It is a triumphant Alicia who emerges with the Warrior's Spelltome. Another step forward, another wrong righted. As she strides forward, "Sister!" Jessica approaches as you emerge from your study, "With Marie busy elsewhere, I'm handling much of the intelligence work, and there's a few things that need your attention."
"Oh, thank you Jessica," Alicia says, pleased to see her sister volunteering extra responsibility. "Come in then, lets sit down and you can tell me about it?" she about turns back into her study so they can get comfortable for news to be passed on.
"First of all, the Cauldron and Celestia have moved against the efreet over slavery. It's ugly, though Romiel has informed us there's diplomacy in the welling. The efreet also launched counter attacks and reprisals, though for the moment it's not bubbling over into a general conflict," Jessica begins with.
Alicia nods as she sits down again facing Jessica. "Antenora was going to be involved in that before her ascension. Seira hasn't asked for aid beyond that, and we don't really have much spare capacity to help between our other commitments. If needed we'll help how we can, though."
A nod to that, "That's my own thought, sister. Secondly, Oberuth rounded up and routed a Sharran scheme involving an attack to destroy Chyral. I've heard he's been more vigorous than he has been in a decade, in spite of only spending a few hours there a day. According to Eudard, he's spending as much time as he can spare in the Deep Ethereal."
"To destroy Chyral? Do you have any details on how?" Alicia asks, a bit surprised at that one.
"Eudard didn't go into details," Jessica admits, "It wasn't a long conversation, sister. I can get better information if you'd like me to investigate."
"Mmm... no," she shakes her head. "If it's been handled then it's been handled. No need to spend time going over what's already sorted. Anything else new, then?"
"Yes, one more thing," Jessica says, "Sister..." A pause here, "I'm so strong now. So are you. What do you do with the power to change Creation?"
"What do you to with the power to change a town, or a city, or a nation?" Alicia asks right back. "You make it better. As much as we love Creation, it's riddled with flaws and threats. People just getting by who could perhaps do so much more if they had the right inspiration and guidance. It's up to us to give them that, and protect them so they can flourish and make their own changes at those lower scales. Everything's linked Jessica - from the humble mother who raises her son with an understanding of virtue so he grows up to be a world-walking champion, to the downtrodden woman saved by that champion who becomes a zealous leader who's words move nations, the boy in that nation who would have died young in the mines as a slave but instead was given his freedom and becomes a scholar who's discoveries make life easier for millions..."
She trails off her chain of examples and looks back at her sister. "Any pebble can start an avalanche, but it has no idea where it'll end up. You're a bigger rock so you're better able to see which part of the mountain to aim for, but you're still at the mercy of how all those disparate pebbles and boulders and rocks interact together down the slope."
"So in the end, it's a question of aim and persistence, and do enough good and more good will follow in your wake?" Jessica asks.
"That's how I see it," Alicia nods. "Ultimately you're just one person. You could say I'm two people because I have an avatar, but still... Creation's so vast that any one individual's reach, no matter how strong, is almost irrelevant. It's only by influencing others that you can really change Creation."
Jessica's eyes open wide at that, silence. Dead silence. "I think I grasped something important, sister."
"Well I'm always on hand for dispensing profound insights to you, sister," Alicia returns amiably. "But please, share your thoughts!"
"You sit atop a great realm, where your reach extends countless times over. You control your own storm of pebbles going down hill now, sister. So do all of the divine." Jessica says, "You make up for that by having so many follow you willingly. Even if only one person can do so much, others inspired or bound to them can do more."
"It's the same for any leader, divine or otherwise, but yes," Alicia confirms. "Even if few can match my personal power, numbers and time add up to far more than I could do alone. And it works the other way too - their worship, their efforts, strengthen me so that I can then leverage more strength to our shared cause. Unity of purpose, that's the key. That's where the Answer that Creation is built to find will be discovered."
You feel it more than you hear Jessica's reply - a connection between the two of you, strong and vibrant.
Go check the node post, Alicia. You got this one super quickly and early, you nailed your responses here out of the park.
"Ah, did you feel that?" Alicia asks. "It's like before, after we fought off that attack on Sylica..." she peers at Jessica intently. "Curious, isn't it?"
Atop Jessica's hand it forms - a nearly invisible series of black wires, forming a loose tiara of sorts. It sits there, only visible in the dimmest, most faintest way. Jessica reaches up and touches it gingerly, "Again it happens," Jessica says, "Whomever this is, they agree this is what must be done."
Alicia's eyes glow faint blue as she looks at the newly formed tiara now. "They're not sparing with the gifts either."
[19:45] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+45+15 spellcraft divine insight
[19:45] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 1d20+45+15 spellcraft divine insight --> [ 1d20=19 ]{79}
Not just to identify it but also to figure out how it just appeared out of nowhere like that.
It simply did. It is so it was, an impossibility that is yet real.
"We're really going to have to face her, Alicia, and we're going to need all of this and more to have a prayer," Jessica reaches up, touching her new tiara, eyes rolling up to try and look at it.
"No one ever said it was going to be easy, sister," Alicia says wryly, getting up and going to open a nearby cabinet, pulling out a hand mirror which she offers to Jessica so she can examine her new headpiece. "It looks good on you."
Jessica takes it, a wing twitching as she examines it. "It does. I like the style. It makes an impact without being too obvious and staying pretty. It's mysterious, don't you think?"
"Subtle," Alicia agrees. "It hints at hidden depths."
"Beautiful," Jessica sighs fondly, "Whomever this is also has a grasp of fashion. I would not expect that."
"Something to ask them about if we ever get a face to face meeting," Alicia muses, sitting back down. "I don't doubt they're old and wise enough to have picked up a great many skills."
"For now," Jessica rises, "I need to see about moving some pebbles, sister."
"Good luck then. And remember you can ask anyone here for help if you need it," she encourages.
Going off to work on the Icon next, then?
Yeah, I'll ask Syala if she has any ideas first. Because she's chaotic.
You meet with Syala as she stands before an apple tree. The apples turn from red to blue as she watches, gaze intent on them. Then the shift to orange, becoming more oblong.
"What are you doing?" Alicia asks bluntly, looking at the strange fruit.
"Exploring new fruits," Syala says, not looking back. The apples twist back into apples, one falling off the tree and flying over to you. "Try that one."
Alicia catches the apple and holds it up with a smile. "Got permission before trying this one at least," she says before bringing it to her mouth and taking a big bite.
It tastes like sausages with a hint of sweetness, crisp to the bite.
"Experimenting with me worked out so well for you, remember." Syala says, "How is it? Antenora hated it and Latha liked it."
Alicia's brow wrinkles and she shakes her head. "Eurgh, no. No thank you," she says, lips pursed. "My brain was expecting something sweet, so the savouriness did not go down well. Texture's all wrong for that sort of meaty flavour, too."
Syala wrinkles her nose, the tree and apple gone. "So how did your book turn out?"
"Quite well, it didn't have so much for me to learn - I can cast spells in heavier armour now but I wouldn't want to wear something that limited my mobility anyway," Alicia answers. "It'll be more useful to others, especially since I added my own insights. Just have to wait until I can pick someone worthy to bear it. But actually I was thinking about that Icon of Sensations we took from Jade. There's more to it we haven't grasped, we just need something that can help us with shaping and controlling chaos. I was wondering if you had any ideas before I started consulting elsewhere."
"I've been busy," Syala admits, "But no time like now to try."
"If you have any ideas on leads I'm happy to try chasing them down," Alicia prods. "My other thought was to have Ebony ask Baleruk for us."
"Baleruk," Syala says, "We should meet him sooner or later anyway, and he may more insights into chaos than either of us."
"Lets have our avatars visit Aurora tomorrow then?" Alicia says. "Mine's fairly tapped out after today's excursions - even if I don't expect trouble, no sense being too carefree with it."
Anything else to do before that?
Unless something happens to us, nope!
Thus the two of you reach Aurora. Ebony awaits just outside, kneeling as you approach. "I am here to serve," she invites, as Aurora bustles within, warriors training and other such things going on. You spy Hanna working, driving several groups to practice against one another.
"Thank you Ebony, you may rise," Alicia bids, looking over the courtyard of the fortress ahead. "Aurora looks as busy as ever... we're here to meet with Baleruk and seek his expertise on matter of Chaos, if you could escort us to him?"
"Of course, follow me." Ebony leads the two of you along.
Baleruk is in his lair, lying on a great pile of coins. He watches the three of you as you enter and bellows, "AT LAST, THE HOUR IS AT HAND!"
"Baleruk," Ebony says calmly, "I do not believe introductions are needed."
"Hello Baleruk, it is good to finally meet face to face," Alicia says, their paths not having crossed either on Benfal or Lifasa when they both fought to save those worlds. "Syala and I have need of your unique expertise."
Baleruk looms. He comes in close, his head dominating the view, a single eye as large as you are. It views you intensely, unblinkingly. "Then the mighty Baleruk shall deign to add you. Ask what troubles you."
She stands there unmoving as the huge dragon looms over her, somewhat tempted to go big herself but resisting the urge. She's here to ask a favour after all, so no reason to play at one upping the dragon.
Alicia takes a small black handkerchief out of a pouch on her belt, which she then unfurls to reveal it as a portable hole. Reaching inside she draws out a golden statue of a woman, six feet tall and of sensual proportions standing atop a jagged mound of pink crystal.
"This is the Icon of Sensations," she explains to Baleruk, pulling the hole away to set the icon down, all of them currently close enough to 'benefit' from the enhancement to the senses that it bestows. "An artifact of chaos, it enhances one's senses at the basest level, potentially over a wide area to an extreme degree, though I've limited that for the moment to its minimum. But I'm certain far more magic lurks in it, magic that an anarch and scholar of Chaos such as yourself would have an easier time discovering."
"We thought it best to go to an expert first," Syala says, "I am chaos, but never as deeply into it as you would be."
Baleruk sniffs the Icon several times, then his tongue darts out. He licks it once, twice, thrice. Little rainbows trickle down its form, cascading against the pink crystal. "The Icon is an anarch," he declares, voice a soft whisper. "It can awaken the same power in others, the power to control chaos."
Syala has a hand on her hip, a semi frown forming on her face. "An object can be an anarch?"
"Anything can," Baleruk declares, "Through an object will become a living thing should it succeed in doing so, in some manner and some fashion. This has the most rudimentary sense of self. It did not become one itself, it was forced into being an anarch. A great scion of chaos made this."
"It was made by a forgotten succubus queen - likely one who fell by the wayside in Malcanthet's ascendance," Alicia says, looking a bit nonplussed as slobbery dragon tongue rolls over that anatomically correct golden statuary.
"So you're saying this can turn anyone into an anarch, and possibly become awakened, even animate, in its own right?" she clarifies what she's just been told, since it's pretty out there.
In your mind, 'I swear, if that dragon gets the Icon pregnant somehow...' Syala sends, a sensation of repressed mirth carried along with it.
"Yes." Baleruk says, "If you guide it enough." His eye turns to the statue, "It is against common wisdom and knowledge, but you can make someone an anarch. It is the realm of the greatest of anarchs, such as the one shrouded in dungeons and mazes."
'I almost want to see how it would turn out when you put it like that...' Alicia sends back to Syala, a feeling of being unable to tear one's eyes away from a disaster unfolding.
"But then how would one guide an inanimate statue? How close is its sense of self to expressing?" she asks Baleruk aloud.
"With pure will and focus," Baleruk says, "Once you have grasped it and know what you want it to do. It is not close to expressing, it is primitive, enough to be an anarch and little else."
"And given how old it is I don't think it'll attain sapience on its own any time soon," Alicia hums, looking at it. "I wonder what sort of person it would be, though... I suppose it depends on who helped it to awaken?"
"Yesssss...." Baleruk hisses, eyeing the statue anew.
Bile fascination or not, if this statue is going to be awakened it's going to be under her own controlled conditions!
"Well, I think that's clarified things a great deal," she unfurls her portable hole anew and drops the icon within. "Thank you for your expertise, Baleruk. If either of us can repay the favour one day, do let us know through Ebony."
"It will be remembered," Baleruk agrees softly, head withdrawing back.
"Farewell then," she rolls up the portable hole and stows it again, nodding to Ebony as she and Syala can then be escorted back out again. "So, we now have the means to make others into anarchs? It makes me wonder why Malcanthet wasn't exploiting that ability."
"She may not have known," Syala supposes aloud, gaze ahead as you walk out of Aurora. She doesn't reply until you're beyond the gates, "I am as much a creature of Chaos as she is and I didn't know, either."
Alicia opens a gate to return to Sylica, before teleporting to the cave they'd been keeping the idol in. "I suppose it's possible," she says as she opens her portable hole to take itt back out again. "Not as if we can just ask her ourselves after all."
"We could," Syala says, "But there's no sense in provoking her over it, or giving her a clue if she doesn't have one. Though I do find the idea of taunting her rather appealing."
"It would just make her that more eager to take it back from us," Alicia shakes her head. "Anyway, let me swap..." she vanishes to be smoothly replaced by the incoming teleport of actual Alicia. "Since Baleruk said it requires pure will and focus to use the icon it requires a personal touch rather than an avatar. Want to try?"
"We can try together. One of chaos and one who is of magic should suffice," Syala takes your hand in her own, "Together." She flashes you a smile at that, "All of our best work happens that way, love."
Alicia takes Syala's hand and laces their fingers together, smiling back. "Well if you put it like that we'd better not mess up." Magic flows through her to bolster her will as she approaches the icon, taking one of its immobile golden hands in her free hand.
Good hope and Improvisation both alter realitied. That's +2 and +15 to my next ability check.
"Lets focus on making ourselves anarchs first," she says, closing her eyes and beginning to exert her will. Even if she doesn't go to Limbo often, it's still a useful skill to have!
Syala does the same, gathering power to herself.
The two of you approach the icon as Syala takes the other hand, your powers...!!!
Cha checks both of you. Syala gets a +2 circumstance bonus for having chaotic alignment, +1 more for having access for the chaos domain and +5 more for having the actual chaos domain as a deific domain for a total of +8. You get a +3 circumstance bonus for having the magic domain.
[16:47] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+14+3+2+15
[16:47] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 1d20+14+3+2+15 --> [ 1d20=4 ]{38}
> roll 1d20+36 Alicia
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+36 Alicia --> [ 1d20=20 ]{56}
> OOC: Er, Syala.
You feel it, you feel it anew. It's the simplest thing - a small spark in yourselves, a change deep, profound and yet decidedly familiar. A barrier adjusted slightly, the ability to reach out to something morphic and more than familiar to you. After all, it's much of what you do to Sylica when you impose your will on your realm. On a different level, on a lesser level, akin to pressing a finger into soft clay versus pure will molding diamond, but still similar.
Taken from Ithea's sheet, is this accurate?
Anarch (Ex): You are naturally talented at controlling Limbo. Your creations can be far more complex than normal and you gain a +8 competence bonus to wisdom checks to control Limbo.
"Ah," Alicia says aloud. "That was surprisingly simple, wasn't it?"
Not quite, more's incoming.
"As simple as what we've done since we ascended," Syala says, waving a hand to make a big and silvery fish appear, which flies off into the air, ignoring gravity and the lack of water. "You noticed that?"
What's a big and silvery?
Fish. It's fixed, lost a word in editing.
"Being an anarch isn't as meaningful for a deity," she agrees, watching the fish as it floats around. "But I think there's synergy too, that it'll make maintaining our own realm simpler."
"True," Syala says, "It also makes me wonder if there's some sort of link." This time an apple-fish appears, the red of a ripe apple and yet swimming along like the last. "We know it's now possible to rise through one's own ability, if done properly. Is all of this potential sleeping within us?"
"If so then it would give Limbo greater cosmological significance. A training ground for divinity?" Alicia asks, before shaking her head. "But then why don't we see more gods emerging from there?"
"It would give Limbo a purpose," Syala corrects, "Beyond the chaos spawn that infest it. No, there must be something more, something limiting. Something limited there."
"This sort of conversation really needs Marie and Antenora's perspective," Alicia says dryly. "Mystra showed me her beginning recently, when the Incarnation of Law showed her all the planes she could call home before she chose Elysium. Limbo was shown to her as a place of perfect chaos, where even now all is unaccountable. So it follows that Limbo should be a place where anything is possible?"
"They are our main option for this sort of speculation," Syala agrees, "The Incarnations created us with the potential to rise this far and higher yet."
"Speaking of potential..." Alicia's eyes turn to the icon again. "Baleruk did say its rudimentary sense of self could be awakened further."
At this Syala merely asks, "Should we? We could, but should we?"
"It's not innately evil," Alicia points out. "Chaotic yes, and likely to be obsessed with physical sensation... but still, a life and worth guiding and protecting. Mmm... not yet perhaps. Once Marie has finished her current mission, so we'll have an extra hand around to help teach."
With a sidelong look at that, "Training wheels for her as well? I know Antenora's wanted a child."
"I hadn't so much thought of it like that," she shakes her head. "Just that she'll be a relatable chaotic influence for whatever mind arises out of the icon, and thus better able to serve as a role model."
A pause before she says, "Good idea," Syala finally replies, "Mmm. All these heavy, serious deific things always leave me feeling twitchy. Let's go wrestle." With an offered hand out, "Shall we, my lady?"
"Oh yes, I need to keep my unarmed skills sharp," she says with a warm smile, taking Syala's hand.
Sometime later you are soaking after a long wrestling business. Part of you deals with Syala's gentle teasing in the bath while the rest of you is lost in what you are.
A sensation. An ill omen settles over your church in Parsifal, south of Balmuria. An omen that smells of ozone, of crackling lightning.
A holy wanderer comes to the Astral. Something looms, waiting for him.
One of the priests of your temple in Balmuria, Alec, prepares a special offering but slips into jealousy of others. Hating those who serve with them, those who get in his way of your approval.
Oh, not shocker lizards surely?
Well, she'll kill two lizards with one stone in that case. Alec gets a prophetic dream/warning of attempting to bring his offering to her altar, not the one he'd recognise in Balmuria but the one in Parsifal if he happens to recognise it. Except he finds the temple empty of all but beady-eyed shocker lizards, watching as he places the offering before the church becomes an electrical maelstrom and he's returned to wakefulness.
Hopefully he'll also draw some conclusions about strength in numbers and having to rely on others rather than isolating himself with jealousy. The shocker lizards have that part right at least!
Also anyone praying for spells in Parsifal she'll give them a few resist energies in place of other spells she deems disposable for the moment.
As for the holy wanderer on the astral, she looks a little bit closer to see exactly what's looming there.
A dark thing - an aberration, a twisted thing. An aboleth in particular, looming and waiting for him.
Well if that holy wanderer isn't already on guard she'll give them a prickling sense of unease like the hairs on the back of their neck standing up. How they respond to that is up to them.
Done and done. You focus back as Syala says, "...and once that is popped, it'll be a nursery. I've always thought that when one of us has children the other two will follow. We're too tightly linked."
Oh, and from the sunshine getting brighter, Latha's incoming. The barest effort confirms it, coming into your rocky spring hideaway from above.
"Probably. I know Marie wanted to wait until she was promoted, so now that's out of the way... well, they'll probably give Antenora time to settle into her divinity but I don't think they'll wait too long," Alicia says, content to wait for Latha to show up as she relaxes in the steamy mineral water opposite Syala, surrounded by smooth and rounded rock.
"What a time to think about - oh, Latha," Syala looks up as Latha descends, landing just before the edge of the pool.
"Alicia, Syala," Latha bows and then quietly disrobes, slipping into the waters. Once she's in and next to you she speaks. "I wished to ask you how we are going on the other groups spoken of besides ourselves and Seira's group."
By the way, is there a stat description for our anarch abilities to add to our sheets now?
"None have made themselves known to us," Alicia answers, shaking her head at Latha's query.
Yes, whoops.
Anarch (Ex)
You are now talented at controlling limbo. You may treat an area of up to one mile per divine rank as if being your divine realm for the sake of controlling it and creating things there.
Latha closes her eyes and exhales, "Troubling. I must endure. In that case, I ask permission to take leave and investigate this personally."
"Do you have any leads to investigate?" Alicia asks, water sloshing as she sits up straighter. "We haven't heard of any other groups causing trouble for Shar beyond the ordinary through any of our resources or contacts. And without that I think you going off on a wild goose chase wouldn't be the best use of your skills - not to mention you're a high profile target if travelling alone."
"I'm going to go visit safe realms first - The Cauldron, Celestia, the House of Nature," Latha says, "I should be fine there, though you are right that I shouldn't travel alone in such dangerous times."
"We're already stretched thin right now as it is," Alicia says, thinking Latha isn't being very considerate with her timing on this. She weighs up asking Antenora or Jessica going with her, either of which will leave them very short-handed here, or recalling Ebony from Aurora yet again which doesn't sit well with her. "How long do you intend to go searching for?"
At that Syala cuts in, "Latha," she says, gently, "I'm going to do what Alicia doesn't have the heart to do: Order you stay here. We need you right now, and going two or more short leaves us dangerously thin. This is the sort of thing we have agents for."
Alicia sighs a little. "I don't want to stand in your way if you deem it important Latha," she says, "But between needing to be ready for attacks from Shar or Malcanthet or Hell, and needing to respond to any information Marie finds or helping Seira if she gets attacked, the timing isn't ideal. If we had a concrete lead to follow it would be one thing, but just blindly asking around the planes is the sort of thing you could be busy at for a very long time."
Latha takes that all in calmly, "Then I yield to your logic," she says, "I only ask that you continue to try and find any information on them you can, then."
"While our army is preparing for the expedition to Daun we do have most of our intelligence focused towards Shar. If anyone else starts striking against her, we should be among the first to hear about it," Alicia reassures Latha. "Unfortunately we don't have anything more than that to go on. If the voice that spoke to us at al-Sihal wanted us to know more it would have told us."
"I have heard rumblings of Celestia striking at Shar," Latha admits, "One of the reasons I wanted to go there."
"That's not really a change of pace though, Celestia has a well established emnity with Shar doesn't it?" Alicia asks. "What did you hear specifically?"
"Something about one of their nobles having a fight with Sharrans," Latha admits, "It's thin, but I would be derelict if I didn't investigate."
She closes her eyes a moment, considering before she opens them to look at Latha. "Well, I said it would be different if you had a lead. I don't think this is enough to justify your personal attention, but have someone under you follow up and try to find out a bit more."
"I will," Latha says, silent after a short time. The three of you soak in the warmth and steam, until, "Alicia?" Latha asks.
"Yes?" she prods her to say whatever's on her mind.
"With all that is happening, with all that can be and what will be?" Latha is silent a time, "Do you wonder if a higher power guided you to rescuing me from the Hall of the Vanquished, or to find and redeem Antenora?"
"No," Alicia shakes her head. "It's all just a chain of events. Seira and her friends released Zquujaj, he caused such chaos in Hell that Antenora fled to make herself a petty tyrant elsewhere, the trials of the God-King's prison brought us to the same place where she'd have been very easily killed if she'd been a bit slower in begging for mercy... then that led to me annoying Hell enough that they tried to buy Beth - Shar also made her own offer to Beth that she refused, you might not know. And that led to Beth and I raiding the Halls and you along with a handful of other celestials were convenient enough for us to liberate and escape with."
Looking over to Latha. "Higher powers like Mystra and Shar and Asmodeus all interfere with the rest of us, but they're at cross purposes and nothing's guaranteed. The whole point of Creation is to find an Answer the Incarnations couldn't. Having them guide it towards any kind of result would go against its purpose."
"I understand." Latha says, then softer, "Sometimes when I'm worried, I want to believe that. I want to believe that we are all guided for a better future, that everything has a point and a purpose."
"If that were the case it makes all the bad things that happen, the existence of Hell and the Abyss and all that lies between, all the more unconscionable," Alicia says, disliking such a mindset herself. "I may dislike how the Incarnations have gone about a great many things, but allowing us the free will to get on with things ourselves I won't fault them on. Any better future we'll build from our own efforts, out of our own dreams."
"We have freedom," Syala adds, putting an arm around Alicia. Her lights are off for once, the warmth of the water the only thing clothing her. "Our own failings and our own victories are ours and ours alone in the end. Others support us and guide us, but we choose our own path."
Latha sighs softly, slumping. "Yes," she says, "And yet...I find myself in a cold, lonely season now. I feel as if I should have found at least one group already. So much may ride on this and yet I still struggle."
That's remarkably dramatic from Latha! She's usually a lot steadier. "Have you been talking to Auril?" she asks, giving Latha a funny look. "In any case, whoever these others are... are they really worth getting so worried about if they're not actually doing anything? We have strong friends and allies of our own, forged through our shared triumphs. Just because Empress Sulia for instance isn't one of the five, does that make her less worthy of regard?" She scoots over a bit towards Syala as her arm goes around her.
Latha rests on you, silent as you talk. She's warm and pleasant to the touch, "I feel this is important, Alicia. That it's something I need to do. I mean no disrespect about the others or ourselves, just that this is not to be neglected."
Do you mean Syala rests on you?
"Well, I don't want to discount your feelings. Like I said, see what you can dig up through intermediaries and if something more solid manifests we can take direct action," she reiterates.
No, you put an arm around her, after all.
"Thank you," Latha says, "Ah. Worrying like a lantern archon waiting for a hound archon to come guide them. I feel so childish."
No, Syala put her arm around me and then I moved closer to Syala in response. No one's touching Latha!
"You do seem rather... needy for direction, today," Alicia agrees with Latha's appraisal. "I'm sure though, if these others we've been told exist are to be true allies against Shar then they'll make themselves spectacularly known before long."
Oooh, I completely misunderstood your line for some reason. Dur. Disregard Latha doing that then.
"The hesitation says much," Latha remarks with a rueful smile, "Your chastisement is understood, Alicia."
"Latha," Syala keeps you close, "Everyone has days where they feel the need for support. Come to us before that happens, we're always here if you need to talk or even get a hug."
"We are," Alicia seconds, her free arm spreading out in invitation.
Now I can put an arm around her!
Latha accepts that arm and rests against you. "Thank you," she murmurs, resting.
I've got nothing else to really say here, so feel free to move us along to something happening or Marie finding a lead.
Sure. For reference, gimme a Diplo check for Marie.
Reminder of her methodology:
Step 1: Gather information about the best rich people taverns and hangouts. She uses the epic 'rouse suspicion' ability to be pretty obvious about this, giving her a +20 bonus to her check. She takes 10 for 78.
Step 1a: Gather information about Sharran activity concurrently with the previous action. She uses the epic 'avoid suspicion' ability to fly completely under the radar while doing this, taking a -20 penalty to her check. She takes 10 for 38.
Step 2: Spend several evenings performing at places highlighted to her in step 1. She sings and dances while intentionally limiting her abilities - she could hit DC 58 by taking 10 but she'll aim to hit DC 25 for a memorable performance.
Step 2a: Gather information about Sharran activity while performing at these places. Again she'll take a -20 penalty to her check to avoid rousing suspicion, but she'll also get Alicia to buff her with heroism for 5 hours ahead of each evening, letting her hit DC 40.
Step 3: Explore town during mornings after performances looking for any evidence of Sharran activity - symbols, omens, superstitions. She'll take 10 for 56 on perception and 10 for 56 on knowledge: religion as far as spotting physical signs, and 10 for 56 on sense motive for spotting suspicious people.
Step 4: Move to next town either by using Seira's teleport network (preferred if available), or joining up with a caravan. If none are available she'll gather information to find reliable adventurers/bodyguards and take 10 for 58 and hire said guards with a portion of her proceeds from performing to escort her to the next town
Unmodified diplo check for reference:
[17:20] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+48
[17:20] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 59 > [d20=11]
Wetwind Harbor is a busy sort of place. Sailors, more than ever, demand entertainment. From sailors comes prosperity and trade, and with that, people to spend money. In these Marie makes her days and listens. It's about a week into her efforts when she's sitting down after a song, sipping some honeyed mead.
"Darling," The young man who comes up is well dressed and dark skinned, bringing you another mead. Sayal, one of the assistants of the owner. "Great work there. If it wasn't for this ghastly rumor doing the rounds, we'd be on cloud seven today!"
"Ah, thank you Sayal my throat is parched!" Honey Belle gasps in dramatic fashion, taking her drink and having a sip. "What sort of ghastly rumour is that? If people's spirits need improving I'll have to work on a properly uplifting routine!"
"Old Jaffar's caravan was wiped out!" A soft whisper at that, "Only a single survivor made it back, and he's more dead than alive."
"Oh, how horrifying!" she gasps, a hand going to her cheek. "What route was that caravan on? This sounds less rumour and more dire news, darling!"
"Southern bound to head east to Victoria," Sayal shakes his head, "Tragic. I hear a sandstorm blew them off course, or that a monster attacked them. Or..." Lowering his voice, "I heard they saw the symbol of the Sharrans in place of the moon and were driven to suicide."
"How ghastly!" she says, looking queasy. "Either one, really. All three options came from the same solitary survivor?"
"Well, different people say different things," Sayal admits, "I haven't talked to the survivor personally."
"Sounds like they must have quite a tale to tell. Did anyone give them magical healing?" she asks, pausing for a sip of her mead.
"I don't know," Sayal admits, "You'd have to go find out, Darling." Shaking his head and getting up, "Just dreadful!"
"Dreadful," she seconds, shaking her head and looking at her mug. "It's enough to put a girl off her drink."
Rising up she settles her tab first before leaving the establishment for some fresh air... and instead trying to find the survivor of Old Jaffar's caravan!
Using gather information with the 'avoid suspicion' -20 mod and taking 10 for 38.
There's rumor as the morning wears into afternoon, but sorting through it? You hear he's in a local Temple of Kossuth, a small organization that mostly keeps to themselves here. The temple is essentially a rented two story building, nothing too special there from what you hear. They only came here about a year or so ago.
Then that's where special agent Honey Belle goes next!
Actually is there any sort of policy for proxies visiting the churches of other deities? Even if she's incognito, her borrowed divine spark is probably the sort of thing that Kossuth would notice.
In short: Be polite, stop just outside and give the deity a chance to observe and make their will known. Alternately, the deity in question can just contact them and cut out the middleman.
That being the case she prays to her own boss!
Hearing said prayer, Alicia contacts Kossuth directly.
Kossuth, my proxy Marielle will be calling upon your temple in Wetwind Harbour while wearing the guise of a mortal entertainer. She has business with one who sought treatment there after his caravan was annihilated, and means no harm.
So be it. She may do so.
After receiving the all clear from Alicia, agent Honey Belle continues on to visit this humble temple to the Firelord!
It is indeed a two story building, painted white and with the symbol of Kossuth added, painted on. A single guard stands outside, a bare chested man of muscle with just a bit too much fat over it. He looks on at you, a short sword on his belt, "Who seeks entrance to the abode of the Lord of Flames?"
"Good afternoon, my name's Honey, I'm a travelling entertainer and collector of stories," she answers. "I heard the last survivor of a caravan destroyed on the road to Victoria was here. If they're well enough for visitors I'd like to see them."
"He is," The man says, "But he is not taking visitors."
"Why not?" she asks. "Was what happened so traumatic he hasn't recovered from it?"
The guard nods quickly, "Yes, very traumatic. "
"Do you know what happened, then?" she leans a bit closer, batting her eyelashes. "I heard it was a giant monster out of the desert that attacked them!"
Diplo here, +2 bonus.
[16:31] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+50 diplomacy
[16:31] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 1d20+50 diplomacy --> [ 1d20=13 ]{63}
That lean in staggers the guard and the bat of your eyelashes is a total rout. He manages to get out, "I h-heard that too, but I don't know. He hasn't been awake enough to talk about what happened yet. He's been healed, but his body is slow in stirring."
"Oh my!" she gasps. "Cursed wounds? What sort of injuries did he have, and how did he even make it into town with them, then?"
"I haven't seen them myself, but I hear claw and bite wounds," The guard whispers back. "Very savage."
Well that does sound more like wild animals or monsters than a crazy Sharran thing. Though Sharrans can train animals or monsters!
"I see... if there's dangers on the roads I really want to know more about it. When he's feeling better can you tell him that I'd appreciate him dropping by for a chat? I can pay for his trouble - and yours," she hands the man a gold coin with the sultan's face on it. "My name's Honey Belle, I'm staying at the Silver Horn inn."
The coin vanishes fast.
"I'll make sure he knows, ma'am," The guard says quickly.
"Thanks, I appreciate it!" she winks before heading off. Once back at her inn however she goes to her room and then adopts her alternate form of a ball of kaleidoscopic light, clothes falling to the floor where she stood. Shrinking down to the size of a marble and then turning invisible, she floats through the wall and flits back across town to sneak into the temple of Kossuth to find this man with claw wounds!
Done and done. You slip right into the temple with ease. Inside you find the front dedicated to one great firepit where the brave worship before or even amid the flames. A gong rings from within the flames, causing more to come and pay homage to the burning blaze.
Invisible and incorporeal, Marie just flits from room to room until she finds a likely injured figure!
Easy enough. You find a small room where an older man rests - dark skinned, bandaged and sleeping away. His beard is mostly burnt off, only a few wisps of it remaining. His hair is long given to balding and grayness.
Any magic or evil around him?
Greater arcane sight and blessed sight go.
No magic, but the bandaged wounds radiate evil.
Any knowledge for what could leave evil wounds like that? Unless it's super vague like 'anything with an evil subtype'.
Marie isn't particularly skilled at healing, so before trying anything else she tries to look at the man's surface thoughts. He may be having relevant memories or be trapped in some sort of awful but informational nightmare after all.
DC 26 will on detect thoughts.
No check needed, this isn't unfamiliar to Marie.
Marie's pretty sure he's suffering from vile wounds.
His thoughts are a jumble. Dreams if you don't miss your guess, incoherent and disordered. How pleasant.
> roll 1d20+6
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+6 --> [ 1d20=15 ]{21}
Unfortunately Marie can't do a thing about vile wounds despite her myriad other talents. Still they should be trivial for even the most novice healer to take care of in an actual temple... is any part of this place consecrated?
Not on a glance.
Oh. She didn't need to get Alicia to ask her for permission after all. What kind of penny-ante temple is this?
Actually that's really suspicious.
She goes back down to that main foyer where everyone's paying homage to the flames. Any evil or magic here worth noting?
No evil besides one worshiper.
The flame has a simple spell to keep it burning without fuel - some sort of ritual. Even then it's incomplete, more able to extend how long it can go without fuel than anything else.
Well, Kossuth isn't particularly fussy about the morality of his worshippers, she knows that much. So there's nothing too telling here...
How authentic to Kossuth are the prayers and rituals happening here?
Taking 10 for 56 on knowledge: religion. Also 10 for 56 on sense motive in case anyone seems insincere in their devotions.
They're authentic.
On recalling, you do remember Kossuth is big on people improving themselves. Doing it from scratch, as it were.
But still consecrating the temple should be a daily act of veneration for any priest here!
Bit of a shame the guy ended up in this temple as opposed to pretty much any other one.
Oh well, she goes back up to his room and uses her heal spell-like on him. If he made it into town some of the injuries must be more mundane, and that'll clear them up enough for him to be mobile and coherent.
The non cursed injuries heal - minor ones, but enough to stir him. "Ah...ah..." he gasps, coughing as he awakens.
If they're on the level he'll be directed to her inn, so Marie lurks around as an inconspicuous invisible and nondetectable tiny ball of light to see if anyone comes by to tend to him and talk about things now he's up.
The man looks around in dull confusion, groaning as he sits up. He nearly doubles over but manages to fight past it and rise. As he does, the door opens and you hear, "He's awake!"
Marie continues to loiter!
Another local comes in, dressed in white and hurrying over. "Lie back down," he insists.
The wounded man groans, "Jaffar! Where is everyone? Are they alive? Old Jaffar got torn in half and then was whole, then torn apart again again and again!" Shaking violently at this, "It wouldn't stop! It wouldn't stop!"
Well that sounds grisly! Marie keeps on eavesdropping, since who knows if he might get waylaid on his way to meet up with the glamorous Honey Belle!
"Calm yourself, old man!" The other man says, but in vain. He's pushed aside, "Years! YEARS!" he bawls, shivering, "THEY WOULDN'T STOP! IT KEPT HAPPENING!"
The old man lunges for the shoved aside man in white - lunging for a dagger at his side, grabbing it and aiming it at his own bandaged chest. He...drops it after a moment and falls to his knees, crying. "They wouldn't stop..." he babbles, shaking.
That kind of torture does sound like Shar's style more than random monsters, though the desert can be home to strange and horrific things.
Having already used her sole heal spell on him she doesn't have anything else that can help him, at least magically. Though if he goes to stab himself again she'll definitely step in.
More men rush in, restraining him, getting him to the bed. In what is perhaps mercy, he is knocked or passes out by the time he's firmly put on the bed, restrained and tied to it.
For all her formidable arcane power, Marie finds herself missing the versatility of being able to cast a limited wish of her own every day that she enjoyed when she was a familiar rather than a proxy.
Actually that might make for a good custom proxy power rather than any of the SDAs, but that's for another day.
Not much she can really do as it is. She'll have another rifle through the man's surface thoughts but she isn't expecting to get anything too illuminating.
DC 26 if he's entitled to a fresh save. Or any save at all since he's unconscious.
At this point it's a melange of terrified thoughts, nothing but fragmented images.
Nothing much for it then. She has a peek over the thoughts of the men restraining him for any extra context they might have from when he came in, if they happen to be thinking about such things.
Same will save.
> roll 4#1d20 all need a 20 anyway
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 4#1d20 all need a 20 anyway --> [ 1d20=8 ]{8}, [ 1d20=16 ]{16}, [ 1d20=6 ]{6}, [ 1d20=8 ]{8}
Nothing relevant - just thinking about how to restrain him if this keeps up and about the strange things he was rambling about.
Oh well! She waits for them to leave in that case.
After about five minutes of making sure he's out and restrained, he's left alone - save for a single man, who pulls up a chair and watches him. The same man who first came into the room, rubbing his jaw and eyeing the old man.
And what's he thinking about?
He's thinking about what could have done this to the old man.
You and me both, buddy!
That's what Marie thinks to herself. Lacking anything else to do right now she keeps on monitoring his thoughts in case they cycle around to anything pertinent like how the old man got here or any other particular ravings he made.
d100, would you?
[17:12] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[17:12] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 1d100 --> [ 1d100=22 ]{22}
You begin to get it - feverish images of...something. Some great thing of darkness, twisted and eyeless. It strikes again, again and again, seeming to repeat over and over again.
Really what she needs to do is talk to him and find out where he was, and for that she needs him mentally stable... Marie prays to Alicia for a helping hand.
And Alicia creates a potion of heart's ease in Sylica which she gives to a lantern archon who is gated to the prime and then teleports to Honey Belle's room with the bottle perched on his orb-like body before carefully depositing it on her bed and teleporting back to the gate to return to Sylica.
Like clockwork, surely Antenora would approve.
Thus knowing things are in motion, Marie slips back out and returns to her inn to get dressed and resume her Honey Belle guise. Come nightfall she'll take a break from performing to infiltrate the temple once more and feed the old man that potion so he can hopefully tell her things.
Thus it is done. You find his room dark at night, the old man still fast asleep as Marie returns.
Unfortunately going incorporeal means she wouldn't be able to bring the potion along, so Marie is invisible and tiny but still a humanoid. One with clothes too, another unfortunate issue that can come from going incorporeal!
Using telekinesis to open the window and slip inside, she reverts to normal size, currently appearing as a dark-haired human woman, a hood over her head to better conceal her features, false as they may be. Unstopping the potion, she creeps over to the bed and opens his mouth to slowly empty it down his throat, lightly rubbing a finger over it to encourage swallowing.
Done. The man's features smooth over and grow placid once the potion is consumed.
Next she unties him before nudging him awake!
The man stirs and moans softly, from deep in his throat, "Ah...ah..." he slowly opens his eyes and looks at you, "What...what is this?"
"Peace," Marie says gently. "You're in Wetwind Harbour, you're safe. But I need to know what happened to you out in the desert before you made it back here."
"The caravan...did anyone else make it? I remember fleeing back, but I thought someone may have gotten away." The old man asks. "Did they?"
"If they did they didn't arrive in town with you," Marie shakes her head. "What happened?"
A moment of sorrow, a soft shudder before, "We came on...something. A sand storm blew us off course and we found ruins," he begins. "Ruins like nothing we had ever seen before."
Could be gnomish, she well knows the desert's full of those. "How far out from Wetwind was it, do you know?"
"Three days," The man says, "It's not right there. The sun rises and falls in moments, or doesn't move in other places. Domingan went into a room a young man and came out elderly. Jaffar....Old Jaffar was torn open and reverted, then again and again and again."
It's a good thing she still has her bracers from the Magus of Time's maze! They're in Sylica of course but she can get them easily enough.
"Were there any other people there? Or monsters?" she asks.
"Sometimes," A soft shudder, "Strange things. Lions like mountains. Scorpions even bigger, that seemed to be there and here at once."
"But nothing that talked?" she presses. "What was it that gave you those wounds?"
"One of the beasts," The old man replies, "It was suddenly just there, and I was wounded all over."
She nods to that. "What about the ruins? How much of them were above ground? What did they look like?"
"An old city of stone above the sands, revealed by the storm," The old man says, "A rich city. I saw gold and treasure, we all saw it, it drew us in. Left and forgotten there. Such treasure!"
Honestly it's not really germane to her mission, as interesting as it sounds. "Three days by caravan on the road from here to Victoria... and how long were you in the sandstorm before you found it?"
She can pass it up the chain to Alicia and she'll decide what to do, after all.
"Hours and...there was the man of iron watching it all. A man that was not a man, made of iron. He was always watching, but we could never find him."
Could be like Seira's friend Yandrazrt!
That name kind of sounds similar to someone else she remembers Seira talking about once actually. Yezrut? She wonders if they're related.
"You're safe now. This is the temple of Kossuth. Don't tell anyone you saw me, though," she taps the side of her nose before teleporting back out into the desert, changing back into Honey Belle form, and then teleporting to her inn while invisible just in case anyone's in her room when she arrives. She prays to Alicia to update her on the situation.
And the situation being what it is, Alicia elects to ask Mystra about it, sending her avatar to Dweomerheart while Honey Belle gets back to performing and catching up on other rumours.
You meet with Mystra deep in a forgotten library within her palace. All of the tomes here are ancient things, older than Prime Materials and surely with lore mortals would slay entire countries for. You can almost hear the siren song of all the spell knowledge held within, waiting to be learned. Mystra is here, reading a single book while standing, the pages turning as she reads of their own volition.
"Welcome, my avenger," Mystra greets you, "A copy of one of Medi's old libraries," she greets you, "Where he cut his teeth before changing the fate of his entire world." She puts the book up, "A testament to the hope the Incarnations have for mortals providing us the Answer."
"We were actually wondering that over in Sylica," Alicia admits as she walks over. "Why make mortals at all, why not have everyone be a god? It seems like the Incarnations understood hierarchies from the start, or else it was something they learned from an earlier iteration of Creation?" She shakes her head. "That aside, Marielle just came across something interesting. A man in the Desert Fiefdoms of my world escaped from a ruin with strange temporal effects - days passing in moments, men aging to infirmity in seconds, being killed and then reverted to repeat the death... Given what I know of the Temporal Compact, I wanted to find out if it was something known and accepted by the Gods like the Magus of Time's realm in Pallanth."
"I have not heard of it," Mystra holds up a hand, "...ah. It seems that the Keepers of the Compact wish to teach you hands on. It is an invitation for you, Alicia."
A look of irritation passes over her. "Marie's presence in that region is supposed to be a secret. What gave us away?"
Not to mention it's a rather violent invitation, but she knows that the Compact isn't a morally committed thing.
With a dry look, "Alicia, these are entities who deal with time." Mystra says, a hint of amusement showing, "They cheat with temporal powers. Fortunately, they are also bound only to use this information in certain ways, so your security is still intact."
"I dislike taking that on faith but I suppose I don't have a choice," she says. "Thank you, Mystra. I'll see to it."
But before she goes, she leans over to look at the book that Mystra put back on the shelf when she came in. "Anything topical in there?"
"A dissertation on charm person," Mystra offers you the book, "Fascinating insights for a mortal, or even most immortals."
Alicia accepts the invitation to have a look. "Not a spell I ever learned much about, though I won't talk down Enchantment as a school. Suggestion is a very useful spell," she mentions, flipping through the pages at a good clip.
It is an indepth analysis of the spell, down to the individual bits of magic and symbolism that channel the spell. It's a master's study, a lifetime of work for an elf perhaps, or an eternal spirit dedicated to the advancement of a single spell. From the forward, Medi wrote this when he was 22.
She laughs a little and then carefully puts the book back on the shelf. "Seira's rapid growth sometimes made me self-conscious. I feel like Medi would have been insufferable."
With a growing smile, "It was magical and maddening to watch," Mystra agrees. "Rather like Sylvie, though not even she could have kept up with Medi. Or your own rapid growth, do not discount your own improvements."
"We kept pace with each other well enough, I just had a spare decade on her," Alicia smiles, reminiscing over her time in the Crimson Guard. "Sylvie, though... I don't suppose her son's come to visit you as well? I have Dawnhope watching him but there's only so much even she can do."
"No," Mystra says, "He is at home, at least for now."
"Hopefully he'll stay there. I'd best be going now, thank you for your wisdom, Mystra," she nods her head to her patron before seeing herself out and back to Sylica.
I'll grab Marie's equipment before Avatarlicia and Syalavatar go to the prime and meet up with Marie in the desert to go check this place out.
Cool. Any prep of note?
Nothing significant, we're not going immediately into battle so we can buff up on site if it looks necessary.
Avatarlicia: 582/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32)
Defences: AC 56 (touch 32), CMD 73, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties:
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, perception +44
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/9/10/8/8/8/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31)
Defences: AC 82 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, perception +46
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/10/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/6/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Marie meets the two in the desert, Syala's avatar appearing. "Reminds me of the third level of Arborea a little bit," she says, "More classic desert than this one."
"They're even both filled with portentous ruins," Alicia says. "Though since we're being invited I hope we get a bit of guidance towards finding this one, those directions don't give a great deal to go on."
"At worst we can just fly around really high and sharpen our senses, right?" Marie suggests, smiling to see the pair.
"We can try teleporting to it," Syala suggests, "The way may not be barred, at least to us."
Alicia dislikes that sort of blind teleporting ever since that time she got bounced into the Far Realm, but she supposes that's not really a danger to her anymore. "Let me try, then." She focuses on Marie's description of an old stone city rising out of the sands near here and teleports.
You appear in a central chamber. A center place, where dozens of paths all unite. Paths from the desert, paths from ruins, paths from below ground. Crumbling stone is here, an ancient place forgotten. In the center was once some form of mural or design, but it is too faded to make out details anymore.
It is an Inevitable of solid gold plating and iron beneath that greets you. It has three claws as toes, a corded body of steel and adamantine, and no facial features. Humanish and yet not, bowing to you. "Alicia Reynes, you are precisely on time." It says.
After telling Marie that they're clear, the eladrin and other goddess teleport over too... and then get stuck on Alicia's greater anticipate teleport spell.
"Syala and Marielle will be here momentarily," she says, not wasting time talking over things that'll have to be repeated until they arrive. And when they do? "The Prime seems a strange place for this sort of... education?" she hazards.
"And yet, here we are," The quarut agrees as the other two appear, "Syala and Marielle," he greets, voice pleasant if not warm. He steps forward, the faintest whirring of gears and pistons, of oil and the other strange things of Mechanus.
A ripple. Your conversation until now repeats in an instant, seen by Marie and Syala. For Marie, it's like hearing the entire thing real time, except it takes virtually no time at all.
Marie just smiles and nods, letting the deities talk.
"So, what is the purpose here?" Alicia asks once they're all caught up.
Syala has a hand on her hip, "I'd like to know that, too."
The quarut merely agrees, "The purpose is to let you understand the magic of time. Chronomancy is forbidden, but you are permitted to know of it as the divine."
"And how are we going to go about that?" she asks the obvious follow-up.
"You will use your divine power to straighten the fractured times here," The quarut says, "You have permission in this case, for ad the divine you have a right to know. So has been determined and so I have waited here ages."
After a moment, "Anything you find here is yours, tribute and gifts to honor you. Any dangers are ones you must overcome yourself."
"You've waited here ages? For us specifically?" she asks. "How long?"
"Twenty years ago I traveled into the past to preserve this place for your coming," The quarut says. "I have waited 1,831 years, 83 days, 8 hours, 31 minutes and 18 seconds."
The war with Daa-vid was 1000 years ago, right?
2,000.
From B3 but basically accurate, if very slightly dated since it was made in that game and not B6.
-A few months ago Muirfinn and friends slew Athux, a rising demon lord of the Abyss.
-20 years ago Seira Aryn and Alicia Reynes rose as new demipowers.
-21 years ago Zquujaj wages war on Hell
-300 to 400 years ago Empress Sulia rises as a new demipower.
-600 or so years ago Beginning of Lifasa's golden age.
-780 years ago Akil bin Faheem obtains Razalim, a powerful but legendarily cursed scimitar.
-1000 years ago Talos abandons Fury's Heart and creates Nature's Heart. His rise is held to be some sort of cosmic counter balance to Torm's fall by many, but this is not confirmed.
-2000 years ago Bel replaced Zariel as Lord of the First.
-2000 years ago War against the Gnomish God-King, which leads to the fall of Torm.
-3000 years ago. Fall of the Lost Eastlands and the rampage of the Destroyer.
-2800 years ago The current Padisha of the Marid took the Coral Throne.
-5000 years ago Primus concludes a vast calculation that indicates Shar will win and end all of Creation. This is known as the Prophecy of Primus.
-8900 years ago Defeat of The Father and his sealing, then the book's transport to Valgadda, which is no more.
- 10400 years ago Lifasa is created.
- 12490 years ago Cerulean Joy and Vel Custos are married.
- 14350 years ago. Cerulean Joy returns to Celestia as a planetar and rises to the position of Authority of Absolution in seven years.
- 67200 years ago. The Lost Chalice is stolen from Celestia and taken to Dis, where she remains in captivity to this day.
Thanks, that's helpful.
"Then I apologise for my tardiness," Alicia says, tabulating those figures. This place would've been pretty quiet back then after the war against Daa-vid was concluded and this world sealed off. "What is your name, and how do we begin here?"
Syala's expression softens, "You have my thanks as well. If nothing is awry, I will see to it that your superiors know you have preformed excellently."
"I am Chrona 42, of the line of Chrona Quaruts." The quarut bows to you smoothly, "Merely wander and explore. You may branch outward from here or leave and proceed from outside to here. The choice is yours. I will be with you if you require advice, though I will not participate directly, as I have been commanded not to. Marie, as a proxy you are safe from the worst of the temporal anomalies here, but still, be careful."
"I have these from when we went to get the Fourth Resort," Marie says, holding up her hands to show the bracers of time resting snugly on her wrists. "Will they do?"
Paste me what they do?
Bracers of Time: Prevent rapid aging effects.
[20:57] <Kotono> "That is a sample of Quicksilver, mined in fast moving time currents." He answers. The bracelets do resize, thankfully. "The bracers will protect you from being magically aged by the enchantments of the Magus of Time."
"That will suffice," Chronos 42 declares, "I am now at your service. Proceed with this as you desire."
"Is there a route that would see us begin with more basic elements of time manipulation?" Alicia asks, figuring she may as well start with the easy stuff and work up. The mural gets glanced at and she adds, "What was this structure before you preserved it?"
"From the outside of the city, enter. It is that way so that any soul who stumbled on it would be exposed to the least possible danger." Chronos 42 explains, "A mage's hall, already in ruin from the war against the God-King. It was a mage's settlement once on a time."
She supposes this place was picked with her in mind. "Then lets teleport to the Southern edge and work our way in," she says, vanishing away to do just that. Marie follows but again gets held up on Alicia's anticipate teleport spell, leaving Alicia by herself for a few seconds on arrival before the others arrive.
While you wait on Marie and Syala, the quarut simply appears the moment you do. "I moved backwards in time a moment to be here just before your greater anticipate teleport spell would affect the area." He answers without being asked. A microscopic adjustment of time such as that is trivial for anyone skilled in using the Weave."
That does seem rife with possibilities though. "What circle of spell would it be equivalent to?" she asks. "Does movement through time follow a similar progression as movement through space from spells like dimension door up to gate?"
"A third circle spell," Chrona replies, "It does. Greater movement requires greater power in the Weave. Though true, unlimited time travel is beyond the nine mortal circles of magic. They can manage centuries and millenia as a 9th circle spell."
"What about going forward in time, how does that work?" she asks. "Is it related to Fate or Destiny?"
"That is the limitation. We are in the present."
This is stopped by Syala and Marie appearing, and in a split second they relive this conversation, catching up just like that.
"Ahem," The Inevitable clears his throat, "We are in the present. We can go into the past, but we cannot go into the future, for it is not yet made. A metaphor may help. Imagine we are a single star an empty night sky. As we fly forward, we leave light behind us. We can look back and see the light behind us, for it has been made. But we cannot see ahead, for it is not yet made light, for there is nothing but darkness."
Syala has a hand on her hip as she adds, "I follow that much, but then how can someone go into the past, since during the past the past was the present?"
Chrona clears his throat again - a rather rattling sound, a fleck of strange greenish oil escaping his mouth. Bright green, luminescent. "The present is an absolute thing. Creation followed a path forward in time. When you travel back, you are in the past relative to that absolute moment of the present. The star has already been there, the light is shed. Time itself can be traveled, yet the absolute present is a constant beyond that."
Marie subtly rubs a finger over the side of her mouth matching where Chrona just drooled on his own.
"So were I to ever meet a time traveler who claimed to be from my future - their Present. The present, would there be a way to verify it?" Alicia asks, digesting that explanation as much as she can.
Chrona reaches up and wipes it away without comment.
"Yes, to discern if you are in the present or the past. As you are in the present and time travel is forbidden, such a spell is not needed. But if you do, it is named Detect Temporal Position. It should be trivial for you to emulate with your divine will. You are free to do so."
Alicia attempts to do so, exerting her will on that basis and looking at Marie, Chrona, and the ruins ahead respectively.
It is as if a part of you that was missing is found. A section of the Weave, usually gone and lost to you, flares to your will. It is a beautiful thing, shifting power and magic, all around not space, not reality, not energy or healing. It twists around time itself, as you can see everything is bright and vital. You know in your bones you are in the present.
Syala bends her will as well, "So then, are we ever aware of what we do in the theoretical past?"
"You can, but it is irrelevant. The divine is immune to paradox and temporal manipulation. You ARE." Chrona 42 says, "Time could change around you a thousand times in an instant and you would still be yourselves."
"Ah," Alicia says softly, smiling at this new discovery. She deeply wants to experiment and run wild, but of course she has a willing teacher right here. And of course she can only really use this here, not in her myriad battles elsewhere.
It's still exciting.
"But not so for others. Before the temporal compact, one could go to the past, change something, and then find the present altered, right?" she asks.
"Yes," Chrona 42 coughs lightly, at least no green stuff coming up this time. "Have you been told of what those days were like, before the Compact?"
"I've heard," Syala smiles a little bit, "Sharess started clawing things and pacing when she really got into it."
"In general terms," Alicia adds. "Nothing was stable, because anything built could be undone at a moment's caprice as if it never was. As it never was, even."
"That is correct," Chrona 42 says, "Marielle, were you not Alicia's proxy, you could in a moment go from this position to a captive of Hell or even a fallen, as if it always was, and you would never know it had been otherwise."
Syala frowns deeply, "Then I wouldn't tolerate it, nor would Alicia. We'd want to change it back to have Marie back."
"So it would be, and then again another to try and reinstate the change because it benefits them," Chrona 42 declares, stepping forward. "Because the game is played, you must play it as well or be doomed by the advantage it gives to the players."
"Ah, I wanted to ask about that!" Marie perks up. "I heard about the retroactive causality-immunity for deities. Like even before the Compact came to be, it wouldn't matter if someone went back and killed Alicia as a child because she's a goddess. So wouldn't the fact that I'm her proxy - even if it's revokable later, protect me for all time backwards and forwards? Same for anyone Alicia's made into a proxy previously?" Because she passed around that first proxy spark quite a bit before settling on Ebony!
"Yes," Chrona says, "You need not worry of that fate now, Marielle."
"You can't proxy just anyone, but still it's a way to keep your greater servants safe just by passing them the proxy marker even for a moment," Marie suggests. "Actually you could even mess with time to boost someone up to a level where they're strong enough to endure being a proxy first then do it."
"Food for thought, should the Compact ever be broken in the future," Alicia says, appreciating Marie's cunning there. But then when you can manipulate time and causality, it's very easy to come up with plans that always succeed. "Anyway!" she shakes her head, "Lets learn more by doing before we discuss it further. Lets go into these ruins and see what our first obstacle is?"
Since all temporal manipulation is magic, arcane sight should be sufficient for her to see any areas of altered time just as well as any other sort of magical wards or traps.
Ahead is a series of ruins - crumbled houses and the outlines of them, as well as an intact hall near the center. It's sprawling and sand covered, the night sky clear and cool, the heat of the day already fading.
You can see it ahead - time shifting subtly, the magic of it writhing 20ft away. An outer boundary where time will become malleable, twisted and damaged.
"It looks like time is damaged there," Alicia points ahead. "Less like a structured deliberate effect and more like... well, I once fought something from Outside Creation that had a similar effect on space. Is there a correlation?" she asks Chrona.
"Possibly," Chrona admits, coughing lightly once more. This time he wipes away green splatter and says, "What was it and how did it do it?"
"It was known as a Q'Pa," Alicia states its dread name. "It warped and broke space with its passing, creating impossible geometries where space no longer lined up as it should - things passing through would go in the wrong directions, and be damaged both physically and mentally for the passage."
"You are correct," Chrona agrees, "Time is wounded here and it falls on you to fix it. We normally handle this, but if there is ever a time where we cannot or you must, it is imperative that you know how."
Syala is studying ahead intently, eyes narrow. "Something like a spiritual wound, but it's not the same."
"So is there a trick to it beyond divine brute force?" Alicia asks. "If I were to use a conventional spell what would it look like?" She finds it easier to think of her reality warping along the same lines as orthodox spellcasting due to her experience with it after all.
"Chronomancy," Chrona explains now, walking to the border of the distortion and stopping a step before it. "Before, temporal magic was spread about, the previous spell would have been a divination as well as chronomancy. Now as magic is adjusted to the Compact, it is only Chronomancy. To fix weak temporal disturbances, a Temporal Stabilization spell is needed. It is 4th circle."
Syala hms a moment. 'Love, you looked happier than a paladin with a holy avenger earlier. You go first.'
"Thank you. I'll let you do the next one," Alicia smiles at Syala, walking over to stand next to Chrona. That's still easily within the bounds of what she can emulate, so she holds a hand up to the outer edge of the field, her fingertips just barely touching it, before she exerts her will to stabilise things.
A sound like a gong as power you never had flows through you. A sense of rightness, as if part of you is back, back to where it always should have been.
The time distortion ahead slowly adjusts, fading until it is gone entirely.
"The outermost ring of the distortion is gone," Chrona declares, "Ahead lies difficulties and dangers. Be prepared."
"In that case lets cast a few preparatory spells..." Alicia casts, going through her roster as Marie does likewise.
Recitation for all, +3 luck attack/saves for Alicia/Marie, +2 for Syala
Greater heroism for all, +20 temp hp, +4 morale attack/saves/skillsThat done, she begins to advance forward, having a look through the ruined houses first. "Does Chronomancy interact the same as other schools with abjurations such as antimagic and dispels?" she asks while going.
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/9/10/8/8/8/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/10/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/6/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
I'd rule Syala gets the +3 from recitation as well (and that's how I've ran it I think), as she's part of a pantheon with you and intimately tied to you. Close enough for government work here.
"Yes," Chrona says as you advance, "You could counter Chronomancy spells as any other, and dispel magic could suppress them - but not the greater changes to time when were made."
Gimme Perception.
[spoiler]
Syala
HP: 589/589
Negative Conditions:
Aura: Protective 20ft (+4 deflection/+4 resistance vs evil) Divine 10ft (various)
Bonuses: Attack+7 (+3 luck, +4 morale), Damage+0 AC+0, Saves+7 (+3 luck, +4 morale), Skills+4 (+4 morale), Checks+0
Resources: Rage 7/7 Divine Blast 13/13 Family Domain 1/1 Wrath Domain 1/1 Add Twin 7/7 (non epic only)
Spells Used:
SLAs Used:
Spells Active: Recitation (CL?), Greater Heroism (CL?)
Notes: Automatically converts vile damage to normal damage.
[21:13] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+73
[21:13] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 93 > [d20=20]
All around are the ruins. It's what you'd expect, but you notice a few noteworthy things.
- In one ruin the hilt of a sword sticks out of the sand, surrounded by a rippling, time itself seeming to coil around itself endlessly and forever.
- A set of stairs going down can be seen intact in one shell of a house, sand laden but intact.
- The space between two houses seems to cycle between day and night, each blink another turn.
- There are tracks about - of some strange thing, animalistic, perhaps. Hooves.
"Syala, can you tell much from these tracks?" Alicia starts with something that could portend enemies to fight, letting Syala's expertise take the fore.
CL on Recitation and Greater Heroism?
> roll 1d20+56 Survival
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 69 > [d20=13]
Identify creature epic skill usage used.
"It's not quite right for most hooved animals," Syala finally says, "It's something unique or an odd crossbreed." She kneels before the tracks, studying them. "They're fresh, whatever it is lurks around. It may be in the hall or below ground, or a distortion is hiding it from our vision." Then looking to Marie, "What creature savaged Jaffar's caravan?"
[spoiler]
Syala
HP: 589/589
Negative Conditions:
Aura: Protective 20ft (+4 deflection/+4 resistance vs evil) Divine 10ft (various)
Bonuses: Attack+7 (+3 luck, +4 morale), Damage+0 AC+0, Saves+7 (+3 luck, +4 morale), Skills+4 (+4 morale), Checks+0
Resources: Rage 7/7 Divine Blast 13/13 Family Domain 1/1 Wrath Domain 1/1 Add Twin 7/7 (non epic only)
Spells Used:
SLAs Used:
Spells Active: Recitation (CL?), Greater Heroism (CL?)
Notes: Automatically converts vile damage to normal damage.
31 for both, sorry.
"Giant lions and scorpions were mentioned," Marie supplies. "Like really really giant, he said as big as mountains."
"We'll have to stay on guard then," Alicia says, going to examine the sword hilt next while Marie keeps an eye out for monsters. She first uses arcane sight to identify what sort of spellwork is causing that coiling in time.
Syala follows as Chrona coughs and hangs back.
"Surprisingly, there's a lack of signs of giant sized fauna. Though they may be below ground or the time distortions erase the tracks." Syala says, as you study the magic. It's a sort of paradox, time tangled together to keep the sword in place without ending, self contained carefully to influence nothing beyond it.
Rather than touching it, Alicia casts telekinesis and attempts to pull the sword out of the sand so she can see how it reacts.
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/10/8/8/8/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/10/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/6/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Nothing happens. It moves and it doesn't, but in the end nothing happens. Time around it twists and writhes oddly, looping back to when it was still there in an instant.
"Would temporal stabilisation work here?" she looks back towards Chrona. "Or does it require something stronger for a structured effect like this?"
"You need Dispel Paradox," Chrona approaches, "It is a 5th circle spell. Your divine will should be adequate for it." He gestures at the distortion, "Paradoxes are powerful and mighty, and stronger ones need stronger measures to undo. This is a simple paradox."
"Does it resist dispel magic like a wall of force would?" she asks, exerting her will once more to straighten time out around that sword-hilt.
"Yes. You need specialized magic," Chrona says, as you feel lit. Another spell becoming evident to you, the paradox resolving, the hilt of the sword now clear and no longer surrounded by twisted time.
Now Alicia looks to see if the sword is magical at all!
Taking 10 for 56 on spellcraft.
Loot.
"What an interesting sword," Alicia says, pulling it out of the sand and opening her portable hole to store it. "I actually meant to ask, what happened to magic items made before the Compact that employ Chronomancy? Artifacts especially, since they're not exactly easy to destroy," she asks Chrona.
"We gathered them all and sealed them away. Mystra was helpful," Chrona says, before coughing lightly. "It was part of the Compact."
"That makes sense. Do you need healing or anything for that cough?" she asks afterwards.
"Thank you," Chrona says, straightening, "I need repair, but it can wait until this is concluded."
At this Syala smiles a little bit, "So you have to wait a bit? Well, what if one of us sends you into the past far enough for you to get those repairs, then you come back? We're allowed to while we're here, aren't we?"
"...Technically, I...suppose you are right?" Chrona says slowly, almost grindingly, as if his gears are slowing. "That is...not incorrect."
"It's safe while we're here but if Chrona leaves this area and returns to Mechanus in the past for repairs might he not be seen as in violation?" Alicia asks, liking the idea but not sure if it's really safe.
"I am a quarut. I serve those who keep the Compact, the rules are not the same for me," Chrona says. "Those who watch me understand time."
"Then I suppose you should follow Syala's advice. We'll wait right here," Alicia says, deferring to his understanding of his own rules.
In an instant he is gone - and a split second later he's back. "Ah!" he declares, voice jaunty, "I feel reborn!" His face is split in a smile, "Chrona 42, at your services. Have you found everything suitable so far? What about the Sword of Eons?"
"It's slightly unwieldy but I never much liked those kinds of inbetween-sized blades," Alicia says. "The enchantment makes for a novel curiosity but unless fighting a massively powerful goblin I don't think any foe I face would die of old age before they died of being cut apart. Though similarly a mortal wielder could extend their life with it, the amount they have to take from others is massively lopsided for the benefit. You'd need to go on quite the killing spree to fend off the approaching years."
"It is not a kind weapon," Chrona 42 agrees, "For the Incarnations wish mortals to age and pass, rather than to find eternity in mortal life. Even Chronomancy struggles against that. Still, it is yours to use as you like and it is not innately evil, though it could easily be used in an evil way."
"Swords are made to wound and kill, this is no different," Alicia agrees. "Okay then, what to examine next..." she goes to look at the spot that cycles day and night rapidly. "Time is accelerated here? Oh, that reminds me! What about the astral plane and its timelessness? How does that relate to Chronomancy and the Temporal Compact? Why is the astral plane like that?"
"Here sits a place where time is accelerated and looped - as it cannot go beyond the Present, it loops an endless cycle of days and nights when it would push past the present." Chrona explains, coming up to it. "Were a man to step in here, you would see him age from childhood to adulthood to elderly in less than a day."
Syala listens for now, and in Marie's mind, 'Alicia is so at home with this,' Syala says, 'It's beautiful watching her like this.'
"Just like someone can go to the astral plane, experience a subjectively short time, and then upon leaving it find themselves aged by years," Alicia says, to stay on the topic of her query about the astral plane. "Although... in this case wouldn't you see the man drop dead of thirst a lot sooner?"
'It's a shame I can't use these spells, there's so many possibilities!' Marie returns. 'But yes, you can tell she's in her element. Woman loves magic.'
'I'm coming up with so many ideas. Imagine doing what Chrona did mid battle and returning in an instant, after a day to rest and heal?'
Meanwhile Chrona merely inclines his head, "Conceded, it would not relieve his needs. However, time in such a situation can be relative. There is the absolute Present, but behind it one may experience time far faster or slower. In this loop we would seem impossibly slow. Were there food, water and supplies within the disturbance, he could live out his life while barely any time passes for us."
At this Syala speaks up, "So are you saying this loop is outside of the Present because it's cycling around and around?"
"With appropriate supplies, yes," Alicia says. "You could train an army from raw recruits to skilled professionals in an afternoon... If the astral plane's timelessness could actually be controlled and predicted the same effect could be achieved even now despite the Compact." She turns to Chrona 42. "You haven't elaborated on the astral plane's relation to all this despite my prompting," she observes.
"It is suspended in time by the will of the Incarnations. It is removed from the Present, following at its side like a ghost." Chrona explains, "Unseen and invisible, those in it protected from the Presence's march of time until they exit, at which point it is reasserted."
"Do you know the Incarnation's reasons for that being the case? Did Chronomancy spells function in it before the Compact?" Alicia presses, eager to sate her curiosity.
"I do not, but I do know Chronomancy could fight against the plane's traits, even allow a region to flow in the Present. Bring Astral Flow is the name of the spell, it is a 10th circle spell." Chrona reports.
"That's well beyond my power to emulate," Alicia says, honestly surprised that it works there considering how teleportation spells don't work on the astral. "Well, back to our time loop here... it's neither a paradox nor a wound in time, so a different spell to resolve this?"
"In this case, a wish or miracle will suffice without more specialized magic," Chrona 42 says, "Try so."
"Unfortunately I can cast neither," Alicia says, as those spells are deadly in the wrong sense for a battlemage like her. "What about Unbinding? Or Mage's Disjunction?"
text for unbinding and what it can affect:Quote
The unbinding negates charm and hold spell of all types (like hold person), arcane locks and similar closures, spells with a duration longer than instantaneous that create physical or magical barriers (wall of fire, wall of force), guards and wards, temporal stasis, and slow spells, among others. The effect of a statue spell is ended. A magic jar is shattered – forever destroyed – and the life force within snuffed out. In addition, any spell that holds magical effects, including other spells, immediately releases them at a range of 0 ft. (including magic mouth, imbue with spell ability, and so on).
"It should," Chrona 42 steps back now, "Try and learn."
Alicia nods and attempts a disjunction first, as it's more controlled than the huge radius of unbinding.
[17:04] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+32 disjunction
[17:04] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 50 > [d20=18]
Disjunction flows, but the time loop is unaffected.
"I could tell that was a solid casting," Alicia says. "So this sort of magic can only be defeated with something specialised? I'll try Unbinding next then..." she proceeds to cast that spell, shattering all sorts of containing and binding magic in a large area all around her.
180ft radius burst so it gets a lot.
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/10/8/8/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/10/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/6/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
There is a loud SNAP-CRACK of power, time bursting out wildly all around you. You feel it but nothing happens as Chrona 42 mentions, "The temporal backlash would be hazardous, if we were all not protected from it."
The loop before you is over, gone as if it never was.
"Something to bear in mind," Alicia agrees, having a look in the no longer looped alleyway to see if it hides anything.
[18:04] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+73 perception
[18:04] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 83 > [d20=10]
Lying within the no longer looped area, you can see something metal mostly covered by the sands.
"There," Syala points at it as you see it, a gesture from her removing the sand cover. Here sits a metal orb, smooth and polished, the size of a fist.
"Marie, can you tell us what that is?" Alicia asks so as to give her proxy something to do.
Smiling, Marie walks forward and leans over to examine the metal orb...
Taking 10 for 60 on spellcraft.
Loot post updated.
The tulani bends over to dig the orb out and hold it up. "This is nice, you can use it to convert weaker spells into a stronger one. It just adds circles together so it's got an efficient rate of exchange, but it only works once per day."
Alicia glances at Chrona, "Unless you have Chronomancy to cheat that limit," she says, opening her portable hole for Marie to put the orb inside. "I saw stairs into a basement of one of the houses, lets try those next?" she then adds to her companions, going to explore that way.
"Exactly," Chrona 42 smiles, "The limits of magic and recovery mean adventurers, especially spellcasters, only have so much power a day. But when time is relative, a day can be relative."
"Only really want to use it for items though, since if you accelerate time to recover your spells you're still stuck waiting that long yourself even if it's an instant for everyone else," Alicia says as they go down.
Modes of perception, Alicia?
Alicia: Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Marie: Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Alicia can feel it - the ground vibrating.
Marie can see it, an invisible thing striding forward. A scorpion, growing larger by the moment, currently about Hanna sized and getting bigger by the moment. It's 20ft away and closing in as you come down the stairs.
Where? Is it coming up the stairs at us or is it out on the surface?
It's coming up the stairs at the two of you.
"Giant scorpion coming!" Marie points it out, Alicia readying her sword as her highly attuned senses pick it out as welll!
Alicia wins init
[19:35] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+16 Marie init, nerveskitter
[19:35] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 34 > [d20=18]
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/10/8/8/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/9/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/6/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Go ahead and act first, Alicia. I'll roll init if it's needed.
With a crackle of lightning Alicia crosses the distance between her and the scorpion, able to sense it well enough even if her eyes can't quite see to guide her blades as they scythe out to rend it apart nonetheless!
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+53 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 57 > [d20=4]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+53 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 57 > [d20=4]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+53 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 68 > [d20=15]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+53 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 58 > [d20=5]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+48 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 66 > [d20=18]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+48 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 58 > [d20=10]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+43 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 51 > [d20=8]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+43 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 57 > [d20=14]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+38 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 52 > [d20=14]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+38 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 57 > [d20=19]
[19:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+38 haste, channelled maximised frigid touch crit threat
[19:59] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 42 > [d20=4]
[20:00] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:00] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 107 > [d8=6]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 103 > [d8=2]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 108 > [d8=7]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 107 > [d8=6]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 109 > [d8=8]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 109 > [d8=8]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 109 > [d8=8]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 102 > [d8=1]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 107 > [d8=6]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 2d8+46+156 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round - assuming 42 crits
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 211 > [d8=3,6]
[20:01] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8+23+78 last is cold, assuming not evil, DC 30 fort or stunned 1 round - if 42 doesn't crit
[20:01] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 102 > [d8=1]
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/10/7/7/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/9/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/6/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
The scorpion is ripped asunder - and a second later it is not. Time twists around it, the past becoming the present.
"Temporal substitution," Chrona 42 calls, "Even the most stout offense means nothing to it! It can be dispelled!"
Doing anything else this turn?
"Marie, dispel it so Syala can finish it!" Alicia calls, not seeing this as dire enough to expend a quickened superb dispelling.
Init matters now.
> roll 1d20+12 Syala
> roll 1d20 scorpion
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 13 > [d20=1]
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 15 > [d20=15]
Init is Marie (34) > Scorpion (15) > Syala (13)
Go Marie.
"On it!" Marie calls, first dispelling the scorpion then assailing it with a barrage of magic missiles!
Superb dispelling, how many rolls?
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/10/7/7/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/8/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/5/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
4.
[20:42] <@Ebiris> roll 4#1d20+31
[20:42] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 45, 35, 40, 49 >
[20:42] <@Ebiris> roll 7d4+14 quickened/twinned/repeat/entangling/fell drain magic missile (1 negative level)
[20:42] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 34 > [d4=1,4,3,3,3,3,3]
[20:42] <@Ebiris> roll 7d4+14 quickened/twinned/repeat/entangling/fell drain magic missile (1 negative level)
[20:42] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 34 > [d4=3,2,1,4,3,3,4]
Magic bursts out as the scorpion is a dozen, a hundred - and is now visible. A single one, dazeda nd reeling, battered by the missiles.
"Temporal substitution can stun you coming out of it," Chrona 42 calls, "It's vulnerable."
"Good," Syala smiles, stepping right past you, hammer in hand.
> roll 1d20 max PA, basically a 1/20 check
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 18 > [d20=18]
> roll 1d12+87
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 92 > [d12=5]
The stunned scorpion's head is caved in, crushed as its body tumbles down the stairs. You won!
Free act.
"At least it has a downside," Alicia says as the corpse falls away. "Well struck by the way," she adds to Syala.
"So are there any weaknesses to that spell?" Marie asks. "Any spells or types of damage that'll stick or do you just have to dispel it or outlast it?"
"Certain chronomatic spells can overcome it through harm," Chrona 42 says, "Such as Temporal Scramble and Time Lurch."
Syala flashes you a smile, "They've been so kind to set us up a training course, we should appreciate it."
Alicia takes note of those spells, deciding she'll attempt something like that on the next one. For now she continues her descent of the stairs, following the shattered invertebrate corpse.
You step down the stairs - and feel it flare along you, try to. A temporal reset, to revert you back in your body moments ago, to make you repeat what happened.
"Such magic cannot impact a deity, because they are immune to it," Chrona 42 says, "But others could be trapped in a time loop like that for a long time."
"A rather sad form of immortality," Alicia pronounces, continuing on undaunted.
"Horrifying is what it is," Syala rues, "Such power and such power to use it to extremes. Chronomancy is hardly tame magic."
At the bottom of the stairs is a painted door, decorated with images of the sky. Writing is on the base that reads, "Sky Door."
Behind the stairway is a gaping hole, leading to something of a chasm.
Alicia goes and has a peek down the chasm before worrying about the door.
The chasm goes down about 40ft into what looks to be a lair. There's massive caverns down here filled with massive scorpions. Before your eyes, scorpion larvae mature, grow and become full sized adults in moments, then shift, time sending them elsewhere.
She waves Chrona over. "How does this work, do you have something to make up for the lack of food they're getting to grow up like that?"
"Yes," Chrona 42 approaches, "Time is manipulated on different levels, so that the nutrients birth provides are endlessly repeated, while the body grows off of it, not repeated and allowed to mature. It's advanced work, the domain above mortal magic. It was not unheard of for an army of monsters to be replenished in hours near the end, when chronomancy was wide spread."
"It's convenient for a dungeon... I made one out to the East and I had to set up magical replenishing foodstock for the giant spiders," Alicia chuckles, shaking her head and straightening from the edge of the chasm. "Well I suppose there's surely enough scorpions in here to challenge us by now so they can stop being replaced quite so quickly..." A disjunction follows to dispel the time magic at the bottom of the chasm.
How many checks?
8.
[20:05] <@Ebiris> roll 8#1d20+31
[20:05] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 46, 45, 38, 46, 33, 51, 35, 45 >
With a tremendous crashing noise, magic collapses below. The time acceleration stops and sputters out, space twisting below as time reasserts its rightful flows. The skittering noises of scorpions reaches up, even from here.
Content with that, Alicia steps back and goes to open the sky door next.
The sky door opens. Ahead of you is pure sky - a sunset sky, radiant and beautiful.
Syala looks on, "Pretty," she murmurs, and then in a lighter voice, "Sunset was the marker for things to get really interesting in Rapture. Daytime is for sunning and other enjoyments, but once night falls...."
"Cats wailing in every alley?" Marie pipes up with a cheeky smile.
With an innocent smile, "Why Marielle, are you interested in wailing?" Syala teases right back.
"Not the way cats do it!" Marie responds, giggling.
"Can we not?" Alicia asks wearily, leaning out of the doorway to look up and down and see if there's any land in sight. Also magic.
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, arcane sight, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/10/7/7/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/8/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/5/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Syala laughs a bit, "You're right, I apologize. I'll wait for Antenora to be here next time, so we have maximum tense awkwardness."
Oh, there's magic. The entire vista ahead is magic - frozen utterly in time, divorced from the absolute present entirely. A sunset that will never end, because it is beyond time's touch.
Where is it? Since they're underground the door must be a portal of some sorts, right?
Spellcraft.
[21:47] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+46 spellcraft
[21:47] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 47 > [d20=1]
It's magnificent. A slice of the sky has been taken here and frozen in time, time and space twisted together into one beautiful whole. Either would be a feat worthy of an immortal mage, let alone both of them together.
She draws her head back out and looks at Chrona. "The space warping magic here is actually as worthy of note as the time magic."
"Oh? It's not just a portal?" Marie asks, also leaning out to have a look around.
Chrona 42 smiles and gestures out, "Of course! We do not skimp for newly risen powers. I was endowed with better manners than that."
"And power too," Alicia says. "So is this like an art piece or does it have a practical use? Other than repelling vampires, anyway..." she smiles self deprecatingly at herself for so readily thinking of such a combative use for something so beautiful.
To be fair, vampires are scary.
"As long as it is frozen in time, you cannot pass," Chrona 42 explains, "You must return it to the flow of time."
"Is there something past it?" she asks. "It feels rather like slashing through a portrait because it's blocking a secret passage."
"There is," Chrona 42 says.
"Then we go around it, that's all," Syala says, pointing her finger out, "I can blast through whatever I need to and go around it."
"Give it a try then, love," Alicia agrees, stepping back to let Syala do some excavating.
Syala gestures...and nothing happens.
"Protected," Syala glances, then points. A rippling blast of green energy comes, a raw divineb last that burrows through the stone and dirty, magic dissolving as it pushes through.
"A divine blast can overcome many temporal obstacles in the same way they can overcome walls of force and prismatic spheres," Chrona 42 speaks up, A solution when destruction is called on."
"A good one too," Alicia agrees, letting Syala take the lead into the tunnel she's carved out to get around the timeless sunset.
Thus you go beyond the sunset. Sitting just past it is a tunnel, leading deeper. On the floor just before the sunset sits a gleaming shard of metal.
Alicia examines the metal!
Take 10 for 56 on spellcraft if necessary.
Loot post updated.
"This'll make a nice present for Latha," Alicia says, taking the shard and putting it away in her portable hole before they go on down the now exposed tunnel.
You follow it, finding that it leads you back to where you met Chrona 42.
"Aha," she nods. "Okay, lets go back to the surface now and we can try that hall we saw near the centre." Thus Alicia leads them back up to do that.
This is unremarkable, except the surface has a problem. Now dozens of scorpions are raging around, from house sized to dragon sized, making a proper wreck of everything.
Syala just smiles, "So the future is now and the future is crushing vermin?"
"We'd better," Alicia agrees, checking with arcane sight if they have temporal substitution active as they prepare for battle.
They do not. They're 'merely' giant scorpions.
"These aren't protected so just go wild," Alicia tells Marie and Syala, growing larger herself as she wades into battle!
Supreme initiative.
Swift to go colossal then whirlwind attack!
[20:32] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+37 6th level arcane strike, -31 power attack, channelled maximised frigid touch, whirlwind attack
[20:32] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 51 > [d20=14]
[20:33] <@Ebiris> roll 6d6+93+6d4+78 last is cold, DC 30 fort or stunned
[20:33] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 211 > [d6=6,6,2,1,5,6][d4=1,2,4,2,2,3]
[20:34] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+11+5 Marie init, nerveskitter
[20:34] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 23 > [d20=7]
Avatarlicia: 1078+20/1078
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 69 (touch 22), CMD 102, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception, +32 str, -4 dex, +16 con, +14 natural armour, -8 attack/AC.
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, arcane sight, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/9/7/6/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/7/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/5/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Alicia wades in, a half dozen scorpions shattering in a single blow, sliced through and frozen solid. Around you chaos erupts as...
> roll 1d20+9 Syalaavatar
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 17 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+1 scorpion horde
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 7 > [d20=6]
Init is Alicia (Supreme Init) > Marie (23) > Syala (17) > Horde (7)
Go Marie.
It's less viscerally destructive but still Marie provides vital support as she flies up into the air, reaching about the shoulder height of Alicia and gesturing down as a swarm of magic missiles spiral out from her fingertips, separating to splash over all the remaining scorpions!
Enlarged/twinned/repeat/entangling/fell drain magic missile, each scorpion gets one! Or at least 28 of them do.
[20:49] <@Ebiris> roll 1d4+2 and 1 negative level and entangled
[20:49] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 3 > [d4=1]
Avatarlicia: 1078+20/1078
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 69 (touch 22), CMD 102, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception, +32 str, -4 dex, +16 con, +14 natural armour, -8 attack/AC.
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, arcane sight, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/9/7/6/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/6/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/5/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Gimme a CL check here real quick?
[21:20] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+38 magic missile CL
[21:20] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 41 > [d20=3]
Magic missiles rip into the scorpions below as Syala watches, arms crossed as devastation is wreaked. Syala meanwhile snaps her fingers, the light of the moon exploding down in dozens of bolts, all ripping into the rampaging scorpions.
> roll 8d4
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 14 > [d4=2,2,1,1,4,1,1,2]
> roll 1d20+18
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 30 > [d20=12]
The massive creatures all sag, moving slower and struggling. The strength is leeched from them, moon barrage striking and taking the energy right from them. Despite this scorpions close into Alicia as...
You have reach on them now so AoO.
Only one scorpion is struck by her opportunistic attack, but she goes for the biggest of them!
[17:25] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+37 6th level arcane strike, -31 power attack, channelled maximised frigid touch, AoO
[17:25] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 57 > [d20=20]
[17:25] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+37 6th level arcane strike, -31 power attack, channelled maximised frigid touch, AoO crit threat
[17:25] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 39 > [d20=2]
[17:26] <@Ebiris> roll 6d6+93+6d4+78 last is cold, DC 30 fort or stunned if not a crit
[17:26] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 204 > [d6=5,6,3,1,5,4][d4=1,1,1,3,1,2]
[17:26] <@Ebiris> roll 12d6+186+6d4+156 last is cold, DC 30 fort or stunned, if a crit
[17:26] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 400 > [d6=3,2,5,6,4,5,3,4,4,2,6,1][d4=2,1,2,4,1,3]
With a single blow Alicia bisects the scorpion down the middle, a bow that freezes both halves as they fall to the ground and shatter like fragile glass. In that instant one is down, but others dare, others assault you head long.
> roll 1d20+27
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 30 > [d20=3]]
Yet you stop them in time. You block and parry, move and counter.
"See? Without the advantage of time they are mere vermin," Chrona 42 says, "When fighting enemies with chronomancy, that is the absolute priority to overcome. The havoc it can wreak in battle is titanic."
Go.
Alicia nods, since if they were temporally stabilised it really would be a pain to handle them without getting taken down by attrition. Probably have to rely on battlefield control to immobilise them.
But like this she can chop them apart with gusto, and she does, carving into the replacement scorpions that have blundered into her reach!
[17:43] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+37 6th level arcane strike, -31 power attack, channelled maximised frigid touch, whirlwind attack
[17:43] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 53 > [d20=16]
[17:43] <@Ebiris> roll 6d6+93+6d4+78 last is cold, DC 30 fort or stunned
[17:43] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 211 > [d6=2,6,6,1,4,5][d4=3,3,1,3,3,3]
Avatarlicia: 1078+20/1078
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 69 (touch 22), CMD 102, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception, +32 str, -4 dex, +16 con, +14 natural armour, -8 attack/AC.
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, arcane sight, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/8/7/5/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/6/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/5/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Blood. Scales.
They all fly around you, frozen in a flash and collapsing. Another half dozen are down, the rest reeling and weakened, missile battered and worse. The sands are a mess, ruins being battered as scorpions are thrown around. An ancient wall collapses as a slain scorpion stumbles back through it, adding to the chaos of the battle.
Marie.
More magic missles fly, though many of them only impact corpses already shredded by Alicia!
[17:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d4+2 and 1 negative level and entangled, repeat spell magic missiles from last round
[17:51] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 3 > [d4=1]
As that happens Marie points at an intact looking giant scorpion and a bolt of lightning sizzles from her fingertips to crackle through it before myriad lesser forks discharge into nearby scorpions!
Empowered chain lightning SLA
[17:54] <@Ebiris> roll 1.5*20d6 empowered chain lightning
[17:54] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 121 > [d6=3,2,5,6,4,6,4,5,6,5,4,3,3,3,6,1,4,6,1,4]
121 damage to primary target, 60 damage to others. DC 30 ref half.
> roll 1d20+11
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 21 > [d20=10]
Scorpions fall, shattered and fried. Only a few remnants remain, most wiped out as lightning rips through them. As they do?
"Alicia, do you fancy giant scorpion riders?" Syala calls, "I think they're open to a change of career about now."
She feels like a scorpion would be awkward to ride, but who knows? Besides they already have phase spiders for their eight-limbed invertebrate contingent so why not expand it? "I'll trust your eye for talent there, Syala!" she calls downwards.
I'm fudging the rules slightly here. Technically scorpions are vermin, though this is a case where D&D rules and our real world definition of the term 'animals' varies.
Syala speaks in words that are the chittering of insects and the clattering of scales, "I am your Queen. Come and be forgiven, or pass and perish."
> roll 1d20+45
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 47 > [d20=2]
A trio of scorpions move and stop before Syala, not resisting. Others skitter and flee, the broken remnants of the attack fleeing for dear life. You've won!
Free act.
Alicia reverts down to normal size now. "I'll open a gate to Sylica and you can hand them over to your real self for training?" she offers.
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perceptionStat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, arcane sight, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/9/7/6/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/7/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/5/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
Easily enough done. The three go through, the real Syala smiling. "Good work, Alicia. Time and the touch of the celestial will make them worthy. I believe we have a desert or two that will do well for them."
"Never hurts to have a few more powerful creatures to call on," Alicia agrees, now leading the way to that hall in the middle of the ruins, floating over chitin and ichor.
Avatarlicia: 582+20/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 65 (touch 32), CMD 80, spell resistance 46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perceptionStat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, scent, low-light vision, arcane sight, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +73
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/8/9/7/6/6/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6
Marie: 589+20/589
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), recitation (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 71, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +15 insight knowledge, +11 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +25 competence perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, blindsight 60, tremorsense 60, perception +75
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/7/10/8/9/9/8/8/8/8/8/5/5
Limited SLAs available: Meteor swarm, time stop
The hall is abandoned now, a doorway leading into it ajar. It swings slightly, as if on loose hinges or otherwise not well kept.
Alicia pushes open that loose door and walks inside!
Within is day and night, here and there. It hurts to look at, a skein of fracture times. The past, the present, all woven together like a fractured glass mirror.
"Temporal fracturing - a type of spiritual wound that can be caused by entities with power over time," Chrona 42 says, "Rare even before the Temporal Compact, it can cause an entire world to fall out of the present."
Syala watches it and says, "Not the sort of thing you can smash in to fix, is it?"
"No, a wish or miracle is the normal method, or altering reality with divine will," Chrona 42 says, "The three of you could pass safely, but any other being would be most likely torn apart, body parts in different temporal positions. It has not yet begun to expand or be dangerous, for it was carefully created yesterday evening."
"So it will expand given time?" Alicia asks, eyes narrowing as she takes it in. "Alright then Syala, lets put this to rights..." she says, exerting her will over it.
Syala takes your hand, "Let's," she agrees, as before you time repairs. Past becomes present and reality returns.
Chrona 42 watches, each piece of distortion becoming whole, one at a time until none are left. "It will. Like any spiritual wound, it will destroy the Prime if left long enough."
"If we happen to leave here without having found all the spiritual wounds I do hope you'll tell us," Alicia says dryly, squeezing Syala's hand and getting a look over the interior of the hall now that time is back in its proper flow.
It is hall, decorated with images of nine circles. Various artistry in purple and violet, pretty if faded with time and age.
"Of course. I was only authorized to create them for demonstration purposes," Chrona 42 says, "We also grow close to the end of this, as you have seen much."
Alicia nods, having a look around the decorations and seeing if there's anything more here in the way of secret passages or hidden compartments or the like.
[19:36] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+73 perception
[19:36] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 81 > [d20=8]
On the side wall are nine circles, interlinked and glowing with faint purple light. You notice there is a keyhole in the center circle.
"Hmm, a keyhole... is this a door or is it connected to a mechanism for something else?" Alicia asks Chrona as she stops in front of that circle.
"A treasure lies behind it. Look at the lock," Chrona 42 invites, "You'll understand."
She crouches down and peers into the lock more carefully.
Ah. The lock is frozen in the present but workable in the past. It can only be opened in the past, and yet the present is here, preventing it from being opened.
"So, now to actually try entering the past?" Alicia stands up. "One minute should be enough, right?" she asks Chrona, feeling nervous at even this much.
"Yes," Chrona 42 agrees, "It's best if the three of you go at the same time, under the same power."
Syala steps forward, "Good," she says, "I'm ready. Marie?"
"Does this mean we'll meet ourselves in the past?" Marie asks, skipping forward to take Syala and Alicia's hands in hers. "There's so much I can tell myself!"
"If you wish. It matters nothing since all of you are immune to temporal paradox. Besides, a minute's time is only a minute," Chrona 42 gestures, "Now go, your divine will shall suffice for such a task."
Taking a deep breath, Alicia casts the three of them back in time by exactly sixty seconds, when she was previously searching around for secrets before finding that keyhole.
In an instant you are there, chronomancy spreading before you. It feels right, part of you awakened again that was asleep and lost.
Nearby an identical trio is looking, pausing to look up. "Ah," Chrono 42 says, "We are in the past and these are our presently oriented doubles working on the lock riddle," he announces. "You will find you did not realize you were in the past until evidence of it presented itself, and now you would hold it as obvious."
Syala looks to Syala, the two sharing a long, amused look.
Past-Alicia promptly uses her sense temporal position ability to confirm that she is indeed in the past.
Meanwhile back in Sylica past-real-Alicia is experiencing having two avatars? Or maybe she's not, either way it would be instructive.
"We're only from a minute ahead, let me just get this lock..." present-Alicia says, her divine will opening it up with a knock spell equivalent.
"Hi, me!" present-Marie meanwhile flounces over to past-Marie who immediately frowns.
"Do I really sound like that?" past-Marie asks, looking over at past-Syala and past-Alicia. "Did I sound like that when I was a coure or is this a recent development?"
"Your voice did get notably more enthralling after your promotion..." past-Alicia says dubiously, which makes both Maries perk up.
"Enthralling?!" present-Marie says, grinning and swaggering over to present-Alicia. "Did you hear what you said about my voice, Alicia?"
"I was actually going to say I sound nothing like that, but a compliment is a compliment," past-Marie says with a lithe shrug and a smug smile.
Real Alicia feels having multiple avatars together and apart, her senses naturally understanding the momentary temporal difference between herself and past Alicia. It's like being more and yet the same, thoughts rippling together.
Together you are united, for you are one singular force. You can even make time kneel to you.
Meanwhile, past Syala smiles, "Your voice is lovely, Marie. Both of yours. If only Antenora was here, she'd think she died and went to the Heavens. Again."
Amid all of this, Alicia unlocks the door successfully.
"I know, it's such a shame she had to miss this, you know she'd have a ball," past-Marie agrees with her own timeline's Syala.
"We're done," Alicia announces, straightening from the lock and turning, where she meets eyes with her past self.
Both of them tense their grips on their swords slightly before past-Alicia makes a rueful chuckle. "I'm not sure we'd really learn anything..."
"I suppose it's no different than sparring with an avatar... no, it's exactly the same as if we had two avatars. There's no mystery, every move is known ahead of time," present-Alicia agrees, her stance relaxing again. "Say goodbye to your past self Marie, we're going back to the present, now."
"I feel like back to the future is more fair," past-Marie says. "Oh well, see ya! I'm definitely gonna be ya!" she waves at present-Marie.
"Not if I see you- wait, that doesn't work," present-Marie pouts a moment before she becomes only-Marie, the three returned to the present.
It is the faintest ripple, then you are back in the present once more.
"It is done?" Chrona 42 asks. "Imagine, if you will, a mortal champion. One who has managed to press a powerful fiend to his lair to finish him - but what's this? Now there's two of them, identical! After all, the past is open to revision, and what was once a humiliating defeat and retreat is now changed to be a triumph for evil."
Syala merely adds to that, "Yes, I see why chronomancy was forbidden, yet again."
"Though in the case of a fiend rather than a deity, wouldn't killing the past incarnation of the fiend unmake the present version?" Alicia asks. "So if the champion focused her efforts on the right one, hope need not be lost."
"Indeed," Chrona 42 says, "It was not a perfect strategy."
"Speaking of perfect," Syala remarks, "I enjoyed your little bit of posing there. Don't worry, we can fight after this." Smiling just a little bit, "You'll get much...more out of it than with yourself. You can only be so violent with one person, violence is better with two."
Marie sidles up next to Chrona. "So hey!" she asks, enthralling voice pitched loud, "What sort of cantrips are there for Chronomancy, or is it all high power stuff?!"
Alicia gives Marie a wry look and then smiles back at Syala. "I think she just misses Antenora."
"Desperately," Syala says agreeably.
Chrona 42 clears his throat. "Ahem. The most simple spell is to tell the time and date, relative to your preferred time and date system. A cantrip or orison for chronomancy, though an equivalent divination is first circle."
"That does feel appropriate for either," Alicia agrees. "Actually, is there a chronomancy version of time stop? The transmutation version in many ways feels like an awkward kludge of a spell, with the way in which despite being hyper-accelerated, other beings are somehow invulnerable to you while objects aren't."
"That's a bit like the sort of thing Mystra would put in to keep a spell from being too strong," Marie agrees. "But I bet with a chronomancy version when everyone is literally stuck in time relative to you, they really would be invulnerable, so it probably did end up copying the exact same sort of function."
"Marie is correct," Chrona 42 says, "It took some effort for time stop to work without chronomancy - and many of the ways to stop it were lost as a result of the ban. Have you ever cast the spell around a creature capable of mimicing it for themselves? You'll find yourselves in the time stop together. This is designed intentionally, as originally the most common counter to the chronomantic time stop was that."
"Oooh, oooh, I can do that!" Marie waves her hand in the air. "Mystra gave me lots of special training for it when I was promoted, since it's so powerful."
"It has been very useful," Alicia agrees with an approving smile at Marie. "Are there any other spells in common usage that derive from chronomancy?" she asks Chrona.
"Haste, though that one translated well," Chrona 42 says. "Mind magic had more, once on a time. As easily as chronomancy comes to the a wizard, it comes easier to a mentalist."
"Haste and slow do make sense," Alicia agrees, humming thoughtfully. "Anyway, let me see what we opened here..." she examines the lock again.
Within the room sits a helmet of good steel, open faced. You can feel it - something invisible and solid protecting the exposed face. A field of force, likely.
Alicia picks the helmet up and studies the magic on it...
take 10 for 56 on spellcraft.
Loot post.
"An interesting helm for a vigilant watchman... makes me think of Demedais," Alicia smiles, putting it in her portable hole. "Is there anything else of interest? You said we were nearly done but I recall seeing a lot more tunnels when I first teleported in," she says to Chrona 42.
"They were distorted from that distortion you remedied," Chrona 42 says, "You've excelled at this, as much as I expected."
"Thank you," Alicia says, inclining her head towards the inevitable. "Though given the state of the compact this is all merely theoretical. Is there an expectation that the compact may one day be undone?"
Certainly if Creation stands on the brink of annihilation, the damage wrought by unrestrained chronomancy may become an acceptable price to pay.
"There is not at this time," Chrona 42 says, "But should it happen or the pact be unable to be enforced, it is your duty to be able to handle Chronomancy. Now," Smiling a bit, "I have to go into the past and prepare another instance elsewhere for Lady Aryn. It was an honor, ladies."
"Thank you," Syala says, "I'll make sure your superiors know how well you did."
"Yes, you deserve a good word for your efforts here," Alicia agrees. "Thank you for taking care of us. Marie?" she turns to her proxy, "I'll take your equipment so you can return to your assignment."
The tulani nods, handing over some of her more visible magical items, including those bracers of time. "I'll keep my eyes and ears out for you!" she salutes before teleporting away to resume her mission as Honey Belle, while Alicia and Syala gate back to Sylica.
As that happens?
"Alicia, Syala," Antenora says to their true forms, the three of them in a quiet place of Liberton, "There is war."
Someone's always fighting somewhere...
Would Alicia be aware of this from her portfolio sense?QuotePortfolio Sense: Demigods have a limited ability to sense events involving their portfolios. They automatically sense any event that involves one thousand or more people. The ability is limited to the present. Lesser deities automatically sense any event that involves their portfolios and affects five hundred or more people. Intermediate deities automatically sense any event that involves their portfolios, regardless of the number of people involved. In addition, their senses extend one week into the past for every divine rank they have. Greater deities automatically sense any event that involves their portfolios, regardless of the number of people involved. In addition, their senses extend one week into the past and one week into the future for every divine rank they have. The ability to sense the future is not perfect, local events can change the future so that what was sensed does not come to pass.
When a deity senses an event, she merely knows that the event is occurring and where it is. She receives no sensory information about the event. Once a deity notices an event, she can typically use her remote sensing power to perceive more about it. If a greater deity senses an event in the future that is subsequently stopped from happening, she is aware it was stopped, though further details are not known.
Since she has the war domain.
You'd be getting pings of it, yeah. It's a gigantic planar war.
What specific information do I derive? Feels like a good time to flesh out how this works!
Alicia can feel it. The tides of war surge, sweeping across Creation. A war that will burn like a blaze, spreading about as the inferno is fed. Flashes - the Grand Sultan, the archons, the Cauldron. More and more are pulled in, while figures beyond watch, wait, prepare.
"Yes, I know," Alicia says to Antenora. "I feel it in my bones. The efreet, Celestia, and Seira. We'll be drawn into it, of course."
"Of course," Antenora says, "We must decide how much we will commit to this."
"We need to keep forces in reserve to deal with Shar when opportunities arise and defend Sylica," Alicia says right off. "Beyond that our commitments to Aurora and the expedition we're preparing for Daun can't be weakened. Unfortunately that limits us, we simply don't have the numbers to fight on so many fronts. But Celestia and the Cauldron are our allies - our friends, so we can't turn them down if they ask for aid."
"We'll have to sit down and see how our forces are doing," Syala hums, "We are rather committed in a lot of directions. I imagine Seira will be cutting down her commitments on other things because of this."
"Probably, she usually has a lot of plates spinning," Alicia agrees. "Lets get everyone we can together and have a proper council so we know exactly what we have to work with."
Let me pause you here then, since that's getting into that realm stuff.
It's a little later when Strength of Light has joined you.
"Right now we're at capacity, but we could divert forces from Sylica itself, as well as rotate soldiers out of leaves and detachments," Strength of Light reports, "How large an investment into this Efreet war is called for?"
At this Syala is sitting in your meeting room, Latha's sunlight spilling in through open windows. She nods, "At least matching our Aurora deployment, if not more. We're still a tiny realm by standards, we haven't had millions of years to expand. Still, we can make a difference because our commitments are also much lesser, so we aren't as tied up."
"I'm thinking that our strength as a deterrent isn't to be underestimated right now," Alicia says as she sits at a round oak table with Strength of Light and Syala, its surface varnished to gleaming. "If we're asked for direct support we'll of course give it - I've no love for the efreet and our friendships with the Cauldron and Celestia are worth that much. But other forces are going to be looking to prey on their weakness and strike while they're distracted elsewhere. Simply knowing that Sylica has a large reserve that we will commit to their defence could keep other swords sheathed."
She pauses a moment then adds, "Of course if the efreet actually look to be winning that changes the calculus..."
"Of course," Strength of Light says, "We also need to make sure that all of the forces involved understand that." He leans forward, elbows on the table as he adds, "Some sort of demonstration, not anything to drag us in or get a war declaration, but to firmly point out we protect our friends."
"A show of force, or at least capability," Alicia agrees. "Appearing at a battle would be too provocative even if we only intended to observe I guarantee we'd get drawn in." She drums her fingers on the table softly. "Perhaps an unrelated target on Fire or the Astral that we could attack and destroy as a means of showing our reach and decisiveness? I remember years ago I helped take down a fortress of demons loyal to Jubilex on the astral plane to help Jamais with his crusade, something like that?"
"Carefully chosen. Appearing on Fire may be taken as enemy action if the efreet get wind of it," Syala remarks, "Or could be depending on how much the Grand Sultan expects us to intervene."
"I was thinking the astral may be better for that reason," Alicia agrees. "Though it needs to be visible, which given how empty the astral plane is presents its own challenges..."
"Are the gith an option?" Strength of Light says, "Seira maintains a balancing act between her realm and Vlaakith's on the Astral. Pushing the gith into the war against the Cauldron is risky." He hums a bit, "But the gith are hardly the only Astral residents."
"It's probably better if we don't upset that. Sharess has told me that she's keeping an eye on the balance of power. Vlaakith is disgusting, but she's also not our primary enemy right now." Syala says, "So she can wait a little longer to get a hammer to the face."
"They're not involved, but us attacking them would absolutely draw them in on the efreet's side. Not an option," Alicia shakes her head. "Something like demons or unaligned undead, maybe? Actually we're overthinking this," she decides. "A war game is easily arranged without needing to worry about picking the right foes. We can send a strong force out to do some mock battles... hmm, perhaps where Aurora and Hell caused that planar rift to Hades? It's still monitored by a lot of groups so it should send the right message."
"We have our own monitoring there, just a small handful of celestials cooperating with the other celestials there," Syala remarks, "I like it."
"I'll have my avatar oversee the war games directly, to make perfectly clear the level of commitment we're willing to put on the astral or anywhere else we need," Alicia decides, nodding as they gravitate towards this plan. "We'll have to dig into our reserves and slow down our expansion into the new portions of Sylica, but we can put out a force similar to what we have on Aurora and have it ready to go at a moment's notice, while still having a solid core in reserve to draw on if things escalate further."
Which amends the realm calculus, subtracting 5% from Realm Production and 5% from Rest to make a 10% commitment to Efreet War Reaction Force.
Technically it's grown a bit since then, but yeah, close enough. Go ahead and post this intent over in that thread.
"Then how fast will we put this together?" Syala asks, as...
Really just asking how fast you want to get this moving.
"Lets prioritise it," Alicia says, as indeed her avatar is already getting to work mobilising forces and pulling them off other duties or cutting into their leisure. "This war's already gone hot, we need to make our position clear before any opportunists can take advantage."
"Then when do you want us ready to go?" Strength of Light asks.
"As soon as possible, I'm organising it now," Alicia says, her avatar being handy for that.
Thus all of you arrive.
The former battleground is largely a field of debris now. A free floating field, watched over by occasional groups - including the devils, as you know from Ebony's reports. It is silent and peaceful as the Silver Sea usually is as...
Go ahead and make your big entrance here and describe your plans, we'll go from there.
Multiple gates are opened between the mustering ground on Sylica and the astral plane as her forces fly out with well drilled professionalism. Heavily armoured and magically warded warriors are the first out, forming strongpoints to defend their gates from assault and counterspell dispels or dimensional anchors before faster elements move out to scout the surroundings and harass any potential enemy, before magical bombardment specialists march through and take their own positions to attack any defenders standing in the way of their beachhead.
Each gate thus defended, the situation on the astral deemed secure, the major bulk of Sylica's army begins to file out through the portals, forming vast serried ranks out on the silver sea, forming into two similarly matched groupings separated by distance. Alicia herself is the last to emerge, in the form of her avatar at least, accompanied by the living sun that is Latha, her radiance casting the silver of the astral into a glow of molten gold as the portals shut.
Barring any interruptions, one of those two factions of her army will disperse into the debris field, preparing for a guerilla style engagement as the other force forms a spearhead to push into it against their resistance so as to reach the centre of the field and fortify it in defence of increasingly pressing attacks from the dispersed force, before having to break out at Alicia's command and reach the edge of the field once more now in the face of an organised blockade intent on pinning them down.
Neither Alicia nor Latha will directly participate in the exercise, but they will be observing the whole thing, ensuring no outside interference and taking notes on the capabilities of their forces - this is still a valid exercise for everyone to learn from as much as it's a display of might and capability after all.
Thus your forces spread out - angels and mortals, mages and warriors, clerics and more. They all follow commands as you watch, Latha at your side. "The devils will not miss it, and the efreet will know," she murmurs. "Let's show them why they fear us."
Alicia nods as she and Latha float up at the edge of the debris field to get a good overview of things. "I'd like to do more, but a strong demonstration may keep more foes quiet than we could fight directly if it came to that," she says softly. "No one wants to be the first to get eliminated, even if the third or fourth may overwhelm us."
"The more that commit trigger more to joining. A cascade until everyone is at war," Latha says, "Your reasoning is sound, some of us need to stay out to be able to focus on opportunistic troublemakers. Not everyone crusades or climbs the mountain at once; for ever Raziel, there is a Sealtiel."
"Exactly, we all have our part to play. And the fate of Daun, the defeat of the First Vampire, and our own efforts against Shar take up much of our forces," Alicia agrees. "This method maximises the impact we can have, even if it won't be immediately obvious."
Below as your troops perform, military exercises going in earnest? You can see them far away, your divine vision letting you notice them. A small band of devils - four barbazu, two erinyes, two hamatula and one gelugon - as approaching your forces from the side. They bear a white flag, a flag of truce.
"Keep an eye on things for me, would you Latha?" she asks, turning towards the devils and waiting expectantly for them to reach her.
She doesn't draw her sword or bombard them with long range magic so they can feel grateful!
Celestials part as Latha's light retracts into her, barely a radiance at all. The devils approach, heads held high - or at least the gelugon. The barbazu are shaking visibly, though they at least hold the line.
"What is the meaning of this," the gelugon chitters at you, once they're close enough for conversation. The hamatula and erinyes stay behind him, eyes anywhere but you. The gelugon sweeps one clawed hand out towards the exercises.
"Mind your tone," Alicia says cuttingly. "I may respect a flag of truce, but don't abuse my tolerance."
She'd have been happy to explain but she can't let some no name devil talk to her like that and get away with it. Other devils might get ideas.
Intimidate check, just for the record of how scary you are.
[19:47] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+48 intimidate
[19:47] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 1d20+48 intimidate --> [ 1d20=17 ]{65}
The gelugon quickly skitters back a step, a chittering as it says, "T-then what are you doing, m-ma'am?" it tries.
She looks at the devil for a long moment to let it stew before she answers. "Military exercises. If a similar planar breach or other hostile conflict erupts on the astral plane, my forces will have the skills and doctrine to handle it decisively."
"T-thank you, ma'am," The gelugon chitters away, "T-then, by your leave," he says, turning to go.
Latha smiles, faintly so. "There is one thing. Something about you reminds me of Antenora," she says, "Are you also from Cania?"
Alicia would let them go, but she allows Latha to do her own thing since she raised it!
Though telling a devil it's like Antenora in front of other devils probably just killed its promotion prospects forever.
A pause, "I-I am not, ma'am," The devil says, through gritted teeth.
"Ah, then it's not important to know," Latha waves it off, "You may go." She's smiling as they flee, and in your mind, 'Let Hell play mind games with themselves over it, even if it is but a trifle.'
'Someone will be losing a lot of sleep over that,' she sends back to Latha, resuming her oversight of the wargames.
Give me a d100.
[20:53] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[20:53] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 1d100 --> [ 1d100=60 ]{60}
The military wargames continue. Your forces do quite well, drilled and maintained to a high order. Everything's going about as planned there.
Near the end, you spy another figure approaching out of the Silver Sea. A single githyanki, surrounded by several armored githyanki. He is rather tall and well kept, clad in mail and carrying a heavy sword at his side. He approaches enough to be seen by the naked eye and merely hovers there, as if waiting.
Alicia turns her head to regard this waiting Githyanki and projects her voice to him.
Come, approach and speak your mind.
The githyank approaches. He bows and then speaks.
"I am Ambassador Gull'fin," he says, voice guttural and yet polished, coming together rather oddly. "I come as a representative of the Lich Queen. I must inquire before I continue - have you joined the newly born war?"
"Greetings, Ambassador," Alicia inclines her head towards him just a bit before answering. "We have not, though we are not impartial and should the Cauldron call for aid we will be obliged to answer."
"Then allow me to give you this, in case you join the war," The Ambassador says, handing you a scroll. It reads as follows.
To all it may concern:
The Githyanki have no stake in the this current war. However, as Queen of the Githyanki, I shall establish the following rules to protect Us from this conflict.
1. All Githyanki traders, travelers, diplomats, including servants to them, shall not be detained, attacked or drawn into the hostilities. As neutral parties, any effort to draw citizens and servants of the Githyanki into this war will be seen as an act of war, and may result in penalty up to and including a declaration of war.
2. The property of all Githyanki shall be respected and unhindered. Should Githyanki property be unavoidably damaged or destroyed, compensation shall be provided at terms established by the Lich Queen. A failure to abide by this term will be seen as an act of war, and may result in penalty up to and including a declaration of war.
3. The Astral Plane shall remain free of hostile forces within any area of Githyanki dominance and control. We will see any infringement of this as an act of war, and may result in penalty up to and including a declaration of war.
4. The right of the Githyanki to trade, enjoy diplomatic relations and the other aspects of normal relations with all parties of this conflict shall not be impinged or hindered by other parties. A failure to do so will be seen as an act of war, and may result in a penalty up to and including a declaration of war. This includes efforts from any side to discourage trade to the warring parties or other parties who trade with a warring party, or any other pressure deemed coercive and towards war aims by one the parties at war or a party working on behalf of a party at war.
5. We have a right to relations free of deception. Any effort at 'false flag' operations to manipulate the Githyanki into a position of war shall be seen as an act of war, with a penalty up to and including a declaration of war.
6. The Githyanki reserve the right to establish based across the Astral Plane, and this right shall not be impinged by other parties. Failure to abide by this declaration shall be seen as an act of war, and may result in penalty up to and including a declaration of war.
This note shall be sent to all parties involved in this war.
Vlaakith, Lich Queen, Queen of the Githyanki, Keeper of the Gith and Sovereign of the Silver Sea.
Accepting the scroll, Alicia gives it a read through before handing it to Latha. "So noted. We will bear this in mind for any operations we engage in on the astral plane."
"Then I shall inform the Queen of your position," The diplomat says, "Do you wish to add anything else?"
"Only that we will of course be monitoring the course of this war closely," Alicia begins. "And any presence we exert on the astral plane will not conflict with the sovereignty of a neutral Githyanki people."
"The Queen will hear your words," The Ambassador bows once more, and after a moment's pause, turns and goes.
'Fortunate for Seira on the whole,' Latha remarks, 'Had the Githyanki found cause to cooperate with the efreet, her entire position may have come undone. No doubt Vlaakith will find ways to prosper and profit from her neutrality, nonetheless.'
'Of course. But whatever else the githyanki may be, they were once slaves themselves. Seira would have had to work to drive them to the efreet on this matter,' Alicia returns, her gaze once more going back to overseeing her forces as their exercise draws to a conclusion.
From there the rest of the exercises are uneventful, at least for now.
Anything else you want to do here?
No, we've made our point, lets go home.
Simple enough. Once back in Liberton, you go to your quarters, working. The creation of simple things, while feeling the pulse of war. War.
You feel the pulse of conflict in Celestia. A massive conflict boiling and raging, flames and light dancing together in a dance of death.
You feel the slithering tendrils of war, reaching out. Some take them in hand, others reject them.
WAR.
A cry of battle. A cry of a great titan astride two horses, riding amidst the conflict. He looms above it, a scarred figure in heavy armor, face hidden by a full helmet. In your bones and soul, you know that Tempus rides.
Alicia sits up straight at that.
Will you join this war, Foehammer? And who's banner will you favour?
I WILL JOIN NEITHER SIDE. I WILL RIDE AMID THE WAR. LET THE WAR RAGE, FOR IT HAS BEEN LONG IN COMING.
And thus Sylica needn't be drawn in quite yet.
Then may you find what you seek.
A knock a few moments later.
"Alicia," Antenora asks, coming in after a moment. She is clad in her armor, a rolled up scroll in hand. "Have you had dealings with the Authority of Absolution?"
"Hello Antenora, I actually haven't no," she shakes her head. "The Authorities and I haven't really crossed paths, my dealings with Celestia tend to be either with Romiel or the Hebdomad. Have they reached out to you?" she looks at that scroll she's carrying.
"Yes," Antenora agrees, putting the scroll away once seen. "Cerulean Joy send this to me, asking to see myself whenever possible considering the war, as well as yourself and Syala if possible."
"Did she say what she wants to talk about in particular?" Alicia asks. "She's welcome to visit and we'd certainly make time for her."
"A matter of great importance to all of us," Antenora says, "But she was not specific."
"Curious," Alicia says. "I'll invite her over, then."
Cerulean Joy, I received word of your missive to Antenora. You are welcome to visit Sylica and discuss matters with the three of us today.
You can her her thought in return.
'Thank you. I must ask to be able to come when I am able. Matters of war occupy me now.'
Then we will await your presence.
"She said she'd come when she's able but couldn't commit to a timescale," she tells Antenora. "Busy with the war."
"Then it's not truly urgent, or as urgent as the war," Antenora comes in and sits, focusing. For a moment a glass she has flickers, but nothing happens. Holding her glass up silently to you, "It's the easiest and yet the hardest part of this. I can begin to feel how I can press my will into Creation, yet as Amaryl said, it's so hard to actually do it."
"Like an apprentice trying to cast fireball. You know the gestures, you know the words, you know exactly what the spell does... you just don't have the kick to make it happen," Alicia nods understandingly. "Even with Mystra showing me so much, fundamentally I had to grow into these skills on my own. And it's not just that, part of it comes from faith, being bolstered by those who pray to me, and part of it comes from... being and embodying what I purport to represent."
She leans closer to Antenora. "Eblis has no church, but whether that's preference or if he truly would derive nothing from faith I'm afraid I don't know. Have you heard any prayers directed at you yet?"
Antenora leans in. It's a gentle thing, a scent of the summer breeze coming from her. Sweetness and flowers, the ever flowing air. "I have, but they're distant. I have to focus on it many times to hear things, though sometimes something breaks through on its own accord."
"The ones that break through like that are usually the most fervent," Alicia says. "Nurture them. They'll become your most ardent messengers."
A smile comes to her lips, "I will. But it's also a fact we don't need them." Here Antenora shakes her head, "And if you tried, I don't think you'd need them, either. No, I think there's a design here, all coming back to the same thing. It's merely a different path to the same end."
Alicia briefly casts her gaze to the ceiling. "I think I had this exact conversation with Jessica the other day," she muses before looking at Antenora again. "One can only do so much alone, Antenora. It's through our influence on others that we truly affect Creation, and a devoted faith provides a very large lever to work with."
Antenora frowns, "Alicia. Of course I know that. I mean to exist, to be what we are. I don't think standing alone or being able to is merely a facet of being One. That's where my thoughts go."
"Your phrasing just brought it to mind, I was thinking everyone's mind seems to be on the same wavelength lately," Alicia shrugs. "So where are you thinking this design leads, then?"
Antenora starts to reply but freezes cold. She stops, composure momentarily breaking, eyes going wide.
An important prayer, or a sending? Alicia just looks expectantly at Antenora, certain she'll explain it momentarily.
"Asmodeus," Antenora says after a few beats. "Offering myself safe passage to and from Nessus, as well as a personal guarantee of safety. He would like to talk to me."
She really wishes the gods had some sort of neutral meeting ground for things like this. "I wouldn't trust that guarantee very far," Alicia says darkly. While it's true she trusted in Antenora's lawful nature when they first met, certain devil actions in disregarding parlay during the Lifasan Crusade have ruined their credibility when it comes to such offers.
"All disavowed and blamed up to Bel if need be," Antenora adds, just as darkly. She takes a long breath, before...
'Greetings,' Asmodeus speaks with calm serenity, voice powerful and commanding, yet decidedly quiet. You know it is him in a way that defies words, his presence unique and impossible to mistake as any other's. A feeling of power, a feeling of reality, yet held back to the barest whisper.
Asmodeus. After so long trying to bring Antenora back in chains you expect her to simply walk into Hell?
I will not. Never again will I suffer in Hell.
'We have one common enemy,' The Lord of the Ninth says, 'One that We all wish to be defeated. We will not entertain such measures as the Grand Sultan proposed to Seira and Barachiel, but We are interested in discussing Shar with you. As One Antenora is important now, and the secrets of One may yet strengthen you.'
Antenora takes a long breath, fists tightening. Secrets that you have, secrets you wish to share for us? All at the price of our souls and freedom?
'All at the price of Our Creation continuing. If that means you grasp the secrets of One and rise to rival Lathander, Helm, Torm or another, then We see that as more than an acceptable price.'
Alicia is outwardly calm as they carry out this high stakes conversation, not needing to even move her lips to contribute.
Secrets that needn't require a trip to Nessus to be divulged.
'Secrets that We will only speak of face to face,' Is the reply you get. 'A place with meaning - where Agares fell.'
Well she's bargained him up from Nessus to Avernus, so that's progress?
I'm sure Lixer would be thrilled to host us again. Let me instead propose neutral territory. There is a fortress on the astral plane jointly maintained by forces of Sylica and Maladomini, where the Q'Pa was slain and its influence on Creation is contained. It feels equally appropriate.
'So be it.'
She hadn't expected it to be that easy a sell... "He must really be keen," she says aloud to Antenora.
Five minutes, we'll be waiting.
If he wants to go there and fight them it doesn't really make much difference how much or little time is allowed for preparation, they'll be outmatched either way. Still, short notice gives her some peace of mind.
"We're playing into a plot," Antenora exhales, taking a breath, "Then we'll be ready for whatever is to come."
"Either way lets get Syala and go," Alicia says, rising to her feet. "Equipped for battle - we won't provoke a fight but we'll fight our way out if we have to. Just remember any avenues for growth he offers are ones that fit his designs. The entire point of becoming One was to step outside all prior constraints and find your way."
Okay, any prep for this?
Aside from Alicia's personal buffs, everyone gets
Greater heroism: +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +20 temp hp, CL 32
Good hope: +2 attack/saves/ability checks, CL 32
Vision of the omniscient eye: +10 insight perception, CL 32
Divine insight: +15 insight to one skill check then discharged, CL 32
Death ward: immunity to negative energy, level drain, death effects, CL 33
Nondetection: DC 43 CL check required for divinations to work, CL 33
Alicia: 632+20/632
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 33), many moments of prescience (CL 32), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 33), extended repelling shield (CL 33), sensual blessing (CL 32), greater heroism (CL 32), good hope (CL 32), vision of the omniscient eye (CL 32), divine insight (CL 32), foresight (CL 32), death ward (CL 33), divine insight (CL 32)
Defences: AC 76, CMD 87, spell resistance 47, energy immunity (fire, cold, negative energy), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 48)
Stat buffs/penalties: +9 shield AC, +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +2 morale ability checks, +25 competence perception, +10 insight perception, +2 insight AC/reflex
Perceptions: Darkvision arcane sight, low-light vision, scent, blindsight, tremorsense, all 2 miles perception +86
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/16/16/15/6/9/15/8/8/7/8/7/6/5
Duskblade spell slots: 6/22/22/22/11/7
Thus the three of you arrive. Perhaps to your surprise, it is quiet here. Silent, almost peaceful. The fortress stands in there, untouched.
Antenora's gaze sweeps around right there, hand clutching her spear, knuckles white.
Well this is a pretty quiet part of the astral plane. With the fortress split down the middle between garrisons from Hell and Sylica, Alicia of course goes to the Sylican section to apprise her base commander on the 'distinguished' guest they're expecting, before she, Syala, and Antenora all go to the central chamber where the Q'pa was slain, the destroyed space is the worst, and where the Malodomini and Sylican sides meet.
This all goes without incident. Here, amid the distortions stands but one creature. He is human-like, observing the distortions with patient calm. A sense of quiet serenity fills the room, of peace that latches onto you like iron chains. He waits for you, eyes like coal as he meets your gaze with the slightest smile.
"Alicia," the avatar of the Lord of the Ninth says in greeting. "Syala. Antenora." His voice is smooth, enthralling. You stand against it and yet you can feel its power, like a chasm that will draw everything into it.
Only an avatar, but still surpassingly dangerous. "Asmodeus," she returns the one word greeting, keeping her face impassive as she stops several feet from him, flanked by Syala and Antenora.
Syala stays silent, next to you in unspoken support.
"Tyrant." Antenora says, voice level and cool, spear still out.
"You have earned Our congratulations, Antenora," Asmodeus says. His voice is soft as it was before, expression serene. "It is rare that someone manages to surprise Us. There is more of Our nature in you than expected."
Antenora starts to speak, but Asmodeus speaks right over her, voice somehow smothering her own. "The iron will to confront One. The clarity of absolute purpose to withstand One. The sense of self to stand as One while yet using others to your victory. All admirable qualities. I had thought Eblis to be the only one who would ever become One by himself. None had what was made, what could be, save for those who I have removed from the board under My command."
Antenora's gaze burns opal blue, yet she takes a visible breath. "You've known about One yet you haven't used this knowledge. Why?"
Alicia had been working with the assumption that Asmodeus's knowledge of this method came from Eblis, so this forms an unpleasant surprise. Antenora's question demands an answer, and Alicia stays silent to let it be addressed rather than add her own voice to those talking over Antenora.
Though she'll definitely be coming back to those who've been removed while having the potential.
To this Asmodeus merely speaks, as if remarking on the most obvious thing in the world. "Eblis was not the first to try. He was the first and only to succeed. Ones almost as great as him, lost to history and time, tried before him."
Now the Lord of the Ninth meets Antenora's gaze, "You have proven the equal of the son of Zaphkiel, equal to Eblis and superior to his brother, Sealtiel. Is it not obvious to you, One? One that is worthy will still almost certainly fail without the guidance of One who has already arisen. One such as you may yet prove to be the superior of Shar. Eblis is not - he will exist should Creation end, but he will never create or save, never again."
"That doesn't answer her question," Alicia speaks up after all that evasive flattery. "Why haven't you used it to empower more disciples like Gathgorian, if you've had this knowledge for so long?"
Antenora doesn't look away, adding, "It's the same reason Zaphkiel doesn't, I imagine. He must know of it if Eblis became One."
"Zaphkiel and I agree on certain matters," Asmodeus says, "While We wage war against each other, there are certain agreements that We find agreeable to keep with him. But this is not a time for agreements to be so closely kept. No, you surprised him as well. He meant for One to be created as part of his plan, it was not meant to be so soon. Let alone One who rose on their own, without relying on Eblis."
"I do not believe one who achieves apotheosis with guidance can truly be called One, no matter how worthy," Alicia says. She might not know all the ins and outs of all this, but some things just make sense.
"Eblis spoke of three. Two taken already at your request with Gathgorian being one. The third remaining to be chosen. Will Zaphkiel choose three to match? Are all to be weapons against Shar? Primus's calculation can't possibly have accounted for One risen Beyond."
"You are correct," Asmodeus agrees, smiling pleasantly, as if discussing some enjoyable but trivial thing. The air of the room is thick, hard to breathe. You almost feel as if you're sinking into the ground, but you shake it off with a moment of will. "Our hope is that this is beyond Primus's calculations."
Antenora then says, resting the butt of her spear on the ground at the same time, as if to lean on it, "I broke from Hell. I broke my nature and my limits once, and I've done it again. You're hoping I can do the impossible a third time."
"That all of you will," Asmodeus agrees, "You do not stand alone. We would aid you for the sake of Creation's continued existence."
You feel it. A thrill. A thrill of overwhelming power along your link to Syala and Antenora. It resonates darkly, nigh overwhelmingly. "Law will be what saves Creation. We care little of what moral aspect of Law does so, only that Creation is saved. We can offer you power and insight to obtain the heights of might that you need to defeat Shar."
"No," Alicia says firmly, standing straighter and leaning forward a little as she exerts herself to push back that sensation of foreign power. "Offer your boons to Gathgorian and your other two pawns, we will find our own way."
No.
Syala steps forward, the glow of her aura brighter. She stands with you and adds, "Offer your poisoned cups to those who would foolishly drink from them."
No.
Antenora keeps her position, and as she says no, the three rejections seem to resonate. Your voices echo about, strong and sure. "We will save Creation on our terms."
The Lord of the Ninth smiles, as if amused by your answer.
No.
His smile vanishes on that, expression becoming neutral, almost tight.
The choice is made; you had the chance we agreed on.
"I am not yet done," The Lord of the Ninth says, "You struggle, Antenora. You struggle to grasp your new nature. Merely accept Our aid, freely given and without drawback, and you will be equal to any true deity in moments. You know what We have overcome such limits before, such as with Our son."
Alicia is silent now. Antenora needs this, this chance to turn aside from the very king of Hell to his face on her own terms.
She won't take that away from her.
No.
Antenora steps forward, the distortions growing still all around. "You are not the side of Law I serve anymore. Great is our need, but greater is our souls."
To this Asmodeus smiles and steps back. He extends his hand out palm first. What appears there is a seed. The seed the size of a fist, floating in the air and radiating light. You understand it instantly, instinctively. Pure, raw divinity in the most basic form. "A divine seed," Asmodeus says, facing you now. "That can strengthen your divinity on the spot, now and forever - to be spread about or hoarded to one, or to even safely elevate someone to divinity. The greatest treasures of Creation, the work of the Incarnations. It is yours, take it as my gift. Grow your power and your realm with it, Alicia, or even another's realm if you desire. Its might will serve you well against Shar."
An excellent temptation, as befitting the King of Hell. Even if she were unwilling to use it, should she not take it simply to deprive Hell of such a wondrous resource?
She should actually, it makes perfect sense when looked at in that light.
It's the logical thing to do.
Lawful.
"She said no," Alicia says, refusing the offered gift. "That is our Answer, and acceptance would dilute it."
Because Good always comes first. There will be a Creation after Ao's executioner has been defeated, and it will be one where Good triumphs evermore. Even if that seed is pure of Evil, the uncorrupted work of the Incarnations? Taking it freely from the hand that offers would indelibly mark them.
Slowly, as if a dream that refuses to cede to the waking world, the divine seed vanishes. Asmodeus lowers his hand, "So be it," he says, voice soft. In that instant the Lord of the Ninth is gone, as of a phantasm banished by the light of the morning sun.
Well done.
Is that you, Zaphkiel?
"We're done here," Alicia says aloud to Antenora and Syala, turning to leave with less fanfare. "Lets go home."
Antenora simply looks up - and you see light above. The ceiling radiates the light of Chronias, shining bright and true, known to you by feel and sight.
Be not afraid, but grow.
"Thank you," Antenora says, "Thank you for Celestia giving me chances. Thank you for Alicia and Syala, for I would not be here without them and the aid you have given them."
Thank me by continuing on, for few others can. Listen to my words. Asmodeus did not lie, you are One now and a One none planned to see arise. Grow and strengthen your bonds and divinity. Grow and strengthen your bonds. Become what Eblis could not - together. For otherwise One is an eternal damnation of loneliness and despair.
You feel it - a connection to Antenora, resonating throughout you and her.
Node update for Antenora. Power can flow into your Holy War or Syala's Divine Light. It is your choice.
Divine light is cooler, go with that.
Done, go check the update.
Antenora closes her eyes as you feel that connection, "Thank you," she repeats, as power flows into Syala's aura.
Syala hugs Antenora, "You too," she says.
Read it.
While we have your attention, what of the other three you have your eye on beyond us and Seira's group? It's driving Latha to distraction trying to find them.
Aloud she adds, "Together," as she puts a gauntleted hand on Antenora's shoulder pauldron.
To find them will take you places, places where you can grow and become stronger, more ready. But, one can be found because she resides with one of Seira's kin.
"Together," Antenora echos. "Forever."
Saul up to his old tricks again? Either that or Seira has another mystery aunt...
And the other two? What criteria did you select for?
One survived the Realm of Light and proved worthy, and I did not choose the other.
Is it so hard to just talk clearly and elaborate things?
Then who did?
Also knowledge for Realm of Light?
K:P. Go ahead and make that before the reply.
[17:28] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+50 planes
[17:28] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 66 > [d20=16]
Ah. You put it together. The Lost Realm, where souls are tested and seen if they are worthy.
Do you need more IC elaboration? I know you know more OOC.
Io.
If Alicia knows as much as Pepo knows that's good enough for me.
Is there anything else you're willing to tell us about all this?
The journey is much the point - this is to prepare you to face Shar. Go forth and grow.
Well that's a dismissal if ever she heard one. "Come on, back to Sylica," she says, departing the fortress before gating them home.
The trip back is silent. Once you appear in Liberton once more?
"He knew. He knew exactly how to lure us. How perfectly lawful our considerations were. How to pervert doing what was right into bowing to him." Antenora takes a long breath out, "We had every reason to take that seed - such a miraculous thing, Alicia!"
"Don't worry," Syala smiles, a cocky little half smile, "That's why you keep me around. My chaotic nature would've made me hit you if you tried to take it."
"And what a thing that seed is, too," Alicia says. "I think I need to ask Mystra about this."
I just met with an avatar of Asmodeus who offered me a divine seed, that could elevate anyone to divinity or empower an existing deity. He claimed it the work of the Incarnations. Are you familiar with such things?
I did not think any of those still existed - I only know of them from seeing one, once. They are works of the Incarnations, the crystallization of the potential for apotheosis. Once, the Incarnation of Law showed me one, so that I would understand it if I ever came across ones, for as works of the Incarnations, they are beyond the Weave.
"Mystra's aware of them but only ever saw one once when the Incarnation of Law showed it as an example, so she doesn't have a stock of her own," Alicia tells Syala and Antenora. "And a stock Asmodeus most certainly has - if he only had one he would never have offered it to us."
Back to Mystra? Furthermore, Zaphkiel was involved in the meeting as well - it discussed Antenora's apotheosis outside Creation. Asmodeus is intimately familiar with the method and suggested Zaphkiel was as well and would be using it to raise other deities for the brewing conflict with Shar. I would suspect that Zaphkiel might also possess similar seeds, although it wasn't confirmed.
"Unless he believed we'd refuse, or if he was willing to trade it for getting power over us," Antenora disagrees, "He went so far as to affirm our value. I do not believe that a lie, and in this, I could believe him willing to make that sacrifice."
It is not impossible. Both Asmodeus and Zaphkiel are reclusive in their ways.
Hopeful and yet troubling news, my champion.
"I just can't see him offering up something that's genuinely one of a kind and irreplaceable, it just doesn't pass the smell test for me," Alicia shakes her head. "Anyway, Zaphkiel told us a bit about the other groups chosen by him and Io, we should go tell Latha about how one's connected to Seira's kin and another's from the Realm of Light, since she's so interested in hunting them down."
From there it's simple enough to get Latha over here and...
Go ahead and do your expo. What you say may well matter, so I'm going to request you type out what you're telling her here.
"I have some leads for you on the others we heard about at the bridge to Chronias," Alicia begins. "After we met with Asmodeus just now, we spoke to the voice that's been encouraging us recently - it's almost certainly Zaphkiel, even if he didn't confirm it in so many words. Asmodeus thinks he's going to be setting up others to 'become One' as Gathgorian did, though I don't know if they'll be from the same five groups we already heard about. Still, we did get a few questions answered by Zaphkiel as well - One of the five can be found because she resides with Seira's kin, and one survived the Realm of Light and proved worthy. Also one was chosen by Io and not by Zaphkiel. That's as much as we got."
Latha takes that all silently and says, "Thank you. I'll confer with Seira immediately. If it is what I think it is, I may need to travel to the Prime. Syala, may I impose on you?"
Syala comes forward and taps Latha on the shoulder, "Go, this is important to you."
Turns out Syala not having any proxies was useful after all! "Syala you should send your avatar as well," Alicia asks. "Even if a prime is unlikely to hold anything that can threaten Latha, we can't be too careful right now."
Another Syala appears, saying, "It's a team effort," she says, Latha giving you a warm smile and rising. "We'll be back."
"Good luck," Alicia bids, seeing them off.
Got an immediate next move?
Nope. Basically just waiting on the war escalating enough to require our intervention, Marie finding a Sharran lead, our Daun force moving out when it's ready, Latha coming back, or random bullshit landing on my desk.
It's evening. Marie is having a drink at the bar, resting her throat after a night's work. It's casual - a snippet of conversation drifting over. "...and then Sharrans...."
It's busy here, people drinking and carousing, resting in the coolness of duskfall. Music plays, a lute and flute combination providing cheerful music, underlain by a drummer working away.
Marie's finely honed ears might not be pointy right now but they're no less sharp for it as she listens in on that conversation!
You listen in closely. It's two men in the familiar clothes of the region, one tall and scarred, the other average height and scarred, bald as well.
"Really? South of there?" The tall one whispers back.
The bald one drinks from his mug of ale and replies, "No idea how, but yes. Damn it, the Sultan better be doing something about this."
South of where? What were they talking about?
Can I like roll a retroactive listen check or something? Marie's got superhuman listening skills and would've been taking in basically everything around her.
Or a sense motive check to glean more context?
Sense motive, sure.
[20:06] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 sense motive
[20:06] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 50 > [d20=1]
You listen and it clicks as you do.
"Still, the mines..." A casual comment from the tall one.
The Firewind Mines, a memory snapping into place for Marie.
That's her in! Lifting up her drink she saunters over to their table. "Excuse me gentlemen, I couldn't help but overhear - something about trouble south of Firewind Mines? Isn't that where all the new land is being reclaimed from the wastes?"
The bald one looks up sharply - a crooked nose, a keen gaze. "Well, well," he says, "You're that Honey Belle. What are you doing worrying your pretty little head over it?"
"The very same!" she beams, clearly thrilled to be recognised. "I'm working my way down the trade ways and was planning on visiting some of the new settlements where they're reclaiming the land further south," she answers. "But if there's dangers on the roads I like to stay a step ahead... or several steps far away, depending!"
The tall one gives you a look over and says, "Heading south, are you? Then don't go near Firewind. Bad things are happening there, bad things. No, go further west or east and travel with a good man who can protect you."
"Couldn't be worse than what I heard about the road to Victoria," Honey Belle answers with a theatrical sigh before she leans closer to them and lowers her voice. "A caravan blundered into some ruins uncovered by a sandstorm. A man of metal overseeing a labyrinth of twisting passages, roamed by titanic scorpions and lions, strange traps that would rip a man apart then heal him to do it all over again!" she shares a horrifying tale of life in the Desert Fiefdoms to provoke them into elaborating on what's so bad at those mines.
The two lean in, "Really?" The bald man says, "What's south is Sharrans. Nothing's worse than Sharrans."
"I doubt you'd find any Sharrans on the road to the United Baronies, granted," Honey Belle acknowledges with just a faint bit of civic pride showing to hint at her origin. "Though don't they always try and stay hidden? If they're making themselves visible they must have grown strong to be so bold."
The tall one scowls at that, "Fucking Sharrans."
The bald one groans and rubs his head, "Fuck. Ever heard the ballad of Kesse's Crimson Sunrise? It shows you what Sharrans do if they get in charge."
"Someone should tell the Crimson Guard then. They won't care about having to sneak into the Fiefdoms if it means putting down some Sharrans," Honey Belle says firmly. "And we'd all be better off for it."
"...yeah, maybe." The tall one grunts, "Yeah, you ever hear? They say Aziz down at the docks can get you in touch with them. Get you reward money if you earn it, too."
"Really now?" Honey Belle arches an elegant eyebrow. "I'd say they'd pay handsomely to know the details about an upsurge in Sharran activity so close to the Baronies, wouldn't they?"
"...I reckon they would," The bald one says, eyes lighting up. "I hear they pay good gold."
"Better make sure you've got all the details ready to tell them about what's going on, then," she suggests. "Is this something you've seen yourselves or heard through the grapevine?"
"We've heard, but it's reliable," The bald one says, "Trust us, it's reliable."
"Ah, something like that?" Honey Belle taps the side of her nose. "Well I'll leave you gentlemen to it, but please hurry and pass on what you know so someone can do something. We don't want to end up like Kesse over here."
Okay then, what is Marie gonna do here?
Report into Alicia.
If Alicia has any worshippers in that vicinity she'll have a peek through them, otherwise Marie may teleport down there herself to investigate in person while Honey Belle would be sleeping.
You could have a few down there, sure. Up to you how you play this.
Has she heard any prayers that might corroborate this? Prayers mentioning unexplained deaths or disappearances?
Nothing like that, but there's not a ton down in that direction. It's all desert until the reclaimed lands start.
In that case Marie is a go.
She'll teleport down to the mines and explore around as a tiny incorporeal invisible ball.
Explore town during mornings after performances looking for any evidence of Sharran activity - symbols, omens, superstitions. She'll take 10 for 56 on perception and 10 for 56 on knowledge: religion as far as spotting physical signs, and 10 for 56 on sense motive for spotting suspicious people.
Where precisely is she exploring? Inside the mines? Around them? Further afield?
I have no fucking idea what that place is beyond a dot on the map. Is there an actual town around the mines, is it just a big open pit with tents around it, is it a bunch of caves with people living in the caves? Whatever man, we never visited there in B1 or B2 and it never got any description beyond a name and a dot on a map. What do they even mine there? Special fire rocks? Wind rocks? Firewind rocks?
Whatever that dot represents, that's where Marie's looking around. Where people are. Presumably miners and miner-related industries and homes for the people involved in mining and miner-related industries.
It did come up, it was mentioned as mostly being things like mithral and platinum, as well as some gemstones. Let me paste.
The sands here shallowly cover strong bedrocks, where platinums, adamantite and even mithril are mined. However, natural logistics make it quite expensive to do so. A private company runs things with oversight.
It's a small settlement around the mine, mostly focused on the mining and surviving.
Marie wanders a time. Wanders through the sleeping town, through the mines, through all of it. As she does...
> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 11 > [d100=11]
It is past midnight. The desert is cold now and you wander up from the mines itself.
You've swept through and found nothing interesting so far, but as you rise? You hear a dog barking somewhere nearby.
There's also a thickly robed man, face hidden, kneeling in the dirt of the dust and sand worn path to the mines.
You could investigate either of those, move beyond the city limits, go home - or even do something else, as you please, but your first sweep hasn't hit gold.
She decides to go see what the dog's barking at. Maybe it smells the undead!
It's an alley leading to a dead end wall. A lean, mangy old hound is here, barking away.
What's the dog barking at?!
Oh, Marie would've cast sensual blessing before coming over so that's another +25 on her perception (I pasted her general 'walking around as Honey Belle' mo earlier) as well as scent and blindsight and tremorsense.
The dog is barking at the dead end wall.
Did another dog pee there, is there a bug on the wall, is it hiding a secret passage to a secret Sharran torture dungeon?
Perception, would you?
[17:35] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+74 perception
[17:35] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 94 > [d20=20]
You can see it - the faintest wisps of ethereal disturbances, all around that wall.
Marie briefly teleports off into the desert so she can turn into her humanoid form, cast greater arcane sight, then turn back into her globe form and teleport back to have a look at the magic on display here.
Greater arcane sight to see magic and also blessed sight SLA to see evil.
There's fading magic here. Someone just used swift etherealness to momentarily pass through the wall.
Well Marie's ethereal too so she'll try going through that wall herself now!
In here are no doors in or out. A simple room - bed, desk, chair, a few chests. It's pitch black in here, but your darkvision suffices to see.
Lying on the bed is a pale man, black hair sweaty and matted to his head. It's just long enough to make a good mess of it. He sits up as he works on his shoulder, wrapping bandages around it, a grimace on his face. He's topless, muscled body revealed, several scars seen, from the thin to the massive. He's perhaps thirty, a day's ghosting of a black beard gracing his face. Tall, you think, though with him sitting it's tricky to tell. While his ears and body are entirely human, his eyes are more almond shaped, like that of an elf.
Any other magic in the room or on the man? Anything evil?
The man himself radiates a decent amount of magic. He has the embers of several dispelled magics on him - heroism, false life, haste, greater mage armor.
There's magic coming from one of the chests, rather strong.
What's the magic on the chest?
[18:28] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 spellcraft
[18:28] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 65 > [d20=16]
And nothing/no one that's evil here?
It's like a big bag of holding, but in chest form. Handy for storage.
There's no evil here.
Meanwhile, the man groans softly. "Damn it," he mutters, slumping back. He gets up and stumbles to the non magical chest, opening it up and taking a large glass bottle of water out. He starts to drink, grimaces and coughs, then pours some over his head, shivering.
Marie elects to stay quiet and watch him for a while. She considers trying to detect his thoughts but he's probably a decent mage and thus more likely than not to shrug off and recognise the effort so she maintains her secrecy by only passively monitoring what he does in here.
The man manages to make it to be, shivering. He pulls a plain blanket up and curls up under it, soon sweat staining it and the bed around him. He's shaking and shivering. After a little time of watching, "Dani," he murmurs, "Got to get up, Dani. Cows are ready to be milked."
Sounds like he's having a dream... she probably won't get much else here. So instead Marie gets a whiff of his scent, goes back through the wall to the alleyway, and tries to backtrack wherever he was before coming here. Maybe he got into a fight and that dispelled his mage armour and things?
You follow his scent - of mist and blood, sweat as well. You follow it down and to the city limits, the trail going out of Firewind entirely.
She'll keep on following!
You fly a time before it comes to the top of a sand dune. Here the scent of blood lingers thicky in the air. Virtually impossible to see for normal eyes, you spy a few discolored patches of sand in the dark, tinted towards dark red.
Any other interesting smells around here? Or tracks?
There are tracks further south that you notice, winding into the desert.
You can smell the scents of incense, sweat and blood lingering faintly.
She'll follow those tracks to the south then!
Have Track or anything like that with scent to make up for it?
Just scent and epic ranks in survival/perception.
Give me a survival check.
[20:35] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 survival
[20:35] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 51 > [d20=2]
You follow the tracks. You go on perhaps 45 minutes before the scent just stops midway up a sand dune.
Any magic or evil evident?
There's fading magic here - some sort of ability to slip into the sands.
Also, meanwhile, Alicia gets a message from Syala.
'I've confirmed it. We've found one of them - she was directly empowered by Io himself.'
Marie can also slip into the sands, being incorporeal, so that's what she does going straight down from where the tracks end.
---
Where is she? Who is she?
Marie dives down into the sands. You down into the darkness until you come out into light. A cavern is here, dimly lit with green dots of light that hover in the air. It's a rather small cave, with a path leading deeper in to the southwest. To the east is a cave in, what was likely once a tunnel now filled with broken rock and sand.
Her name is Alyssa and she is a powerful wizard empowered by Io. I suggest your avatar comes and meets her personally, love.
Very well, is it safe to gate to where you are?
---
Marie decides to explore that cave-in first, since she can easily move through the debris.
Going to integrate you into Iddy's thread, please hold for more Alicia there. In the meantime...
You pass through the cave in. Past it is a larger cavern with a passage to the south. Here is a large pond, full of clear water. It bubbles up from below, a natural spring beneath the desert.
Being thorough, Marie explores the pond below the surface before she sees where the south passage leads.
Is this area lit by those same globes as the other chamber?
[17:35] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+74 perception
[17:35] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 79 > [d20=5]
The same green dots of light are floating about.
Marie plunges into the water, finding it leads to what look sto be various underground currents and the like. Various parts of the water table and aquifers, that manner of thing. It's all coming up from below.
She doesn't explore too deeply, coming back up and floating down the southern passage.
Sandstone is around you, thick and tinted green by the lights. This passage goes on a little ways, until in the distance, you see that the greenish hue seems to stop entirely, replaced with utter pitch black darkness. It's about 45ft away. Utter darkness, green glow dying against that.
Well that's magic. What spell is making it then?
[17:58] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+47 spellcraft
[17:58] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 49 > [d20=2]
A magic item, a darkskull further bolstered to provide absolute darkness around it within the range of the unhallow.
She'll leave that for the moment then. Going back the way she came to the chamber directly below the sands she passed through, Marie explores the open passage to the southwest from there.
As you pass through the cave in, your sharp hearing can just make out distorted sound - voices. Just barely, just at the very edge of the cave in, but you swear you hear something just ahead.
She moves closer to the sound of those voices so she can better hear what they're saying!
Going to poke out of the cave in?
Yes. Currently Mare is a tiny incorporeal ball under improved invisibility and nondetection (DC 47 CL to overcome).
You peek out. The first person here is bald and wearing heavy leather armor, along with heavy boots with iron greaves and iron bracers. He's muscular yet carries no weapon. He's leaning against a wall as the other stands there. A minotaur - the bull man is sniffing the air as he gestures, odd movements indicative of arcane magic. He's wearing a loincloth and leather pants with bands of steel sewn in. His chest is rippling and huge, the chest of a powerful warrior. He has a greataxe on his belt.
"There," The minotaur rumbles. "It's cast."
The bald one lets out a sour grunt, "About damn time. It's sloppy work relying on spot castings of this."
What's been cast? What magic is here?!
Greater arcane sight and blessed sight still up to identify any spells and also the presence of evil.
It's a modified form of forbiddance, temporary but not requiring the same investment of components or with the permanent duration. It'll stop ethereal travel going up, at least around this part of it.
Any evil or other spells on the two individuals?
She'll follow them around for a bit regardless. Seems like a lot's happening around here!
The minotaur radiates moderate evil.
As you begin to follow them, "Ah, shut up," The minotaur scowls, "Fuck you. You want better gear, go fucking buy or win it. This is good enough for our problems."
The bald man grunts again, "Go suck on Auril's icy teats," he retorts, "We're doing this half assed and it's yours and Sanoj's fault. Not mine. You should be picking it up."
They sound fairly casual for Sharrans. Marie wonders if they might be adventurers or mercenaries. Like with the man from before she doesn't tip her hand with any active magic like detect thoughts, limiting herself to passive observation. They don't know she's here and there's no rush after all.
"How was I supposed to know that damn thing was made out of unreinforced glass?" The minotaur growls, "Anyone could've broken it."
As the minotaur glares at the bald man, he returns that look with cool composure. "Yeah, and you're still the fuck up who broke it because you and Sanoj were playing grab-ass instead of working."
With a decidedly bovine snort, the minotaur marches forward, "Keep him out of it. It's my fault," he says, voice calmer now.
"Finally," The bald man exhales as if relieved, "Boss'll be taking it out of all of pay for this mess, better hope Sandos or those fucking robed freaks have good booty. Good enough for you to grab instead of Sanoj's."
"Asshole," The minotaur grunts, picking up his pace. "This job would be ten times better if you'd fallen into that volcano last time."
"That's why I can fucking fly, so I can stick around and keep you in line," The bald man's smirking now, "Best technique I've ever learned."
Adventurers is sounding more and more likely. Maybe they're even here to take on the Sharrans? Marie will be happy to watch them triumph if that's the case!
The reply the bald man gets is utterly profane and unpleasant, getting laughter from him.
The path is also heading along, a path to the north hooking into this one. Glancing down it, you can see pitch darkness in the distance, just like before.
Is it the same darkskull effect? Either way she'll watch how they deal with it, but she's not going into unhallowed territory since that'd immediately ping her on Shar's attention.
Looks like it to Marie.
The path slopes downwards, and as they go they start to talk again. "How good di they get Sandos, anyway?" The minotaur asks.
"Kuj's knives," is all the bald man says, "Don't know what blend he was using, but good odds we don't see Sandos again."
"Fucking freak is what he is," The minotaur lowers his voice, "You can't trust anything with a poisoner around, goes double for that 'loth shit he deals with. Tempus is the way, not that...disease filth."
"Yeah?" The bald man says, "Long as it isn't the moon bitch."
"Selune?" The minotaur's reply is a rumble, "Got something against her?"
"Yeah, my mother served her. Biggest cunt I've ever met, my mother." The bald man shakes his head, "Entire faith is full of bitches who think pretty looks and garbled prophecy means something. You want someone worth serving? Yeah, Tempus is solid but you know who is better? Waukeen. She gets money. Sure, her clergy's a bunch of greedy bastards, but they're reliable about being greedy bastards. Need something done? Coin gets it, no questions asked."
Fascinating religious perspectives isn't why she came here but she's happy to listen nonetheless!
"Yeah, but you know what? Coin only goes so far," The minotaur says, "Just an excuse to wage war. War's what makes us alive. It makes us men, rather than mates in the den."
The bald man pauses to pull out a flask and drink from it, offering it to the minotaur, who drinks up. "Yeah, but coin lets you enjoy things after the battle and in between them. A poor sword's a fucking miserable sword. Shit, Tempus needs to give it to Waukeen, the kid from it would be perfect. War and gold, what's better?"
Finishing his drink, the minotaur grins back, "Women. Now I go in for Tempus, but I managed to get into Rapture once. Never saw a woman that wasn't a knock out there...though the angel that banished me out was pretty bitchy-ugly when she was being a judgmental whore."
"Speaking of women and Waukeen," The bald man puts the flask away, pausing at a corner, kneeling and tapping the ground thrice before going on. "This is the world those new ones came from, ain't it?"
"Think it is," The minotaur says, "Kuj has been keeping a lower profile here. Says the white's strong here, stronger than normal realms. Need an excuse to get him found by them. Fuck, back me up on this. They take care of him and we don't have to worry about our food being poisoned again."
The bald one grunts, "....yeah, maybe. Tinnal hate him, too. He ever told you?"
A headshake from the minotaur, "Never."
Them not being locals makes sense, Marie doesn't recall ever seeing any minotaurs in her whole time as Alicia's familiar in Balmuria. Though she remembers Alicia mentioned fighting one in Ysgard during her training with Strength of Light.
Still nothing that connects to Shar. Even the unhallowed area might be for some other evil deity.
"Yeah, want to smite him for the Elf Dad or whatever that shit is. Elves are dumb, but Tinnal's right here," The bald one goes on, gesturing a bit, waving as the cave passage widens a bit, the dots of green light more common, brighter. "Shit, killing in the band's always fucked. But no way boss gives up Kuj otherwise."
"Yeah. Look. We kill him, beat him to do death and say Sandos did it, took each other out." The minotaur grunts, "We burn his tent and supplies and forget about him."
The bald man stops walking, looking down a moment, "We do this right - smooth as silk. We fuck this up, and we're lucky if we're blacklisted. Unlucky and we end up dead or mind dead fucks in the Blood War."
This gets the minotaur to stop as well, fur of his head bristling, "The fuck? The boss isn't into that Blood War trade!" He grabs a hold of the bald man by the shoulder, "You're lying."
Here the bald man shakes his head, "He'll do it if he's upset. Dargel was before your time. Got caught selling secrets to the Hardens. Boss threw him into the Styx, fished him out and sold him to a bearded devil not 10 minutes later."
WHAM! The punch sends the bald man reeling, the minotaur breathing heavy abruptly. "Fuck that and fuck you."
"Wasn't my fault!" The bald man spits out blood, "I was junior at the time, couldn't do anything and the boss wouldn't listen to me when he's that mad. Shit, you know what? I prayed for his fucking soul after that, gave money to a temple of Ilmater in his name and asked them to pray for him. That shit was wrong."
So many names to keep track of! She wishes she had something to write on...
Any knowledge for what the Hardens are?
K:P, unless you have a way to mimic K:L ranks that I'm pretty sure you don't have.
[21:08] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 planes
[21:08] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 63 > [d20=14]
You dimly recall hearing of them in a report once - a mercenary band who mostly works the neutral and evil planes. They aren't hidden, just obscure and small fish, relatively.
The minotaur takes a shaking breath and then slams his hand back, right into the wall. Cracks form, sandstone giving to his blow. "I won't work for him. Not like that, not if he's willing to do that. Kuj dies and....either I walk away or I go down trying to kill that bastard."
"Good luck," The bald man spits out more blood, "We take care of Kuj and you do what you need to do, just keep me out of it."
"Yeah. Yeah." The minotaur bows his head, "Better to die with your enemy's blood on your hands than let a mind thief live."
Grimacing and wiping his mouth clean with his arm, "Yeah, personal for you, isn't it?"
"Yeah." It's all the minotaur says, "Kuj should be asleep. Tinnal'll go along with it afterwards. Let's go end this."
This is all so complicated!
And also murderous. From what they're saying it sounds like they have legitimate reason to want Kuj dead, so should she get involved? For now anyway she just stealthily observes. Despite him being evil she can't help but root for the minotaur's conviction. Maybe he can be reformed? Honey Belle could use a big beefy bodyguard!
Beefy, haha! She needs to tell Antenora that one when she gets home.
Marie can picture Antenora's arms-crossed look, disapproval on her face.
As she reflects on her home life, Marie follows. The cavern opens up into larger cavern - a winding dead end. Four tents are set up here, a spring in the back, water bubbling up. A single male elf sits at a fire between the tents, yawning. He's wearing sturdy traveling clothes with no visible armor, idly rolling a pair of dice.
"Stay here," The minotaur says as he and the bald one stride right back, going for a brown tent, the last one in the back.
"What-" The elf asks, voice musical, beautiful. He hops to his feet, but the bald one stays back, firmly pushes him back down.
In a whisper, "Taking care of what we all know needs to be done. Bastard's an unstable liability."
Meanwhile, the minotaur goes right into the tent, not hesitating for a moment.
Marie checks over everyone here for magic and moral lack of fibre as she elects to stay close to the minotaur, going into the tent with him.
The elf is not evil, but has magic on him - a ring of protection and and a cloak that lets him slip through walls.
Kuj's tend radiates various evils, small and large. It's a cluster of vile within.
Unpleasant. That helps Marie decide that she's going to do nothing here and let what happens happen.
> roll 1d20+18
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 36 > [d20=18]
> roll 1d20+13
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 19 > [d20=6]
> roll 1d20+18 crit
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 34 > [d20=16]
> roll 9d10+75
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 130 > [d10=4,9,3,7,3,8,4,10,7]
> roll 1d20+15
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 19 > [d20=4]
> roll 1d4+8
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 9 > [d4=1]
> roll 1d20+10
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 15 > [d20=5]
> roll 3d10
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 17 > [d10=6,1,10]
There's sounds of violence, slamming, breaking glass and finally a strangled cry and a loud THUMP within. Tinnal and the bald man watch for perhaps 20 seconds before the bald man bites off a curse and goes over, "Shit. I think it was a double kill. Kuj got his head smashed in, but Bre's down." He goes in and calls out, "He's still breathing, barely! Go in my backpack, the silver vial with the red stopper!"
Tinnal says not a word, going to one of the tends with surprising speed.
Marie went inside with the minotaur!
She may have intervened depending on how it played out. Since he's not dead I guess it's fine though.
Tiny invisible orb Marie flies over, sneakily healing the now named Bre because she's nice.
[21:56] <@Ebiris> roll 3d8+15 cure serious wounds SLA
[21:56] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 35 > [d8=5,8,7]
Whoops, 100% my mistake. You'd have been it happen - one big punch that smashed Kuj's head in, and at the same time the minotaur got stabbed in the gut.
The tent itself is full of strange things - body parts, vials and bottles, a handful of books and scrolls. Almost all of it reeks with evil as you notice it. A shadow is reaching out from one of the books towards the two, as you heal the minotaur's wounds. His body is ice cold when you touch it, no heat at all, save for faintly dissipating body warmth, fleeing by the moment.
Well if that minor healing didn't help he probably got poisoned really badly...
Also don't think I don't see you there, shadow!
Is it a shadow as in the undead monster or an actual normal shadow? And if so is it magic?
[22:10] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 spellcraft
[22:10] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 54 > [d20=5]
If relevant.
It's a magic projection. It's going to try and steal the souls of any it touches, so long as they're dead or close to dead.
No she's not having that!
Stealing them for an evil deity or trapping them in the book?
They might not feel it, but Marie's protective aura springs into place in response to such a vile threat!
Free action to do so, +4 resistance saves/deflection AC and protection from charms/compulsions/3rd level or lower spells.
And while she could heal Bre more to keep him safe, she doesn't want Kuj to have his soul stolen either - it's just unacceptable regardless of who you are. So she acts against the shadow directly, dispelling it!
[22:25] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+20 greater dispel magic
[22:25] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 24 > [d20=4]
The shadow recoils back, an unearthly howl coming from the book. Tinnal lets out a startled cry as he runs back, the bald man looking at the book - which is rising up into the air, a face forming on the front cover, a man's face, save for no eyes. A deeply lined face, frowning and in pain.
"Shiiiiiit!" The bald man cries, leaping back, "His fucking books are possessed or alive.
Init.
Into the book, by the way, you think.
[22:34] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+11 init]
[22:34] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 25 > [d20=14]
> roll 1d20+3 bald man
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 7 > [d20=4]
> roll 1d20+9 Tinnal
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 15 > [d20=6]
> roll 1d20+3 book
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 18 > [d20=15]
Init is Marie (25) > Book (18) > Tinnal (15) > Bald Man (7)
Go, oh courre of terror.
Excuse you, it's tulani of mayhem.
Any knowledge for this sort of creature/item? Probably arcana but I'll ask!
Sure, K:A.
[22:48] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 arcana
[22:49] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 51 > [d20=2]
The book seems alive - some sort of fell grimoire, enchanted to devour the souls of the dead and dying. You've heard of them, named Fell Grimoires. They can have useful information in them, with the soul stealing staying latent until just the right time. Usually to the possessor's great lamentations.
Setting them on fire usually works well, or holy power otherwise.
They can also deal vile damage with a touch, so don't get touched by a book on the attack.
Since she's committed to helping now, Marie grabs the book in a telekinetic grip so it can't fly around and bash people.
[23:08] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+47 cmb for telekinetic grapple
[23:08] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 48 > [d20=1]
Unfortunately DvR 0 doesn't protect you from critical failures.
Good luck guys!
Alas, tragedy.
Yet the book is too strong, the telekinesis failing to grab it. Instead it flies out, going right for the downed minotaur.
> roll 1d20+12 touch AC
<Penuche> Space_Cat invokes Penuche's magic: < 23 > [d20=11]
> roll 1d20+6 will
<Penuche> Space_Cat invokes Penuche's magic: < 18 > [d20=12]
The book flies out and touches the minotaur's arm, shadows extending out. The minotaur's scream echos as a dot of light is torn from his body. For a moment, the fact on the book is replaced by the face of the minotaur, howling in silent terror.
"Angharradh's Spear!" Tinnal stumbles back, eyes wide. He fumbles a moment, then brings his fingers to his mouth and whistles. A long and loud whistle, followed by pointing at the book.
> roll 1d20+10 dispel magic
<Penuche> Space_Cat invokes Penuche's magic: < 30 > [d20=20]
Clutch.
The book's lined face twists in pain as a dot of light flies from it, back into the minotaur. It hangs limp in the air a moment as the bald man pushes Tinnal back, pushing him out and just behind him, "It's a fucking soul stealer, I've seen that before. Burn it all, it's the blackest magic!"
Marie.
Nice work Tinnal!
Also if the book can just be dispelled into coughing the souls back up that's not so bad. She'll try holding the book in place again though, surely it just got lucky!
[17:28] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+47 cmb for telekinetic grapple
[17:28] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 55 > [d20=8]
This time you feel it, the book in your grasp. Got it!
Doing anything else or just grappling it with telekinesis?
Just grappling to hold it in place so it can't move around and touch people and can be more easily hit.
The book is held, struggling and bucking, until it starts moving again, escaping your hold.
Can't pass the roll without a 20, so just 20 checking.
> roll 1d20 20 check
<Penuche> Space_Cat invokes Penuche's magic: < 20 > [d20=20]
This is not Marie's day.
Tinnal gestures and sings a long, single note before sparks rain down from above, hitting the tent.
> roll 1d6
<Penuche> Space_Cat invokes Penuche's magic: < 2 > [d6=2]
A few little sparks hit and start burning the tent, slowly. "Shit," The bald man mutters, going forward and grabbing the minotaur's leg, trying to drag him out as the tent smoulders.
> roll 1d20+3 str check
<Penuche> Space_Cat invokes Penuche's magic: < 6 > [d20=3]
Yet the minotaur doesn't budge. "Shit," he mutters under his breath, muscles straining visibly.
Marie, go.
This is just the worst. Fine! Floating down against the minotaur's head she heals him to clear up that pesky poison and get him mobile again.
Heal SLA used.
Done. The minotaur immediately starts to stir, uttering something you don't quite catch.
As he pulls, the book darts ahead, going right for the bald man.
> roll 1d20+12 touch AC
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 24 > [d20=12]
> roll 2d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 10 > [d6=6,4]
Vile damage.
The book slams into the bald man's shoulder, a flesh tearing ripping heard. He lets go of the minotaur - who gets up and start sto crawl out, gasping and coughing. "Keep it in there," Tinnal calls, more sparks coming, "I'm burning it as fast as I can!"
> roll 1d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 6 > [d6=6]
More sparks call, fires starting all over the tent now, spreading. It's starting to burn in earnest now, as the bald man groans in pain, keeping up and falling back as...
Go.
Once more Marie tries to grab the slippery book in a telekinetic grip.
This'd be much easier if she could magic missile the problem away.
[18:16] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+47 cmb for telekinetic grapple
[18:16] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 59 > [d20=12]
You got it - and the book isn't moving, isn't escaping this time.
> roll 1d20 20 check
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 10 > [d20=10]
The three stumble away as the tent burns. A few embers are starting to fall inside of the tent - including one right by one of the bottles, which hisses and smokes from the near contact.
"Let it burn," The minotaur pants, agreeing as they get as far away from it as they can, not slowing down an instant.
Go.
Marie is content to stay where she is, keeping the book pinned to burn to ash inside the tent. She's incorporeal so nothing here's going to hurt her after all.
[18:28] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+47 cmb check to pin
[18:28] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 60 > [d20=13]
Fire and sparks fall - before there's a flash of green light and the entire tend shudders, explosions tearing everything - including Marie!
Ref. While the flames aren't, all the nasty and vile evil magic going up is somewhat of a different story.
[18:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+50 ref, I still get incorporeal miss chance surely
[18:51] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 65 > [d20=15]
> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 21 > [d100=21]
Whatever it is makes your skin crawl, but you phase through it. The entire tend is gone when you can see again, just a blasted crater that burns with green and black fires.
Free act.
Well this has been exciting! She flies off now to go after Bre and friends to see what they're doing.
They're currently watching the remnants - their own tents gone.
"Shit, shit, shit," The minotaur stares.
"Well, he's dead. Good enough. New plan: He just blew up. Don't know why." The bald one says, rubbing his forehead.
Tinnal nods slowly, "Yes, justice. He could only meddle with those forces for so long."
That's good thinking, Marie can get behind that! She's still only passively observing again though, no need to make her presence known or anything.
Really does this even have anything to do with Sharrans at all?
Well it doesn't matter, she's invested now!
Reaching up to rub his nose and grimace, "We get out of here, report and the boss can decide on the rest." The bald man says.
Bre slowly rubs his shoulder while Tinnal frowns, "What about Sandos?"
"What about him? Kuj stabbed him, if he's not dead it's a matter of time." the minotaur says, "No, I can manage the magic to get us back. Forget those robed menaces, if the boss wants us to tangle with them after this, we can deal then."
"The only thing I want to deal with is the bottom of a tankard," The bald man sniffles and gets out a bit of cloth, blowing out blood and mucus. "I'll buy, we can drink to Kuj no longer being with us."
Oh, are they going to teleport away now? Well she can probably scry on them with Alicia's help to find them later.
Actually was Sandos the man she saw to start this all off? But he seemed local since he had that hideaway set up, and these people definitely aren't local. Something to investigate later.
"What about that skull?" Bre says as they all get up, get ready.
Another shrug, the bald man rolling his shoulder with a grunt. "It can stay down here. It's worth money but we're not getting past the stalker. Kuj thought it was the Bitter Bitch's faithful because of that."
As Tinnal looks mournfully over at the tents, Bre slaps him on the back. "We'll get paid anyway. Besides," he says, "You learned something here."
"Yes?" Tinnal asks, letting out a gusty sigh.
"I don't care how hard it is for song magic, learn a better fire spell than that!" Bre declares, before grabbing them and uttering spidery, twisting arcane words.
What spell's he casting anyway?
[20:02] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 spellcraft
[20:02] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 58 > [d20=9]
Interestingly, he's not casting. He's invoking words that mean nothing together - you're feeling a slight surge of magic from an unobtrusive ring on his finger.
What kind of magic ring is it then?
DC 50 epic skill to identify an item in one round.
[20:14] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 spellcraft
[20:14] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 69 > [d20=20]
The ring can allow plane shifting once per day.
In that case Marie lets them go. She'll have to scry or something later, it's still mostly besides the point since she's after Sharrans.
Thus they're gone and that leads the lingering question: Now what?
She may as well explore the rest of these caves!
Except for the unhallowed part. That part is forever barred to her.
Past the tents is a small passage (as well as some trash from the mercenaries). This leads shortly to a dead end,w here another spring bubbles up. This one's a bit bigger, wider, being fed from above.
As you look about, you see it. A flash of electric blue, a set of beady lizard eyes just peeking out from one of the aquatic tunnels feeding the spring. It is staring right at you.
Marie moves up a bit to see if the lizard is still following her position.
Given that she's invisible and incorporeal and masked from divination. Also very small!
The lizard's gaze does not follow you, but instead slips back and away, out of sight and down the tunnel.
Nasty thing.
And she says that as a peaceful and all-loving eladrin!
Anyway she's probably about done here so she'll go back to Firewind Mine and observe that man who walked through a wall earlier until he wakes up, see what he does then.
> roll 1d20+3
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 4 > [d20=1]
> roll 2d4
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 5 > [d4=1,4]
When you return, you find that the man is lying on his bed, still.
Mortals and their silly need for sleep! Can't even trance like an elf. It's fine though, this job requires patience at times too!
Within a minute, Marie notices a rather foul smell - the smell of rot begins to tickle her nose.
Wait, what? Is he dead? He was fine when she left him here!
She flies over for a closer look.
He's quite dead, already cooling to the touch. That and his stomach is rapidly rotting, the smell getting worse by the moment. A blackish liquid leaks out instead of blood, you note.
Dude sucked it up on his saves, including the one a few posts ago. Though once you get in the hole on Fort saves against Con damage, well...
Well this is just great. Turning into her (unfortunately naked) humanoid form Marie starts to pick through everything in the room without shame now to see if there's any clues as to what's going on here.
Probably he got stabbed by that guy who just got his head bashed in underground, but were they on the same team and had a disagreement or what? Again this sort of hidey-hole doesn't seem to fit with someone from an off-plane group who's come here on a job.
There's a bed, desk, chair, a few chests. One of the chests is a chest of holding, as you previously discovered.
Within the first chest are a few waterskins, a smattering of coins and a few loose gemstones.
The chest of holding is locked. A key or magic is required.
Is it a magical lock that Use Magic Device could spoof into opening for her?
[17:42] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+52 UMD
[17:42] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 62 > [d20=10]
If so.
It is not. It is a mundane lock.
Marie casts shatter on the lock!
Predictably, the lock shatters.
Marie proceeds to open the chest and rifle through its contents!
Inside the chest of holding is the following
A sack full of platinum coins, various mintages, including ones you recognize from Arcadia, the Cauldron, Brightwater, the Mercane and dozens of others that looks like kingdoms, all with varying sized coins of the previous metal.
2 ingots of silver
A scroll (magical)
A scroll (magical)
A blue dragon's scale, carved with the dwarven rune for 'lightning'.
A book titled, 'Focused Strikes.'
A glass decanter (magical)
She has a look over the scrolls and the book for any useful information.
She doesn't bother tabulating the valuables or anything, she's not going to rob the poor dead guy after all.
It's a scroll of knock and a scroll of fireball. The decanter is a decanter of endless orange juice. How novel.
The book is a book of strategy and tactics for delivering powerful blows. Useful for a warrior well below Alicia or Antenora's level. However, you find that several pages in the back are blank. Most of those are taken up by various written bits of arithmetic. The last page has the following names written: Muld, Amegus, Bre, Johane. You note that Amegus is crossed out.
She knows who Bre is at least!
Still nothing to do with Shar, and the other names don't match with ones she heard Bre and his friends mention either.
What about that arithmatic, any meaning behind it that she can puzzle out?
Got any ranks in anything relevant?
D&D skills don't have much interest in math!
Arcana or engineering maybe?
Take 10 for 59 on either if applicable.
It's not any sort of geometry that Marie recognizes or anything arcane. Near as she can tell, it's someone doing basic math.
Oh well. She places everything back where she found it then.
"What about you?" she wonders, looking at the unfortunate corpse of.... Sandos?
Going invisible, she teleports back to Honey Belle's inn, and assuming no one disturbs her she gets dressed and takes her ring of plane shift so she can return to Sylica. Asking Alicia to make her into her familiar again, she gains the ability to use limited wish from that and proceeds to scry on Bre to see where he's ended up now.
Limited wish emulation of scrying, DC 32 will.
> roll 1d20+6 Will
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 22 > [d20=16]
+5 bonus for off plane for a total of 27. Still fails.
You can see it. Bre is in a tavern drinking, the bald man next to him, though no sign of Tinnal. They're both drinking, people around them doing the same. It's unremarkable enough a tavern, glimpses of humans, demi humans and odder things around.
Amid the bustle of conversation, "Fuck," Bre mutters.
"Fuck," The bald man seconds, downing his drink and waving over another. "The fuck we do now?"
A quick wardrobe change and bit of polymorphing and Marie looks like an elf wizard sort, severe looking and robed, then she turns invisible and plane shifts aiming for that tavern!
Assuming it's not in Sylica anyway.
[19:40] <@Ebiris> roll 5d100 plane shift distance off target
[19:40] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 212 > [d100=45,67,29,48,23]
> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 99 > [d100=99]
At least it won't be bad.
You appear in a forest - a secluded spring. Feminine giggles are heard, and in the waters ahead, you can see various nymphs frolicking in the waters. They're stunningly gorgeous, bathing and having fun. They don't seem to notice you.
Because she's invisible not because she's beneath their notice, she hopes!
Flying up above the forest she gets a look around, takes in the air, gets a feel for the place and tries to determine what plane she's on.
Taking 10 for 59 on planes.
It's a Prime Material. You're above a vast, primeval forest. It's late afternoon here on a glance, assuming it isn't one of those weird primes.
Still able to see Bre in her minds eye via scrying, she teleports to an unoccupied spot in the inn within the ten feet radius she can see around the minotaur!
Done and done. It's a big ol' tavern, the windows showing it's night out here. The two are drinking rather heavily, - most people are. It's city folk but the air is grim, conversations rather muted in general.
This really has nothing to do with her mission as Honey Belle, it's just for her own satisfaction. So as she makes sure no one bumps into her, Marie finds a quiet unobserved spot to stop being invisible, at which point she goes over and sits at the table of Bre and his friend.
"Gentlemen," she looks between minotaur and bald human with her almond-shaped elfin eyes. "I'm afraid Sandos didn't make it."
The two look up in shock, "Who the marilith fuck are you?" Bre grumbles, giving you a look.
"At least one part of this wasn't a total fiasco," The bald one finishes off his drink, waving another over and calling, "And something strong for this elf looking motherfucker!"
"Call me... Raven," Marie says, making it clear this is a pseudonym. She'll need a chart to keep these all straight at this rate! "I was digging into some rumours of Sharrans making a nuisance of themselves near Firewind Mines when I chanced across him. Nasty poison... and well, felt wrong to just leave him to rot in that windowless room all by himself. I don't know if you know his kin or anything, but you're my only lead so here I am."
"Yeah?" The bald man sits back, getting a mug as one is passed to you. Drinking deep, "So you found us somehow? Want to try that again without the bullshit or a cover story of I'm a mysterious mage, fuck you, I magiced it out? You want to ask us and get an answer, cut the shit. I'm way too fucking drunk for mysterious."
Bre eyes you a moment - and it's only your inhuman nature that tips you off, as well as your excellent perception. Bre's a split second from grabbing you if he needs to, ready to pounce.
"I did magic it out, I scried on you to see where you went after I watched you plane shift out of the cave after putting that nasty book to the torch," she says, before repeating the gibberish phrase the bald man used to activate his ring. "I've got one too," she taps the ring of plane shift on her own finger.
The bald man gives Bre a bleary look, while Bre gives you one that's less and less happy by the moment.
"So what, are you saying you have a cock, too?" The bald man says, dazed and drinking up.
Bre shakes his head, "...Sandos was a mission. He's dead. He wasn't a native to that Prime. He and his are the concern of whatever powers takes him. Do yourself a favor and forget about him and what you saw."
"Ugh, really?" she makes a face at the bald man. "Anyway, I suppose I could forget it. I don't think he was a Sharran and nor are either of you..." she looks between Bre and his friend. "Either of you know an Amegus, by the way?"
Bre blinks at that, "Yeah. You know him? Tall, grumpy, good with short swords?"
"No idea," she shakes her head. "Found a book with Sandos's things with a few names in it and his was crossed out. The others were Muld, Bre, and Johane."
Bre sits back at that, "Muld, Amegus and Johane were part of the last company I was in, before I got scouted over to here. Why the hell would they be in a book Sandos had?"
The bald man blinks, "Am I not drunk enough for this or am I too drunk?" He peers into his empty tankard and tosses it aside, "This an old friends of yours, Bre?"
"Sounds like he had a grudge against that company then," Marie opines. "So how'd your current one put you in his path?"
"Boss wanted him dead, said it was a job," Bre says, "Sandos was a sorcerer of fair power and skill, as well as able to fight with his fists. Heard he makes his money slipping in and doing dirty work on Primes, but didn't have a firm read about it. All I know is that he had a bolthole somewhere in that mining town and that the boss wanted us to lay low in a cave, because the locals are strong and don't tolerate this if the wrong parties get wind of it."
"That's true," Marie agrees. "What was with the darkskull in the cave anyway?"
she's sensing motives, take 10 for 59 throughout this conversation btw.
Bre seems on the level, while the bald man is really drunk. Bre's had a few too, but he's holding it together.
"Some shit, leave it be. Better that way," Bre grunts, "No one will find it down there."
My friend, Seira sends to Alicia from the Cauldron, I need to see you face to face, urgently.
"Fine," Marie lets it lie there. "Well, since I've got you both here I don't suppose you caught wind of any Sharrans while you were in the area?" she asks on the off chance.
---
Meanwhile back in Sylica, Alicia grabs Jessica and then gates the two of them over to the Cauldron in response to Seira's invitation.
Bre gives you a look, "Do you mean freaks in robes?"
We'll get you over to Seira's thread tomorrow and set that up.
"They don't exactly have a dress code," Marie says with a little shrug. "They like symbols of black circles lined with purple, talk a lot about loss and despair and entropy?"
Taking a sip of his drink, "Yeah," The bald man speaks up, "One of them said some shit about loss. Freaks. Didn't put it on Sharrans, heard that's what they do."
"Among lots of other horrible things. So in the spirit of sharing after I just told you all that Sandos gossip, what did you see of them out there?" Marie asks.
"We were doing recon of our cave there," Bre speaks up over his drink, "Making sure there weren't any local nasties that would take exception to us. We stumbled on them out there, wandering like zombies. They took exception to us and it got out of hand."
"In the cave or on the surface?" Marie asks, turning back to Bre. "I didn't see any other bodies..."
"Surface," Bre says, "Sometimes burrowers or the like come up, or a dragon might be able to sniff you out."
"Where did you stumble on them then, was it near where Sandos was stabbed?" Marie asks.
"Southwards," Bre says, "Far south of our recon range."
She expected them to be closer to the mine, but she can work with that. "Drinks are on me, gentlemen," she puts down some Sylican minted gold coins on the table and stands up to go walk out of the tavern.
Done and done. What's your next move, understanding I may pause you depending on what is is with the other room going.
Drop off clothes back in Sylica and equipment back in Honey Belle's in room, then go flying around the desert in invisible/incorporeal/tiny form South of where she tracked Sandos's last steps to.
Okay. Give me a Perception check.
[17:52] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+74 perception sensual blessing still up
[17:52] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 90 > [d20=16]
You fly about and wander a time. Your super human senses let you notice something - to the south, a winding little path between two dunes, more worn that it should be. It doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the desert.
That's where Marie goes then!
She's alert for any magic too.
Greater arcane sight and blessed sight are also up for extra-normal perception.
There's magic here - the dimensions weave and swirl, a wispy path of shadows amid the dunes. It beckons you ahead, deeper within.
Marie sneaks right on in!
A shift. The desert is darker now, a faint purple cast over everything. The distances fall into hazy shadows, the moon gone, only a slight glow providing any light at all. The path continues ahead, winding to pass between two huge dunes.
Is she in the plane of shadow now? Take 10 for 59 on planes.
Looking around her new environs, Marie continues along the path between those dunes, careful not to blunder into any magical traps or the like which might detect her.
Marie is on the Plane of Shadow.
Give me a Stealth check, it feels warranted.
[18:41] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+68 stealth adding +20 bonus for invisibility while moving, also incorporeal/nondetectioned
[18:41] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 74 > [d20=6]
Do you have anything like non detection, mind blank or the like?
She has both! Nondetection DC is 47
You reach the dunes without incident. As you do, able to see the passage turns and goes into one of the dunes, a tunnel carved out and supported with sandstone? A dull chanting can be heard, sonorous and lulling. You want to fall asleep as you listen to it, though you shake off the sensation.
Wasn't she just complaining about how humans need to sleep? She's an outsider and an elf before that, sleep is for the weak!
Although it did turn out the person she thought was sleepy was actually dying.
She's not very good at diagnosing illnesses, for all her other many skills.
But she is good at sneaking and snooping, and so she sneaks her way into that tunnel!
Chanting.
You hear it clearer, words beckoning you towards sleep and oblivion. To never think again, never feel again.
The tunnel is long and dark, no torches within, only that purple glow. It goes down, a path sloping deeper into the dune, the voices coming from within.
They've definitely got the whole Shar look and feel down here, she'll give them that.
Is it wrong that she likes purple? It's the colour of her hair so she should have positive associations with it, but it makes for complicated feelings at times like this. Anyway she keeps on going, alert for secret passages and hidden doors and the like as she floats along.
Taking 10 for 84 on perception for that.
As you pass, you notice shadowy slits on the wall, at eye level. Spyholes, hidden in the shadows, easy to miss. You don't see any eyes in them right now, at least.
Oh that's interesting! In that case she phases through the wall on her left side into one of the secret spyhole passages so she can explore down it instead.
It's a narrow passage as you'd expect, going back a bit further and then extending onwards a way, until a passage going down is spotted.
She keeps on following it down, being her usual attentive self.
The song gets louder, but fortunately it's having no impact on you. It is pretty in a haunting, miserable sort of way.
Going down, you find this slopes ahead to a doorway carved out of the sandstone. Whirls curl in on themselves, endless spirals smaller and smaller each loop.
Assuming no magical traps or the like, Marie phases through the door.
Plus side Sharran places usually are pretty friendly to incorporeal movement what with their reliance on undead shadows.
The door is phased through. On the other side is an open room, another door on the far right and a stairway sloping down between that door and this door. Ahead is carpeted floor, the center carpeting black, with a purple circle in the center, outlined and with more black within. Ahead lies a dark chasm, where two robed figures stand, awaiting and obscured in shadows.
She flies in close to get a good look at these robed figures and what magic they have on their persons.
Taking 10 for 59 on relevant spellcrafts to ID their gear, greater arcane sight automatically tells me their active spells.
They have detect good and void eyes on them.
You can't see much past the hood, but they look human on a glance. Sharp eyed, watching ahead, of Fiefdoms stock if you don't miss it.
Probably anti-paladins or the like if they have that constantly active. Poorly equipped though, so probably not very strong!
Leaving them alone for now, Marie goes to try the stairway down to the far right.
It looks to go up. By position, you imagine it would connect to the other side's spyholes.
To be clear, it's on the wall you came out of, just on the other side. That was not entirely clear, my fault.
My bad, thought it was going down elsewhere.
Confirming that avenue lines up, Marie then goes back to investigate that dark chasm!
It's a dark chasm, stretching farther than she can see. Yet as she stands there, she feels a force pulling at her, almost like a suction to drag her within.
Is the singing coming from the chasm?
No, it's coming back the way you came, from the passage on the middle of the back wall, going back up.
Ohhh. Oh, right, yeah I get it now.
Marie forgoes exploring that odd sucking sensation for now and follows those stairs in the middle towards the singing.
You go back up. Here is a large open space. A dozen and one robed men are here, all kneeling before the floor, where another black carpet with a purple circle lies. Their hoods are back, each of them bald and with noses gone - simply removed, leaving behind two holes. Their eye sockets are empty, black things with no signs of eyes. They sing with mouths split wide open and tongueless, singing their horrifying hymn to nothingness. It is yet a beautiful song, well sung and with an alluring quality Marie can feel in her bones.
Come, all you who here this. I am the Answer to all pain, all suffering.
You hear that amid the words, a gentle and loving voice. A beautiful voice, reasonable, calming.
Yet amid that you hear the shadows rustle like sheets of paper, like living things. Whispers even below the song, audible to you with your enhanced hearing.
'The light.'
'Radiance is here.'
'The song is not perfect now.'
'Oh Lady of Loss, deign to reveal this secret.'
'Let us face the light and embrace oblivion at last, please.'
'Yes, let it kill us, let it bring us to the peace you promise, we're so tired.'
Well this is miserable. Can they detect her, though? She didn't blunder into a desecrated or unhallowed area, did she?
You don't see any signs of it being unhallowed or desecrated.
In that case she'll act as if she's still got stealth on her side, floating around looking for any hidden doors or the like in this room as well as seeing what magic is on everyone here.
Take 10 for 84 on perception.
There's no secret doors here, nothing hidden.
'Bury it within the sands.'
'Bury us within the same sands.'
'Who would betray this and delay oblivion?'
'A traitor. A secret of a betrayer, who is known.'
The whispers of the shadows continue along with the song, beautiful and lonely, cold as a winter night blanketed in numbing snow.
Nothing hidden in a Sharran temple, right sure!
Anyway she would stay and listen to their whispering but honestly it sounds fairly circular and unhelpful in a paranoid evil rambling sort of way. So... back on out and the way she came down the spyhole passage to get back into the main entrance tunnel which she'll now head down to see where it's meant to lead.
It heads in the direction of the singers, before abruptly ending in a dead end.
No secret passages or is ethereal movement just assumed for everyone here?
Taking 10 for 84 on perception.
There is fading magic here - it seems tied to the wall becoming shadowy on demand, allowing people to pass through.
Not worth her bothering with. So where do these people eat or sleep or go to the toilet?
Well, there's still that chasm to investigate! Back through the spyhole wall and along to the two sentries, she floats out over the chasm to have a peek.
It goes straight down into absolute darkness - and the suction and pull against you becomes all the stronger.
What's at the sides and up above then?
Wall and ceiling, respectively. They're very sandstone-y.
Hmmm.
She leaves it alone for now in case it's a one way trip, backing off into the antechamber and trying to read the thoughts of the leftmost sentry.
detect thoughts SLA, DC 27 will
> roll 1d20+12
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 30 > [d20=18]
No good. His mind is like a steel trap, letting nothing in or out.
She abandons that line of enquiry then. She'll go back outside and fly around the dunes a bit looking for other spots of interest or tracks or any signs of life/unlife on the outside.
Gimme another Perception.
[19:03] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+74
[19:03] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 91 > [d20=17]
You fly around a bit and find nothin - oh wait.
After about 10 minutes, you see them emerge from the hidden path. A set of six robed men, heads bowed as they walk out into the desert. What tracks they leave rapidly fade, blurring away into the sands.
She elects to follow them and see where they're going!
You find they walk single file, the one in the lead looking ahead while the others walk down with heads bowed. They are heading roughly northerly right now, a steady pace that seems well trained to the chilly desert sands.
How long are you going to follow?
As long as it takes, her nondetection and mind blank spells both last over 2 days and she can refresh her improved invisibility SLA indefinitely.
Sensual blessing will be lost pretty early but she'll survive.
Thus they patrol. Soon enough they begin to sing the same song as before, but softly. It reaches out to the desert sands, seeming to echo off of it, coming back when the sky itself rejects it. Soon you can hear the song a dozen times at once, a whispering chorus that repeats itself over and over.
Is it... doing anything?
Spellcraft or relevant knowledges?
K:R.
[16:48] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 religion
[16:48] <Meredith> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 55 > [d20=6]
It's not immediately overt, but chanting this sort of song and echoing it could be a ritual. Something to spread loss and oblivion, something to strengthen it in these wasteland sands.
Ohh. Trying to counter Seira's work in revitalising the wastes?
It's not flagrant enough to justify her breaking her cover and killing them, so she'll continue her observations. Ideally she'll get enough info to hand it off to the Crimson Guard and they can deal with it, and she'll only step in if Dragodan himself makes an appearance. Or if she has to stop a murder right away.
d100.
[17:40] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[17:40] <Meredith> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 35 > [d100=35]
It lasts a goodly few hours, but nothing really happens before they head back.
Marie will keep on following them back to wherever they end up inside that underground complex.
They return on inside. You follow them, at which point they head into the sucking chasm and leap down, vanishing into the darkness below.
This time Marie chooses to follow them down and see where this chasm leads.
You go down, the suction pulling at you. Gah! You're going to be pulled down fast and hard.
Obligatory chance to resist if this changes things.
This hits even while incorporeal?
Marie goes with the flow, sticking close to one of the falling cultists and confident in her reflexes to deal with anything that comes at her fast on the descent.
Yes.
To be fair, Sharrans and shadows, so this shouldn't be surprising.
You sink into darkness, only to come out of it. You are in a circular room, a single door leading out ahead and one behind you. The cultists are going to the door ahead of you. Otherwise, it's like the previous rooms - sandstone by and large, nothing too interesting here. Functional.
She keeps on following the cultists for now, only careful not to float anywhere that's unhallowed or desecrated.
Give me a new Perception check.
[16:53] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+49 sensual blessing long gone now
[16:53] <Meredith> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 54 > [d20=5]
They go down a dark hallway and past various doors, then down a side hall and into what looks to be simple rooms. Single rooms, one each, utterly plain. A cot, a small desk and a few books are here for each, little personal decoration.
So the question of living quarters is solved at least. After examining all these little sleeping rooms, Marie backtracks to examine the other doors that were passed along the way, phasing through them to peek at what they hide.
An armory, storage, kitchens, bathrooms and related facilities, meditation rooms, a set of stairs leading deeper down, a few hallways leading to further doors.
She has a check over the quality and enchantment of the weapons in the armoury before she tries the further doors on this level to expand her map of the place.
Taking 10 for 59 on spellcraft.
Most are mundane, though a few basic enchanted weapons are there as well. Nothing terribly interesting by itself.
Onwards then to examine what the other doors on this level hide!
Back the other way, behind where you came into this place, the door leads to darkness and unhallowed places. You can proceed ahead if you wish.
That area gets left well alone. Being a proxy is pretty great but it does mean she has to be careful around areas like that.
Off to try any other unexplored doors on this level then.
d100.
[18:08] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[18:08] <Meredith> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 44 > [d100=44]
As you go, you hear a single, pained scream, faraway but echoing. A moment later a man's voice screams, "MOTHER!"
What direction is it from? Also sense motive taking 10 for 59 because she remembers a similar ruse back in that sacked temple she did with Alicia and Ebony.
It's coming from the direction of the stairs going down.
But does it sound legitimate?
It sounds real to Marie.
Time for Marie to head downstairs and look for that!
She accidentally left one person to die tonight, hopefully she can do better this time!
You head to the stairs. When you get there, you find the door open, a single robed man heading out. His head is bowed, steps silent. As he passes, you hear him muttering, "Missiles and force, missiles and force, missiles and force."
That's worryingly specific to her MO. She might have been made already - Marie tries to detect his thoughts.
DC 27 will.
> roll 1d20+4
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 15 > [d20=11]
His mind is weakened, compromised, surprisingly easy to affect. He's thinking of blasts of force, globes of force and magic missiles. Thoughts protrude into his mind, coming from beyond it, whispering of such things.
Can she tell if there's another spell on him that's pushing those thoughts into his mind?
Whatever it is doesn't seem like a spell to Marie.
A possessing ghost? Divine messages from Shar? Any knowledge she can check to catch a clue?
K:R.
Take 10 for 59.
It appears to be some sort of extra sensory communication from Shar or something similar. In other words, he's hearing mystical voices and it's playing with his mind and perceptions.
That's enough for Marie to decide it safer to withdraw, prompting her to retreat back to the bottom of that pit she fell down with the cultists and try ascending up it now.
If Shar is directly telling people here things related to Marie's magical specialty, it's almost certain her presence has been discovered somehow and so she needs to leave while she can.
Marie retreats out in good order, reaching the sand dunes once more. Nothing appears to stop her, perhaps thankfully.
Marie continues on out of the plane of shadow entirely, remaining hidden and holding position on the prime now as she checks in with Alicia and waits for her to decide what to do.
Is she actually safer on the prime? An avatar can go there just as well, although the last seal of Daa-vid's judgement might bar any from this prime. But then Alicia's avatar can come here, and so can Marie... they might have an exception for having come from this prime but who really knows?
Okay, regardless, I'm going to wrap this up here and we'll pick it up in new Alicia stuff since that's coming around shortly.