonetheless...you are no longer of Baator.  Someone's freedom was stronger than that of Baator's unity."
Oct 19 19:48:52 <Mari>   "Well, it warms my to heart to know I'm a little stronger now, thanks!"
Oct 19 19:49:39 <Knight>   "Mutable. Myself and Kamvakua form both a heavy vanguard, but we are also capable skirmishers. Nikkolai is our artillery and support spellslinger. Adail can complement either our efforts in a melee, or supprting fire from the rear. Mari's role is to rapidly take down our opponents whilst they are confused. That is in combat."
Oct 19 19:50:47 <Kotono>   "What of the courre? A distraction? A scout? A piece of bait? A concubine? A slave?" Ami's voice is stattico and quick, glancing about. "What of after battle? Is there sufficient recovery corps?"
Oct 19 19:51:25 <Mari>   "Yulia's, uh...Yulia's our morale officer. As for recovery, well, we just sort of loot anyone lying down..."
Oct 19 19:51:33 <Kotono>   "Twins..." Yulia murmurs to Kamvakua, "They're just...wow."
Oct 19 19:51:50 <Kotono>   "I mean physical recovery," Ami says brusquely, "Wound-mending."
Oct 19 19:52:01 *   Nikkolai raises an eyebrow slightly. "Yulia is our healer and a friend, soldier. Afford her some respect."
Oct 19 19:52:16 <Adail>   "That would be Yulia's job, and I supplement." Adail notes, still seeming to find Ami's demeanor amusing.
Oct 19 19:52:21 <Mari>   "Well, Yulia does that some, and Adail, and we always make sure we've got healing supplies whenever we go out on a journey."
Oct 19 19:53:04 <Kamvakua>   "We are not an army.  We are friends.  That may not mean anything to you, but you will find the world confusing if you see it from your tiny box."
Oct 19 19:53:23 <Knight>   "We do not have a strict command structure," notes Knight, attempting to state things in a fashion that would make sense to Ami. "You would be expected to take up doctrines of flexibility and initiative. Our numbers are small and do not require a chain of command."
Oct 19 19:54:07 <Kotono>   "Acceptable." At that Ami nods, "When do we deploy to battle? Our objectives are yugoloths, humans and drow. I know yugoloths well, and have some experience fighting drow and humans."
Oct 19 19:55:18 <Mari>   "Adail has a personal fight to deal with here before we leave. If you have any doubts about him, you'll see them dispelled then! I guess...I guess we get ready to go to work after that?"
Oct 19 19:55:47 <Knight>   "We will deploy tomorrow upon receiving intelligence from our employer. Complicating matters on the outside is the presence of a virulent, and presently incurable plague. The native armed forces are scattered and ineffectual at present, so it will be up to us, at least at first, to harry and confuse our enemies."
Oct 19 19:56:43 <Kotono>   "Then we will crush them," Ami says, "Let us rest and prepare for this intelligence, then."
Oct 19 19:58:06 <Mari>   "Alright. Uh...I don't know if that other bed was ever replaced. You can use mine. I'll just...sleep on the floor or something."
Oct 19 19:59:30 <Nikkolai>   "Mari, take my bed. I don't need it." Nikkolai gestures at his bed and leans against the wall, eying Ami with interest.
Oct 19 19:59:43 <Mari>   "I already did!"
Oct 19 19:59:58 <Mari>   OOC: wait, I took Adail's. Scratch line!
Oct 19 20:00:43 <Mari>   "...Alright, thanks. It doesn't smell like dead or anything, does it?"
Oct 19 20:01:02 *   Adail folds himself up on an endtable to meditate on his battle in the morning.
Oct 19 20:02:10 <Kotono>   Thus the party finishes rest and preparations. You are escorted to the meeting room where you met the Lady before. Food and drink is laid out, the Lady sitting and waiting for the party. "Sit and consume as you wish," she says, the box with Skull next to her.
Oct 19 20:02:36 *   Mari is gonna be drinking. Oh yes.
Oct 19 20:02:55 <Knight>   Knight falls upon her meal in the usual fashion; who knows if it will be her last?
Oct 19 20:03:04 *   Adail doesn't move towards the food, but turns to Knight, "So, I assume I should be the one to open the box? And do you think he would respond as intended to a direct challenge?"
Oct 19 20:03:20 *   Nikkolai takes a seat to the right of the Lady, taking a simple cup of wine, more for something to do while the others ate and drank than actually being thirsty.
Oct 19 20:03:38 *   Kamvakua eats alongside the others.
Oct 19 20:04:27 <Knight>   "It may be best for me to not be within his visual range," notes Knight, unhappily. "If one likens opening the box to drawing a card, then he would assault the first person to bring him forth. I am curious, though," she notes, glancing at the Lady. "How did you capture him? There is a chance he would assault you, rather than us."
Oct 19 20:05:16 <Kotono>   Ami eats without comment, quick and efficient. Meanwhile the Lady answers, "His touch cannot harm me, while my magic laid him low."
Oct 19 20:05:58 <Nikkolai>   "Scary." Nikkolai idly comments, sipping on his wine.
Oct 19 20:06:58 <Knight>   "I see. Well, I am ready to loan you Star's power."
Oct 19 20:07:32 *   Adail nods. "Let's take this outside, get ready, and...then I'll open the box and issue my challenge."
Oct 19 20:10:05 *   Nikkolai boredly flicks a finger, muttering a word under his breath and infusing Adail with the ability to Fly!
Oct 19 20:12:19 <Knight>   Knight flicks a glowing card out between her fingers, and lays it on Adail's forehead; it soon fades into his skin, infusing him with a brilliant light!
Oct 19 20:14:29 *   Kamvakua casts just bull strength.
Oct 19 20:14:56 *   Mari meanders down the road to inebriation as everyone else prepares, sitting next to Ami and casting her the occasional despairing glance between sips.
Oct 19 20:15:03 <Adail>   As they get ready, presumably having already moved outside with the box, Adail begins his preparations. After Nikkolai casts Fly, he instils himself with the ability to touch the incorporeal, then to turn an opponent's size against them, while Knight grants him Star's blessing. Finally, he turns to the box...and opens it!
Oct 19 20:17:27 <Kotono>   Ami reaches forward, taking the glass from Mari. "Enough," her voice is sharp, " A drunken warrior is useless, and a miserable sign of a lack of self control." Meanwhile the Lich follows, watching. Then...Adail opens the box! A great spectral howl echos high and low, a terrifying voice! A split second later it erupts out - a great, incorporeal thing, like a super-sized ghost! With a howling keen
Oct 19 20:17:27 <Kotono>   it is on Adail in a moment! OOC: Init.
Oct 19 20:17:53 <Kotono>   roll 1d20+13
Oct 19 20:17:54 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+13 and gets 22." [1d20=9]
Oct 19 20:17:58 *   Kotono has changed the topic to: Skull (22)
Oct 19 20:18:04 <Adail>   roll 1d20+8 come on lemme beat that
Oct 19 20:18:04 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+8 come on lemme beat that and gets 19." [1d20=11]
Oct 19 20:18:12 *   Kotono has changed the topic to: Skull (22)>Adail(19)
Oct 19 20:18:26 <Kotono>   Before any can react, Skull is on Adail! His hand darts forward, as if to rip the life right from him!
Oct 19 20:18:34 <Kotono>   roll 1d20+16 touch AC?
Oct 19 20:18:34 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+16 touch AC? and gets 31." [1d20=15]
Oct 19 20:19:37 <Adail>   OOC: Currently 32, though lower if I count as flat footed. Considering I opened the box ready to fight, I dunno what you want to call on that.
Oct 19 20:20:13 <Adail>   (OOC: 33, actually. Forgot the dex boost from Star)
Oct 19 20:20:22 <Kotono>   OOC: Okay.
Oct 19 20:20:34 <Kotono>   But Adail is just a little too fast for Skull to get! He reaches out and misses by an inch! OOC: Go Adail.
Oct 19 20:22:14 <Adail>   (OOC: Oh! Did Yulia Haste? I think we forgot her while you were off, though we had planned for her to use it?)
Oct 19 20:22:18 <Mari>   Mari can educate Ami about the wonders of recreational drinking some other time, maybe. There's cheering to do right now. "Go on Adail, kick his ass! ...If it has one! Find one and do it somehow!"
Oct 19 20:22:56 <Kotono>   OOC: She would've, yeah.
Oct 19 20:23:47 *   Adail rolls back a bit, then flashes an almost wild smile, "Hah...fast. Faster then I expected. Good..." then he takes a fighting stance and shouts as strange flames mixed of blood red and pure white erupt around his body, focusing to swirl around his paws.
Oct 19 20:23:52 <Adail>   (more)
Oct 19 20:25:07 <Kotono>   "Go get 'em!" Yulia whistles and waves, "Adail, turn it into a ghost memory!"
Oct 19 20:27:53 <Adail>   "Skull, is it? Let's go then, keep your eyes here, I'll be your opponent" the flames grow brighter and a roar like a distant lion can be heard as he issues his fighting challange, "I am the Nail Balancer. I am the White Rook of Arbor. I am the Sacred Fist of Elysium. My name is Adail, and I will be the last opponent you ever face. This paw of mine is burning red, and it's righteous roar DEMANDS victory!"
Oct 19 20:28:20 <Adail>   (OOC: Activate Sacred Flames, which is sadly not a free action. So his go)
Oct 19 20:28:48 <Kotono>   To all of this Skull keens! It is a keen of pure hunger, a skeletal tongue slavering! It's hands reach out for Adail, seeking to rip the life from his warm body!
Oct 19 20:28:52 <Kotono>   roll 1d20+16 touch AC?
Oct 19 20:28:54 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+16 touch AC? and gets 25." [1d20=9]
Oct 19 20:29:09 <Kotono>   But Adail hops above the ghostly hands, landing feet back and safe! OOC: Go.
Oct 19 20:29:16 <Knight>   Knight remains beyond a wall that seperates her from the conflict, flinching at every scream or witticism that emnates from inside.
Oct 19 20:31:19 <Adail>   "Burning Art, Phoenix Ascendant!" Adail cries out as he practically flips upwards along his opponents body, launching a series of blows nearly too fast to follow thanks to Yulia's enhancement!(OOC: Haste Flurry~)
Oct 19 20:31:50 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry 1
Oct 19 20:31:51 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry 1 and gets 37." [1d20=18]
Oct 19 20:31:53 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry 2
Oct 19 20:31:53 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry 2 and gets 34." [1d20=15]
Oct 19 20:31:57 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry haste
Oct 19 20:31:58 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry haste and gets 35." [1d20=16]
Oct 19 20:32:04 <Adail>   roll 1d20+14 flurry 3
Oct 19 20:32:05 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+14 flurry 3 and gets 15." [1d20=1]
Oct 19 20:32:10 <Kotono>   OOC: All hit. You have ghost touch on your paw, right? Well, the 1 misses.
Oct 19 20:32:37 <Adail>   (OOC: yeah. Any DR/fire res, or should I just roll it all together?)
Oct 19 20:32:48 <Kotono>   OOC: None.
Oct 19 20:34:02 <Adail>   roll roll 3d6+6d6+9d6+9+30
Oct 19 20:34:13 <Kotono>   OOC: One less roll.
Oct 19 20:34:14 <Adail>   roll 3d6+6d6+9d6+9+30
Oct 19 20:34:14 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 3d6+6d6+9d6+9+30 and gets 100." [3d6=5, 5, 3][6d6=3, 3, 4, 4, 1, 1][9d6=4, 5, 5, 5, 1, 4, 4, 3, 1]
Oct 19 20:35:24 <Kotono>   Each blow seems to cut into the ghost like it was solid! It's body bursts aflame, Skull's entirely ghostly visage burning! Yet amid the burning shrieks of utter hunger and pure agony it strikes, desperately trying to wring life from Adail!
Oct 19 20:35:31 <Kotono>   roll 1d20+16
Oct 19 20:35:31 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+16 and gets 28." [1d20=12]
Oct 19 20:35:54 <Kotono>   But it cannot! Adail's fires glow brighter, holding the phantom at bay! OOC: Go.
Oct 19 20:39:02 <Adail>   While in midair after his jumping opener, Adail twists around Skull's blows and uses his current power of flight to his advantage as he continues his acrobatic assault, slamming into Skull's form with repeated spinning backfists, "Eye of the Sky God!" (OOC: more hot flurry action)
Oct 19 20:39:12 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry 1
Oct 19 20:39:12 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry 1 and gets 23." [1d20=4]
Oct 19 20:39:19 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry 2
Oct 19 20:39:19 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry 2 and gets 20." [1d20=1]
Oct 19 20:39:21 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry haste
Oct 19 20:39:22 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry haste and gets 20." [1d20=1]
Oct 19 20:39:28 <Adail>   roll 1d20+14 flurry 3
Oct 19 20:39:29 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+14 flurry 3 and gets 18." [1d20=4]
Oct 19 20:39:45 <Kotono>   OOC: Wow. All miss.
Oct 19 20:40:15 <Kotono>   Yet despite that the wraith can't be hit, flickering out of sight, only to reappear as it tries to grasp Adail!
Oct 19 20:40:17 <Kotono>   roll 1d20+16
Oct 19 20:40:18 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+16 and gets 18." [1d20=2]
Oct 19 20:40:29 <Kotono>   But even Adail is too fast, the two going back and forth without a decisive blow! OOC: Go.
Oct 19 20:41:40 <Adail>   Suddenly dropping down to the ground, Adail coils all his power into his legs and leaps up with a Fly enhanced spinning uppercut, "Master's Fist: RISING DRAGON!" (OOC: do I even need to say it? Flurry~)
Oct 19 20:41:48 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry 1
Oct 19 20:41:49 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry 1 and gets 36." [1d20=17]
Oct 19 20:41:53 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry 2
Oct 19 20:41:53 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry 2 and gets 29." [1d20=10]
Oct 19 20:41:55 <Adail>   roll 1d20+19 flurry haste
Oct 19 20:41:56 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+19 flurry haste and gets 29." [1d20=10]
Oct 19 20:41:59 <Adail>   roll 1d20+14 flurry 3
Oct 19 20:41:59 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+14 flurry 3 and gets 19." [1d20=5]
Oct 19 20:42:23 <Kotono>   OOC: Three hits.
Oct 19 20:42:32 <Adail>   roll 3d6+6d6+9d6+9+30
Oct 19 20:42:33 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 3d6+6d6+9d6+9+30 and gets 102." [3d6=4, 6, 3][6d6=4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 4][9d6=2, 5, 3, 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 1]
Oct 19 20:43:10 <Kotono>   Under this overwhelming uppercut, Skull's body burns apart! As it fades one thing is heard, a scream loud enough to echo to the deepest pit of Baator: "KKKNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGHHHTTTTTT!" A moment later a card hovers in the air, before falling to the stone ground.
Oct 19 20:43:14 <Kotono>   OOC: Free act.
Oct 19 20:43:51 *   Nikkolai smiles and claps mildly. "Exciting, but the ending was a forgone conclusion. Well done, Adail."
Oct 19 20:44:04 *   Adail lands after that attack and dismisses the flames with a flick of his hand before scooping up the card, "Well fought. But ultimately, I'm the last kind of opponent your kind ever wants to see."
Oct 19 20:44:27 *   Mari beams and appluds, momentarily joyful. "Alright! Go Adail!"
Oct 19 20:44:52 <Kotono>   "An acceptable performance, though magic is mostly to celebrate," Ami observes, "A worthwhile degree of planning."
Oct 19 20:45:13 <Knight>   Knight steps into the room, with a hand covering her lips. She doesn't speak until she retrieves the card lying on the ground. "Thank you, Adail," she says, as it begins to be drawn within.
Oct 19 20:45:26 *   Adail snorts, "The most important magic my own. Is that any less my ability, Ami?"
Oct 19 20:45:55 *   Nikkolai snorts loudly. "A powerful caster can lay low the mightiest of warriors, girl."
Oct 19 20:46:20 <Kotono>   The Lady of the Green Kirtle does not clap, but she instead returns inside, "Let us get down to the business at hand now."
Oct 19 20:46:54 <Mari>   "C'mon, Ami. It's not like devils don't use magic, right? A win is a win."
Oct 19 20:47:05 *   Kamvakua nods. "Well fought, Adail," Kamvakua eyes Ami, but says nothing this time.
Oct 19 20:47:46 *   Nikkolai turns on his heels rather sharply. "To business indeed." He follows close behind the Lady, ever the dutiful servant.
Oct 19 20:48:31 *   Knight turns about and follows wordlessly.
Oct 19 20:50:23 *   Adail catches his breath and pads along behind Knight, keeping a cautious eye on her in case she seems to start having trouble containing SKull.
Oct 19 20:51:15 <Kotono>   The Lady returns to sitting, "To business at hand. Are all of you ready?"
Oct 19 20:52:06 <Knight>   "Mmm," replies Knight, seemingly distracted.
Oct 19 20:52:18 <Mari>   "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Ami's going to be joining us too. Until the invasion's dealt with, at least."
Oct 19 20:52:29 <Adail>   "I am," Adail nods.
Oct 19 20:52:54 <Nikkolai>   "As ready as we'll ever be, my Lady." Nikkolai responds dryly, taking a seat to her right once again.
Oct 19 20:55:16 *   Kamvakua nods.  It was time to get going.
Oct 19 20:57:21 <Kotono>   "Above all, we nee dinformation. As it stands we do not know where Ursagel cowers," The Lady of the Green Kirtle begins, "Our first goal is to find a source of information that can. We cannot find them, nor stop the plague as long as we are in the dark. I have managed to obtain the location of what may be a co-opted outpost used by the cultists. Go there, defeat them and gather what information
Oct 19 20:57:21 <Kotono>   you can. That is the simplest distillation of what the first step."
Oct 19 20:57:52 <Knight>   "Do they openly fly Usragel's banner?" asks Knight, shaking her head a moment.
Oct 19 20:59:56 <Kotono>   "Not openly," The Lady of the Green Kirtle says, "They inhabit a country manor that is currently abandoned in the crisis. Were our foes so flagrantly stupid as to announce themselves i public, our task would be much easier."
Oct 19 21:00:41 <Knight>   "So their strength is not yet such that they can proclaim themselves openly... Of course. The neighbouring kingdoms would not stand for it."
Oct 19 21:01:19 <Kamvakua>   "How many of them do you know of?"
Oct 19 21:01:47 <Kotono>   "Of course, until the plague spreads and they cannot," The Lady says, "The bordering regions have sealed the borders." A pause, "This is the first outpost I have confirmed. I am working on finding others; your information gathering as well shall help this."
Oct 19 21:02:20 <Nikkolai>   "Flagrant stupidity is something that I wish our enemies were in great possession." Nikkolai commented. "Do you have any of your agents inserted in the manor, my Lady?"
Oct 19 21:03:12 <Kotono>   "Not within," The Lady shakes her head again.
Oct 19 21:03:27 <Knight>   "It may be prudent to capture their leaders alive, if information is what you seek."
Oct 19 21:04:08 <Kamvakua>   "What do you know of those at the outpost?"  Kamvakua wanted to know how they came of this information, but...it was pointless.  Better to move and learn from others.
Oct 19 21:04:09 *   Adail thinks out loud a bit, "Yugoloths, and thier supporters, rarely do anything openly. But I wonder how much magic they use in maintaining disguises and the like? I could easily sneak around and scope the place out before we go, keeping an eye out for anything invisible, or simply magical of note. And for the Yugoloths' particular stench of evil."
Oct 19 21:04:17 <Nikkolai>   "Pity. That would have been useful. Documentation will also be a priority. Armies and takeovers of nations almost always have a paper trail."
Oct 19 21:05:43 <Kotono>   "Yes. Survivors are excellent information," The Lady agrees, "They wear fire-red plate armor, the sort crafted by arcanaloth artificers. They carry scythes, enchanted to destroy life. I know of at least four of that type, fanatics of power and nihilistic violence."
Oct 19 21:06:08 <Mari>   "'Destroy life?' Isn't that basically what all weapons are for?"
Oct 19 21:06:51 <Knight>   "No," replies Knight. "Some are meant to destroy walls, injure without killing, certain magical weapons target only the undead or unliving..."
Oct 19 21:09:06 <Kotono>   "The magic on them does far more grevious harm than mere wounding. To the more immediate matter, from where you will be aported from this place, the manor is roughly 20 miles. Within a day's travel, easily. I leave how to infiltrate and deal with it in your hands." The Lady says, "I will be in contact at midnight tonight."
Oct 19 21:10:49 <Knight>   "Understood. We should seek to avoid the locals where possible," notes Knight. "It would not do for us to contract the plague any sooner than necessary."
Oct 19 21:11:12 <Mari>   "Actually, you know, let's try to avoid contracting the plague at all?"
Oct 19 21:11:23 <Knight>   "That may be impossible..."
Oct 19 21:11:54 *   Nikkolai drums his fingers idly on the table, listening to the discussion. "I agree. Although, transporting one or more prisoners across such rough terrain might be problematic. Will my Lady be able to port us back to her grounds if we are successful?" Nikk addresses the question to the Lich.
Oct 19 21:13:22 <Kamvakua>   "Are plague victims already in the manor...or is it just their troops?"
Oct 19 21:17:08 <Kotono>   "Yes," A nod to Nikkolai, "I will transport you to a circle of stones. From there I can transport you back when you return, victorious." As to that question, "There are likely to be prisoners and those tormented, though I am not certain what may lie in it's depths."
Oct 19 21:17:41 <Knight>   "Could others use the stones to trace our retreat?"
Oct 19 21:18:34 <Nikkolai>   "Even if they did, what good would it do them? If they were ready to strike at the Lady's home, they would have done so by now. Their forces are still amassing, I say."
Oct 19 21:19:12 <Knight>   "Are they aware the Lady is their enemy? I think not."
Oct 19 21:19:36 <Kotono>   "The stones can only be activated from this side," The Lady of the Green Kirtle says, "At worst they can destroy them, but it is only a minor inconvinence."
Oct 19 21:20:27 <Knight>   "Understood. Well, I am prepared to set out."
Oct 19 21:21:14 <Mari>   "Yeah, let's go. I've been sitting around here too long. I want to DO something. Even if that something turns out to be fighting more fiends."
Oct 19 21:23:25 <Kotono>   "From the circle of stones, head north until you reach a grove of trees with blue wildflowers within. From there head east until you find a dirt road. Follow it to the manor, ignoring side roads from it." The Lady rises, "Each of you form a circle, hold hands and close your eyes. The teleportation will be cast."
Oct 19 21:24:00 <Knight>   "I must fetch my mount. I assume that would not be a problem."
Oct 19 21:24:07 *   Mari nods, insisting on taking Ami's hand in the circle, and closes her eyes as instructed.
Oct 19 21:24:22 *   Adail drags a chair over where he can stand on it to reach people's hands to hold them without dangling from them.
Oct 19 21:24:35 *   Kamvakua joins the circle and nods.
Oct 19 21:24:54 *   Nikkolai rises. "Let's get this over with, I suppose." Nikk takes Mari's remaining hand and then Adail's tiny paw.
Oct 19 21:25:59 <Kotono>   "Do so," The Lady instructs.
Oct 19 21:26:56 *   Knight does, and returns to join hands with her friends in their magical circle.
Oct 19 21:27:55 <Kotono>   Ami's hand is cold and hard, metal gauntlet sheathing it. Yulia settles for taking Adail's paw in one hand as they form! To this the Lady of the Green Kirtle chants twisting, arcane words and then...(More)
Oct 19 21:28:45 <Kotono>   It's silent here. No birdsong, no rustling of animals. You stand within a large circle of stones, on cold, grassless ground. It's secluded here, open plains dotted with trees in every direction. The sun is just rising with morning's energy. The air is clean and fresh, at least.
Oct 19 21:29:40 *   Mari looks around, breathes in slowly. It's nice to be outside again.
Oct 19 21:29:48 *   Kamvakua breathes in.  It was truly good to be outside of that mansion of the dead.  He glanced over, assuring himself that everyone was there, and then looked over for the path.
Oct 19 21:29:56 <Knight>   Knight raises a couple of fingers to the side of her head, concentrating.
Oct 19 21:30:03 *   Nikkolai sighs, releasing his hands from his friends' grasp. "That would be such a useful spell to know." He looks around, taking in the familiar scenery of his youth. "I would say it's good to be home but, well...."
Oct 19 21:31:29 <Kotono>   "It's nice," Yulia breathes in and out, "After everything it's so nice and open and clean!"
Oct 19 21:32:03 *   Adail sniffs the air, "Yes, it feels clean...but empty."
Oct 19 21:32:22 <Kotono>   "Yeah," Yulia agrees, "I don't hear any birds or animals!"
Oct 19 21:32:35 <Knight>   "We have travelled quite far afield," notes Knight, dropping her hand. "We go eastward, then. I will keep to the ground rather than give away our presence to spotters." She shrugs. "The result of the plague, most likely."
Oct 19 21:32:35 <Nikkolai>   "That's usually a bad sign."
Oct 19 21:32:38 <Kotono>   Ami glances about, kicking the ground once. "Who will take the point? How will we march?"
Oct 19 21:33:02 <Mari>   "No birds is definitely weird..." Mari walks to the dge of the circle, looking around for any sign of wildlife.
Oct 19 21:33:15 <Kotono>   OOC: Spot.
Oct 19 21:33:28 <Mari>   roll 1d20+15
Oct 19 21:33:30 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Mari rolls 1d20+15 and gets 28." [1d20=13]
Oct 19 21:34:19 <Knight>   "Perhaps you should," remarks Knight. "I never did ask you your own capabilities, come to think of it."
Oct 19 21:34:34 *   Mari frowns. "Nothing moving anywhere, I think. Did the plague kill off the animals, maybe? Add starvation to the local problems in that case..."
Oct 19 21:35:09 <Kotono>   "I am capable of slaughtering any who oppose us. Should any composed of pure chaos come, they will be routed," Ami takes the point and begins to march, goosestepping quickly.
Oct 19 21:35:39 <Kotono>   "So much cruelty." Yulia whimpers, "It's really never as clean as the stories make it, is it? So many people suffer because of madmen and evil."
Oct 19 21:36:30 <Mari>   "Yeah, well, don't get too far ahead of us, soldier," Mari calls after Ami as she starts to follow. "We work better as a team. You should know that much from your own training, right?"
Oct 19 21:36:57 <Kamvakua>   "Peace is hard won." Kamvakua agreed with Yulia, talking rear.
Oct 19 21:37:00 <Knight>   "Some things cannot be truly learned save through experience," remarks Knight, mounting her steed and starting after Ami. "Yulia, I have a question."
Oct 19 21:37:07 *   Adail pads up next to Ami, "I usually assist on point, as I can see the invisible and have excellent hearing," he explains in a conversational tone.
Oct 19 21:37:07 <Nikkolai>   "Bright one, I've found that stories are merely fantasies at best and lies at the worst." He pats his shoulder in invitation. "Come along. Let's keep that...girl from getting in trouble."
Oct 19 21:37:08 <Kotono>   roll 1d100
Oct 19 21:37:08 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 35." [1d100=35]
Oct 19 21:37:11 <Kotono>   roll 1d100
Oct 19 21:37:12 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 47." [1d100=47]
Oct 19 21:38:37 <Kotono>   With this the party begins to walk! The land becomes grassier but still empty. It's just quiet, silent, dead. An hour of travel when...it's not hard to see. He stumbles forward without care, 200 feet away when first noticed. A stumbling man, face and bare chest leaking blood. His steps are stumbling ones, yet somehow he doesn't fall over. So much blood, weeping from his flesh.
Oct 19 21:39:12 <Knight>   "That is a dead man walking," notes Knight, pursing her lips.
Oct 19 21:39:36 <Kotono>   "Fell him from afar," Ami says, "So that he will not carry disease to us, and we can go around his body. Archery or magic will suffice."
Oct 19 21:39:57 <Knight>   "It would be a kindness..."
Oct 19 21:40:01 *   Nikkolai holds a hand out. "Stay away from him. Don't even let him *breathe* on you." Nikkolai walks forward, no longer fearing for his flesh. "You there! Come closer, man."
Oct 19 21:40:14 <Kotono>   "It is efficient," Ami agrees, stopping as Nikkolai advances past her.
Oct 19 21:40:21 <Mari>   "We can just circle around him if you want to avoid him, you know. We don't have to just kill anyone in our way. I mean, he couldn't really chase after us, could he?"
Oct 19 21:40:54 <Kotono>   "Why take the risk?" Ami says back, "Hee is meaningless to our mission and glory."
Oct 19 21:40:58 <Nikkolai>   "No," Nikkolai says over his shoulder. "But it would be a mercy."
Oct 19 21:41:44 *   Nikkolai continues towards the man, intent on speaking to him and offering him what mercy he could.
Oct 19 21:41:59 *   Adail frowns, "If I were a better healer, perhaps I could do something. Perhaps I still can. Gives me a chance to see the effects of the disease at least. And I am confident I will not catch it." He looks over to the others, and to Nik moving ahead, hesitating a bit before joining him...
Oct 19 21:42:22 <Kotono>   Meanwhile Nikkolai approaches! The man looks up, eyes bloodshot. He coughs thrice, coming to a stop, "Sir...sir..." His voice is a watery rasp, thick with pain and soaked lungs. "Are you a holy father...? Bless me, oh father...the end has come from us...through disease the chains break...!"
Oct 19 21:42:41 <Knight>   "Perhaps you will not, but if you do, it would inevitably spread to the rest of us," notes Knight. "And if you choose to help everyone like this, it would happen sooner or later."
Oct 19 21:43:34 *   Nikkolai sighs softly. "I'm afraid I am no holy father, my good man." He steps closer and supports the man's weight. "Tell me, what is your name?"
Oct 19 21:44:42 *   Adail flicks an ear, then quietly uses his disguise magic to make himself seem like a fairly short halfling, wearing the robes of a cleric. He advances a bit further past the others, but does not approach all the way just yet, wanting to hear what he says to Nik clearly.
Oct 19 21:45:29 *   Mari just shakes her head, any number of responses to Ami springing to mind but none of them seeming like they'd matter a whit to her.
Oct 19 21:45:45 <Kotono>   The man's answer is to cough, sagging against Nikkolai as Adail approaches. Blood leaks from his mouth, oozing down his chest. "Cold...so cold..." He shudders, his bloody flesh staining Nikkolai's clothes. "Hear me, I am Lesain. The last of my family, t'day I buried my daughter." He staggers, coughing again, bloody tears falling down his cheeks. "It's over...everything's ending. The chains will shatter and all will plummet!"
Oct 19 21:46:49 *   Knight draws her iron-forged bow, and begins to string it. "I can drop him," she notes, reaching for an arrow.
Oct 19 21:47:14 <Kotono>   "Do it," Ami says, "We waste time listening to a dying wretch of no value."
Oct 19 21:47:42 *   Nikkolai pats the man softly on the shoulder. "What chains do you speak of, Lesain? Where did the plague begin?"
Oct 19 21:47:45 <Kotono>   "Oh stop that!" Yulia flutters over onto Knigh'ts head, "Don't you dare! We can help him or at least do something instead of killing the poor man! Hey listen, Knight, don't you dare!"
Oct 19 21:47:48 <Adail>   "Let him finish." Adail states quietly, but firmlty, "his talk of chains, this sounds like religion. Which may be pertenent to the task at hand."
Oct 19 21:48:29 <Kamvakua>   "Let Nikkolai talk with him," Kamvakua frowned. "At least let him have his last words.  A quick end may be a mercy to a slow death, but a man should at least be heard before he goes."
Oct 19 21:48:37 <Knight>   "The information could be of value. But if there is something you can do to help him, you are free to do so."
Oct 19 21:48:44 <Kotono>   "The Oppressor-In-Chains...the end comes...the sun will be cast into the eternal pit." He coughs another time, blood splattering on the ground. His knees buckle, the man sagging forward. Amid choking cries, "It hurts...I can barely see."
Oct 19 21:50:04 *   Nikkolai hesitates. "Would you like me to end your pain Lesain? I have a friend, a healer...perhaps he can help you. If not, I have another way."
Oct 19 21:50:16 <Mari>   "Let him talk first, at least," Mari agrees, watching from afar.
Oct 19 21:50:46 *   Adail takes another couple steps forward as he waits for the man's reply to Nikkolai.
Oct 19 21:51:39 <Kotono>   "Help me...stop the pain," Lesain sobs, "I'm so tired...I didn't want to see this day. Priest Bannan was slaughtered and now this calamity claims us...oh, why in my life?"
Oct 19 21:52:33 *   Nikkolai nods. "I have a dagger, Lesain. Is this what you truly want?" Nikkolai peers into the man's eyes.
Oct 19 21:53:18 <Kotono>   Licking his bloody lips, "Help me...even if it's in chains...let me see my family again! End this nightmare, I beg of you!" A bloodstained hands weakly paws at Nikkolai's chest.
Oct 19 21:53:42 *   Adail eyes the man with Detect Magic as he nods at his choice.
Oct 19 21:55:20 <Nikkolai>   "As you wish, my friend." Nikkolai draws his dagger from inside if his cloak. He helps the man down to his knees. "Close your eyes, Lesain. Remember the faces of your family." Nikkolai's hand trembles only once before he swiftly draws it across the throat of the suffering man.
Oct 19 21:56:08 <Kotono>   Lesain staggers to his knees, unable to even make a whisper as his throat is cut. Blood does not gush - it trickles out, a pained sigh as he falls to the ground. He twitches but once before going still, lying in the silent countryside.
Oct 19 21:56:47 *   Adail offers a prayer for the man's soul to send it on it's way to the Skyfather.
Oct 19 21:56:58 <Knight>   "Miserable. Imagine, that dying is the only way to see those you care about once more," remarks Knight. "There is not even a guarantee...."
Oct 19 21:57:08 <Kamvakua>   "Burn his body.  Otherwise he may still transmit the disease."  Kamvakua quietly offered a prayer that his soul find it's way to his family.
Oct 19 21:57:50 <Kotono>   "It's not fair," Yulia bows her head as well.
Oct 19 21:57:54 <Knight>   "And clean yourself," adds Knight, raising her voice. "Adail, was there anything you could have done for him? I suspect he will not be the last infected man we encounter."
Oct 19 21:58:35 *   Nikkolai is silent as he rises to his feet. He mutters a cleansing cantrip, cleaning his robes of any blood and rotting flesh. "That was...only a little harder than I thought it would be."
Oct 19 21:58:37 <Mari>   "I think misery's something you'll need to get used to here, Knight..." Mari says.
Oct 19 21:59:06 <Kotono>   "This is nothing. A battle in the Blood War is far more galvanizing. This is hardly but child's play. Cut his throat and burn him so we can continue," Ami says, "We waste time."
Oct 19 21:59:09 *   Adail shakes his head, "I do not have Remove Disease prepared today. And I am a...sub par conventional healer at best. If there was, I would have offered it."
Oct 19 21:59:47 <Adail>   "I did, however," he continues, "get close enough to use Detect Magic. And the disease is not inherently magical, as I suspected it might be. Which means there should be a conventional cure for it, somewhere."
Oct 19 22:00:15 <Knight>   "I'm used to hardship. But disease is the worst thing," replies Knight, shuddering. "Many an army has been laid low by it before the lines are even drawn. I would prefer it if we avoided or slew such unfortunates from this time on. It doesn't seem we can learn from them."
Oct 19 22:00:46 <Mari>   "It was an act of mercy, not convenience. At the very least he's not suffering any more, right?" Mari shakes her head. "Let's just move on. It's probably not the last time we'll see something like this and we can't stop for a debate every time."
Oct 19 22:01:07 <Knight>   "Better to decide now, then, what our rules will be," notes Knight, nudging her mount around the body.
Oct 19 22:01:17 <Kotono>   roll 1d100
Oct 19 22:01:18 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 50." [1d100=50]
Oct 19 22:01:30 <Kamvakua>   "We shall see as we encounter."
Oct 19 22:01:45 <Nikkolai>   "Have respect for the dead, girl." Nikkolai replies sharply. "He was a person, just as you are." He reaches out with a fiery hand and sets the man's clothing on fire.
Oct 19 22:02:24 <Kotono>   A few more hours of travel pass. You come to the grove the Lady mentioned, finding a road indeed. Fromt here you follow the dirt road, along and along. It's high noon by the time you can see it in sight. A large manor home with stables, large and rambling. A long, vast manicured lawn surrounds it. You're quite a ways from it still.
Oct 19 22:02:48 <Knight>   "We should stop here," notes Knight, glancing around the road. "And find a place to seclude ourselves."
Oct 19 22:03:31 *   Mari looks around. Any convenient wooded areas nearby that the group could hide out in?
Oct 19 22:03:33 *   Adail cracks his knuckles, then alters the disguise so he looks like some common burrowing mammal. A badger, perhaps. "And this is where I do my part, hmm? I can burrow straight into any cellar that might exist if you want me to try to get inside?"
Oct 19 22:03:41 <Nikkolai>   "I agree. This is a prime distance from our target."
Oct 19 22:04:04 <Kotono>   OOC: If you guys want to try and find a hiding spot, go ahead and make a survival check, one of you? Easiest way to handle it.
Oct 19 22:04:04 <Mari>   "Not a bad idea, Adail. They're surely got guards and scouts around, but who watches underground?"
Oct 19 22:04:43 <Nikkolai>   roll 1d20+2 Do I know anything about the owner of this manor and the grounds themselves?
Oct 19 22:04:44 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Nikkolai rolls 1d20+2 Do I know anything about the owner of this manor and the grounds themselves? and gets 9." [1d20=7]
Oct 19 22:04:49 <Adail>   "Anyone who's spent more then two nights on Earth?" he quips in response.
Oct 19 22:04:52 <Kamvakua>   roll 1d20+10 survival
Oct 19 22:04:54 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kamvakua rolls 1d20+10 survival and gets 22." [1d20=12]
Oct 19 22:05:08 <Mari>   "Well, I was thinking of that, but that doesn't apply to most people, you know?"
Oct 19 22:05:13 <Knight>   "I'd like to know the composition of their scouts outside as well as who's inside," replies Knight. "Try to find a way in that won't leave a disturbance behind."
Oct 19 22:05:25 <Knight>   She pauses. "We're dealing with drow," she notes. "They're experienced in underground warfare."
Oct 19 22:05:26 *   Kamvakua tracks along the woods and grounds, eying the treadmarks of the animals that once lived there to try and find a reasonable secluded spot.
Oct 19 22:05:57 <Kotono>   Kamvakua looks around. About a quarter mile away is a small gully and several trees surround it. It's low, secluded, hidden.
Oct 19 22:06:12 <Mari>   "Yeah, true. I could look around outside if you want, Knight?"
Oct 19 22:06:57 <Knight>   "Please do! Adopt a disguise yourself?"
Oct 19 22:06:57 <Kamvakua>   "Follow me, we can talk and plan more once we get over there," Kamvakua lead the way down to the gully.
Oct 19 22:07:10 *   Knight heads after Kamvakua.
Oct 19 22:07:22 *   Nikkolai traipses along.
Oct 19 22:07:26 *   Adail nods, "I'll see what I can do. Thankfully, I'm sufficiantly smaller then things they'd be used to dealing with I'm sure." And with that, he begins to sneak towards the manor with an eye to stealth. As there don't seem to be many animals around, acting like a stray badger likely wouldn't help, but still surely less suspicious then a stray halfling if spotted.
Oct 19 22:07:28 <Kamvakua>   "Come first, so we know where to regroup if so."
Oct 19 22:07:38 <Mari>   "Hm, Kam? Oh, okay." Mari follows along for now.
Oct 19 22:07:58 <Adail>   OOC: ah, scratch. He'll do that after seeing the meeting place.
Oct 19 22:08:48 <Kotono>   The gully is pleasant, with a lot of broken branches at the botton. No sign of animals here, just a lot of nice, empty space hidden by trees. You can't even seen the manor from here.
Oct 19 22:10:30 <Kamvakua>   "We'll wait here.  Good hunting," Kamvakua sounded impatient, even if he knew he needed to wait.
Oct 19 22:10:52 <Knight>   "I'll pass on eating food or drinking the water here."
Oct 19 22:11:12 <Adail>   And from there, Adail sneaks towards the manor to scout it out!
Oct 19 22:11:43 <Mari>   "Alright...I guess I could turn into an animal or something to seem less out of place if someone spots me? But there aren't any animals left around here anyway so I dunno if that would help. And my armor helps me hide anyway...Think I'll just circle around the perimeter and see what I can see."
Oct 19 22:11:54 <Kamvakua>   "We should get in the habit of being careful with our rations.  Anything from here might have it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oct 19 22:15:46 <Mari>   roll 1d20+21
Oct 19 22:15:48 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Mari rolls 1d20+21 and gets 36." [1d20=15]
Oct 19 22:17:08 <Kotono>   Mari slowly circles 'round the manor! The front is a slightly overgrown lawn, well kept but starting to become untamed. To the right side is a large stables, the doors shut and barred. Behind the stables two dead horses lie. Not a single fly is about in the air, but a small swarm of them lie around the horses.
Oct 19 22:18:50 <Mari>   If even the flies are dying, well, that sounds like a good reason not to draw closer. Could she get to that door without coming within, say, sixty feet of the dead horses?
Oct 19 22:20:32 <Kotono>   The stable's about fourty feet long. She couldn't get to the door, though the entire stables would be in the way and she'd have to take the long way around in any case.
Oct 19 22:21:21 *   Mari keeps going, round the back of the house. Keeping an eye out for any windows, anyone watching the manor from any angle--from inside, from the roof, from elsewhere outside.
Oct 19 22:21:54 <Kotono>   OOC: Make spot.
Oct 19 22:22:01 <Mari>   roll 1d20+15
Oct 19 22:22:03 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Mari rolls 1d20+15 and gets 26." [1d20=11]
Oct 19 22:23:18 <Kotono>   Mari goes 'round the back. The back is fenced in with an elaborate iron-wrought fence. As she loops around, she can spot movement at one of th emany windows. Looks like a curtain rustling, perhaps?
Oct 19 22:24:51 *   Mari stops, low in the grass, and watches in stillness for a moment, waiting to see if anything else happens in that room.
Oct 19 22:25:12 <Kotono>   The curtain rustles another time or two. You catch a glimpse of...something. Something red.
Oct 19 22:27:16 *   Mari makes a mental note of the room's location in relation to the house proper--be good to able to find that room once they infiltrate the mansion, since maybe that's a suit of red armor she caught a glimpse of.
Oct 19 22:27:34 <Kotono>   There's three stories and that's from the third story, incidentally.
Oct 19 22:28:09 <Mari>   Mari waits a while--if nothing else is happening, she'll move on along the back of the house and to the other side.
Oct 19 22:29:32 <Kotono>   No sign of further movement. Going back along, Mari comes around to the left side. On this side is what looks to be a large pond converted into a pool. It's rimmed with marble and freestanding pillars, the statue of a naiad with it's mouth open by it's side, constantly sending a thin stream of water into the pool. Floating in the pool is a body, face down and bloated.
Oct 19 22:33:44 <Mari>   Again, Mari's not approaching any corpses with the risk of plague rampant. And that's just about full circle. There doesn't seem much point hanging around further--the inhabitants' apparent desire to make the manor seem uninhabited makes it unlikely she'll see more. May as well regroup for now.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oct 19 22:15:17 *   Adail makes himself look like a badger as he drops to all fours to sneak towards the manor. He'll keep hidden as best he can to get a good look at things around the manor, then see about digging down into where a cellar should be.
Oct 19 22:16:48 <Adail>   roll 1d20+24 hide
Oct 19 22:16:49 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+24 hide and gets 27." [1d20=3]
Oct 19 22:18:39 <Kotono>   Adail circles 'round the manor! The front is a slightly overgrown lawn, well kept but starting to become untamed. To the left side is what looks to be a large pond converted into a pool. It's rimmed with marble and freestanding pillars, the statue of a naiad with it's mouth open by it's side, constantly sending a thin stream of water into the pool. Floating in the pool is a body, face down
Oct 19 22:18:39 <Kotono>   and bloated.
Oct 19 22:20:11 *   Adail eyes the body with his array of magical senses, then looks around to see if there's anyone he can notice watching the area.
Oct 19 22:20:45 <Kotono>   No magic or nothing invisible that Adail detects. OOC: Spot?
Oct 19 22:21:12 <Adail>   roll 1d20+6 spot I wish this was a class skill
Oct 19 22:21:13 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+6 spot I wish this was a class skill and gets 9." [1d20=3]
Oct 19 22:21:44 <Kotono>   Adail doesn't notice anything or anyone around keeping an eye on him.
Oct 19 22:24:02 *   Adail takes a closer look at the body then. Does it look like it had the same marks of disease, though maybe diluted by being in the water, that the man earlier had?
Oct 19 22:24:52 <Kotono>   OOC: Have any ranks in heal or anything like that?
Oct 19 22:25:10 <Adail>   OOC: I do!
Oct 19 22:25:16 <Adail>   roll 1d20+9 heal
Oct 19 22:25:16 <Kotono>   OOC: Heal check.
Oct 19 22:25:16 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+9 heal and gets 27." [1d20=18]
Oct 19 22:25:34 <Kotono>   The body is bloated and rotting. His skin is thin in many places having cracked. Adail can see the tell-tale bleed marks, showing he indeed died of the Bleeding Death.
Oct 19 22:27:30 *   Adail shakes his head, then goes back to surveying the exterior of the manor, looking for anything that looks like an exterior cellar entrance in particular, as well as checking around for any people who may be outside at all.
Oct 19 22:28:54 <Kotono>   Going 'round a little further, Adail comes to the back of the manor. It's fenced off here with an elaborate iron-wrought fence. You can't easily see within due to that, obviously.
Oct 19 22:30:02 <Adail>   Fences are of no consequence to the amazing Badgerval! Adail takes a paranoid look around, then burrows under the fence.
Oct 19 22:30:49 <Kotono>   Adail burrows under! Coming out on the other side, you see that this is another well kept lawn. Within lies a small secondary house, in the shadow of the manor house. Against the back-middle of the house is a cellar's hatch, tucked away and shut.
Oct 19 22:31:40 *   Adail eyes the all the doors, including the cellar access, he sees with his magical senses.
Oct 19 22:32:07 <Kotono>   The cellar access radiates magic.
Oct 19 22:34:02 *   Adail moves a bit away from the cellar access, then burrows diagonally down towards where it should lead to. Very slowly, very carefully, and stopping to check his magic senses often to make sure he's not burrowing into path of a spell. Once he reaches what should be a wall, he'll only break though a very small bit to peek out of, not to fully enter.
Oct 19 22:35:00 <Kotono>   Adail burrows on down! It takes a little time until he comes to a stone wall blocking further progress downward. Not even a vertical wall, just a cellar-roof wall.
Oct 19 22:36:08 *   Adail digs along the stone until he finds the sides, hoping it's not solid stone all the way around.
Oct 19 22:37:35 <Kotono>   OOC: Which direction?
Oct 19 22:39:38 <Adail>   OOC: following horizontal...say to the right until the stone ends, then going down along the side seeing if the stone is just for the ceiling or if the room is solid stone walls, ceiling and floor.
Oct 19 22:40:28 <Kotono>   Adail goes a fairly long ways before he finds the end! Going down he finds it solids tone and more solid stone! AT least 50 feet down before a bottom.
Oct 19 22:41:49 *   Adail quickly checks the floor as well, but if that's more stone, he gives up on that plan and heads back out to come up back on the outside of the iron fence before taking his last check.
Oct 19 22:42:47 <Kotono>   More strong, hard stone. Going back around to the right, Adail can see stables. To the right side is a large stables, the doors shut and barred. Behind the stables two dead horses lie. Not a single fly is about in the air, but a small swarm of them lie around the horses.
Oct 19 22:43:18 *   Adail gives the horses and flies the paranoid magic sensory once over!
Oct 19 22:46:26 <Kotono>   No magic.
Oct 19 22:49:25 *   Adail wishes his animal speaech would let him talk to flies, but they probably wouldn't have anything intelligent to say anyway. So instead he burrows down diagonally again, facing the main building, hoping to hit any underground cellar that might be there. And hoping if there is one, it isn't solid stone.
Oct 19 22:50:55 <Kotono>   Adail digs under the stables! No sign of an underground cellar under it - nothing but soft dirt.
Oct 19 22:52:31 *   Adail moves from under the stables to under the main building of the manor itself, but if he doesn't run into anything there, he burrows a good distance from the manor before coming up and working his way back to where the meeting point is.
Oct 19 22:54:38 <Kotono>   Adail doesn't come on anything as he returns back!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC: Reuniting


Oct 19 22:13:41 <Kotono>   Mari and Adail go off! As the others wait, Ami sits. Her gaze moves about as she sits on the grass, "What does Mari think of yugoloths?" she asks aloud.
Oct 19 22:15:56 <Knight>   "She despises them, I would suspect," replies Knight, with a shrug.
Oct 19 22:15:58 <Kamvakua>   "If it matters, I suspect there is no specific form of evil she detests more.  Except maybe devils," He eyed Ami meaningfully.
Oct 19 22:19:53 <Kotono>   "Good." Ami says, voice chill. "They are effective, but they must be brought to understand order," Her fist curls, "They delivered me unto Baator, but understand not a lesson of it. This slaughter here is wasteful and pathetic! What good is a kingdom of bloated bodies? This is no military victory!"
Oct 19 22:20:36 <Knight>   "Their goal may not be the subjugation of the people here," replies Knight.
Oct 19 22:21:22 <Kotono>   "Chaotic wastefulness. Slaughter the weak and enslave the strong," Ami's fist balls up, "Nothing but waste."
Oct 19 22:24:33 *   Kamvakua eyes Ami, but...doesn't bite the argument, crouching beside a tree to meditate.
Oct 19 22:24:57 <Knight>   "A slave is useless if more problems are created in controlling him than his utility can solve. That, as ever, will be the weakness of tyrants. People are naturally inclined to fight against what they see as oppression."
Oct 19 22:26:50 *   Merc is now known as Merc-zzz
Oct 19 22:27:09 <Kotono>   "They will break. I am the property of the Warlord of Avernus," Ami bows her head deeply, "Who is the sublime property of the Ninth. All is the property of the Ninth; The King of Hell will break all of them. Hell is the correct order and the only source of true strenght!"
Oct 19 22:29:53 <Nikkolai>   "Oh, would you be *quiet*!" Nikkolai hisses in an irritated manner. "I don't give a rat's carcass who you belong to and who has the most order or whatever. You'll be in a fight soon enough. I've had enough of your brainwashed blathering. Your sister is a saint for tolerating it."
Oct 19 22:31:49 <Kotono>   "It is the truth," Ami's voice is a whipcrack of contempt, "If you doubt Hell's order, I will be happy to remind you of it at any time." At this she grasps her halberd, "For your enlightenment."
Oct 19 22:32:40 <Knight>   "I will not tolerate infighting within our ranks," warns Knight, raising her voice. "Relying on your blade here will get you nowhere."
Oct 19 22:33:31 <Nikkolai>   "Are you so undisciplined that you incite fights amongst the ranks before a battle or a mission? Pray, take your childish bullying somewhere else." Nikkolai lets a little of his old anger and fire shine through his pale, dead eyes.
Oct 19 22:34:09 <Kotono>   Ami glares at Nikkolai, but does not respond. As she stews in this, Mari returns!
Oct 19 22:34:23 <Kamvakua>   "Welcome back, Mari."
Oct 19 22:37:13 *   Mari looks around the group, getting the impression she just missed something, and shrugs. "No obvious guards. No one patrolling the grounds that I saw, or watching from the roof. I saw a flash of red from an upper window--third floor--so I figure that might be some cultist's armor."
Oct 19 22:37:13 <Knight>   "What have you discovered?"
Oct 19 22:37:44 <Knight>   "It's likely they don't expect any interference. What watch they have would be small..."
Oct 19 22:38:07 <Kamvakua>   "Anything going on with the ground floor?"
Oct 19 22:38:20 <Nikkolai>   "Why is it always the room or floor furthest the exit?" Nikkolai sighs. "I hope Adail will have some luck finding us a discrete entrance."
Oct 19 22:38:54 <Mari>   "That or they're trying hard to make the place look abandoned. There was a locked up stable around the right side of the compound. Could be a way in, but I didn't try getting closer because there were a couple dead horses nearby. Surrounded by dead flies. This is a brutal plague if even the vermin's dying off."
Oct 19 22:39:43 <Nikkolai>   "...if Adail can find no prisoners, perhaps we could simply smoke them out?" Nikkolai suggests. "We could pick them off one by one at our leisure."
Oct 19 22:40:19 <Kamvakua>   "They might be staying up there in order to have anyone who comes from go through diseased areas.  Why risk yourself when you have such a wall of spikes ready?"
Oct 19 22:40:36 <Knight>   "We need to ascertain their strength as well. But I agree, we should force them to dance to our tune."
Oct 19 22:41:06 <Kamvakua>   "If they can escape by teleport, then we'd lose them all if so...but it might be worth knowing that and a few fires may draw them out."
Oct 19 22:41:39 <Nikkolai>   "Smoke would add to their confusion and weaken them. This saves us the messy business of forcing ourselves into unknown territory."
Oct 19 22:41:56 <Mari>   "One fire could be viewed as an accident. If you want to stir them up, maybe get them outside? More than would be suspicious for sure, though."
Oct 19 22:42:10 <Knight>   "We must surround the building and be prepared to take them regardless of which exit they use."
Oct 19 22:42:25 <Knight>   She frowns. "There aren't enough of us to do that."
Oct 19 22:42:45 <Mari>   "I'm pretty good at climbing. I could get up top, drop a rope for everyone else?"
Oct 19 22:43:16 <Nikkolai>   "We can simply cover the obvious exits, if we must. No one would think to use a side exit in the event of a fire. Their thinking would be to simply get out as easily as possible."
Oct 19 22:43:28 <Kamvakua>   "...Why not attack from the roof?" Kamvakua wondered.
Oct 19 22:43:55 <Knight>   "Or Nikkolai could cast Fly a few times."
Oct 19 22:44:01 <Nikkolai>   "....I could cast Fly on all of us." Nikkolai smacks himself on the forehead.
Oct 19 22:44:09 <Nikkolai>   "Why didn't I think of that before?"
Oct 19 22:47:08 <Knight>   "Are Yugoloths resistanct to fire, in general?"
Oct 19 22:48:17 <Kotono>   To this Ami looks up, "Resistant, but not immune."
Oct 19 22:54:44 <Kotono>   AS the party chat sand ponders, Adail returns!
Oct 19 22:55:31 <Knight>   "Adail. What have you discovered?" repeats Knight, turning to the brave musteval.
Oct 19 22:56:19 *   Adail takes a moment to brush off the loose soil clinging to him, then dispels the illusion so they aren't getting a report from a bipedal talking badger, "Well, there's a secondary building inside an iron fence in the back. And underneath that is a cellar. Magic on the cellar access, and solid stone ceiling, walls and floor. I couldn't get in at all."
Oct 19 22:57:08 <Mari>   "Something or someone important down there, you figure?"
Oct 19 22:57:17 <Adail>   "Other then that, nothing of note besides a dead body in the pond out front and some dead horses, with the only flies...or really insects of any kind I've seen at all on them."
Oct 19 22:57:26 <Knight>   "It's clear our opponents are keeping something important there, then," replies Knight. "Mari reported that she saw a flash of red in the upper floor. Our options, then, are to either snatch him away and make a withdrawl, or attempt to seize the property and discover their secrets."
Oct 19 22:58:07 <Adail>   "Hmm. Should we perhaps attempt both? Two teams? Or do you think splitting up would be too risky here?"
Oct 19 22:58:59 <Knight>   Knight shakes her head. "I would consider deatching one person to investigate the house, but we should stick together. It's not certain how many soldiers the enemy has at his disposal."
Oct 19 22:59:23 <Kamvakua>   "If we crush them all, we can take both objectives.  We should see what is down there though.  This manor is out of the way.  It doesn't seem to have any strategic benefit to holding it.  Perhaps the real answer is down there."