Soulriders 5.0: Legend of the Unending Games

> Time passes from the Nidavellr incident. Wounds mend, gold is spent and life on Aurora continues. It's an unremarkable day of spell research for Muirfinn. He's in Aurora's library. He's sitting back with his feet up as he does his reading. It's then that a loud CRASH disturbs him. It comes from the bookshelves behind him. A moment later you hear Kascha's voice mutter, "Ooooowww....!"
* Muirfinn looks up, putting feet to the ground and a claw into the book to mark his place. He heads toward the sound of the crash. "Kascha? Are you alright?"
> You find Kascha lying amid several books. As she lies there the books float back up and into place. Around Kascha's head a quartet of ioun stones drift in orbit; an orange prism, a dark blue rhomboid, a brass lozenge and a clear cube. She looks up to reply, eyes occasionally veering away to follow a passiong stone. "I'm alright. I don't think the walls are cold iron," With a wan smile she starts to rise, "Ever since I got these ioun stones, I'm running into things. They keep catching my attention."
<Muirfinn> "You can spin them so they don't interfere with your field of view, you know." Muirfinn says, pluching one of his own stones out of the air and setting it spinning over the back of his head and under his chin.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Plucking. Pluching sounds horrible.
> Kascha gets up, dusting herself off. "I know. But I want to get used to them, so if they get knocked out of normal orbit in battle, that they won't distract me." She takes a moment to generally right herself, shaking her head, "Hanna's been helping with that. She's been having me take them into the bath and practice walking, running and jumping on slippery tiles with them going."
<Muirfinn> "That can help." Muirfinn says, nodding. "Can you fly well with them?"
> "Better, since a small slip when flying is easier to adjust." As Kascha continues, Elena appears next to you. "Hi Muirfinn!" she begins, cutting right in. She's dressed up like a dashing prince today, "Ebony would like to meet with you."
<Muirfinn> Manly and stoic creature that he is, Muirfinn carefully does not let out a strident screech of terror and surprise at Elena's sudden appearance. That's good, Kascha. Keep it up and you'll be fine, I am certain." He turns to Elena. "A fine day to you, Elena. Where can I find her?"
> "By the phase spiders," Elena says with a teasing smile. "Canderella's there too. You can't miss them, they're having tea and arguing theology."
* Muirfinn snorts. "This I have to see."
> "Hi," Kascha startles slightly, but recovers after a split-second. "Oh, I'll talk to you later then," Kascha says, "I need to catch up to Jaela, anyway. We're heading to the Cauldron for business for a few days. I'll see you when I get back"
> OOC: Gah.
> "Hi," Kascha startles slightly, but recovers after a split-second. "Oh, I'll talk to you later then," Kascha says, "I need to catch up to Jaela, anyway. We're heading to the Cauldron for business for a few days. I'll see you when I get back."
* Muirfinn nods at Kascha, heading off.
> You find the courtyard busy. The thousand of the Burning Aeropolis are at practice against a force of the Graceful Blow, the Knights of the Wise Convent and several squads of celestial reinforcement. It is a battle of wooden weapons and restrained magic, going through the motions of magical war. You slip past all of this and head to the phase spiders. Amid this den of webs you find a single table of webbing and two chairs. Ebony and Canderella are sharing tea together, each with a teacup. Ebony is glaring at Canderella over her teacup, but the cup doesn't quite hide a smile. Canderella is reclining back in her chair, speaking. "...and that's why. It's obvious that by being all inclusive that it includes law."
> "But as it's opposed to law, chaos can't have law in it. It's a logical contradiction," Ebony points out, pausing to sip her tea. "It's unjustifiable."
> Canderella smiles a little bit and waves her teacup about, using it to poitn as she lectures. "Logic is a construct of order. It's worthless when dealing with chaos, so any logical inconsistency is irrelevant. Your entire argument's based on a flawed assumption."
> "Logic is universal," Ebony adds just a bit of force to her voice, causing it to stir your blood like the first note of bardsong. "No matter how chaos twists and writhes, one plus one will always be two. Chaos can't change immutable truths like that."
> "Really?" Canderella shakes her head and sighs, "Are we going back to arguing over math? Go to Nature Heart and ask Talos to make one plus one equal six. Then what?"
> "Then six is two. It doesn't matter what you call it," Ebony waves her free hand again, as if brushing away a foul smell. "A new coat of paint on two doesn't change the fact that it's two. Gods are powerful, but they can't change the underlying rules of Creation. Otherwise, why would they not have been changed before?"
> "Pfft," Canderella chuckles, leaning forward, "If things have changed, how would your precious logic know? For all you know, the Gods changed logic around twice today and you had no idea. If your logic is self-supporting by nature, wouldn't a change be impossible to notice?"
> "Now you're just being a sore loser," Ebony retorts, "Even if that could be true - and it isn't - it's completely unverifiable. You may as well claim that about anything, it has no meaning to us."
* Muirfinn waits patiently, hands clasped and waiting either for one of them to explode or acknowledge him. Either way, he is amused.
> The response is most eloquent, for Canderella sticks her tongue out at Ebony. She's smiling despite it once she stops, "Hello," she says to Muirfinn, "Don't mind me. I know Ebony's been waiting for you." She rises and puts her cup down, heading off.
> Ebony smiles and sits forward, putting her tea down as well. She pauses to flex out her wings and look to Muirfinn, gesturing to the open seat. "Would you care to sit down?"
<Muirfinn> Giving Canderella a farewell wave, Muirfinn takes her seat. "Thank you. How can I help you today?"
> Gah! Muirfinn gets a jolt akin to a strong static shock once he sits down. "Syala has an interest matters pertaining to Sharess. She'd like to meet with you and one other person who fought with Kina-ja.
> OOC: Gah.
> Gah! Muirfinn gets a jolt akin to a strong static shock once he sits down. "Syala has an interest matters pertaining to Sharess. She'd like to meet with you and one other person who fought with Kina-ja. The fact that Kina-ja is moving is troubling and worth investigation."
<Muirfinn> "I don't know how much she's moving anymore, considering she decided to run away from us into a rift to the Far Plane." Muirfinn says, "But sure. I'll oblige. I'll take Vivantha."
> "Thank you," Ebony inclines her head forward in a nod, "She would like you to come with all haste. If you can leave within the hour that would be appreciated."
<Muirfinn> "Of course. I'll find Vivantha now, if you don't mind. Shall I return to you before we leave, or will you be staying here?"
> "I'll go with you. Syala has taken care of transportation," Ebony says, "Come by here when you're ready."
* Muirfinn stands. "I'll return shortly, then!"
> From there, a quick Elena assist leads you to Vivantha. She's in Balyss' room. On going over and knocking on the door, "Come in," Balyss calls.
* Muirfinn enters!
> Within are several. Vivantha lies stomach-down on Balyss' bed. Her wings are in the air. On one side of the bed is Balyss and on the other side is Stille. They're tending to her wings, using a curious looking brush to go through them. Sylvie's back is seen, as she's currently rustling around in Balyss' closet. Ithea's on the couch, curled up and snoozing away in a catnap. "Good day," Stille greets.
> "Hi," Balyss says absently, focusing on the wing she's tending to. She spares a quick glance up, "Do you need a divination, Muirfinn?"
<Muirfinn> "Vivantha, actually." Muirfinn says, giving Stille a brief eye.
<Muirfinn> "And a good afternoon to everyone as well."
<Muirfinn> OOC: Blar, I keep tapping the enter key when I hit the quotation
> "Aaaahhh." Vivantha's reply is as much throaty murmur as actual speech. "Brave hero, mmmmmm. Aaaaaaah." She murmurs in contentment as the two work.
> "Hi," Sylvie calls from the closet, "Balyss, where's that gown you mentioned? I can't find it in here."
* Muirfinn slowly raises a scaly eyebrow. Mammals are strange.
> "Behind the spare vestments," she calls, before glancing up to Muirfinn, "Did you hear about Hanna's trip out the last time I gave her divinations?"
<Muirfinn> "Who hasn't?" Muirfinn replies.
> Stille grins at that as he works, "27 has been rather put out since then," he says, "He endlessly mutters about hugs when Hanna's around."
> "I still don't see it," Sylvie replies, "I feel worse for Hanna."
> "Hold on," Balyss puts the brush down and departs, going over to the closet with Sylvie. "...huh, I thought it was back there," Carries out a few moments later.
* Muirfinn maneuvers around, kneeling in front of Vivantha. "Vivantha, I'm going to Syala shortly. Would you care to join me?"
> Vivantha looks up, her free wing twitching as Stille works. "I'm glad to help you. What can I do to help you, brave hero?"
<Muirfinn> OOC: I AM FASTER
> "Syala?" That causes her to jostle and sit up, freeing her other wing. "The Goddess of Sylica? Of course. It is a great honor to meet a Goddess."
* Muirfinn nods. "She'd like to speak with us about our fight with Kina-ja."
> "I told you," Sylvie says with an exasperated sigh, "You probably did something with it after having too much applejack."
> "Oh, if it's that gown, it's in my room," Stille speaks up, "Dear Balyss fell asleep there after falling rather deep into her cups."
> Ignoring the others, "I am ready at a moment's notice," Vivantha says, getting up. "When will we go?"
> "Syala? Oh, that Kina-ja thing," Sylvie peeks out, "Let me know if you need help with her. I'm stuck with 21, I may as well use it if it's useful."
<Muirfinn> "Within the hour." Muirfinn says.
* Muirfinn looks at Sylvie, "If I know we will encounter her again, you can bet you will receive an invitation."
> "Good." Sylvie ducks back into the closet.
> "Shall we," Vivantha says, heading to the door.
* Muirfinn offers his arm. "Let's."
> The trip to Ebony is without incident. The three of you meet up and head outside. Out in Air, Drena and the elementals continue their eternal vigilance. The endless sky stretches out as far as the eye can see. Ebony knees where she floats, hands together as she prays. This lasts seven heartbeats before a whirling portal appears before the party.
* Muirfinn greets elementals as they pass, waiting as Ebony crafts her portal, and then stepping through when she is finished.
> It is like rising up a current of air. You soar up as battlecries come from all directions. In a moment you are in Ysgard, near the portal to Sylica. A quick trip to it takes you into the secluded realm. It is the same as last time, Ebony leading you into the palace of Liberton. You go past angels of light and glory, a familiar sight that in no way dims the majesty of them. In time you come to a simple door in a beautiful hall, Ebony stepping aside. "Syala is within," she says, "Here I will depart, for Alicia wishes for me to report to her on another matter."
* Muirfinn nods. "We'll see you later then."
* Muirfinn looks at Vivantha. "Ready?"
> Vivantha nods slightly, "I'm ready."
* Muirfinn pushes open the door, striding through.
> Within is a beautiful meeting room. The back wall is transparent, showing a view of the Opal Mountain in the distance. The glowing radiance of it reaches to the room adn wall, coming through to cast everything in a soft blue light - save for the single inhabitant. She sits and outshines all else, an angel clothed in radiance. You can feel her presence in the room, suffocating and potent. It momentarily overloads your senses. For a moment you can only think of battles and family, a confusing yet inspiring combination of images. She feels stronger than the last time you met her, obvious merely by being in the same room as she. "Welcome. Please sit," It is spoken in a friendly voice, yet is is unarguably a command.
> Vivantha reaches out and uses Muirfinn for support, before simply obeying and going to sit on a couch.
<Muirfinn> Muirfinn graciously aids Vivantha, taking a seat beside her. "Greetings."
> "Greetings," Syala echos, "To the point, I would like to look into your memories of Kina-ja."
<Muirfinn> "Well. Straight to the point, I'd say. In the interests of curiosity, why?"
> "Ysgard is like home to me. I'd like to know what an enemy of Sharess was doing nosing around down there." Syala meets Muirfinn's eyes for only a moment, the rest of the world going grayscale save for her, until her gaze leaves him. "Sharess was my creator and I take great pleasure in stamping out threats against her."
* Muirfinn nods. "I understand. We were surprised to see her down there at all. I had rather expected some sort of dragon or something."
> "That bothers me as well," Vivantha speaks up now, "Why was she there? It was just a treasure hoard. What in it was so appealing to her?"
<Muirfinn> "She is a demon, and a mad one at that. Perhaps she believed giant bars of gold would protect her from the beasts inside her head."
> "Perhaps, but I think that's idiotic," Syala replies, "She is a vain, self motivated creature arrogant enough to challenge Sharess and invite her biographers to the battle. I don't trust her to have gone mad."
<Muirfinn> "If she wasn't before, she likely is now. She exscaped from here into the Far Realm."
> "I will judge that. May I see your memories?" Syala asks.
<Muirfinn> "You may see mine. I cannot speak for Vivantha though."

> "Yes," Vivantha consents right after.
> Syala merely glances at the two. It's like a feather tickles across your mindscape, the completely strange sensation of a mental sneeze the result of that. The Goddess is silent a few moments after that, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, she wants to play?" she says in a peevish tone.
<Muirfinn> "Er." Muirfinn says. "She does?"
> "She mentioned me by name," Syala says, "I saw it in both your memories."
* Muirfinn scratches his head. "I honestly don't recall it, but I don't believe that I was paying precise attention to what she was saying at the time. I was more trying to beat her to death."
> "It was rather hectic," Vivantha adds, "But I do recall it now. The sight of her was distressing."
> "It was absymal," Syala agrees, closing her eyes for a moment. When her eyes open they are full of power, blazingly bright. "If she wishes to come to my home and pick a fight, she'll get one. That wasn't a portal to the Far Realm, so it's not done." A short pause at that, giving Muirfinn a gaze. It makes his skin tingle and his body tense, breathing becoming difficult. Your perception is nigh-overwhelmed by Syala's presence. It doesn't last long and she averts her gaze. "Are you interested in working against Kina-ja?"
<Muirfinn> "I suppose that working against a second abomination of the Abyss can't be too much worse than working against just one. I'm in."
> "I'll support you, brave hero," Vivantha affirms, "I'd be honored to help, Goddess."
> "Good." Syala glances at the space between herself and the party, a table appearing. It's full of food and drink. "I'll send a servant to coordinate with you briefly. Help yourselves while you wait."
* Muirfinn stands, bowing. "We are both honored to help. It's a noble thing."
* Infinite_Were_Kotono (~Desktop@ip72-201-113-118.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
* Infinite_Were_Kotono is now known as Muirfinn_
> "Thank you," Syala replies, gone a second later. No magic, no signs of it, simply that the Goddess is no longer with you. The overwhelming presence fades, the rest of the world no longer hidden under overwhelming presence. Vivantha sits back and exhales, saying nothing.
* Muirfinn (~Desktop@ip72-201-113-118.ph.ph.cox.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Muirfinn_ is now known as Muirfinn
* Muirfinn waits a beat, the says, "Whe's rather forceful, wouldn't you say?"
> "My heart's racing," Vivantha says, voice limp and soft. "Quite forceful."
* Muirfinn frowns. "That sort of behavior concerns me. A creature such as Kina-ja must be carefully planned around. If she expects us to charge in boldly and without a plan, this could go very poorly."
> "I hope not!" Vivantha quickly agrees. She reaches out and takes a goblet of water and drinks, "I doubt it, however. We're allies."
* Muirfinn rests a hand on her shoulder. "Indeed. Let's hope it stays that way."
* Ebiris (Ebiris@cpc9-sgyl30-2-0-cust73.sgyl.cable.virginmedia.com) Quit (Quit: )
> There's a short reverie of waiting, broken when someone else comes into the room. It is Antenora, an angel you have met before. She closes the door behind her and comes to sit. Her presence is palpable, but far more manageable than Syala's. "I'm glad you survived a meeting with Kina-ja intact," she greets. "Syala would like to begin with information gathering."
<Muirfinn> "Well, I believe we were more than she was prepared to handle at the time. Please tell us how we can get started."
> "It's best to start safe," Antenora continues, "With no risk too abhorrent happening if things go wrong. Brightwater is one of the premier trading hubs in Creation. Information flows throughout it. Finding information about Kina-ja there may be possible. If she's been moving around, word of it may have spread."
* Muirfinn is now known as Yuthirin
* Muirfinn (Yuthirin@ip72-201-113-118.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> <Muirfinn> "Well, I believe we were more than she was prepared to handle at the time. Please tell us how we can get started."
> "It's best to start safe," Antenora continues, "With no great risk too if things go wrong. Brightwater is one of the premier trading hubs in Creation. Information flows throughout it. Finding information about Kina-ja there may be possible. If she's been moving around, word of it may have spread."
<Muirfinn> "It's possible. We'll look into it and see what can be dug up."

> "Take a few days there to search. Send word if you find good information. If not, you'll be contacted with the next step." Antenora continues on, "How you execute your search is left at your discretion."
* Muirfinn nods. "We'll let you know how it goes then."
> "Thank you," Vivantha nods, "If things go wrong in Brightwater, are there any resources we can call on?"
> "If you get into troubles with the locals, ask for the advocacy of Donald Smurth. He's a friend, mention my name or Alicia's and he'll cooperate." Antenora explains, "He can be difficult, but he'll smooth things over eventually."
> "Thank you," Vivantha repeats, "I'm ready, brave hero." OOC: Muirfinn, what's your plan here then?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Off to Brightwater for urban adventures. I'll attempt GI on Kina-ja ND DEMONIC ACTIVITY WHEN WE GER THERE. when we get there. Fi
<Muirfinn> OOC: Wow caps
<Muirfinn> OOC: Let's try that again
<Muirfinn> OOC: Off to Brightwater for urban adventures. I'll attempt GI on Kina-ja and demonic activity when we get there.
> OOC: Okay.
> The trip to Brightwater is a familiar one. You appear in one of the transport destinations within Waukeen's section of the city. Ahead is the bustle of the great markets, buildings that glitter like gold all around you. Vivantha is a little slower, taking the time to soak it all in as you go...OOC: Make GI? Vivantha will aid.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+26
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+26 and gets 40." [1d20=14]
* Muirfinn looks at Vivantha as they walk. "Have you never been here before?"
> roll 1d20+10
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 and gets 28." [1d20=18]
> OOC: +1 more but irrelevant.
> As you walk along, Vivantha shakes her head, "I've been before," she notes, "But it's a wondrous sight." You walk ahead into the markets. Ahead is an open air bazaar, goods from across the planes being sold. You pass a stall full of jars full of slithering peanuts, a shout calling, "Peanuts from Limbo! Peanuts from Limbo! Each bite is a new adventure!" The next is one with bolts of cloth stacked in the back, colorful and bright. "Lysian fabrics! Woven by mortal womens who live as ascetics in a mountaintop monastery! One of a kind across Creation, woven from the fabrics of the woolly tamtals!"
<Muirfinn> Tamtals? Muirfinn shakes his head. "Yes, there's much to see, and it's always changing."
> A mercane in a white gown-like toga brushes past you as you talk, several humanoids carrying boxes and following. A moment later a hoard of short women run past your over side, Vivantha stepping aside for them. "Still, we have a goal. Shall we get searching?"
* Muirfinn nods. "Let's get to it. We can browse later."
> A few hours pass. You do a lot of wandering, hopping and going to and fro. You don't find anything substantial at first, more setting up contacts and eliminating obvious dead ends. Eventually you're talking to a mercane at his stall. It's full of chicken heads dotted with strange runes. "...and that's why these heads are the best scepter focuses for a warlock," he explains, "At least one that isn't so taken with evil that he's off chasing some Gods-cursed fiend. But I digress." The mercane's a bit tall for his type, a real motormouth that causes him to go on and on and on. "You were asking about Kina-ja, eh? I've heard about that in some of the songs they sing across the river. Lovely women, the Maidens of Bast. So you're looking for more about her. Friend, I don't know anything about her, but I know someone who can help you."
<Muirfinn> "And who might that be?" Muirfinn says patiently.
> "Glitterosm. He has a shop in Brightwater. He deals in lore. Buuuuut..." He trails off here, "Not anyone can just go to his shop. Story that his shop is hidden and can move around Brightwater. There's a trick to finding it." He smiles slightly, "You understand that this knowledge is valuable."
* Muirfinn eyes the Mercane. "Go on."
> Vivantha nods, ever so softly sighing.
> "There's a powerful merchant named Sisatar. I've been wanting to meet with him to pitch a sure-fire plan to make us a lot of money, but he's busy. He owns a trading company called the Silverbrow Consortium. If you could get me a meeting with him, I could point you towards Glitterosm's shop."
<Muirfinn> "We are aware of them. We've dealt with them recently." Muirfinn says. "Is there a representative for him here?"
> "Oh, you have! Then it should be easy. Yes, the main officers are here. They're down on Windfall Avenue." Jemele the Mercane says, having introduced himself before he went on a long digression about warlocks and chicken heads.
> *offices
* Muirfinn blinks very slowly. "Alright. We'll go speak to them on your behalf."
> "A pleasure doing profitable business with you," The mercane says, clapping his hands together. As you walk away, Vivantha quietly murmurs, "You've dealt with that consortium before?"
<Muirfinn> "I dealt with them on my travels after leaving Lifasa, but before finding the Aurora. They pointed me toward Earth, where I met Ithea and Kascha."
> "Fortunate," Vivantha smiles now, "May this be less of an interminable side job that stalls us from the meat of our efforts. Your efforts to satisfy Baleruk's treasure lust was rife with them, brave hero."
* Muirfinn nods. "If there is one thing I have learned, it is that every goal comes with its own set of trials."
> OOC: What's your approach going to be, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'm honestly not sure. I was thinking more like "Hey, I'm the turtleman from a while back. Lemme talk to the boss man and while you're at it, get me a coffee."
<Muirfinn> OOC: But that's probably not wise
> OOC: Okay. More then while you think it over.
<Muirfinn> OOC: WAIT!
<Muirfinn> OOC: A brilliant idea!
> OOC: Oh?
<Muirfinn> OOC: They call themselves the Silverbrows! Why not show up as a silver dragon? :D :D :D
> OOC: Okay, if that's how youw ant to play it. ARe you going to transform before hand and fly there or wait until you get there?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'll xform now. Medium-sized to fit through doors and whatnot
<Muirfinn> OOC: Age class young, if it matters
> OOC: Okay.
> Muirfinn transforms! He gets a few looks as a medium sized silver dragon appears! But not too many. More like respectful nods and people giving him a wider birth. This persists the entire trip, Muirfinn's draconic form buying you easy passage through the busy streets. Windfall Avenue has streets of gold. The buildings here are tall and loom over you in dozens of stories, yet not a single one casts a shadow. All is bright here, and above the sky glitters like bright diamonds. As you step onto the street, a voice is heard in your mind! 'Welcome to Windfall Avenue, valued draconic visitor. As you are certainly already aware, Windfall Avenue's skies are forbidden territory past the rooftops. Please do not fly above them. Thank you and continue your business, valued guest.'
* Muirfinn blinks, cocking his head. "That's odd."
> "DId you just get a message?" Vivantha asks, a hint of amusement as she looks around. "About not flying above roof level?"
<Muirfinn> "Yes I did. How unusual. I wonder why."
> "I wonder," Vivantha merely murmurs as you continue on. The buliding you're looking for isn't hard to find. After all, it' snot every day you see a imposing, dozen story tall behemoth of a building with a front of pure amethyst. The light from the golden streets reflects up into it, turning the impossibly large slabs of gemstone to sparkle a bright, pale purple. A grand door big enough for a great wyrm dragon to pass through is open, as if to invite any and all to come in. But it's hard to see inside, your eyes constantly sliding over what's inside and not registering it at all. Above the door leading in is a dragon's head carved of amethyst, fit for a a town-sized dragon. It's open in an eternal, silent roar. OOC: Make a CL check on true seeing.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+13 CL check
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+13 CL check and gets 32." [1d20=19]
* NeremWorld (NeremWorld@75-172-93-9.tukw.qwest.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* NeremWorld (~Nerem@75-172-16-253.tukw.qwest.net) has joined #dunes
> Your eyes quickly shake off the odd effect and can see inside the building. Ahead is a plaza bigger than most castles. There are fountain there that spew purple water that becomes amethysts as it rains down. There are purple and black plants all over, pruned and grown into miniature dragon-shapes to decorate small gardens. These gardens have stone-wrought benches with supports of beautiful women, the stone carved to absolute perfection. In the back there's a huge wooden square that serves as a desk, big enough for a dozen pretty women to stand within the center and have lots of space to spare.
* Muirfinn slowly cocks his head the other way. "...huh. They're fond of purple here."
> Your partner's reply is to look up at the be-gemmed wall and then around, "Is there such a thing as a purple dragon?" she asks the transformed Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Is there?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Cause I could tell stories
> OOC: Quick K:A check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23 and gets 43." [1d20=20]
> Purple dragons do exist. They're rare - lore suggests they're the spawn of a forgotten sister to Tiamat, which her doctrine and clergy fiercely denies - and view themselves as lords of all dragonkind. They're arrogant even for dragons. They're mainly notable for having three different types of breath weapons, including turning their breath weapon into a blade and slicing foes apart with it. However, amethyst gem dragons are commonly mistaken for purple dragons by the uninformed.
<Muirfinn> "There are, and they're rare. They're rumored to be the vile spawn of a sister to Tiamat. They're arrogant and incredibly dangerous. It's more likely that we're looking at effigies of amethyst dragons."
> Vivantha nods, following Muirfinn's lead. OOC: Ball's in your court, silver.
<Muirfinn> "It's unlikely that you would find a purple dragon here. There aren't enough opportunities for it to rule and dominate everything around it." Muirfinn says, claws clicking on stone as he walks around the fountain. "Amethysts are much more mild. " OOC: Are there any obvious structures in the area that might be what we're looking for."
> OOC: The square wooden desk with a dozen pretty women comes to mind. There's also all those small gardens and benches around.
* Muirfinn heads for the square desk!
> Vivantha follows. The trip is pleasant, the insides just the right temperature to your scales. You pass fountains of amethysts and many little parks before reaching ot the desk. Each woman has brightly colored hair in a rainbow of colors, natural and otherwise. Each wears a well-cut dress in the same color as their hair and lots of jewelry with matching gemstones. A redhead with pouty red lips who virtually drips rubies bows as you approach. In flawless draconic, a marvel from her humanoid mouth, "Sir dragon and companion," she greets. "Welcome to the Silverbrow Consortium."
<Muirfinn> OOC: True seeing show her as humanoid? What the hell is she?
> OOC: She's a humanoid. Make an K:A check real quick.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23 and gets 26." [1d20=3]
> It's something about her. Nothing you can pin visually, just a feeling in the marrow of your bones. This woman is dragon. This feeling is the feeling a dragon could give off. The feeling of restraind and disguised power.
* Muirfinn nods at the woman, replying in kind. "You have our thanks. My name is Muirfinn. Can you tell us if Sisatar is available?"
> "Call me Ruby," The redhead replies with a coy smile, "Is Mister Sisatar expecting you?"
> A blue haired woman virtually drowning in sapphires glanes over, "I am Sapphire. The theme continue as obvious," she adds in the same perfect draconic. "If I may intervene a moment, you aren't a local. Are you newly arrived from the mortal coil?"
<Muirfinn> "I'm afraid he is not. I was hoping that we could impinge upon his time for a moment." He glances at Sapphire. "I still yet live, if that is what you ask."
> Ruby and Sapphire exchange looks, before Ruby smiles and steps aside. No words are exchanged, but Sapphire looks amused. She clears her throat before continuing, "Please, come with me." Sapphire blinks momentarily, appearing besides you in the blur of teleportation.
* Muirfinn nods. "After you, then."
> You are lead further within. Past all the wealth are an array of doors that blend into the wall. One is opened and you step through. Stepping through is like free-falling for a second, teleportation taking you elsewhere! You stand in a room full of giant crystalline structures. Giant gemstones and crystals surrounded by velvet ropes are all about, each one having a small wooden sign floating just besides them.  Occasionally cozy tables and chairs are besides a particularly impressive set. You are lead to the nearest table, "Growing Wealth, a restaurant," Sapphire announces as the chairs pull themselves out for you. "If you sit down and watch for a time, you can see the gems growing before your eyes. It's as enthralling as it sounds, but please restrain yourself. They are part of Mister Sisatar's hoard."
> "Mister Sisatar is generous with showing off his wealth," Vivantha observes as she takes a seat.
* Muirfinn nods, resting beside the table. "We can contain ourselves. Thank you for bringing us here."
> "We tried reports detailing how Mister Sisatar's investment portfolio was increasing first, but there wasn't nearly the same impact," Sapphire smiles slightly, "Forgive me, you are not a dragon, miss. I assure you, the stories of dragon hoards are entirely true. What is better than sleeping on a hoard than sleeping on a hoard that is growing bigger as you rest? It is pleasing." Listening to Muirfinn after, "It's no problem." Sapphire snaps her fingers, a ghostly figure appearing. Muirfinn can see it perfectly - an unseen servant. "Brine soaked crystals for the two of us and finger foods for our lillend guest," she instructs, the servant scuttling off right after. Here Sapphire looks over Muirfinn, "Can you assume a humanoid form? It's rather silly to see a true dragon sitting in a chair like a human."
<Muirfinn> "Of course." Muirfinn says, taking tortle form.
> "Now, are you new to the planes?" she asks, "Allow me to explain. Mister Sisatar is a busy and important man. He controls interests across multiple planes and realities. With a stroke of his pen he can cause millions of gold coins to be gained or spent. One does not merely walk here and ask to see him, even if you are a dragon."
> Vivantha raises an eyebrow at that, glancing over at Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> "Well, perhaps he will be interested in what we have to offer him then." Muirfinn says, idly picking at his scales with a claw.
> "I'm listening," Sapphire says. A moment later the servant returns. Before you and Sapphire he puts a bowl of water with little fragments of crystal littering the bottom. He puts a plate of various little finger foods before Vivantha. Once he's gone, Sapphire continues. "Feel free to use your fingers or claws.
> OOC: Gah.
> "I'm listening," Sapphire says. A moment later the servant returns. Before you and Sapphire he puts a bowl of water with little fragments of crystal littering the bottom. He puts a plate of various little finger foods before Vivantha. Once he's gone, Sapphire continues. "Feel free to use your fingers or claws. " She plucks out a large hunk of crystal, tossing it into her mouth like popcorn. A loud CRACKCRUNCH follows before she swallows. "Mmm. Try some. The crystal's imported from a particularly ancient Prime. It's had ages to really work up a good flavor."
* Muirfinn is much more interested in the water, tasting it. "Simply put, I have access to a truly ancient and massive library. I also have acess to magical tools and lore not seen in ages. I'd like to barter access to it in exchange for a favor."
> It's salted water. Not quite like seawater, the salt is finer than that. It's quite a bracing and refined taste. "Really?" CRACKCRUNCH! Another bit of crystal is devoured before she continues, "Excuse my skepticism, but you appear as little more than a wyrmling. Could you demonstrate something to provide weight to your words?"
<Muirfinn> OOC: How much room is here?
> OOC: Plenty. If you wanna expand you'd need to be a bit creative and move a bit, but you could do it.
* Muirfinn tastes the water again, rolling it around and swallowing. He smacks his beak together a bit, tongue rolling around in his mouth. "The water is quite nice. Better than you'd find in most places. Most times when you ask for salted water, they either hand you sea water or water with refined salt. Sea water is often overly briny, and water with refined salt tastes bland and stale. This is
* Muirfinn indeed very fine." He stands, pushing his chair in and stepping off to the side. "As for my credentials..." His greenish form twists like water flowing down a drain, spinning and becoming shapeless as he expands wildly. His form arcs up toward the high ceiling, forming a thick and powerful neck. The other end forms into a powerful and sinuous tail which swings lazily over the tables and heads
* Muirfinn of the other guests. Wings erupt from his back as a long fin sprouts along his spine. Four powerful legs come down around the tables in the area, disturbing them ever so slightly. Lastly, horns grow from a draconic head the size of a fine carriage as everything solidifies into burnished silver scales. Eyes of a great wyrm silver dragon's purest molten silver stare down at Sapphire with amusement.
* Muirfinn "Is this satisfactory, or do you require a test of ability as well?"

> Sapphire stares up, unperturbed. Her eyebrows go up as she watches the entire transformation. Muirfinn overshadows the various crystalline exhibits, casting shadows over all around him. Your hostess bows her head and closes her eyes, "I ask your pardon, I did not expect you to have the ability to change your appearance to that degree." After just a moment to let that settle she smiles, the CRACKCRUNCH of another crystal following. "So you have access to an ancient library and lore. Can you elaborate on them?"
<Muirfinn> Abruptly, Muirfinn's form collapses down into tortle form again. "Moving around is easier when you're the same size as everything else." He takes a seat again. "The place is immesurably old; eons and eons. Older than some gods."
> Folding her hands in her lap after that and smiling, "Does this place have a name, sir?"
<Muirfinn> "Of course it does."
> "Very well," Sapphire rises. "Please enjoy your refreshments. A servant will be by periodically to attend to any needs you have. But I'm afraid I've reached a limit to how far I may speak for Mister Sisatar's interests. Another person will be along ot assist you soon, sir Muirfinn."
* Muirfinn nods. "As you wish. It's been a pleasure."
> "It has," Sapphire says, before slipping away and out of sight. Once gone you see Vivantha trying a little bit of meat carved to resemble a miniature house. The work is impeccable, worthy of a master artisan. Down it goes, Vivantha closing her eyes once it's in her mouth. "Mmmmmmmm. They have a wondrously skilled chef," she remarks, before going on. "I fear Sisatar wants us to expressly understand he is an important, wealthy man. He reminds me of the officials from the Lannark Imperium."
<Muirfinn> "All dragons are like that, I've found. It's not innately surprising. The Lannark's desire to conquer was the real problem."
> "We will endure, then," Vivantha remarks as you settle in. OOC: Going to do anything or just wait?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I get the feeling that chowing down on crystals won't be good for me in this form. I'll deign to sit and converse lightly with Vivantha.
> About an hour passes. It goes back and forth in light conversation without anything too important going on. Vivantha's relaying the latest stories and gossip. "I saw Jaela, Hanna and Mirajane going out a few days ago. I haven't heard what it was about, but I know they're back." As she continues, a woman comes to join you, taking Sapphire's spot. She has long white hair and a matching dress, both the color of newfallen snow. She is encrusted with diamond jewelry of breath-taking size and clarity. She is slinky, from a shiny dress to her natural grace. "I'm Diamond," she greets, "Welcome to the Silverbrow Consortium, Muirfinn and Vivantha. I hope you're enjoying our hospitality so far."
<Muirfinn> "Of course. Delightful place, really." Muirfinn gestures to the crystals.
> "Oh, I've lost hours watching crystal grow," Diamond smiles lightly, "But I'm afraid we don't have leisure for that today. I have some questions I'd like you to answer, Muirfinn."
<Muirfinn> "Go on."
> Vivantha nods slightly, watching Diamond.
> "Firstly, is this an official visit from Aurora," she asks, her smile growing ever so slightly, "Or is it a personal initiative?"
<Muirfinn> "The latter, of course. Though if possible, I'd very much like to improve the relations betwixt Aurora and the majority of dragonkind." Muirfinn says.
> "I understand," she says slowly, "The Silverbrow Consortium takes no position in regards to Aurora, Bahamut and Tiamat. It is best to understand that we are not metallic or chromatic dragons and have no prohibitive attachments to either side." Pausing just a moment after that, as if reviewing her next words, her eyes meeting Muirfinn's, "Our only interests are Mister Sisatar's interests. Secondly, what are your interests here and how do they align with Mister Sisatar's interests?"
<Muirfinn> "Would you like the short or long version?"
> "The long version," Diamond replies, "Please, we have all the time we need."
<Muirfinn> "Well, it started recently when we went and decided that we were going to seek out a long-lost treasure from the depths of Nidavelir(SP?) underneath the fields of Ysgard. While there, we encountered an ancient marilith by the name of Kina-ja. After a long fight, she fled into...somewhare. We originally thought it was the Far Realm, but alas we were wrong. Syala summoned the two of us to her
<Muirfinn> realm where she informed us that she would like to enlist our aid in hunting Kina-ja down. We agreed, and came here to start our search. An overly-chatty mercane told us that he knows someone who knows some information about Kina-ja, but would not dispense with it unless we aided him in establishing contact with Sisatar in order to do business. When I learned that it was with the Silverbrow
<Muirfinn> Consortium, I was intrigued. As you may or may not be aware, your lot helped me locate the Aurora some time back. Knowing what I know now about Aurora's unfortunate feud with Bahamut and his aligned dragons, I thought that perhaps I could do a bit of diplomacy here and see if we could be of mutual benefit to each other."
> Diamond closes her eyes as she listens. She's silent through the end, expression becoming disturbed. "I see. This situation is an interesting opportunity," Her eyes open again, calm. A smile banishes her disturbment, "It seems the Silverbrow Consortium's involvement in this matter is tangential at best. But you did mention diplomacy, could you elaborate on that?"
<Muirfinn> "It is quite an opportunity. Simply put, mercane aside, I do firmly believe that the Aurora could benefit significantly from an alliance with proper dragons. I'd thought that perhaps an open house to those of significant stature could come and view what we are accomplishing as well as the knowledge and magic we have to offer."
> "To be clear," Diamond stops Muirfinn there, "Are you offering gem dragons an alliance with Aurora, or the Silverbrow Consortium, or is your meaning otherwise?"
<Muirfinn> "Do you represent gem dragons as a whole?" Muirfinn fires back.
> "We do not," Diamond explains, "I was about to make the same point, so there are not misunderstandings. The Silverbrow Consortium is an independent consortium. We have familial and trading ties to our kin, but we are outside of direct organization. In all truth, there is no great, single organization of gem dragons. Barring exceptional circumstances, there is no one who can speak wholly for us."
* Muirfinn nods. "I quite expected as much. I am by no means surprised, either. Gem dragons are often apart from their more common metallic or chromatic kin. It's quite refreshing." He sips at the water before him. "No, I'd rather do business with a known entity. I've dealt with your organization before, and have no reason to doubt that we could both profit from this."
> "I understand," Diamond says thoughtfully, "It is not the business of the Silverbrow Consortium to enter into war. If you are looking for partners in slaying devils and their thralls, I suggest you look to others. If you are interested in a different relationship, now..."
<Muirfinn> "I expected as much, and would not have asked it of you. I'm more looking at a permanent source of information on current events and other things, I see no reason why we cannot accommodate the Silverbrow Consortium as an on-site contractor. In return, we could provide you with up-to-date information on things we discover, as well as access to our library."
> "That is not an unreasonable request. Information is something we trade in," Diamond demurs, "Would you come with me," she asks, standing.
* Muirfinn stands as well, helping Vivantha out of her chair. "Of course."
> Vivantha smiles warmly to Muirfinn as she rises. "Thank you," she murmurs. Once risen, Diamond leads the way. You step around a large crystalline exhibit. When you do, reality blurs and you now stand in a long, narrow hall. Both walls are alive with murals, ones that are re-enacting dragon battles. You can see wyrms clashing in the air, wyrmlings grappling over a bag of gold. A brass dragon standing against a legion of barbazu is another, then a chromatic dragon facing against an eye tyrant. Far ahead is a door, Diamond leading the way.
* Muirfinn makes appreciative noises at the murals and chuckles at the whelplings.
> Vivantha falls behind, watching the battles rather closely. Meanwhile, "Sir Sisatar has an eye for the arts. He's quite the patron of artists, in Brightwater and beyond. This is History of Dragonkind, showing struggles from across the spectrum of draconic experiences."
* Muirfinn nods. "It's quite impressive."
> "The art is lifelike," Vivantha says agreeably, a bit of wonder as she scurries to catch up.
> "You'll have some time to study it," Diamond says, as you reach the door. "Please wait out here. It shouldn't be long."
* Muirfinn nods. "Thank you."
> Diamond slips in through the doors and out of sight, closing them behind herself. The doors are tall and magificent, the murals wrapping around and continuing on them. You watch a red and silver dragon do war as Vivantha catches up. "Marvelous," she murmurs, "But I fear the resources could have been used better than on vanity projects."
<Muirfinn> "Perhaps." Muirfinn replies, "Or perhaps he simply has a vast abundance of resources. There is only so much that can be done by throwing resources at a problem."
> "Still, I can think there are surely better things to do with wealth than this," Vivantha replies, watching the two dragons duel.
<Muirfinn> "Oh so can I. Off the top of my head I can think of several improvements to the Aurora, and there is always charitable donation."
> With a nod Vivantha goes quiet, the two peacefully passing the time. It's perhaps five minutes before Diamond exits once more, "Mister Sisatar will see you now," she says.
<Muirfinn> "Ah, thank you." Muirfinn says, taking Vivantha's hand. "We are ready."
> Vivantha squeezes Muirfinn's hand as Diamond opens the door for you. Ahead is a spacious office. The floors are polished, smooth stone. It's a rich white color with veins of purple running throughout it. There is an imposing desk and no other furniture, a massive thing seemingly made from a single block of wood. But you can barely see that. You can barely focus on that. The entire back wall is a window. You can see you are on the highest level of the Silverbrow Consortium. Above the sky glitters gold. In it you see tens...no, hundreds...no...thousands! Tens of thousands! Thousands of thousands! Countless images of wealth. Each one sears a story into your mind for a split second, yet is washed away to the last by the next. A man who inherits from his cousin. A woman who wins a lotter and obtains great wealth. Another who has in invention that brings about a new age of bronze, making him fantastically wealthy. The barrage is massive. To the side a composed, slightly wet voice narrates, "Windfall after windfall. It's said that every bit of good fortune and prosperity is inspired by Tymora and Waukeen sends it forth from her treasury."
<Muirfinn> "Fascinating," Muirfinn marvels. "You can almost see it happening as you look at it."

> The creature that speaks is garbed in purple. He is humanoid-esque, his body garbed in rich royal purple cape, tunic and pants. His skin is a slightly darker shade of purple and scaled. Yet the scales have an oddly wet look to them, moving fluidly when he moves. His arms are crossed as he looks to you. Atop his head rests a circlet of silver with a large purple gemstone set between his eyes. "It's a priviledge reserved for those in Waukeen's personal good graces. Few others are allowed to see it." In a moment the fellow is gone, now sitting behind the desk with hands loosely steepled before his mouth. "You seem to want my attention. You have it for now."
<Muirfinn> "Sisatar, I presume?" Muirfinn sats, stepping up to the desk.
> The desk is undecorated, seemingly little more than a prop before the majesty outside. "Yes," Sisatar replies, "Time is money and I'm investing a little bit of time into you. Don't make me regret that investment. Speak."
* Muirfinn nods. "I am Muirfinn of the Aurora, formerly the demiplane called Medicant. It is within my capacity to make an offer with you, a trade. In return for allowing access to the libraries of Aurora and a permanent neutral hub on the Aurora, I'd like to negotiate two things. Firstly, aid in acquiring information on whatever we are currently working on if it is within your capacity to give
* Muirfinn it, and your aid in my current task. I seek information on Kina-ja, an ancient marilith. My companion and I recently had a run-in with her on Ysgard and forced her to flee. We have since been contracted by Syala to hunt her down. A mercane here in Brightwater knows someone who would know her location, but he wants me to get you to give him the time of day. What say you?"
> The man's face is hidden by his hands, eyes impenetrable. He listens throughout with nary a comment until the end. "What do you want to do with Kina-ja?" he asks after.
<Muirfinn> "Put her down, of course. She's a demon, and mad besides. I shudder to think of what could have occurred if some other hapless group of adventurers had come across her." Muirfinn says.
> "What is Syala's business in this affair? I have not heard much about her investmetns lately," Sisatar replies.
<Muirfinn> "She has vowed revenge for the offenses that Kina-ja has committed against Sharess."
> "Hm." The only reply is a wet sound, the scaly skin of his face moving like the surface of a stirred drink. "I would propose this. We offer aid against Kina-ja in exchange for information from you to be determined. Pending on how this goes, a more comprehensive agreement can be revisited at a later time. Dealing with this mercane can be agreed to as well." With a slight chuckle, "They are all the same."
<Muirfinn> "I am leery to agree to such a nebulous, blanket bargain. As I'm certain you can understand. I am worried that such an agreement could be used against us, our allies, or other non-devil aligned refugees of Lifasa." Muirfinn sighs.
> "I prefer to stick to the spirit of an agreement rather than the letter. I'm sure you've seen how devils can dicker with the lettering of any agreement. Keeping them vague allows us to act in our interests, rather than on technicalities. If you're not willing to extend me that trust and vice versa, there's little point in continuing this negotiation."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+26 Sense Motive
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+26 Sense Motive and gets 44." [1d20=18]
> Fudge. He's good. Really good. But he's not hiding his intent at all and you get the impression he's being serious. As you consider, "There's no profit in offending the heritors of Medi's legacy," he continues, "Nor is there any profit in betraying me. WE can both doubtless enact effective reprisals in the event of betrayal, so there is little point even contemplating it in the first place. There is no profit in it."
* Muirfinn tilts his head, blue eyes shifting in watery flows as he ponders a moment. At last, he nods. "Forgive my reticience. I have grown unpleasantly used to devils and their trickery. I will accept your agreement, with further structure to be settled at another date in the near future."
> "It is agreed. For this first transaction, I wish for information on the fiend Sammael. Are you personally familiar with him?" Sisatar asks. OOC: You can make K:P there if you wish.
<Muirfinn> roll 1D20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1D20+22 and gets Error: Numeric values only."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 37." [1d20=15]
> Sammael is the former Lord of the Seventh. He was overthrown by Beezlebub. He is known as a vicious, poisonous creature that escaped Hell and the wrath of Asmodeus. This happened uncountable eons ago. You aren't sure what happened to him after that, but he survived.
<Muirfinn> "Vaguely. Nothing specific."
> A slight nod to that, "It has come to my attention he may have certain...investments. Investments I have an interest in. I seek more knowledge about him," Sisatar answers, staying still. Behind him great windfalls continue to rain, a golden spectacle just beyond your negotiations. "Is this acceptable?"
* Muirfinn nods. "What's your timeline on this? Is it something that can be done after we leave Brightwater, or do you need it now, before we move onto working on information agains Kina-ja?"
> "I'll need a little bit to deal with the mercane," he says, "Take Diamond to Aurora as a guest. She can stay there while the information is researched. In the meantime, you can return here tomorrow and the mercane will be cooperative. As for information on Kina-ja, it will take some time, as I imagine Aurora's own research on Sammael will."
* Muirfinn nods. "I'll check the library, see what can be found."
> Sisatar rises here, appearing next to you. His face has a slight smile as he offers his hand out. "I find these terms acceptable."
* Muirfinn clasps the hand in turn, smiling in turn. "As do I."
> His grip is strong, unnaturally so. "Return tomorrow. The girls downstairs will be expecting you. We'll have to get together to talk sometime, but I'm unfortunately out of time right now."
<Muirfinn> "It's amazing how limiting time is, even when you're immortal." Muirfinn nods.
> From there, you depart back and Diamond leads you back to the ground floor. One teleport takes yo uthere, the white haired woman falling in step with Muirfinn. "I understand I'll be going to Aurora with you," she says. Vivantha's still quiet, having kept her peace during your negotiations with Sisatar.
<Muirfinn> "That is correct. We will set you up with a suite once we arrive. Are you in need of any particular services?"
> "I'll be fine, thank you," Diamond says as you walk back outside. The streets are a bit busier, people dressed of wealth and taste hurrying about.
* Muirfinn nods, turning to Vivantha. "Vivantha, was there anything you would like to do before we leave?"
> "As of now, no. This visit has been interesting," she admits, "But my personal business can wait. Stopping Kina-ja comes first, brave hero."
> Though she pauses and smiles, "Even if your draconic menacing didn't terrorize a village, it was still effective."
* Muirfinn nods, smiling. "I'd never terrorize a village. Far too crass. I try to shoot for polite intimidation."
Session Time: Sat Sep 07 00:00:00 2013
> "The problem with terrorizing a village is that inevitably someone tries to be a hero," Diamond agrees, "No matter how good a reason there is for it. What's worse is when it's someone prepared enough to get lucky."
<Muirfinn> "I tend to limit myself to terrorizing groups of devils. Life is easier."
> OOC: What's your plan now? Head back to Aurora, get Diamond set up and rest for a night?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep. That and spend some time with V. She seems quiet, and that's usually bad.
> Getting Diamond set up is without incident. She takes Aurora in with calm reserve, soon introduced to Tepen and Vul'lath. Vivantha keeps her quiet as you walk away, "Hm?" she glances at Muirfinn, "Brave hero, do you have any other business to do? I had assumed we were finished for the day."
<Muirfinn> "I've no other business. I thought we could simply spend some time together. It's been quite a tumultous few weeks and we've not had any real time to relax."
> "Mm." Vivantha quietly considers, before starting to smile, "How about we go flying out in Air?"
<Muirfinn> "A lovely idea." Muirfinn says, offering his arm. "Shall we?"
> Thus you go out! Arm in arm the two take to Air, Vivantha smiling. She seems happy, but at the same time she's quiet. She flies a little ahead of Muirfinn, gazing ahead and seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
* Muirfinn pulls up alongside her. "What's on your mind? You've been quiet today."
> This draws a nod from Vivantha. She flies on a little more before she answers, "I'm not used to that level of opulence," she admits, "That sort of meaningless, intimidating wealth. I felt as if the entire Consortium was a song of praise to Sisatar's own prosperity.:
<Muirfinn> "Ah, yes. It gets to the point where even counting it is pointless, and hoarding it is senseless. Dragons work that way, though. Piles on piles of opulence to declare to any who can see the level of their greatness. Perhapse that's how Sisatar sees the Consortium. I see it as an asset to the Aurora, though. Not for the physical wealth itself. Any wealth you can't actually use might as well be
<Muirfinn> made of lead. I see the information that can come from them as much more valuable. That, and perhaps they can be used to clear the air between the Aurora and Bahamut's brood." Muirfinn says. "That said, I do much agree with you."

> "He may be useful, but..." Vivantha pauses in her flight, turning to Muirfinn. "I've learned mortals often work for years for wealth we consider negiligable. Is that how he sees us from his lofty perch of wealth? Yet at least ours serves meaning, every coin used to strengthen Aurora is a blow against Hell and evil."
<Muirfinn> "Perhaps it is how he sees us. If so, he is poorer for it. He has wealth for the sake of it. I plan to flex him like a muscle. I will use our true wealth like bait in a trap, and he will use his wealth to aid us in his own way. All that glitters is not gold, after all."
> "That's what we'll do. We'll visit that mercane tomorrow," Vivantha snaps her fingers, "Ah, what was his name? Jemele. That was it. Do you think Glitterosm can help us?"
<Muirfinn> "I hope so." Muirfinn says.
> "I've heard stories of a shopkeep that sells things you lost and wears the faces of the departed," Vivantha adds after you fly a little further. "It reminds me a little of Glitterosm, for it is said his shop moves across all of Creation."
<Muirfinn> "That...sounds rather maudlin. Do you think you;d have anything there?"
> "Mmm. I have a ribbon I lost ages ago," Vivantha's hand goes to her hair, her eyes half closing. "It fell off when I was fleeing from a wandering monster in the Infinite Stair. I never found it. It was a gift from a close friend, I'd like to think I'd find it there. What of you?"
* Muirfinn ponders a moment. "Well, I don't know. Let me think." Muirfinn cocks his head to one side, eyes shifting as he thinks. "I'd like to hope that my son's sash would be there. He was the chieftain of his tribe."
> Vivantha gently lays a hand on Muirfinn's shoulder, "Was it Hell's conquest of Aurora?" she asks, voice gentle.
<Muirfinn> ooc: wHAT?
> OOC: Lifasa, gah. Typo.
<Muirfinn> "Of a sort. My sons were lost to me in the madness of flight from Lifasa."
> "Have you ever asked an augury to see if they yet live?" Vivantha asks.
<Muirfinn> "I've looked before, but I have not come scross them in my travels, nor were they to be found with the refugees." Muirfinn shakes his head.
> "What of magic?" Vivantha asks again, "If they are alive, shouldn't you know?"
* Muirfinn pauses. "You know, I'd never thought to try that."
> This draws Vivantha to stop. She stops, blinks and laughs. It's a joyous sound, carefree. "Oh! Brave hero, I'm sorry, but the arch-druid didn't think to use magic?" Soon she controls herself, still smiling. "We could impose on Balyss again."
* Muirfinn snorts. "Yes, I am forgetful sometimes. I'm sure that Balyss would be pleased to aid us."
> "Let's go," Vivantha says, smiling all the while. OOC: Skip ahead to that then?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Sure
> The two find Balyss at her duties. She's sitting next to a distressed young woman - a vaguely familiar face, one of the refugees from the Burning Aeropolis, you think. On the woman's other side is Stille. Balyss is holding the woman's hand and whispering gently while Stille speaks, "...and there's nothing to be afraid of. It's only natural. Imagine the new moon to the full moon. Selune understands."
* Muirfinn blinks. "Is this a bad time?"
> Stille pats the woman's hand and partsa way, guiding the two of you back and out of earshot. He quietly says, "It's a joyous occasion, but we're at work," he explains. "What do you need?"
<Muirfinn> "I was hoping for some divination work, but it's waited this long. It can wait a bit longer."
> "I can help," Stille offers lightly, guiding you away further. Once well away from Balyss and her work, "Well well, what do you need divined?"
<Muirfinn> "Well, we were hoping that you could divine the location of my missing sons. They've been lost to me since the fall of Lifasa."
> "Of course." Stille nods, "Do you have any posessions or things linked to them? What are their names, place of birth and so on?"
<Muirfinn> "I have no possessions, but they were all born on the southern beaches of Lifasa. My I had three surviving sons when the devils came. Hahn was the oldest. He founded his own tribe and drew many others to him. He was wise and patient. Geru was the second of my living sons. He was brash and full of life. Tryll was the youngest of all my sons, and aspired to be like me in most things. Does that
<Muirfinn> help?"
> "It will do," Stille replies, "It will take time and divinations, but I will ask the Moonmaiden to illuminate the truth. Go rest. I will come to you tonight with more information as the divinations warrant."
* Muirfinn nods. "You have my thanks."
> OOC: Skip along a little more then?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gogo go

> OOC: Last time I asked if you were ready to skip along. Are you?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yesd
> Several unremarkable hours pass. Muirfinn meditates and then settles into his room to study. It's disturbed at long last by Elena appearing. She's dressed up like Ithea today, down to little cat-ears attached to her head. "Muirfinn, Stille would like you to come down now," she announces.
* Muirfinn stands, nodding. OOC: Vivantha here or no?
> OOC: She's off doing her own thing at the moment.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alrighty.
* Muirfinn heads down toward the Temple of the Moon.
> You find Stille waiting for you there. "Muirfinn. Come in," Stille greets, the temple otherwise empty. His face is composed and calm, betraying little on the surface. "Sit down."
* Muirfinn takes a seat. "What have you found?"
> "I was granted a vision," Stille explains, "In it, I saw Selune at full illumination. She slowly faded back until she was naught but the new moon. A vision of a new moon and the moon fading can mean different things. It can mean regression to a previous state. Reincarnation or rebirth is another popular interpretation. It can symbolize things hidden away, lost or stolen. It can also signify death." Stille doesn't pause here, "Balyss and I talked it over. Regression isn't likely and doesn't fit a logical meaning. Rebirth..." Here he shakes his head. "It could symbolize submission to Baator. It could also mean that they've passed onto what lies beyond. Selune was not direct with her answer," Stille continues, "Balyss is casting her own divination as well, but the fact that you should be in her graces suggests that an unclear answer means that the truth is not fully known. If they are dead and they passed normally, they would be in the hands of your goddess? Did they all follow the same faith as you? If Balyss does not return more conclusive information, I would recommend casting your own augury or making your own inquiries."
* Muirfinn shakes his head sharply. "My sons would not break easily. I know that they fought claw for claw against the devil invaders, but were lost to me in the mad scramble for flight. My sons followed either Brother Shell or Father Earth. If they had died, they would likely be found in their realms. I'll admit that I did not initially seek them out due to dread. I feared greatly that they may
* Muirfinn still be alive, but in devil clutches. I suppose it is cowardly of me not to seek them out, but I could not bear the thought. Now...now I feel as if I MUST know. If they suffer in infernal hands, they must be freed."
> "I understand," Stille reaches out and clasps Muirfinn's shoulder, "Dear Balyss and I have a few more ideas of our own. They aren't conclusive ones, but they may bear fruit.":
* Muirfinn nods, "You have my thanks. I must think on this."
> "We'll be in touch in the morning. I understand you're returning to Brightwater tomorrow?" Stille returns that nod with a faint smile, "Stop by before you go."
<Muirfinn> "I will."
> OOC: Skip along then? Are you bringing anyone with you to Brightwater round 2?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Ready to move along. I'll bring V again. Charisma powerhouses are rarely unwelcome
> OOC: Right. Lining then.
> The morning brings reunion with Vivantha. The two of you head to meet Stille. Balyss is also there, the siblings in light conversation when you arrive. A few of the faithful are around, but it's fairly quiet right now. There's a sense of peacefulness here, the noise from outside not quite penetrating in. "Muirfinn," Stille greets, "Good morning."
<Muirfinn> "And to you. Ready to head back?"
> "We have information first," Stille interjects.
> "I started with trying a sending to each of your children. Nothing. That doesn't mean anything, as sending can be blocked several ways as well as by being off-plane." Balyss says. "I also tried scrying them, but with what I had it was a longshot even if you presuppose they're alive. That I failed doesn't say much."
* Muirfinn nods. "I will put the word out amongst my people, and attempt to gain information from the Mother Ocean as well. The four gods of the tortle are well known for assisting one another and having strong ties."
> "Good luck," Balyss says, "Selune will illuminate the right path at the right time."
> "Speaking of paths," Stille smoothly interjects, "If you're heading to Brightwater, can I go with you? I have something I need to pick up there."
<Muirfinn> "Of course."
> With that the three head out. As you walk towards the gates, "Be strong, brave hero," Vivantha murmurs.
<Muirfinn> "I will be fine. It has waited this long. No amount of fretting will bring answers sooner."
> Thus you head out! A Gate spell returns you to Brightwater! As you find yourselves marveling at the wealth one more, Stille inclines his head, "Thank you. I have my own transportation home. I hope you find what you seek here."
* Muirfinn nods, giving him a wave. "Good fortune to you, Stille."
> OOC: Going to go find Jemele now?
<Muirfinn> OOC: That's the Mercane, right? It sounds right.
> OOC: Correct.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Let's go then
> You find Jemele's stand as it was before. The Mercane is smiling ear to ear, standing out amid the strange chicken-heads. "My friends!" he greets both of you warmly, "Oh, my dearest friends!"
<Muirfinn> "Hello." Muirfinn says, peering about the stall once again. "We've returned." Redundancy!
> Vivantha is smiling as she looks it over, "You sound pleased."
> "Oh yes, you've returned, my friends!" Reaching out to clasp Muirfinn's shoulder! "Oh, your word is as good as gold! Pure gold!"
<Muirfinn> "Indeed. We did what we could. And your end of the bargain...?"
> "What you'll need to do is this," Jemele explains, "Go to Platinum Avenue. Get a handful of gold coins, about 20 is a good number. There's a fountain at a four way intersection on the street. Toss the coins in and then head down Silver Street. You should see an alley that doesn't really fit on your right. Go down it. You'll find the shop there."
* Muirfinn raises a scaly eyebrow. "Really."
> "Really, my friend. Trust me," Jemele goes on, "It will work. If it doesn't, come here and I'll refund you the coins you threw in."
> Vivantha hums, "This seems rather...brave hero, I struggle to find the right word. Suspicious isn't quite right, since it is possible. Just..."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+26 sense motive
<Muirfinn> OOC: ER MAH GERD
> OOC: Ah fuck, Hatbot's dead. Gimme a moment.
* Kobot (~dunefar@ip68-96-9-49.hr.hr.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> OOC: Go for it.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+26 sense motive
<Kobot> Muirfinn rolled 1d20+26 sense motive --> [ 1d20=20 ]{46}
> Muirfinn is fairly sure the Mercane is telling the truth. He just doesn't seem to be lying.
<Muirfinn> "It seems unlikely, but we'll give it a try." Muirfinn says slowly.

> "You won't regret it," Jemele insists, "Glitterosm will help you. After all, your word is as good as gold, and he likes gold."
<Muirfinn> "Most people do." Muirfinn says drily.
> OOC: Going to go actually try this, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Might as well! Worst case scenario, I feel silly and go drag a Mercane back to his little Clique at their bank demiplane.
> Platinum Avenue is bustling. The streets are the color of that wondrously valuable metal, or perhaps even made of it. It shines brightly beneath your feet as you wander the crowds. This street is full of expensive looking shops advertising exotic wares from all over Creation. People come and go. Some window shop, others go to and fro and others yet look to be selling things. Nonetheless you reach the fountain. It is made of polished stone the color of gold. A dizzying array of platforms go from top ot the bottom basin, dozens of mini-waterfalls delivering water to the fountain's basin. Going to the basin, you see that it is clear and deep, far deeper than the street. It's full of exotic, colorful fish.
* Muirfinn pulls a handful of coins out of his pouch and, feeling a bit ludicrous, throws them in!
> Vivantha lets her eyes roam as you go, peering down into the fountain when you get to it. "What pretty fish," she murmurs, "I wonder if they hoard gold tossed within? Everything here seems to be avaricious as dragons."
> The coins fall in! Plunk-plunk-plunk! They fall in! Deeper and deeper down they go until they're out of sight. "We go down Silver Street now and look for an alley on the right."
* Muirfinn nods. "Well, there are dragon turtles. Why not dragon fish?"
> As you start to head down Silver Street - the street is the slightly different color of silver, rather than platinum - Vivantha shakes her head, "That would imply a dragon and a fish..." She scrunches up her face. Meanwhile? On the right you see a dingy little alley between two rich buildings. It looks wholly out of place. It's dark, covered in shadows and barely big enough for you to walk down.
<Muirfinn> "You've seen the Lannark. They're likely all half-dragons. Dragons have odd whims when it comes to mates." Muirfinn says, motioning toward the alley. "That's rather obvious."
> "It is," Vivantha says. The people going by don't even seem to glance at it. "I suppose we'll find out soon the truth of it."
* Muirfinn heads in!
> The alley is indeed narrow. It's dark but clean. It seems abandoned more than anything else, empty of everything. At the far end you see a dead end wall with a door. The door's utterly unremarkable. To your true-seeing enhanced eyes, it is a door, a portal, an archway, a stone slab, a conflux of places all togethe rand blending together.
<Muirfinn> "Well. That's an unpleasant sight." Muirfinn says, removing his spectacles and rubbing his eyes. "It's some sort of gateway or portal, or something more. True Seeing just makes looking at it confusing."
> "How strange that such an odd tale would be true. Not that stranger things are not, but Jemele hardly seemed trustworthy," Vivantha admits, heading to the door. "I had thought us deceived."
<Muirfinn> "I'll admit that I half expected to have to go hunt him down."
> Vivantha nods, "As was I." As the two of you talk and dither, the door ahead smoothly pops ajar.
* Muirfinn cathes the handle as it pops open. "It seems we are expected. Let's not keep them waiting."
> Within you see a small circular entrance, with a grand mural on the ground. It seems to be an artistic rendering of the planes in a great circle. It shows everything you know in fine detail and grand beauty. Beyond it are clusters of three bookshelves each, dotted about in erratic patterns. Light comes from above, sets of seven spheres of light rotating around to provide illumination. Approaching you is a man. He is dark skinned, bald and wears a short-sleeved robe. Every inch of his flesh - even his eyelids - are tattooed with numbers. He walks forward with his hands behind his back, a steady gait as he meets Muirfinn's eyes. "A new customer."
<Muirfinn> OOC: Is there any way I would recognize who or what he is?
> OOC: K:A check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23
* Kobot (~dunefar@ip68-96-9-49.hr.hr.cox.net) has joined #dunes
<Kobot> OOC: Roll.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23
<Kobot> Muirfinn rolled 1d20+23 --> [ 1d20=8 ]{31}
> The man before you is a numerologist. They are spellcasters who use the power of numbers to gain enlightenment. They are neutral and try to place themselves above law, chaos, good and evil.
<Muirfinn> "A numerologist! A man of logic. It is a pleasure to meet you, good sir. I am Muirfinn." He bows. "This is my partner, Vivantha."
> Vivantha politely smiles and inclines her head forward, "Fair greetings," she virtually sings, voice a lyrical thrill.
> "You know who I am, for you found my shop," Glitterosm says as he stops just before you. "What do you seek?"
<Muirfinn> "Information on Kina-ja's current and future physical location."
<Muirfinn> "As well as information on a way to permanently slay her."
> The lights above dim and the seventh sphere vanishes from sight. Six dim orbs rotates above as Glitterosm replies, "A moment," he says, as swirling green numbers rise up from the ground. They surround him like a blur, six and three predoninant. "The weight of Kina-ja's spirit is heavy. Knowledge of her is worth her weight in windfalls, dreams and hope. Understand that this will be expensive."
* Muirfinn nods. "The very nature of the thing is rarely so easy or cheap."
> "Indeed. It will be one hundred and eighty thousand gold," he says after, "Will you buy this?"
* Muirfinn makes a face. "I have but sixty thousand on my person. I know that I can acquire more in short order, but it will not be immediate."
> "Return when you have it," Glitterosm bids, "Then we will do business."
* Muirfinn nods, turning to Vivantha. "Worst case, we could just ask Syala for some gold. I'm sure she'd be willing to part with it to see this done."
> "Mmm," Vivantha murmurs, and lowering her voice, "Do you have a plan?"
<Muirfinn> "
<Muirfinn> "I'll probably just borrow the money from the Aurora fund." Muirfinn replies in like fashion. "This is really what it's there for."
> Vivantha nods to that. "Thank you," She turns to Glitterosm, nodding again to him.
* Merc is now known as Merc-zzz
> "Return when you are able," Glitterosm says, eyeing both Muirfinn and Vivantha.
* Muirfinn nods, heading out.
> OOC: What's your plan now, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Head back to the Aurora, take out a loan for 120k, then come back.
> The return to Aurora is without incident. However, getting that much gold out isn't quite so easy. Namely, it involves talking to one of the Generals - Adrian, in this case. He's met in the meeting room, reclining back. He looks entirely casual, waving a hand. "I'm the only one in today," he announces, "So we can keep this informal. I heard you need enough gold to choke a whale."
<Muirfinn> "A small whale, to be sure."
> "Right," Adrian remarks, shaking his head. "Ahem." He pauses to clear his throat, speaking clearer after that. "Our reserves are high from recent activities and Medi's quarters," Adrian goes on, "But it's still a lot of money. What are you using it for?"
<Muirfinn> "Buying information on where to find and how to permenently kill Kina'ja, because Syala asked us for help."
> "Hm." Adrian's quiet again, kicked back, "Kina-ja..." He murmurs that, "Oh, that one. Another demon?" He shrugs, "As long as you pay it back, I don't see why not. I'm coming with you, though. I could use a good fight." He grins at that, taking out his skull mask. "I've been wanting to bring terror to some hapless fiends with this."
<Muirfinn> "If you like. You know I'm good for it. We'll likely recover that and more on this quest."
> Adrian stands and stretches, adjusting Gaelach before putting his helmet away. "Brightwater first?"
<Muirfinn> "Indeed. After you, good sir." Muirfinn gestures. After all, if you decide you want to frighten animals again, you get to lead the way."
> This draws a grin from Adrian, "I'm not going to wear it in Brightwater. Ithea would claw me and then Misalea would let me hear it," Chuckling as you step through a portal and head through the entry hall, "If you ever get married, don't walk around the house with a helmet like that on. Especially when your wife comes home not expecting it."
<Muirfinn> "Got kicked in the crotch, did you?"
> "That was unwise," Vivantha agrees, "That helmet is unsettling. Whyever were you wearing it around your home?"
> "She struck out at me in shock," Adrian admits, then his smile slips a littel bit, going into a half-scowl. "She sprained her wrist and cracked a fingerbone. The helmet's hard and she's not trained to fight unarmed." He banishes that with another smile, more restrained than the last. Truth be told, I was practicing how to intimidate. I had Mirima and Canderella over helping me. Well, Canderella, anyway. They'd just left before Misalea got home and I wasn't in any hurry to take the helmet off."
* Muirfinn snorts. "Shame she injured herself."
> OOC: Ready to move along?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Indeed
> roll 1d100
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=55 ]{55}
> roll 1d100
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=85 ]{85}
> You return to Brightwater. The three of you head for Silver Street, chatting lightly amid yourselves as you go. As you walk...OOC: Will save, Muirfinn. -10.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+31+6-10
<Kobot> Muirfinn rolled 1d20+31+6-10 --> [ 1d20=11 ]{38}
> Muirfinn feels a momentary chill, like a bug crawling up his back. It quickly fades.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50 spellcraft what the fuck was that
<Kobot> Muirfinn rolled 1d20+50 spellcraft what the fuck was that --> [ 1d20=1 ]{51}
> Muirfinn reckons it was a custom spell. It was reaching across from another plane to try and touch him. However, he was able to successfully fight it off.
* Muirfinn grumbles. "Someone just tried to hit me with a spell from off-plane. Irritating."
> Adrian shakes his head, "Happens to all of us," he remarks, "At least it wasn't followed by a portal spewing devils." He nonetheless stops and has a hand on Gaelach, gaze about. "Watch his back, Vivantha," he adds after, the songstress going to do exactly that.
* Muirfinn_ (Desktop@ip70-176-215-62.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> Adrian shakes his head, "Happens to all of us," he remarks, "At least it wasn't followed by a portal spewing devils." He nonetheless stops and has a hand on Gaelach, gaze about. "Watch his back, Vivantha," he adds after, the songstress going to do exactly that.

<Muirfinn> "At least I keep my scales and shell shiny." Muirfinn turns to Adrian. "I don't know how you mammals get by with all that soft skin."
> "Practice, and I happen to like my wife's soft skin," Adrian banters back. The party gets some curious looks as they take a defensive formation, not that either seem to care. After several moments Adrian relaxes slightly, "Let's get moving. If they're suicidal enough to attack us in one of the Heavens, we may as well make them work for it."
<Muirfinn> "I got assaulted by the Father in Elysium." Muirfinn helpfully points out.
* KoFOOTBALL is now known as Kotono
> "Charming," Adrian grunts as the party goes along.
> Meanwhile Vivantha looks around, "Have faith. We are in the seat of several goddesses. I cannot imagine Hell would dare strike here. It would invite great retaliation."
<Muirfinn> "Oh no, Hell isn't crazy enough. I'm not worried about devils here in the least."
> "As if we don't have enough enemies," Adrian's retort is short, "So which way is it again?" OOC: Ready to move along to Glitterosm's?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes please!
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 90." [1d100=90]
> The trip back is without incident. You find Glitterosm awaiting, standing impassively within. As Adrian looks around and sounds a low whistle, "You come with the payment?" Glitterosm asks.
<Muirfinn> "We do." Muirfinn says, offing a large bag of gold.
> The bag of gold and other deeply precious things is passed over. As it is, "It is important that you state what you wish to know again," he says. "Tell me."
<Muirfinn> "I wish to know the current and future locations of Kina-ja, as well as a method of permanently killing her."
> Above you, six dim sphere rotate around. They form an erratic pattern that casts deep shadows all over, shadows that constantly move about in a patternless dance. The numbers of Glitterosm's body glow with the same time light, as a line of numbers blurs past his eyes. They go too fast to read most of them, blazing by as his eyes take them in. But as you watch, the numbers all become 6. Glitterosm's eyes widen as pure terror overlooks his face. The numbers go faster and faster, wrapping around his head! His eyes go pure black as the numbers keep him beholden. Then, the lights above fail. Absolute darkness overtakes you, darkvision failing to illuminate anything. Amid Vivantha's cry of surprise, you can hear Glitterosm's voice, full of terror and misery, "She hides in the 666th layer of the Abyss. But tu-" The lights return. Glitterosm falls to his knees, weeping silently.
> Adrian seems to have drawn Gaelach during the darkness, having it at the ready as he looks around. "You alright there?" he asks, keeping a distance from him, as his eyes search about.
* Muirfinn lunges for the man. "Hey! Can you hear me?"
> He looks up at stares at Muirfinn, "GET OUT!" His voice is a shout, full of sound and fury. "Take this cursed path and leave! Wiser yet, abandon this fool's quest! Never have I drawn three sixes together, never like this! NEVER!" He raises a shaking finger and points it right in Muirfinn's face, between his eyes. "I dread with all my soul what you travel towards."
> *and stares
> "Hell's worse than whatever that is," Adrian shrugs, "Last I checked, we have a Duke of Hell to our tally. By the time we're done with it, it'll dread us."
<Muirfinn> "Calm, my good man. Breathe." Muirfinn gently pats the man's arm. "We are stronger than we look, and I meant you no harm in this. Please relax. I apologize, I did not expect that to happen to you, nor would I want it to happen again."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20 and gets 17." [1d20=17]
<Muirfinn> OOC: +40 diplo
<Muirfinn> OOC: Total of 57
> "Peace," Vivantha murmurs, coming forward and laying a hand on his other shoulder. Her voice is soothing, like the lulling sound of a mother's voice. OOC: Aiding for +2.
> Glitterosm shudders with all his body, as if alight with fever. "Waukeen preserve me and Savras guard my eyes," he groans, a head going to hold his hand. "I do not believe she will be impossible to kill. Kina-ja is merely a demon, a powerful one, but a demon. A cold iron weapon sanctified and of legendary power should suffice. Axiomatic blessings would be helpful as well. Otherwise, holy magic will wear away impure flesh."
* Muirfinn nods. "You have our thanks, and our sympathies. Is there anything I can do to alleviate your symptoms? I am something of a healer."
> "Unless you have strong drink, no." He manages to stand now, "The easy amnesia of the bottle will suffice to soften the edges of this, I pray."
> Adrian nods, starting to calm down again. He sheathes Gaelach before giving Muirfinn a nod. "Doesn't seem to be any more trouble around."
<Muirfinn> "If you have further trouble, please come seek me out on Air at the Aurora. My name is Muirfinn. This is Vivantha, and this is Adrian." Muirfinn gestures.
> "You'll be welcome there," Adrian adds, "Promise."
> "I will remember that," Glitterosm says. OOC: Ready to move along a bit now?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep
> Soon the party is back out in the alley. Once out Vivantha hms, "The 666th layer of the Abyss," Vivantha speaks slowly, "It seems our path leads to calamity. Do we know anything about it?"
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23 planes
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23 planes and gets 42." [1d20=19]
> The 666th layer is surrounded in mystery and legends. Stories of it vary considerably. Every aspect of it is argued over - if it's the final layer, what it's about, who rules it and so on and so forth. The truth about it is elusive and Muirfinn knows enough to know he doesn't know the truth, or if he does, he can't tell which is the truth and which is not. He does know it's like 210, insofar as it is a layer you just can't plane shift to. Details of how to -get- to 666 vary as well, from story to story.
> roll 1d20+23 Adrian
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+23 Adrian and gets 24." [1d20=1]
> "I've heard stories," Adrian says, "But nothing solid about it that comes to mind."
* Muirfinn grumbles. "We should talk to Syala. She may have means of aiding us in this."
> "You know," Adrian says, slowly rubbing his temple, "It's bullshit when we find information and it strings us into a bigger mystery. It's like shaving by plucking out one hair at a time."
> "I thnk you're right, brave hero," Vivantha's voice is warm, "At the least she should know, and if she knows more, can aide us in return."
<Muirfinn> "Now you know what my life is like sometimes." Muirfinn says, poking Adrian in the stomach with a claw. "I am all too often handed the barest of mysteries. It is fortunate that most of the time I am up to the task of solving them.":
> With a roll of his eyes, "Give me a battle any day. Wouldn't you rather prefer a clear fight than nebulous information-gathering? Fortunate you're good at it. You and Tannin should work together more often."
<Muirfinn> "There's an idea. We've worked together before." Muirfinn nods. "And not everything can or hould be solved with fighting. Being able to fight is important, and like anything you do, you should be good at it. It's just not the end all be all."
Session Time: Fri Sep 27 00:00:00 2013
> "Don't I know it. I don't wince when I hear the world diplomacy, but only just," Adrian grimaces at the end of that, "I've gotten a lot better at it and it's still boring."
> "Diplomacy is preferred to violence when possible," Vivantha says, "War is a mistress that only brings heartbreak."
> "Yeah, tell that to Baator when you're on the end of their armies," Adrian grunts at that, glancing sidelong at Vivantha. "Fine. To hell with the costs. With fiends there should only be war."
<Muirfinn> "Well yes. The forces of Hell can be reasoned with, but it takes an agile and evil mind cto come out on top. The forces of the Abyss must simply be destroyed."
> "True. That we need war against them isn't a reason to forget and neglect diplomacy," Vivantha says, "That's all."
<Muirfinn> "I quite agree."
> "Yeah, I know that." Adrian goes to rest against the alley's wall a moment, sighing. "We wouldn't be where we are if we hadn't done our fair share of asskissing and diplomatic wrangling." He crosses his arms over his chest as he goes on. "You know, I originally thought I'd find Medicant by myself? That would've been something. I wouldn't have even known where to begin."
> "Food for thought," Vivantha finally says, "But things worked out. Still..." Back to Muirfinn, "Will we return to Sylica today?"
<Muirfinn> "We might as well. No sense in putting it off."
> OOC: What's your plan? Gate over there and get all chatty?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'm a big fan of the direct approach, so yes
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 78." [1d100=78]
> The trip to Sylica is uneventful ast raveling the Planes always are. To a master druid, it is a simple trip as a walk to the well is to a mortal. You soon meet Antenora in the same sitting room as you met Syala in. She is clad in armor and opal radiance, a polished fragment of celestial glory. She comes and sits opposite the trio, "What information do you have?"
<Muirfinn> "Nothing pleasant. She is holed up in the 666th layer of the Abyss."
> Antenora's eyes widen slightly at this news, "How certain of that are you?"
<Muirfinn> "Reasonably so. We had a numerologist divine the information. It looked...painful."
> "Lots of sixes when it happened," Adrian adds, "Six is the number of the Abyss, so that checked out."
> "We'll need independent verification," Antenora decides after some thought, "Not out of distrust of your service so far, but because one does not trifle with that layer of the Abyss lightly. Do you know anything about it?"
<Muirfinn> "Very little, besides the most common of knowledge."
> "Don't look too closely. Have you heard the saying that if you gaze in the Abyss, it will gaze back?" Antenora's expression is grave as she meets Muirfinn's eyes, "Never has it been truer than with that layer."
> "So that means that whatever is there is corruptive? Moreso than the standard Abyss?" Vivantha follows up with that, "Is it truly the wellspring from which all the Abyss rises from?"
* Muirfinn slaps his hand over his beak. "This is the Father all over again."
> Vivantha matches that slap over her mouth. "Is not one Abyssal horror enough?"
> "You are not precisely correct," Antenora says, "So directly attacking is not advised right now," she finally says, "We need time. In the meantime, I hear you're a passable dragon. Would you care to spread your wings?"
* Muirfinn blinks. "I see no harm in it."

> "Are you familiar with Pandemonium, and Pandesmos in particular?" Antenora asks.
<Muirfinn> "Not closely." Muirfinn admits.
> "A little bit," Vivantha says, "Mostly by reputation. The travelers that come to the Infinite Stair from it are memorable. Albeit in poor ways."
* Muirfinn snorts quietly.
> "It's a screaming madhouse," Antenora nods slightly, "Home to chaotic and vile trash from across Creation. Winds forever howl there and deafen all who visit. Another investigation we began regarding Kina-ja pointed towards it. There's a small town in one one of its rare doldrums named Madhouse. The residents there are a motley assortment of outcats from the tanar'ii, daemons and the mortal worlds. Unfortunately, they haven't given up any information to our agent. He believes someone who can make an intimidating impression may do better."
* Muirfinn raises a scaly eyebrow. "You want me to terrorize mad townsfolk for information?"
> "In so many words, yes." Antenora leans forward a little bit, looking Muirfinn in the eye, "Can you bring the fear of the heavens to the trash of Creation? Creatures so vile and bothersome that fiends cast them aside."
<Muirfinn> "Oh probably." Muirfinn says, nodding.
> "Then do so. Intimidate them, but try not to dispatch any until you find the information. Someone there knows something about Kina-ja, possibly more than one person." Antenora goes on at this, "You may find it difficult when you get there. It is a den of depravity for the sake of depravity. There are no justifications, no reasonings and no evasions. These creatures love sin for the sake of sinning."
<Muirfinn> "Very well, I can do this. Will I find your agent there?"
> "Yes. Information will be provided momentarily. First, make sure you're protected against the plane's effects. I'm sure you know the spell that does that. You'll want to have means of resisting windstorms and curing deafness on hand. Anything ot make you more intimidating would be excellent."
<Muirfinn> "I'm sure we can come across something."
> "Aurora's good at coming down like divine wrath," Adrian adds in cheerfully, "Shouldn't be a problem to intimidate some fiendish castoffs."
> "Madhouse isn't protected from intrusion, so a greater plane shift spell will get you there," Antenora continues from that, "Or nearby it without any problems."
* Muirfinn nods. "Should be simple enough. Probably." Muirfinn rubs his chin. "Best not to tempt fate, though."
> "So we should come in with a force strong enough that fate can't mess with us too much," Adrian remarks, "A full battleparty. We'll figure it out."
> "How you do it is up to you. When you're done, come back here and we'll discuss things further," Antenora replies. "Alicia's bravery will guide you should the fiends whisper into your heart."
<Muirfinn> "They are mad. They may respond to that with building a pyramid and placing us atop it, then pelting us with miniature pickled cucumbers."
> "What?" Adrian cocks his head to look at Muirfinn.
> "Cucumbers?" Antenora asks, staring a moment in surprised incomprehension.
* Muirfinn shrugs. "I tried to think of the weirdest thing I could."
> "Oh," Adrian suddenly laughs, "That was weird. Well," Standing, "We'll get on this." OOC: Ready to skip along a bit then?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes
> The trip back to Aurora is without incident. Lunch is delivered to the conference room, the three sitting down a bit. "So. I'm the commanding officer here, but this is your mission." Adrian says after a mouthful of bread, vegetables, meat and cheese. "How are you going to handle this? I'll sign off on most anyone as long as you have a reason."
<Muirfinn> "Well, I had originally thought to just bathe the town in flames as a dragon and flush out everyone, but if you want to march in with an army we can do that instead. It'll take a bitr of coordination though."
> "Not an actual army," Adrian shakes his head, "It's not worth the trouble of mobilizing Aurora over a village. Besides, it's your mission," Gesturing as he goes for more food, eating before going on and waving his fork after, "When I said a battle party, I was thinking of a group of two to six of our elites. That sort of battle party."
> Vivantha picks at her own meal, "Mmm. Brave hero, I'll support you no matter what you choose. It sounds like a mission for warriors, not a songstress. I'll understand if you want someone stronger."
* Muirfinn nods reluctantly. "Yes, I believe this will be a show of raw might and intimidation. While you are indeed formidable, your talents are in general geared toward a more subtle area. I do, however, very much value your input. I welcome your opinion and would encourage you to stay." Muirfinn says, looking at Vivantha. "You were instrumental in the start of this, and I see no reason why that
* Muirfinn should change now, unless you wish to distance yourself from it."
> This draws out a radiant smile from Vivantha, as she meets Muirfinn's eyes with her own. Her voice is a lovely song as she replies, "Then I'll stay with you."
* Muirfinn returns the smile, and turns to Adrian with a grimmer look. The result is some sort of creepy half mad grinning toothless lizard thing. "We will want those intimidating. Large and imposing and strong. Remember that underneath every man, be he sinner or saint, fears something larger or stronger than himself. I think a giant or two will serve well. A shame that Willim fellow is not around.
* Muirfinn He'd be handy here. Thoughts?"
> Adrian takes his skull mask out and puts it on the table. "I agree." Resting his hands around it and going on, "Size is good for this sort of thing. Magic's a thing too, so having an obvious source would help, too. Anyone with sense fears powerful magic as much as giants."
<Muirfinn> "Doubly so if we can use that power to augment the giants."
> "Hmmm." Adrian sits back and idly spears a bit more meat, gesturing with it, "Which of our mages is good at augmentation? Preferably one that's naturally intimidating."
<Muirfinn> "Off the top of my head I am unsure. We could just ask?"
* Nephrite (~rscuderi@65.33.116.127) Quit (Quit: BRB)
> "Hanna fits," Adrian says after some thought, "She's large and a planetar, something that will further strike fear into evil. "Sylvie's fairly adaptable with her magic and can probably manage to be scary, but it's against the grain. Vul'lath's sour, don't know if he could turn that into intimidation. He's also not really focused on the sort of magic we want here. Off the top of my head." 
<Muirfinn> "I will admit to having nothing in my repertoire of spells geared toward causing fear."
> OOC: Quick OOC aside, do you have anyone in mind OOC-wise?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I actually don't. Ellese is sort of intimidating, but you really have to have a conversation with her first.
> OOC: Okay then, back to IC.
> "Well, we can figure that out," Adrian finally says. "How about we start with Hanna, go from there?"
> "Jaela's good at intimidation," Vivantha speaks up, "Is she available?"
<Muirfinn> "Oh, good point!"
> "No," Adrian frowns a little bit, "She's off on business and should be tied up awhile. Hanna just got back from the same thing, but Jaela's running longer."
<Muirfinn> "Hm." Muirfinn says, tapping his beak. "Well, we could take Baleruk. He can be intimidating."
> "That's a good idea!" Vivantha speaks up, "Why not two dragons instead of one?"
> "It's a good an idea as any," Adrian finally says, "If you can deal with Baleruk's personality."
<Muirfinn> "We get along well enough." Muirfinn says. "With any luck, this won't be a complete disaster."
> "Good luck with that," Adrian drawls, "Go talk to him about it, then. I'd command him, but you know how that will go over."
<Muirfinn> "Yeah, I don't think I can do that either, but I can try!" Muirfinn shakes his head. "Okay, so a handful of giants, Hanna, and Baleruk. Think that's enough, or should we have the lava slimes out too?"
> "Let's stick to that," Adrian finally says, "In case things go wrong, we want easy evacuation." He hms and looks up, half closing his eyes as he thinks. "I've been reading up on tactics and strategy lately. You know what most of it is about? Logistics. I've forgotten how many authors go on and on and on about how logistics are the key to winning a war. Logistics! On the planes when magic's involved, how fast you can get in and out is related to that. Sort of."
<Muirfinn> "I've been saying that for years." Muirfinn supplies helpfully.
> "Give me a stand up fight any day," Adrian grumbles. OOC: Who do yo uwant to tak to first, Hanna or Baleruk?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Hanna!
> Hanna is quickly summoned. She comes in, going to take a seat. "What do you need?"
<Muirfinn> "I'll cut it short. Would you like to go with myself, Adrian, a handful of giants, an as-yet-unnamed mage, and Baleruk to go terrorize a village of madmen in Pandemonium for information on Kina-ja for Syala?"
> "So I got back late last night, local time," Hanna begins, "I was mentally drained and wanted nothing more than to get a few hours of sleep. Not that I need to, but it's a good way to rest the mind. Anyway, I go to my room and just plop down on my bed. It's wonderful and I'm about to fall asleep when I realize that I haven't seen 27 yet. I don't know why I though tthat, but it got me to roll over and look up. He was perched on the ceiling of my room like a spider badger slaad. What's worse? Somehow he'd gotten his hands on treasure. Where he got it I have no idea, but it's not from Aurora. He said he wanted to help me." Clearing her throat after, "So yes, I'm more than ready to do something like that. It sounds nice!"
* Muirfinn snorts. "Did I tell you about the time I found him on my closet? He had half of my robe down his throat and still managed to let me know that my toast was going to be late."
<Muirfinn> "I don't even like toast."
> "You have no idea. Galariel and Elena are trying to figure out how he got into my room. He wasn't supposed to be able to." She pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs, "Tepen and Balyss are trying to divine where the hell that treasure came from and they're getting nothing."
<Muirfinn> "What was it?"
> "Gold, jewels and some minor magical items. He wanted to help me get equipped." Again Hanna sighs and shakes her head, "Balyss is starting to think he spontaneously created the treasure. We may have a 27 that can create wealth and subvert defenses seemingly at will."
<Muirfinn> "Well, it could be worse. He could start cooking."
> The look you get from Hanna is pure exasperation. "Anyway, I'm in."
<Muirfinn> "Fantastic. I'll let you know whether Baleruk actually decides to join us."

> After securing Hanna's help, Muirfinn goes to find Baleruk. He is in his lair, lying on a great pile of golden coins. Gems of all colors are dotted around him. Before him is Kascha, sitting cross-legged and focusing. An image dances in the air in front of Baleruk, a dancing, four armed rainbow doing war with what looks to be a white slaad with four heads. The dragon looks absorbed in the show, while Kascha's focus seems to be repeating an arcane chant.
* Muirfinn cocks his head slowly, staring at the display. He is overcome with an indescribble sense of fascinated weirdness.
> On they duel! The rainbow summons splinters of jagged rainbow lightning, wielding them like blades! They rip into the slaad, but do not wound it. Instead it becomes a rainbow of colors! The four heads then rise up, spewing a mess of acid, ice, fire and lightning at the rainbow, shattering it like glass. Then you can hear Kascha's voice narrated, "With the power of the rainbow his, Kurelab returned to his lair to plan future glories. But little did he know..." Farther away the image of a shadowy figure appears. "He had gained notice!"
<Muirfinn> Kurelab...Kurelab...oh. Yes. Baleruk. How cute. Muirfinn chuckles.
> "But that's a story for another day," Kascha narrates, the image fading away ino a field of rainbow colored motes. Once done Kascha ceases her chant and stands, "Was that sufficient?"
> "I was mildly entertained," Baleruk rumbles, his gaze turning to Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> "...what was that?" Muirfinn asks, curiosity overwhelming his sense of mental self-preservation.
> "It was a GLORIOUS SHOW OF THE POWER OF CHAOS AND PRISMATIC POWERS!" Baleruk roars, shaking his entire lair! He comes in close to Muirfinn, one big draconic eye as tall as he is. It stares at him unblinking, words like a hurricane-force wind spouting from his mouth. "I find it entertaining."
* Muirfinn clears his throat, unperturbed. "I see. Speaking of chaos, would you like to have some fun?"
> Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Kascha creeping away towards the exit. In the meanwhile, "Fun? Fun? Yes, I would like to have some fun. What kind of fun? Is it the kind where the fools SCARED OF MY POWER TREMBLE BEFORE ME?"
<Muirfinn> "Actually...yes."
> "Oh." Baleruk's voice lessens to a bearable din once more, "Continue. Describe this fun."
<Muirfinn> "Well, I'm looking for intimidating and terrifying individuals to go the the howling madness of Pandemonium to scare the daylights out of a bunch of evil villagers who have information for Syala. So really, we're going to terrorize an evil village for the forces of good. You're the largest individual I know, and easily the most intimidating. Our efforts may possibly attract powerful local
<Muirfinn> attention. In which case, it'll likely become a free-for-all. So, good times either way." Muirfinn bobs his head. "All loot not directly related to our search for information is fair game, barring inherently evil loot of course."
> "This is acceptable," Baleruk declares, "We will leave in three hours. You will prepare the proper gates for transport."
<Muirfinn> "Provided Hanna and the Giants are ready, I see no issues." Muirfinn nods.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I dunno why I capitalized 'giants'
> "Excellent. WE shall go!" Baleruk spreads his wings wide, taking to the air! OOC: Any further prep or anything?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Naah. I think we're probably good with rainbow dragon, Hanna, and the giants.
> OOC: Okay. More.
> Soon enough all parties gather at the gates. The giants are there, as is Adrian, Vivantha, Hanna and Baleruk. Baleruk impatiently flies in circles above the others. They're in discussion with each other, "Muirfinn," Hanna calls, "We're trying to plan out how we're going to do this."
* Muirfinn joins them. "What's the problem?"
> "Oh, just tossing ideas around," Adrian replies, "We have two dragons, a handful of giants and the rest of us."
<Muirfinn> "How's that complicated? Dragons go in, keep the people in the town, giants block the streets, and everyone else does the questioning."
> "Oh. See, there's a plan," Adrian jerks a thumb at Muirfinn. "I think we're good."
> OOC: So the big question: Where precisely are you opening the portal to?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Do we have a frame of reference on this place?
> OOC: Yeah. It's in a rare doldrum in Pandesmos. I'll PM you what she said.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'll try for a mile out from that, just to give us a bit of breathing room. Would Attune Form grant resistance to the deafness caused by the plane?
> OOC:Yes.
<Muirfinn> OOC: That's covered then
> Wind. The howling of voices tears at Muirfinn as he steps out of the portal. A bitter-cold wind rips about, seeming to blow in all directions at once. The screaming wind is like voices, a constant litany of not quite understood words that leave Muirfinn numb. Hanna has her scythe out, the metal of it rippling like water. Adrian has his mask out and looks unperterbed by it all, while Vivantha looks around in sorrow. Baleruk merely ROARS, as if challenging the plane itself. You are in an icy cavern that seem sto stretch on forever in all directions, including up. It is pitch black here, darkvision allowing you to see. Far ahead you can see a vague blur of lights.
* Muirfinn whips out his wand, tapping each of the party in turn! OOC: Attune Form for all! Free healthcare!
> The giants rumble thanks, as Adrian shakes his head, "Don't need it," he says, "Already purifying away the hostile plane." Hanna and the others accept it, relief coming. You canstill hear the roar, but it's far less. More like a whisper in you rear.
<Muirfinn> "Alright, let's form up and move out. Any issues before we go?"
> Headshakes and demurrals follow, "I'm ready," Hanna says. OOC: What's your plan for approach here?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Dragons and giants to quarantine, rip houses apart, etc. Then send in the footsoldiers.
> The others trail behind as the dragons and giants take the fore. As you approach, you get a good look at Madhouse. The winds die down as you approach. The light comes from above, the source unseen. Madhouse is a ramshackle collection of half-finished houses, ruined huts, broken buildings and crumbling walls. It lacks any particular pattern, a sprawling mess of styles and design. As you get closer, you can see a single figure sits in waiting a ways from the city. An ancient crone, nude and more akin to a wrinkled pile of flesh than anything coherent. Her eyes are pure white and dark brown fluids drip from her ears. OOC: Go ahead adn begin your approach, deal with her or whatever as you please.
* Muirfinn flits down as a bird, landing upon a piece of ice near the old woman.
> As Muirfinn does so, the others hold back. The old woman stares at him with long-blind eyes, and words sound in his mind. 'Cold-blooded. Granny's here for you, all the time! Welcome to Madhouse! It's a roaring good place!' Laughter follows this, the woman starting to scratch all over her body. Bloody trails are left by her hands, dripping down her body. 'Birdy, here's the cold-blooded birdie! Keep your eye onit, it bites big!'
* Muirfinn eyes her for a moment, then sqwuaks, taking off into the air and rejoining his party.
> 'Birdie!' The voice is heard as Muirfinn takes back off to the air, 'I'm so hungry, birdie!' You can hear the sound of eating, the woman feasting on...something.
> OOC: Gah.
> 'Birdie!' The voice is heard as Muirfinn takes back off to the air, 'I'm so hungry, birdie!' You can hear the sound of eating, the woman feasting on...something. As you fly away, your back is to her and you can't see what she's consuming.
<Muirfinn> As hunger and Muirfinn have an unpleasant history, Muirfinn does not turn back to look! He rejoins the group. "Mad woman. Let's move." His form shifts, billowing out into a titanic silver dragon!
> With him is Baleruk, the two taking to wing! The giants follow on, as...OOC: Go describe your attack and I'll take it from there.
* Muirfinn flies into the town, teeth and claws lashing out to pull buildings apart as he sprays ice into the air above the town! Frozen water rains down among frost-burned wood and shattered stone as he passes!
> Baleruk stays higher out, swooping about as he spreads fivefold breath all over! The elements rage about as Baleruk roars loud enough to crack buildings. The giants charge in, smashing the buildings with two-handed greatclubs and hacking them with axes! OOC: We'll begin with intimidation check. Make one, Muirfinn. The gians will be aiding the two of you, so both you and Baleruk get a +6 bonus.
> roll 1d20+58 Baleruk
-rpgcafe.ca.us.lunarnet.org:@#dunes- Kotono invited Hatbot into the channel.
* Hatbot (~Hatbot@72.183.113.233) has joined #dunes
> roll 1d20+58 Baleruk
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+58 Baleruk and gets 64." [1d20=6]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+14+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+14+6 and gets 30." [1d20=10]
> The sudden assault tears into town! Ice frezes over the air above, jagged snowflakes falling all around. Buildings are torn apart by claws, as Baleruk roars and roars. It rivals the howling winds of Pandemonium as he wrecks havoc, the giants below smashing the damaged buildings down. In result to your attack, chaos erupts! Creatures of all types come out - hideous things, mutated terrors, demons and daemons best not spoken of, and odder things yet. It is a terrible, dreadful image before you, but none attack. The mighty assault seems to have frozen the residents in surprise and fear, at least for now. Dragonfear and raw intimidation races through the dregs!
* Muirfinn lands atop a ruined building, wings stretching over it as he eyes the villagers menacingly.

> Baleruk keeps circling around the village. His roars shake the foundations of Madhouse, buildings shuddering under his wrath. Of the wretched damned that populate here, one comes forward. It is a creature you know, a babau. It approaches with hands held up, as if to shield its face from Muirfinn. In your mind a rasping hiss-whisper is heard, 'What do you seek here, dragon? Death? Decimation? Madness? All are free to any who want them.'
> Meanwhile some others start to flee or hide, while a few others begin to gather. They don't draw weapons, seemingly entranced in fear at the sudden assault.
* Muirfinn roars, icy breath chilling the air as wings nearly the color of platinum arc over the ruined town. "One of you has something of mine...something that belongs to me. You will give it to me now!"
> 'What is it?' The voice hisses, a feeling like a cold fishhook being jammed into your mind. 'Do I have your pain?' The creature reaches up, ripping a hunk of flesh from its shoulder. It's a red-jellied mess, dripping dark purple blood. 'Your hatred? Your misery? The screaming winds or the doldrums here? Tell me, dragon. What do we have of yours? Tell me what to give you.''
> Behind you, you can hear the giants working. Another building collapses, a hut of wood and scrap tumbling down. A screaming dretch assaults a giant, only to be slammed down and crushed beneath.
> Ahead of you, an emancipated creature, perhaps a human, elf or something mortal but too caked in filth to tell, leaps on a shambling, bug infested hunchback. It bites and bites, devouring him one mouthful at a time.
<Muirfinn> "You have my knowledge. One of you has it, and would not give it freely. We have arrived to take it, because you would not give! Because one of you could not do something so simple, you have our ire, and our eye. We have come, and you shall give it now, or we will take everything! You will GIVE IT, OR EACH OF YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR THE FOLLY OF THE ONE!"
> The babau flinches back at that shout, stumbling with arms held up to shield itself. It speaks aloud now, hissing as if in pain. 'What is it, dragon? What is this information you thirst for?'
> A child's crying voice whispers in Muirfinn's mind, like a bead of cold sweat trickling down his back, '32. 943. 3. 5834. 5893. 59. 5834945. 043. 38. 48390.' Youa ren't sure where the mental telepathy is coming from.
<Muirfinn> "KINA-JA!" Muirfinn screams, eyes of molten silver fixed squarely on the babau as he tries to push the foreign thoughts aside.
> The demon screams, rills of ice forming on his body as Muirfinn's exhale blows past him. Several of the wretches slink back, a few breaking into a run altogether. The babau turns away, pointing across town. A crumbling stone house sits, currently undisturbed. "The Man of the Winds," it hisses, "He knows. The winds talk to him. If he does not know, he knows who knows."
* Muirfinn raises his head, gaze rising to the others. OOC: are the others nearby?
> OOC: The giants are busy, Baleruk's above making hell. Adrian, Hanna and Vivantha are hanging back as requested.
* Muirfinn lowers his gaze to the babau again. "Bring him to me."
> The babau skitters away, hurrying ot the hut. Fear and loathing are your only companions asthe giants continue to methodically work. Above Baleruk screams, "IS THIS IT, WEAKLINGS? WHERE ARE THE BALORS? THE DAEMONS OF POWER? THE MASTERS OF MAGIC?" Meanwhile the babau goes into the house. From the house there is a horrid, windy howling and a slicing sound. It's a whistling howl, as if a knife was slicing through. Then nothing, the babau does not return.
* Muirfinn rumbles forward, shoving villagers aside as his massive bulk navigates the street. He steps up to the house and peers inside.
> It's hard to get a view, but superior draconic eyesight compensates. The inside is in shambles, full of broken junk and hunks of things. There's no sign of the babau. Sitting atop a broken pile of wood is a strange creature. It has a humanoid body, chalk white in color. It is thin yet has a massive gut, entire body emancipated save for its stomach. The stomach makes it sag forward, almost bent over from it. Its head is that of a crow, beak cracked all over. You notice it is meeting your gaze.
> *Emaciated
<Muirfinn> "You are the Man of the Winds."
> In response the creature beckons you forward with one finger. "Only you," It speaks, but its beak does not open. It sounds like someone choking, making your throat twitch. "Only you, Muirfinn-dying-in-void."
* Muirfinn fixes the creature with silvery gaze for a moment, then joins it inside, his body shrinking down to fit within the structure. "You know what I seek."
> OOC: REverting or just minus size?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Minus size
> OOC: REquires you to go downt o large size. That can get in but nothing larger.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Works for me.
> It's a tight squeeze to get in, but Muirfinn gets in. "I do." The creature holds its stomach, pushing it up as it stands fully. "Baleruk-screaming-of-rainbows and Syala-who-cannot-be-seen. Twenty seven. Twenty one. Your son fell to the erinyes. Horror. The winds tell me about horror around you. Welcome home," It offers a hand out, "My good and faithful son."
* Muirfinn eyes the creature intently, draconic snout inches away from the cracked raven's beak, snorting. "You know things, yes. Things I know, and things I do not. This is a place of madness, its very name belying its state. Your words have a ring to them, though their veracity is unknown. You call me your son, and you speak of my own. Why?"
> "Because..." The creature reaches out, stomach sagging forward. Its hand touches your face, rough like old leather left to harden in the sun. "When it is over, you will return here to live with me. There can be no other result when you do war with Kina-ja. You cannot break it down. The center will not hold. The absolute light will not come. I love you, Muirfinn-dying-in-void. Kina-ja sought my council to defeat her nemesis. She spoke of such secrets, my son."
* Muirfinn glances down at the stomach. "...you ate the babau, didn't you?"
> In a tender voice as your throat swells, "Would you like to see?"
<Muirfinn> "No, thanks." Muirfinn says. "Moving on; Kina-ja. Let's talk about her instead."
> "6, 6, 6," It replies, staring into your silvery eyes. "She cannot defeat her nemesis. Not without aid. She sought what lies there and found it. He is many and none. His appearance and history are the greatest lies of all. He is the terminus. He is where it will end. He is one of hers. Do not speak his name. It is a lie. It is a lie wrapped in a lie, given to a lie told by a liar. Do not speak his realm's name, for it is lies from the liar. The absolute light can dissolve it, but it will fail when you need it most, because it is not your story. Kina-ja is truth, but her lies will become lying truths if not stopped. It is a sign that all lies will become real, and all truths will become lies. The terminus will swallow both."
<Muirfinn> "What is the absolute light?"
> "What dissolved what could not be killed," It answers, "The light of 21 has come back. The winds scream of it."
<Muirfinn> "Ah, of  course. 21. I should have known that." Muirfinn sighs. "What about this new ally of hers? Is it an obyrith?"
> "Do not speak his name. It is a lie. It is a lie wrapped in a lie, given to a lie told by a liar. Do not ask of what it is, for only lies that become truth will be found." Then, with a slow smile, "Ask me to tell you his name, my son."
<Muirfinn> "Would that not make it a lie said aloud, causing it to become truth?"
> The creature chuckles but does not reply further. In the back of your mind, a crying child's voice intones, '493. 5. 3. 390944. 5920. 49. 580284208424. 54935. 5938. 0928300. 384. 589382984298. 49. 1.'
<Muirfinn> "Why am I hearing numbers?"
> "She likes them. They tell her things of magic," The creature replies, "Promise me you will kill Kina-ja."
<Muirfinn> "What possible reason could I be given not to kill her?"
* Muirfinn looks a bit incredulous.
> "Good," The creatures sits down now, "I am content."
<Muirfinn> "Well, That's good, I suppose." Muirfinn rests back on his haunches for a moment. A beat of silence. "...It's not Shar, is it?"
> "It is many things, but all of the void is her," The creature replies, "But not all lies are here."
> *her
<Muirfinn> "So...wait. Shar is going to kill me?"
<Muirfinn> "...why?"
> "No, for she is not all lies," It says, as meanwhile, Vivantha's voice is heard. "Brave hero!" she calls, "Frost giants and air elementals came calling. More may be coming."
<Muirfinn> "So then, how can I successfully defeat Kina-ja?" Muirfinn asks, poking his head back outside. "Everyone alright?"
> Vivantha is flying over. "We're fine. The giants and elementals aren't," she answers shortly, "The giants were wounded and some of the residents joined in, but they didn't do so well."
<Muirfinn> "Wait, cloud giants are wounded? Or the frost giants?"
> "Our giants. Hanna's healing them," Vivantha explains. "The frost giants were slain."
<Muirfinn> "Ah. I'm finishing up here, I think." Muirfinn turns back to the bird man thing.
> The creature awaits Muirfinn, staring at him all the while.
<Muirfinn> "Apologies. Again, how can I defeat Kina-ja? Furthermore, how do I reach her? Is it possible to lure her from hiding?"
> "The absolute light. It is the key to it all," The figure says, "To find her...give her the chance. Give her the chance to make her dream come true."
<Muirfinn> "...well, that will likely be a chore and a half. Better than trying to confront her on the 666th layer, though, I'd reckon." Muirfinn shifts. "Our time together is at a close, I'm afraid. Perhaps we will have chance to speak again someday."
<Muirfinn> OOC: That's physical shifting, not shapeshifting.
> "Until you return," The creature looks on at Muirfinn, making no move to stop him.
* Muirfinn wrenches his way out of the house, seeking his companions.
> You find them gathered on the edge of the shattered down. Around them are a dozen dead frost giants, Adrian and a few giants busying themselves with looting. It looks mostly done. Hanna comes over, scythe proped against her shoulder. "How'd it go?" she announces, "I think we got the notice of something keeping an eye on Madhouse from what the giants said. We'll have trouble if we linger."
<Muirfinn> "That's fine, I'm done here. I have...disturbing news. We should go."
> "Gate us," Hanna calls, "BALERUK!" she screams to the sky, said dragon coming. OOC: Beating a retreat while the retreating is good?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep
> For once, retreat goes perfectly. The party escapes, Adrian breaking away to deal with loot. Hanna sighs as you walk inside, "It's truly a miracle, we came back completely triumphant with no complications."
<Muirfinn> Talons clicking on tiles, Muirfinn chuffs. "I wouldn't say that."
> "Was it that bad, brave hero?" Vivantha asks.
> "That is the question," Hanna hmphs, "So what did you find out?"
<Muirfinn> "In order: One of my sons is likely dead. 21 is the key to destroying Kina-ja, but if we take it into the 666th layer, it will fail us at a crucial time. The only way to successfully do this is to lure Kina-ja out of the Abyss. The only way to do that is to use irresistable bait."
> "I'm sorry," Hanna clasps Muirfinn's shoulder.
> Vivantha gasps, "Do you trust the madman that much?"
* Muirfinn shakes his head. "Their deaths are a mercy. The alternative is much worse. I had hoped and prayed that they had died, and that their souls rested with our gods. If that is so, they are not lost. They are safe. As for trusting the creature...he spoke many things and knew much he should not have. He may have even been sane. Vicious and odd, but his words made a strange sort of sense and
* Muirfinn did not twist into the madness I had expected to be forced to combat."

> "Then the question is: What do we do now?" Hanna asks.
<Muirfinn> "I'll need to speak with Antenorra, first." Muirfinn says. "That will give me an opportunity to feel this situation out."
> "Will you need company?" Hanna asks then.
<Muirfinn> "You're all welcome." Muirfinn says.
> "Adrian can deal with that treasure," Hanna says, "Can you manage another gate? I can get us over if you can't."
> Vivantha smiles and nods, "Let's go. We can bring glad tidings of success to her."
> OOC: Good with hopping along
> ?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Sure
> The trip to Sylica is unremarkable - as much as a trip through the Heavens and across planes can be. You're soon sitting before Antenora once more, "How did it go?" she asks. OOC: Ball's in your court.
<Muirfinn> "Strangely, but that's no surprise. Tell me, have you ever met a prophetic man with a massive raven's beak?"
> "No," Antenora shakes her head, "It sounds like some sort of fiend."
> "It was," Hanna adds, "Muirfinn met it and they had a lengthy discussion."
<Muirfinn> "...sort of."
<Muirfinn> "Somewhat."
> "Go on with it," Antenora says, "Did it tell anything useful," she waves a hand to hurry Muirfinn along.
<Muirfinn> "I don't know what he was. Whatever he was, he was both remarkably calm and forthcoming. Also, eerily accurate."
* Kobrb is now known as Kotono
> "Troubling, but that implies good information," Antenora continues, "Once you strip it away of madness and agendas."
<Muirfinn> "Well, it told me several things. The relevant facts are that Kina'ja has acquired the aid of some sort of ancient and powerful evil. This evil is sharing its power with her as well as some sort of secrets to do with numbers. According the the creature, she can now only be slain with the power of 21. Unfortunately, heading to the 666th layer of the Abyss will cause 21's power to fail us there
<Muirfinn> when we need it most. The only way to kill her properly is to lure her out."
> "Fiends always have an agenda," Hanna murmurs, "But it doesn't mean they can't tell the truth."
> The Opal Angel rests back and closes her eyes, sighing lightly through her nose. "Tell me more about 21."
> "How much do you know about it," Hanna says, going on after a moment's pause, "To cut past the pretense, how much has Ebony told Sylica about it?"
> "It's improper to say it right out, but needs must as needs must." Antenora frowns ever so slightly before going on. "It's some sort of tool or metaphysical creation that can wound evil and deities," Antenora remarks, "Jaela was supposed to take it from another on Aurora, Sylvie, but Sylvie ended up keeping it."
> "We're allies, not mortal nations squabbling," Hanna retorts, crossing her arms. "Politeness doesn't mean we should hamstring ourselves over it."
> Antenora smiles now, banishing her earlier disapproval. "Still, secrets exist even in the Heavens. What's not told is as important as what is known. There are times when ignorance is bliss, or at least agreeable to smooth over basic relations. There's things I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. It's too important that they aren't known, and I expect there are things about the Court of the Stars that you would hold in the same confidence."
* Muirfinn nods. "As far as we know, it's a tool designed to examine, dissect, and destroy evil. It was created, presumably, by the beings that created this reality. Or some other primordial thing. I don't know. Finding information on it is impossible. It's been used a handful of times, but mostly Sylvie bears the burden. I understand it's not an easy burden to bear."
> "Mm, the three. They could create something like that," Antenora agrees after hearing that. "Troublesome. So we have to lure Kina-ja out. That would have something to do with Sharess, her obsession."
<Muirfinn> "From what I've surmised, it will have to be Sharess. In a publically vulnerable position."
<Muirfinn> "It's the only bait she'll take."
> "That will be difficult. Even if we can come up with a position and execute it, we'd have to get Sharess to agree." Antenora's face slips into a scowl, "She'd have all the reasons in Creation to turn us down cold."
> "I've been thinking it over," Hanna adds in, "I don't really like our options regarding it, but it's better than an expidition that's fated to fail. That or we need to devise a third option altogether."
<Muirfinn> "Of course she would, and who could blame her? It's a terrible idea."
> "At least we agree," Antenora says with a hint of dry humor. "Kina-ja's story and fall are predicated on unfair treatment in her mortal life, which she alleges to remember. Sharess categorically denies Kina-ja's claim. It might be worth nudging around that to see if we can find any insights on her."
<Muirfinn> "Yes. Right. Nudging gods." Muirfinn sighs. "You know, if I was a mortal, I'd probably be terrified."
> "You should be terrified, even if you aren't a mortal," Hanna quips, "Deities ARE terrifying."
> "I didn't mean to nudge Sharess," Antenora replies, "I'm inclined to believe the story that Kina-ja sold her soul for eternal youth and was then murdered by a summoned demon. I'm thinking of something a little more indirect. Have you ever been to Mechanus?"
<Muirfinn> "That would explain the terror." Muirfinn chuckles.
<Muirfinn> "Oh, that's MUCH more believable. No, I have not."
> Hanna makes an expression between a wince and an EW face.
> "There's a place there where mortal memories cna be reviewed. It's all regulated and strictly controlled. You need a lot of swing in Mechanus or a deity in good standing with Mechanus to access anything. Alicia's in good standing with Mechanus so I can take care of that, and if your deity's in good standing...who do you follow?" Antenora asks.
<Muirfinn> "The Mother Ocean."
> "That should do," Antenora states, "Would you care to go to Mechanus with me," Antenora says with a warm smile. "By calling in some favors and acting the right way, we should be able to get what we want. If we can review Kina-ja's mortal life, there may be clues in it and things to follow up on. We may just find something else we can use to bait her, or something as a psychological weapon."
> Vivantha frowns at that, before blinking and looking away, a little abashed.
* Muirfinn cocks his head for a moment, then nods. "That's acceptable."
> "I'll have to pass," Hanna remarks, "I wouldn't help you at all in Mechanus."
> "My kind are not on the best terms with the lawbringers of Mechanus," Vivantha admits, "We don't see eye to eye on most things."
* Muirfinn nods. "I expected you to say so. I have heard that they are somewhat zealous in their love of the law."
> "They're overzealous," Hanna concludes shortly, "If you need more help from Aurora, I'd look to people inclined towards order."
* Muirfinn nods. "I'll see if anyone wants to go."
> OOC: Okay, so what's your plan here?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gimme a mo
> OOC: Sure.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Figured I'd ask the handful of lawful NPCs if they wanna go on A Planar Jaunt.
> OOC: Okay. We'll hop back.
> The trip back to Aurora is likewise peaceful. Antenora tags along, taking in Aurora's sights with restrained calm. Hanna peels her away so you can do your business in peace. The first one you find is Ebony. She's sitting with the phase spiders, reading from a thick tome.  She closes it on your approach and marks her page before turning to you, "How can I help you today, Muirfinn?"
* Muirfinn absently pats a spider. "We're going to Mechanus, and I thought I would ask the few people here willing to go if they wanted to join us."
> It stays beneath Muirfinn's hand, unphased by his friendliness. "Mechanus? I have no objection," Ebony says, "If you need me, I will come."
<Muirfinn> "Hopefull it will be mostly pleasant."
> "If that's in the schedule there, it will be," Ebony rises with a smile, dusting off her robes with a murmured spell. "I'll make sure the residents give us a good schedule."
<Muirfinn> "Excellent. If you don't mind, I'll also ask Morniel and Ellese."
> From there you catch up to Morniel. Or you would, but you meet Elena by the portals instead. "You're looking for Morniel? He's in diplomatic meetings with a resident of Celestia, Afina and the Mercane." Said ghost girl is dressed up in a full, frilly sundress today, along with an umbrella. "Ellese is in her room resting, though. You should go see her, hopefully Moriel will be done soon."
* Muirfinn nods, changing direction for the dormitories!
> As you go through the portal and walk down the hall, you pass by Dana. She's whistling, "Hey Muirfinn," she greets, "So have you fucked up any devils lately?"
<Muirfinn> "I met a strange man with a giant raven's beak and no face. I believe he cut a babau in half and then ate it in its entirety. He then gave me strangely accurate and haunting prophetic advice. In Pandemonium."
> "That's fucking awesome," Dana grins, "So why the hell didn't you invite me, bitch? It's so boring around here."
<Muirfinn> "Honestly? I didn't even think of it. I'm about to head out to Mechanus, actually."
> "Shit, Mechanus?" Dana hms, "I could go for skewring some inevitables," she replies, "I should come with you and help you fuck up anything in your way."
* Muirfinn shakes his head. "Unfortunately, we need to be there on our best behavior. We need a rather large favor from them, so the majority of the people here actually cannot come. It makes my job here somewhat more difficult."
> "Ah, that's bullshit!" Dana mutters, "Well, come get me when that's over and we can knock some fucking heads together then."
<Muirfinn> "You'll be first on my list, I promise."
> Muirfinn gets a loud, powerful THUMP on the shoulder as Dana goes off, leaving him be once more.
* Muirfinn shakes his head, resuming his quest.
> Ellese is found in her room. She opens the door and stands aside for you, going to sit on the bed afterwards without saying anything.
* Muirfinn steps in, looking about. "Hello Ellese, how are you?"
> "Better," she replies, looking down. "Reflecting on the battle against Kina-ja."
<Muirfinn> "Ah, excellent. How do you feel about it?"
> "It was stressful, but I think I did a good job," she replies, still staring down. "At the same time I understood her pain. It made sense to me. She's been miserable too."
<Muirfinn> "I agree, you did quite well. As for Kina-ja, her pain is unfortunate, but she very likely is the cause of it."
> "Self inflicted wounds, but she still dreams of the cats," Ellese murmurs.
* Muirfinn nods. "Indeed. She is obsessed with Sharess. This brings me to the reason I'm here, actually. Antenora, Ebony and I are headed to Mechanus to learn more about Kina-ja. Would you like to come?"
> She shakes her head, "I can't, not yet. Elder Magi Tepen want sme to spend more time reflecting and learning first. It's helping after the battle."
<Muirfinn> "Of course. That is quite fine. I merely wished to extend the invitation."
> "Thank you," Ellese replies, "Who's Antenora?"
<Muirfinn> "An angelic proxy of Syala, I believe."
> "Oooh." Ellese murmurs, "When it's over...would you tell me how it went? I think I'd like to hear."
<Muirfinn> "Of course! I'll see you when I get back, then."
> From there it's a matter of finding Moriel. He's in Aurora's meeting room. A half eaten tray of small snacks and drinks is there, but it's otherwise empty. He has a glass of water in hand, watching the ripples as he gently moves the glass around. "Muirfinn," he greets you. "How goes your matters with Syala and Antenora?"
<Muirfinn> "Good day, Morniel. We're off to Mechanus. I wanted to know if you wanted to come."
> "I'm free to," he says, "For what business?"
<Muirfinn> "Research on Kina=ja and her mortal life."
> "That business? Very well," Morniel rises, "I can call in favors from allies in Mechanus to speed any processes. As a Tone Archon, my authority will go a long ways with the servants of Celestia there."
<Muirfinn> "We appreciate it. Please meet us downstairs when you are ready."

> Muirfinn, Antenora, Morniel and Ebony gather. Antenora and Morniel are chatting amid themselves, a snippet of conversation caught as Muirfinn approaches. "-ways. But you know that most of all, don't you?" Morniel asks gravely. Meanwhile Ebony awaits with her harp out, strumming it idly.
> "More than most," Antenora's reply is murmured softly as she turns to face Muirfinn. "It's important that we make sure not to violate any rules or regulations within Mechanus. Fortunately, non-natives are held to a different standard, so you'll have some latitude against minor mistakes. They take order as the first and only important thing in Creation there."
> "Further, the three of us," Gesturing to encompass everyone but Muirfinn, "Are held to a higher standard than you will be, as we have a connection to absolute order." Morniel says.
* Muirfinn nods. "I assume they will have the rules posted somewhere, or some other method of communicating them."
> 'Yes,' "Yes," Antenora says both aloud and in your mind. "To read them could take several lifetimes. In the interests of speed, I'll be telepathically informing you of any rules as we go. If in doubt, don't be afraid to ask the official you're dealing with. They love to instruct others in the ways of law."
<Muirfinn> "I would assume so. The very act of not communicating the law engenders chaos."
> "That's correct in their view," Morniel speaks up, "There are entire auditoriums dedicated to Inevitables reading off the great books of law. You could, with no exaggeration, spend lifetimes listening. They broadcast them all the time as well, but only servants of Mechanus hear it in most places."
> "Except for slaads. They hear it as well, but that's not a matter of instruction. It's a matter of defense," Antenora points out, "The slaads that hear it can't stand it."
* Muirfinn nods. "Not totally unexpected."
> "Let's get to it," Morniel says, as the party heads out. A portal takes you to a land of open night skies. Stars glitter in all directions. You stand on a vast cog full of rivers and sand dunes. Buildings of polished marble rise from them, connected by perfectly straight streets in flawless cube-patterns. Above, below and around are other gears, ranging in size from islands to far too big to tell. Each gear has a different but perfect pattern of terrain. The gear you are on is connected together, constantly turning and whirling. The air is filled with the smooth sounds of gears moving against one another, like a clockwork symphony. On the various paths Inevitables and other clockwork creations stand, the paths beneath them moving beneath them as if animated.
* Muirfinn looks about, suitably impressed. "Well."
> Antenora's gaze sweeps around. A fond smile overtakes her face as she gestures to the nearest path. 'Step on it and allow it to take you where order says you must go. It's the first step,' Antenora's voice explains in your mind.
> Morniel looks around briefly, "Mechanus never changes, yet is infinite, so I always see a new part of it. One of the mysteries of Creation."
<Muirfinn> "Right." Muirfinn steps!
> The party goes to the nearest sidewalk and steps on. It moves beneath them, taking the party along without any effort. As the group glides along, the song of the gears endlessly whirling, "There is one thing," Morniel speaks up, very softly. "Most adapt and accept the sound of the gears - the gearson, as it is called. A few do not and it drives them to madness. Speak up if you're feeling strained."
> "I struggle to see how it could," Antenora replies as she looks ahead, the party being taken to one of the classical buildings ahead. "Mechanus calms me so."
* Muirfinn cocks his head, listening to the sound. "
<Muirfinn> OOC: BLAR HAR HAR
* Muirfinn cocks his head, listening to the sound. "I don't feel any difficulties."
> "Good," Morniel murmurs back, the party taken along. You are taken to one grand, open air building. There are no walls, only fields of light that demarcate one office from another. Each has a desk, a few chairs and a single clockwork man sitting at the desk.  Some are talking to mortals and immortals of various stripes, while others are idle. The path takes you into the closest empty office, the clockwork man rising. He speaks in words you understand yet do not know, "Welcome to the Guidance Hall. Find your way ahead here. Please tell me your names, rank and serial numbers, if you have been assigned one."
> 'Go along with it,' Antenora sends to Muirfinn, "Antenora Reynes. I am the Angel of Redemption and I oversee the Opal Mountain of Sylica," she explains, "I do not have a serial number."
> Ebony's face stays neutral, "Ebony of Sylica, an angel in the service of the goddess Alicia. I too lack a serial number."
<Muirfinn> "Muirfinn of the Shellscale of Lifasa, Chosen of the Great Mother Ocean. I do not have a specific number."
* Muirfinn bows politely at the waist.
> "Morniel of Celestia, Throne Archon in service to Aurora, formerly Medicant." Morniel ads for his part, "48482955159825839."
> "It is recorded," The creature's hand becomes a metallic quill, paper appearing as it writes. "Please state the reason for your visit."
> "Each of us comes in the name of deities seeking the records and memories of a mortal life. Ebony and myself represent Alicia and Syala of Sylica." Antenora inclines her head forward. 'Just keep following my lead,' she murmurs in Muirfinn's mind.
> Ebony nods, "I am spoken for by Antenora."
> "I seek what Antenora does, in the name of the Hebdomad and the greater unity of Celestia. I invoke the rights of diplomacy I have been granted and hold in good standing, as well as the Compacts of Peaceful Exchanges between Celestia and Mechanus."
> OOC: Gah.
> "I seek what Antenora does, in the name of the Hebdomad and the greater unity of Celestia. I invoke the rights of diplomacy I have been granted and hold in good standing, as well as the Compacts of Peaceful Exchanges between Celestia and Mechanus." Morniel says, "Further, under the circumstances, it is within our rights to request expedited attentions."
<Muirfinn> "I also seek the same. I represent the Mother Ocean's interests in eliminating those purely destructive forces of chaos and evil."
> More writing. "The request has been submitted," he states, the paper taking to the air and flying away of its own accord. As it flies up, you catch sight of a semi-transparent field of flying papers above, all flowing above and ahead, towards something unknown. It lasts a few moments before fading into being unseen once more. "Please return to the path and you will be taken to the next destination."
* Muirfinn nods.
> "Thank you," Antenora inclines her head forward before going back to the path. In Muirfinn's mind, 'We'll likely go through a few of these and questions of about the same magnitude. We can throw around more weight if need be, but it sows ill will to bypass their regulations. Alicia or another deity could get away with it here, but alas, we are not them."
<Muirfinn> "I'm in no urgent hurry. Provided this doesn't take a month or something like that, we should be fine."
> The next few hours are taken up by several similar encounters. You're taken all over this gear, talking to clockwork men. The questions are gathering various bits of information and fairly quick, ultimately unreliable. After the fifth or six one, the path heads towards the edge of this gear and into open space. As you approach it, a swirling portal appears. "Here we go," Morniel murmurs, "The preliminaries are done with."
> *unremarkable, not unreliable
> "I've heard stories of mortals spending years going through preliminaries," Ebony adds quietly, "Is that true?"
<Muirfinn> "Well, good thing we're not."
> "It can be, but in a large part due to them setting themselves back," Morniel says as you come closer to the portal. It would take random newcomers a few days to get through this, at the least. Yes, a good thing we're not." With that the path reaches the portal, reality rippling apart. You stand in a pleasant appointed office. A broad desk of good, sturdy dark wood is here. It's well polished and the quill, inkpots, papers and books on it are neatly organized. Ahead of you sits an elderly angel, face lined with age and worry. In spite of that he does not look old - there is a sense of vitality and friendliness to him.  He wears tunic and hose, like a common scribe. Behind you are deeply padded chairs and polished wood tables. "Morniel! Congratulations on your promotion," the figure says, only human sized.
> "It is the will of Celestia," Morniel bows his head in reverence, "I don't need any congratulations, only praise to the Holy Mountain...but thank you," he finishes with a smile. "This is Antenora Reynes, Muirfinn and Ebony. I presume you've been tapped to be a facilitator here?"
* Muirfinn bows in a courtly fashion.
> Antenora and Ebony murmur greetings. Your facilitator says, "I am. You can call me Yashiel. Sit if you like." He does the same at his desk, "Your request has enough authority to go through, it's a question of time and how much you'll get. Allow me to explain. Mechanus is the ultimate bureaucracy and no matter how organized, various Inevitables and members do have personal agendas - even if they're usually preferences on how absolute law should be carried out. Primus has been more hands off in the last several millenia, allowing these sort of things to go on. As it stands, extenuating circumstances could be useful to speed up the process."
* Muirfinn motions for Yashiel to go on.
> "First of all, you could curry favor with various bureaucrats that would be opposed to your request," Yashiel says, "Not bribes, which are completely illegal, but talking them down, diplomacy and that manner of thing." Yashiel says. "Secondly, you could appeal even higher up the chain. A successful attempt could hasten the proceedings, but a failure could set you back. Further, you'll make enemies going over other people's heads. Thirdly, you could do things to promote law over chaos in a direct fashion. In other words, hunt bounties and objectives for Mechanus. Even the most contrary Inevitable cannot help but admire creatures that deal with hated chaos."
> "In essence," Antenora says, "We ingratiate ourselves to them, we throw our authorities against a high ranking Inevitable or we go on a quest to kill or capture chaotic beings?"
> "That's how it's usually done," Morniel says, "All three of those serve to advance order. The first eliminates dissent and encourages one united viewpoint. The second honors the chain of command and authority. The third directly applies the supremacy of law over chaos."

<Muirfinn> "Hmm. Well, I find the first most agreeable. Going beyond the chain of command and stepping on toes would not serve our purpose. As for the third, provided we're not out killing eladrin or lillend...or Renbuu's slaad, I don't have a problem with the thrid option. I assume a combination of the first and third options would gain us the most favor?"
> "Going to slay demons is a laudible goal," Antenora adds, "One I would be more than capable of helping with."
> "A combination would be good," Morniel agrees, I can lead efforts at diplomacy and Antenora can lead warefforts. There's four of us, so two teams of two strike me as most apt." Here he rests back a moment, steepling his hands, "Ebony, Muirfinn, would each of you prefer to be negotiators or warriors?"
> Ebony pauses, "Muirfinn, I'll leave it to your discretion. I can serve in either roll as needed. Do you have a preference?"
<Muirfinn> "I am an expert at both. I would ask you the same."
> Ebony makes a wry face, chuckling as she pushes back her hood. "Betwixt courtesy and demurrals, are we? Either of us would pair with Antenora well - she is a fast flier who specializes in single, overwhelming strikes. She is somewhat akin to how Jaela fights, though more focus on mobility and attacks than support magic. Arguing and wooing the lawful minds of the children of Mechanus is a task I could also complete. What good is a bard who cannot fight with words as well as blade?"
<Muirfinn> "Then I will leave you to the task of winning regimented hearts and minds here."
> "Good fortune to your efforts," Ebony says, glancing at Morniel. "How will we do this, then?"
> "I know how things work here," Morniel rises from his seat, "I can guide us. Yashiel, would you instruct Antenora and Muirfinn from here?"
> "As you wish, m'lord," The angel says with a slight smile, mostly hidden by a bow of his head.
> Morniel stops and blinks a moment before his own smile comes, "I'm going to hear that a lot, aren't I?"
* Muirfinn pats Morniel on the shoulder. "Probably."
> "Such is the burden of archons of the book and throne," Yashiel matches that smile, "Those of us with less holy illumination can only marvel and pay praise to them."
> Chuckling and nodding to Muirfinn, "As the old man said, stop calling me sir. It makes me feel old."
> "Yes sir," Waving a hand with a gentle smile, "I'll see to these two. Go with the wisdom of Celestia, Morniel."
> "As will you," Morniel goes to leave and Ebony follows, the two heading out of a door in the back of the room. Once gone, Yashiel turns his attention to the two of you. "Are either of you familiar with how Mechanus sets bounties against agents of chaos?"
<Muirfinn> "I've dealt with bounties before, but not with Mechanus."
> "I am," Antenora says. "As Muirfinn said, leave out any related to the eladrin, lillend or Renbuu's servants. The last is a political issue for Aurora, as I understnad it."
<Muirfinn> "Something to do with Baleruk, if I recall."
> Yashiel sits back and steeples his hands together, just as Morniel did a few moments ago. "Creatures of overwhelming and disruptive chaos get special attention from Mechanus. There's entire legions dedicated to exterminating disorder that offends Mechanus more than usual. Of course, bureaucracy and infinity being what they are, they can't exterminate them all. Not to mention those strong enough to repel attacks from Mechanus. These are put out as bounties for lawful friends not formally attached to Mechanus's order to hunt at their leisure. While the rewards are relatively paltry for the difficulties involved, you earn a lot of good favor with Mechanus for fighting back chaos. That's the main benefit and various applicants and seekers are known to help their own cause by advancing law's war against chaos."
* Muirfinn raises a clawed finger. "If you're about to tell me that either the Father or Kina-ja are on that list, we're already working on it."
> "I'm sure they are." Yashiel says without missing a beat. "Somewhere someone put out a bounty on them. There's even bounties on demon princes like Demogorgon and the old goat. There's a complication - Mechanus prefers bounties be taken in alive. The justice of Mechanus demands those who commit chaos be held accountable. A court is meaningless without a defendant, as the Inevitables like to say. That all said, it's best to choose someone impressive and suited to your skills. Bringing in a couple of lesser demons or slaad won't get that much return for your effort. A few may even claim you're disserving law by wasting time with creatures beneath your station."
* Muirfinn snorts. "Of course."
> "So whomever we go after is someone we have no problems with being tried in Mechanus," Antenora continues, "Which is why I suggested demons or at least slaad."
> "Yes. None of the heavens look kindly on taking eladrin in, even if their natures are endlessly vexing," Yashiel agrees, "We agree to disagree with Mechanus on that particular point."
<Muirfinn> "Either is fine. Are there any names in particular you were thinking of?"
> "I have a recent copy of likely bounties," Yashiel goes into his desk drawer and takes out an impressively thick tome, bulging with hundreds if not thousands of pages. "Likely bounties is Mechanus's way of saying that it's a bounty that sufficiently powerful hunters are likely to succeed on." He opens it up and flips through, "The book's magic, if you wonder. Lest we be here all day reading bounties."
<Muirfinn> "Of course."
> "Let's see now..." He flips through and through, reading from one page. "Here's one possibility. The Great Abyss, the fourth layer of the Abyss. There's a rogue demon," A pause to chuckle, "A redundancy if I've ever read one! This rogue demon has set up an 'anti-soul laboratory' involving raw chaos and mortals. Reports say that he is a unique demon called Yesthalae."
> OOC: You can K:P that layer and name if you like.
> roll 1d20+37 Antenora will
> OOC: Sec, lemme fire up the Kobot.
-obsidian.ab.ca.lunarnet.org:@#dunes- Koaway invited Serith into the channel.
* Serith (~iron_drag@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
> OOC: Or Serith works.
> roll 1d20+37 Antenora will
<Serith> Koaway roll for Serith < 49 > [d20=12]
> "You mean the Grand Abyss?" Antenora lightly hms, "An endless canyon full of demon-made bridges and castles carved in the sides of the canyon. It's said to be bottomless. It's also riddled with portals to deeper layers of the Abyss, making it something of a travel hub for the Abyss."
<Muirfinn> "Does anyone ever find it odd that demons come in categories and common forms? I do. I think it's odd that some of the most chaotic creatures in all of existence can be so ordered. Makes you wonder, huh?"
> "
> "So are slaad," Antenora remarks as she glances over at Muirfinn. "I understand there's extenuating circumstances for the slaad. As for the demons?" A shrug follows, "Who can say?"
> "Ahem," Yashiel clears his throat, "Are the two of you interested in this one or should I seek another bounty?"
<Muirfinn> "Oh that'll be fine. We love the Abyss."
* Muirfinn makes a strange face at himself.
> Antenora gives Muirfinn a long, steady look. "Are you feeling unwell?"
<Muirfinn> "I might be. I was making light of the situation and it came out...strange."
> "Gaze too long," That's what Antenora murmurs as she turns back, "There's two ways to get to the Grand Abyss. One is to go to Pazunia and find a hole or chasm. If we fly down to it, it will most likely take us there. The other is to gate or plane shift there, though that proposes a unique problem. The only safe places for portals or plane shifts to appear are the demonic castles or bridges, which are usually teeming with demon hordes."
<Muirfinn> "I CAN TURN INTO A COLOSSAL DRAGON AT WILL!"
<Muirfinn> OOC: BAHAHAHAHA I left capslock on
<Muirfinn> "I can turn into a colossal dragon at will!"
<Muirfinn> "Think that would be sufficient to clear the bridges?"
> "It'll help," Antenora says, "We can do it that way, then."
* Muirfinn nods. "It's worth a shot. Worst case, we can escape quickly."
> OOC: Okay, any prep or plans here at all?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Remind me how we got to Mechanus?
> OOC: Portal.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Neat. We can still use Gate then.
<Muirfinn>  OOC: Okay, so we'll just gate in from wherever's allowed in Mechanus. Drop by, dragonbreath nuke the area, and move on.
> OOC: Okay. I'll set you up.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Many thanks
> From there, a ride takes you outside on this gear. This gear is arctic tundra, the two coming off and standing in the snow. Antenora awaits the portal spell to be cast. OOC: Go ahead, Murifinn.
* Muirfinn forms the Gate with practiced ease, the portal spiralling open before them. "One moment." A beat, and his form warps into that of a colossal silver dragon. His head surges through the portal and blasts the area with frigid breath! OOC: Rooldamage?"
> Peeking out, Muirfinn sees darkness all around him, punctuated by leaping flames on the horizon. This hellish backdrop serves as background for a massive spine-bridge, wide enough to have dozens of demons walk side by side down it. As you poke out, you see a good dozen demons nearby! Several dretches, a hezrou, a few vrocks and odder things yet you don't know. They're already reacting to the gate, ready to attack! OOC: Init since the demons have time to react.
> roll 1d20+5 lots o' demons
<Serith> Koaway roll for Serith < 21 > [d20=16]
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
<Serith> Koaway roll for Serith < 24 > [d20=15]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 32 > [d20=20]
* Retrieving #dunes modes...
<Muirfinn> OOC: I win
* Koaway changes topic to 'Muirfinn(32)>Antenora(24)>Demons(21)'
> OOC: Go Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 cold damage yo
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 84 > [d6=4,6,3,4,6,1,6,3,2,6,6,5,1,4,3,4,6,4,6,2,1,1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: DC 30
> roll 1d20+12
<Serith> Koaway roll for Serith < 17 > [d20=5]
> The attending horde of demons is blasted by wintry power! Several of the lesser demons are frozen solid on the spot, while greater demons are driven back by cries of pain. It clears a bit of space around the portal, but you can see more demons ahead. OOC: Anything else this round?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I will retract my head, allowing Antenora to make her decisions.

> > To quote: > Y'all never got locations to Yesthalae's lair nor did you specify where your Gate was opening to.
> > This was an oversight on my part since I DMed distracted.
> > So to clarify: The bridge you're aiming for is the closest to the reputed location of the anti-soul laboratory. It'll still be a flight and some travel, you got reasonably detailed instructions, as much as landscapes stay static in the Abyss.
> > That sound good?
<Muirfinn> works
> Okay. We'll begin now.
> ---
> * Koaway changes topic to 'Muirfinn(32)>Antenora(24)>Demons(21)'
> > OOC: Go Muirfinn.
> <Muirfinn> roll 22d6 cold damage yo
> <Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 84 > [d6=4,6,3,4,6,1,6,3,2,6,6,5,1,4,3,4,6,4,6,2,1,1]
> <Muirfinn> OOC: DC 30
> > roll 1d20+12
> <Serith> Koaway roll for Serith < 17 > [d20=5]
> > The attending horde of demons is blasted by wintry power! Several of the lesser demons are frozen solid on the spot, while greater demons are driven back by cries of pain. It clears a bit of space around the portal, but you can see more demons ahead. OOC: Anything else this round?
> <Muirfinn> OOC: I will retract my head, allowing Antenora to make her decisions.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(32)>Antenora(24)>Demons(21)'
> A split second later Antenora charges through the gate like a gale. She is a blur as she slams into the lead demon, black horn spear flashing with pure whit energies.
> roll 1d20+46 (+2 charge, +1 haste(blinding speed), +14 furious strike, final judgement, +4 fiend dread, -20 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+46 (+2 charge, +1 haste(blinding speed), +14 furious strike, final judgement, +4 fiend dread, -20 PA) and gets 49." [1d20=3]
> roll 3d8+258+4d6+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d8+258+4d6+7d6 and gets 309." [3d8=2, 7, 3][4d6=4, 3, 4, 5][7d6=1, 4, 1, 4, 3, 6, 4]
> roll 1d20+13 fort
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+13 fort and gets 26." [1d20=13]
> The demon bursts apart a second later, a titanic column of light erupting up to momentarily rival the leaping flames on the horizon. The demons all around the gate scream, eyes boiling white and leaking tears of opal. Frostburned and dazed, the demons scream out and lash out blindly! "Now!" Antenora calls! "We have our chance!" OOC: Muirfinn, you're up. The demons are in a bad way and blinded. They're not doing anything effective.
* Muirfinn presses through the gap fully, sliding around Antenora as he breathes again!
> OOC: Isn't it 1d4 rounds?
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 ref CD 30
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 ref CD 30 and gets 65." [22d6=2, 3, 3, 3, 2, 5, 1, 3, 3, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: OH YEAH
<Muirfinn> OOC STRIKE THEN
> OOC: Roll, you might get a 1.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Instead, how close are they?
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4+1
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4+1 and gets 2." [1d4=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: >_>
<Muirfinn> OOC: - that +1
<Muirfinn> OOC: Dunno why I did that
> OOC: Yeah, so your action stands. They're within 30ft and Antenora's immune to cold, so go blast.
> OOC: Damage roll stands, so ref.
> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12 and gets 20." [1d20=8]
<Muirfinn> Oroll 1d4
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 and gets 3." [1d4=3]
> The demons are further decimated. Many dissolve in various ways - turning to stone, crumbling to dust, exploding. Only a few remain after you come through, and those are broken and beaten. Antenora's already taking off to the sky and away from the bridge. Farther along you can see the massive spine-bridge has hundreds of more demons in the distance, just starting to turn towards the two. A few appear nearby, blinking there with instant teleportation. OOC: Go Murifinn. The demons are just reacting and Antenora's flying off on her turn, so it's your go.
* Muirfinn allows the gate to close as his tail clears it, massive wings beating once, twice and then pulling him aloft as he heads after Antenora.
> OOC: What's your fly speed/manuerability?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 290 ft, clumsy
> The two fly on, away from the bridge. You don't get far, Antenora quickly landing on Muirfinn's back and kneeling there. You're several hundred feet away from the bridge when they appear, 50ft away and 10ft above you. A pair of vrocks, ill formed and misshapen. They have grossly extended belly buttons, an umbilical cord connecting the two. Dangling from the middle of the cord is a distended face, that of an elf, frozen in time as he screams in the utmost terror. Two voices hiss in your head at almost the same time, turning the same words into a discordant din, 'Come play with us! The fun's just begun!' OOC: Init.
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 Antenora and gets 19." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+8 vrock twins
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 vrock twins and gets 12." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d20+15 head
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 head and gets 34." [1d20=19]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12 and gets 29." [1d20=17]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Elf Head(34)>Muirfinn(29)>Antenora(19)>Vrock Twins(12)'
> "Repent or embrace oblivion! Accept a better way or be gone from this world," Antenora declares, as the head begins to move. It moves as if alive once more, a large, red snake extending out from that mouth. It darts for Muirfinn's draconic snout, trying to bite him!
> roll 1d20+28 AC?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 AC? and gets 48." [1d20=20]
> roll 1d20+28 AC? ow
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 AC? ow and gets 46." [1d20=18]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Regular AC is 63.
> roll 1d8+12+2d6 2d6 is unholy damage, roll Fort
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+12+2d6 2d6 is unholy damage, roll Fort and gets 28." [1d8=8][2d6=3, 5]
> OOC: Poison, note if immune.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6 poison immune
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+36+6 poison immune and gets 57." [1d20=15]
> The snake head lands just inside Muirfinn's snout opening, biting down on a tiny patch of soft flesh. It causes his entire nose to burn in pain, a quick thrash dislodging the attack. OOC: Ow. Muirfinn, you're up.
* Muirfinn retorts with a bite of his own, as well as a hail of claws and tail!
> OOC: Hold up.
> OOC: You do know they're 50ft away and 10ft up, right/
> OOC: The snake darted otu to you with massive ragne.
> OOC: Range, stupid typos.
<Muirfinn> OOH: Oh. I missed that. Sorry. Distracted. Will redirect focus.
> OOC: Sure.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Let's scratch that line
> OOC: Scratched.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Has it been the equivalent of three rounds?
> OOC: No. Two.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Ok.
* Muirfinn turns his head to look at Antenora. "Do you wish to flee or fight?"
> "If it will not repent, strike it down fast so we may continue," Antenora declares, "Before more reinforcements work up the courage to interdict us!"
<Muirfinn> "Right!" Muirfinn says, wheeling about and up, great jaws snapping out at the umbilical head! OOC: Assuming I can get away with this. Moment. Looking up rules.
> OOC: Sure, you can. They're discrete targets here.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alright.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 48." [1d20=4]
> OOC: Hit.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 bite
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 bite and gets 36." [4d8=2, 6, 7, 4]
> OOC: What do your bite count as to bypass DR?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Unless my gauntlets extend their powers to my bite, they count as nothing more than any dragon's bite would.
> OOC: Okay.
> Muirfinn bites down on the head! It's harder than diamond, only a few cracks appearing now that Muirfinn has it in his teeth. With a second push it cracks again and SNAPS, shattering like glass in Muirfinn's mouth. OOC: Antenora's up.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(29)>Antenora(19)>Vrock Twins(12)'
> Antenora makes a sweeping gesture with her arm, a blast of holy power exploding amid the two vrocks.
> roll 1d20+29 cl check
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 cl check and gets 44." [1d20=15]
> roll 20d8
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d8 and gets 95." [20d8=5, 1, 7, 3, 7, 7, 3, 8, 6, 4, 2, 4, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 7, 8]
> roll 1d20+14 will vrocks
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+14 will vrocks and gets 16." [1d20=2]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(29)>Antenora(19)>Vrock Twins(12 blind)'
> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d4 and gets 1." [1d4=1]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(29)>Antenora(19)>Vrock Twins(12 blind 1)'
> The blast leaves the vrocks reeling back, umbilical cord bitten apart by Muirfinn. The demon's eyes boil just like the last batch's did, as meanwhile healing energies fill Muirfinn! OOC: Divine succor as a swift, 80 HP healing ot Muirfinn. Vrocks are up
> .
> The blinded vrocks scream in fury, shaking all over as a bigger screetch comes. This one is loud enough to plummel your eardrums like fists! OOC: Fort you two.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+36+6 and gets 48." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+36
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 and gets 42." [1d20=6]
> But nothing comes of it! OOC: Muirfinn, go.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(29)>Antenora(19)>Vrock Twins(12)'
<Muirfinn> Feeling the cold swelling again, Muirfinn rears back and sprays the two demons with a blast of frozen water and air! OOC: Breathin. Ref DC 30.
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 cold
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 cold and gets 85." [22d6=6, 4, 6, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5, 2, 4, 6, 1, 3, 1, 5, 4, 5, 4, 3, 6]
> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12  and gets 20." [1d20=8]
> The two demons are flash-frozen, shattering like broken ice under the assault! Victory! OOC: Free act.
> "Hurry now," Antenora insists, "Before more demons wish to commit suicide."
* Muirfinn turns, swooping away at a strong clip! OOC: Run action for distance go! speed is 1160 until I decide to stop since I
<Muirfinn> OOC: Immune to exhaustion n stuff
> The two fly on for a good few minutes. There's no immediate bridges around, and in your mind Antenora is heard, 'On the right, I believe. We need to keep our eyes open for a broken rock face full of strange fossils.'
* Muirfinn cools the flight speed once they're sure there are no stragglers, snorting. He banks slightly to the right. "I'll keep an eye out."
> 'We're supposed to fly right into it,' Antenora continues as you fly on. OOC: What's your spot/listen scores? Also, any special means of perception?
* Yuthikins (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> 'We're supposed to fly right into it,' Antenora continues as you fly on. OOC: What's your spot/listen scores? Also, any special means of perception?
<Yuthikins> OOC: True seeing as the spell, Spot 48, Listen 33
> OOC: Make a listen check.
<Yuthikins> roll 1d20+33
* Hatbot --> "Yuthikins rolls 1d20+33 and gets 45." [1d20=12]
* Muirfinn (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
> roll 1d20+41
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+41 and gets 45." [1d20=4]

> You fly on for another 10 minutes. No sign of anything yet. But ahead you can see about a dozen bridges. They weave about at mind-bending angles, semi-transparent energy flowing between them. They're about 2000ft away, but so large as to be easily visible from here. OOC: You can make K:A here if you wish.
<Yuthikins> roll 1d20+23
* Hatbot --> "Yuthikins rolls 1d20+23 and gets 41." [1d20=18]
> roll 1d20+25
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+25  and gets 26." [1d20=1]
> From here, you can tell those are extremely large walls of force. Normally they'd be invisible, but the excessive size of them is making them bleed over into visibility.
<Yuthikins> "Huh....walls of force over there. Wonder what that's about."
> "A fortification?" Antenora ponders, "It's a matter of going above or below it, then."
<Yuthikins> "Well, they're really big, so over is probably a better idea."
> "Right," Antenora nods as she holds on, "Above then."
* Yuthikins arcs upward, moving to clear the bridges and pass them by quickly.
* Yuthikins is now known as Muirfinn
<Muirfinn> OOC: Sheesh
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 12." [1d100=12]
> The two soar up! As you soar over them, you can see hundreds of demons within. All watching you, but none appear before you. Antenora exhales slightly, "Fortune is with us," she murmurs, "I had expected an assault."
<Muirfinn> "We're fortunate."
<Muirfinn> OOC: Strike that
<Muirfinn> "We're a fortunate bunch. Sometimes it is good fortune, and sometimes...not."
> "You may be safe from being identified," Antenora remarks, "Since you're in this form. But I know I stand out. It may cow lesser demons from immediately appearing to challenge us, but I worry that greater demons make take notice. Hurry."
<Muirfinn> "Of course." Muirfinn increases his wing beats, carrying them ever faster! OOC: More run actions.
> OOC: Okay.
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 23." [1d100=23]
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 88." [1d100=88]
> You fly on for about a half hour into the void. Your speed is tremendous as you hurry when - a stop. Everything around you begins to twist and writhe, as if the air is being tormented in pain. A bitter smell fills the air.  OOC: K:P if you like.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 36." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+37
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+37 and gets 43." [1d20=6]
> The air rippling around you is the Abyss reacting. Something big is about to happen! "Brace!" Antenora calls a moment later.
* Muirfinn braces as well as he can!
> Everything around you distorts! Vision becomes all-around, seeing everything at dozens of angles! Sensory information floods your mind, as you see everything and more. Elements, alignments, magic and more all flood in! OOC: Will save, you two. This is a mind-affecting ability.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Immune
> roll 1d20+42 (+4 vs evil)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+42 (+4 vs evil) and gets 59." [1d20=17]
> When your vision returns to normal, a great dome of cracked glass has appeared all around you. An entire arena of half-crumbling glass has formed, the seats empty save for one. 120ft ahead and 30ft up is a single throne. On it sits a balor. This balor burns forever and is covered in sickly yellow scabs. Its mouth is badly distended to fit in a dozen rows of sharp, wiggling teeth. Six long tongues loll out, licking all over its body. In a hideous voice that resembles coughing up thick sickness from within your chest, "Look at who has come to visit the Abyss, a baatezu whore and a dragon that reeks of a banished demon!" It laughs, a sound that makes ou want to cry. You feel your eyes growing wet as your stomach twists and turns.
> OOC: You can make K:O here if you please.
> OOC: Er, K:P.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 39." [1d20=17]
> roll 1d20+37 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+37 Antenora and gets 45." [1d20=8]
> The creature before you is Mandalos, a powerful balor with ties to mutation and disease. Don't fight in melee or you'll be overwhelmed by a flurry of tongue-attacks to make a marilith blush. Also, it can inflict horrible diseases and mutations on a strike and can manage the same with spell-like abilities.
> Antenora points her spear at the demon, "There's still time to turn away," she offers. "Nothing on the path you walk has any meaning at all. Turn away before the emptiness swallows you whole."
<Muirfinn> "Move, or we shall move you."
> The demon laughs, again causing you to sicken and grow disgusted. "Tell me your name, dragon," he commands, snapping a claw. "Tell me what glories I will claim with your head!" Around you, all around you they form. They rise up from the glass like bubbles, expanding into the shape of demons. You are surrounded by over a hundred demons, a horde crawling over one another. Lesser, least and major demons all slaver towards you, eyes empty of anything but hunger. Where they touch blurs, the forms of demons melting in and out of one another.
* Muirfinn bares teeth the size of swords. "Come and take it from me, if you can."
> "So be it!" Mandalos laughs, as the battle is joined! OOC: Init.
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 Antenora and gets 20." [1d20=11]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12 and gets 27." [1d20=15]
> roll 1d20+14 Mandalos
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+14 Mandalos and gets 28." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+6 demon army
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 demon army and gets 9." [1d20=3]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Mandalos(28)>Muirfinn(27)>Antenora(20)>Demon Army(9)'
> Around Mandalos a shimmering rectangle of power forms, snapping into place! Muirfinn can see it with true seeing, a thick field of force around him. OOC: Muirfinn, go. Demons in every which direction, just ready to pounce on you. Mandalos is 120ft ahead and 30ft up.
* Muirfinn inhales deeply, hosing down the nearest group with icy hail! OOC: Ref DC 30
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 cold
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 cold and gets 71." [22d6=1, 2, 3, 1, 6, 5, 1, 2, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 1, 3, 2, 1, 5, 2, 5]
<Muirfinn> OOC: I see why dragons always lead with this
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 and gets 3." [1d4=3]
> roll 1d20+15
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 and gets 16." [1d20=1]
* Yuthikins (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> The demon groups are blasted with ice! A few of the demons are frozen solid while others endure! It clears a bit of space around you as you spread your draconic fury! Then Antenora leaps to the air, rising thirty feet up before gesturing at Mandalos.
> roll 1d20+29 dispel check
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 dispel check and gets 33." [1d20=4]
* Muirfinn (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Yuthikins is now known as Muirfinn
> The field around Mandalos holds strong, the balor laughing within! "Struggle harder, devil dog!" Meanwhile the demon army attacks! A good segment closes in, attacking Muirfinn from every direction. OOC: This provokes an AoO form you if you wish ot take it.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Hell yeah. How many?
> OOC: They're acting as a single entity, so 1.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 60." [1d20=16]
> OOC: That's a big old hit.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 bite y'all
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 bite y'all and gets 34." [4d8=3, 7, 5, 2]
> A leaping dretch is caught in Muirfinn's maw, bitten in half as it charges! Other demons attack his flanks all around, clawing, slashing, biting, ripping and tearing at him!
> roll 1d20+18
> roll 1d20+31
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+18 and gets 20." [1d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 and gets 47." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+5 and gets 12." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+19
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+19 and gets 32." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+13
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+13 and gets 23." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+40
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 and gets 59." [1d20=19]
> OOC: AC?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 63
> Muirfinn weathers the storm of attacks, as suddenly raw elemental power mixed with greasy darkness envelopes the entire arena! OOC: Do you have SR, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: NOPE
> roll 1d20+20 vs Antenora's SR of 42 so this basically tinks
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 vs Antenora's SR of 42 so this basically tinks and gets 39." [1d20=19]
> OOC: Will save, Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+37+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+37+6 and gets 54." [1d20=11]
> roll 10d6 unholy damage and no other effects
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 10d6 unholy damage and no other effects and gets 32." [10d6=1, 3, 2, 2, 2, 3, 5, 4, 4, 6]
> Muirfinn is buffeted by a raw temptest of evil energy! He stays through it with pure mental will, resisting all the demons can throw at him! Meanwhile, a trio of winged nalfeshnee rise up and charge Antenora in the air!
> roll 1d20+22 (+2 charge)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 (+2 charge) and gets 25." [1d20=3]
> roll 1d20+29 (+2 charge)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 (+2 charge) and gets 32." [1d20=3]
> roll 1d20+36 (+2 charge)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 (+2 charge) and gets 55." [1d20=19]
> But Antenora dodges and stops each blow, spear spinning around to repulse the assault on her. Then Mandalos laughs again, a black aura of power surrounding him! The yellow scabs on his body erupt, oozing out a pus that instantly hardens into full body armor! OOC: Okay. Muirfinn, go. Demons all around you, take 2.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Mandalos(28 ff, ua, pa)>Muirfinn(27)>Antenora(20)>Demon Army(9)'
* Muirfinn swings away at the encroaching horde, claws and teeth and tail whipping about.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Tail
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 55." [1d20=12]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 49." [1d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+38 Unarmed and gets 56." [1d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 Unarmed and gets 40." [1d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28 Unarmed and gets 46." [1d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 53." [1d20=14]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 51." [1d20=12]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Tail and gets 51." [1d20=12]
> OOC: All hit.
<Muirfinn> OOC: AWESOME
<Muirfinn> roll 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 54." [5d10=6, 5, 8, 4, 3][2d6=1, 5]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 64." [5d10=6, 7, 2, 8, 8][2d6=5, 6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 68." [5d10=9, 7, 5, 5, 9][2d6=6, 5]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 56." [5d10=9, 3, 9, 2, 6][2d6=4, 1]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 47." [5d10=3, 3, 9, 1, 2][2d6=2, 5]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw) and gets 40." [4d6=2, 6, 3, 3][2d6=2, 2]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw) and gets 48." [4d6=4, 4, 6, 4][2d6=5, 3]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap) and gets 45." [4d6=5, 5, 1, 4]
> roll 54+64+68+56+47+40+48+45
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 54+64+68+56+47+40+48+45 and gets 422."
> Muirfinn strikes out! Claws rip vrocks apart, with a nalfeshnee being battered into paste by his feetstrikes. A rutterkin is tail-flicked into a charging hezrou, both of them exploding into icy gibblets! Over a dozen demons are utterly slaughtered to the last, others beaten, wounded or knocked back! The entire army is momentarily held at check!  The arena cracks all over, resonating with the force of the blows! Little shards of glass rain down in the aftermath! OOC: Antenora's next.
> Antenora is again a blur, striking like the wind at her nalfeshnee attackers below her!
> roll 1d20+31 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), -20 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), -20 PA) and gets 45." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+31 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), -20 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), -20 PA) and gets 40." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20+40 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +14 furious strike, -20 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +14 furious strike, -20 PA) and gets 46." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+35 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +14 furious strike, -20 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +14 furious strike, -20 PA) and gets 48." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+29 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +13 smite evil, -20 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +13 smite evil, -20 PA) and gets 48." [1d20=19]
> roll 1d20+29 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +13 smite evil, -20 PA) crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 (+1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +1 haste (blinding speed), +13 smite evil, -20 PA) crit? and gets 33." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d8+86+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+86+4d6 and gets 101." [1d8=4][4d6=6, 3, 1, 1]
> roll 1d8+86+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+86+4d6 and gets 110." [1d8=4][4d6=6, 4, 4, 6]
> roll 1d8+86+4d6+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+86+4d6+7d6 and gets 132." [1d8=4][4d6=1, 6, 6, 5][7d6=4, 3, 3, 5, 3, 4, 2]
> roll 1d8+86+4d6+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+86+4d6+7d6 and gets 123." [1d8=2][4d6=2, 1, 1, 2][7d6=4, 6, 6, 3, 5, 2, 3]
> roll 3d8+345+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d8+345+4d6 and gets 377." [3d8=5, 8, 3][4d6=1, 5, 6, 4]
> What follows are blows that impale the three demons as one. Antenora skewers them together in one swift circle, before plunging down into the army! The nalfeshee explode in white and opal energies, the impact like a meteor in the ranks of the already reeling demons. Another dozen are obliterated and many more are tossed about in a daze. Several demons are down and too injured to fight - what is left manages to collect itself enough to manage a hodge-podge charge at the duo! OOC: This provokes an AoO from both of you. Do you want to take it?
> roll 1d20+31 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 Antenora and gets 36." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d8+86+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+86+4d6 and gets 105." [1d8=3][4d6=2, 3, 5, 6]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44 I have combat reflexes, AoOs all day
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 I have combat reflexes, AoOs all day and gets 50." [1d20=6]
> OOC: Hits.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 28." [4d8=1, 3, 6, 1]
> As one the two strike! Antenora impales a trio of attered demons, tossing them towards Mandalos! They bounce off the shield and dissipate, while Muirfinn slams his foot down! The shockwaves crack the arena all over, parts of it falling away entirely! A wounded vrock can barely squawk as its crushed underfoot, utterly annihilated! No attacks reach the duo, the army broken and in utter disarray! OOC: Mandalos is up. Army has some survivors and the dazed, but it's finished as any sort of factor now.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Mandalos(28 ff, ua, pa)>Muirfinn(27)>Antenora(20)'
> Mandalos stays where he is, mouth opening wider. From it comes a tidal wave of black air, spreading about all over in a gust of hurricane winds! OOC: Fort you two. This is a disease effect. Immunity doesn't sotp it but you get a +10 bonus on the save if you're immune.
> roll 1d20+46 Antenora's immune, also mettle
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+46 Antenora's immune, also mettle and gets 58." [1d20=12]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6+10
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+36+6+10 and gets 71." [1d20=19]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Owned.
> The fog settled in, a breath of darkness. But before Muirfinn it turns to snow, falling harmlessly to the ground. Pure opan light radiates from Antenora, negating the darkness. "So be it," Antenora throws that back at Mandalos, "I will mourn for you - briefly. Then be forgotten by all Creation!" OOC: Muirfinn, you're up. Go.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Two rounds or three since round 1? I think it's been 2
> The balor looks on with a widening grin, "Bring forth your fury! The glory I will claim with both your heads only grows greater by the moment!"
> OOC: Yes.
<Muirfinn> OOC: He still 100some feet away?
> OOC: Yes.
* Muirfinn swoops in, clearly ignoring the warnings and snapping out his jaws to take an unpleasant bite of the balor! OOC: Moving within 30 ft and biting, hoping to avoid AoO.
> OOC: Okay. Go for it.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 45." [1d20=1]
> Muirfinn bites out - but the field around him is completely unyielding! It doesn't give at all! Meanwhile Antenora flies back up 40ft, channeling the ability to shatter magic once more.
> roll 1d20+29 vs ff
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 vs ff and gets 48." [1d20=19]
> roll 1d20+29 vs ua
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 vs ua and gets 31." [1d20=2]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Mandalos(28 ua, pa)>Muirfinn(27)>Antenora(20)'
> The rectangle of force cracks and vanishes, Muirfinn's mouth snapping shut now that it's gone. OOC: Mandalos is up now.
> "Hah! Even stronger than I thought!" The tongues of the demon rise up, sharpening into the form of blades! The fires around the demon burn hotter, leaping up above it. Its body swells, throbbing with yet more power! OOC: Okay. Muirfinn's up, go.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Mandalos(28 ua, pa, am)>Muirfinn(27)>Antenora(20)'
<Muirfinn> Another bite! "You are not strong enough, demon."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 61." [1d20=17]
> OOC: This time you hit. Damage.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 35." [4d8=2, 7, 4, 5]
> OOC: Fort save. This is a disease effect. Immunity doesn't stop it but you get a +10 bonus on the save if you're immune.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6+10
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+36+6+10 and gets 56." [1d20=4]
> Muirfinn bites down hard! The demon thrashes against it, its skin hard to penetrate. But he draws blood, a truly vile taste filling his maw. I tmakes him want to vomit and die, but his strength of fortitude resists! OOC: That it or was there anything more, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: gonna let him close with me
> OOC: Okay.
> Then, like a bolt, Antenora charges in from above, spear aimed at the demon's mouth. She's a blur of speed, charging in with all she has at it!
> roll 1d20+55 (+2 charge, +1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, call to judgement, +1 haste(blinding speed, -25 PA)
-> [Hatbot] PING
-castleheck.tx.us.lunarnet.org:@#dunes- Kotono invited Serith into the channel.
* Serith (~iron_drag@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
* Hatbot was kicked by Kotono (Out, ye lagbot.)
> roll 1d20+55 (+2 charge, +1 flying, +4 fiend dread, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, call to judgement, +1 haste(blinding speed, -25 PA)
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 67 > [d20=12]
> roll 3d8+564+4d6+7d6 plus dimensional anchor
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 617 > [d8=4,5,7][d6=5,3,2,5,2,3,6,3,3,3,2]
> The demon's head is impaled straight through, exploding in a shower of gore! But the tongues remain, connecting to the neck of the demon! It fights on, laughter sounding in your minds. Antenora's eyes widen at it, as the tongues rise up to strike at both Muirfinn and Antenora, covering the distance with ease! OOC: Unfortunately he has Dhalsim's trick.
> roll 1d20+50 tongue 1 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 57 > [d20=7]
> roll 1d20+45 tongue 1 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 53 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+40 tongue 1 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 50 > [d20=10]
> roll 1d20+35 tongue 1 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 37 > [d20=2]
> roll 1d20+50 tongue 2 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 63 > [d20=13]
> roll 1d20+45 tongue 2 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 60 > [d20=15]
> roll 1d20+40 tongue 2 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 48 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+35 tongue 2 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 47 > [d20=12]
<Muirfinn> OOC: AC 63!
> roll 1d20+50 tongue 3 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 58 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+45 tongue 3 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 60 > [d20=15]
> roll 1d20+40 tongue 3 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 52 > [d20=12]
> roll 1d20+35 tongue 3 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 43 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+50 tongue 4 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 63 > [d20=13]
> roll 1d20+45 tongue 4 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 56 > [d20=11]
> roll 1d20+40 tongue 4 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 42 > [d20=2]
> roll 1d20+35 tongue 4 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 39 > [d20=4]
> roll 1d20+50 tongue 5 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 66 > [d20=16]
> roll 1d20+45 tongue 5 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 62 > [d20=17]
> roll 1d20+40 tongue 5 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 42 > [d20=2]
> roll 1d20+35 tongue 5 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 44 > [d20=9]
> roll 1d20+50 tongue 6 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 69 > [d20=19]
> roll 1d20+45 tongue 6 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 52 > [d20=7]
> roll 1d20+40 tongue 6 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 41 > [d20=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: We have a winner!
> roll 1d20+35 tongue 6 Muirfinn
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 44 > [d20=9]
> OOC: Antenora takes 5 hits and Muirfinn takes 3 hits.
> roll 1d10+31+2d6-20 and these will provoke 5 fort saves from her. Doesn't beat her DR, though.
> roll 1d10+31+2d6-20 and these will provoke 5 fort saves from her. Doesn't beat her DR, though.
> roll 1d10+31+2d6-20 and these will provoke 5 fort saves from her. Doesn't beat her DR, though.
> roll 1d10+31+2d6-20 and these will provoke 5 fort saves from her. Doesn't beat her DR, though.
> roll 1d10+31+2d6-20 and these will provoke 5 fort saves from her. Doesn't beat her DR, though.
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 18 > [d10=3][d6=3,1]
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 20 > [d10=4][d6=4,1]
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 20 > [d10=4][d6=1,4]
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 25 > [d10=8][d6=1,5]
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 23 > [d10=7][d6=4,1]
> roll 18+20+20+25+23
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 106 >
> OOC: Any DR, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> ooc: nOPE
> roll 1d10+31+2d6 and make 3 fort saves. Immunity/+10 trade off from earlier applies
> roll 1d10+31+2d6 and make 3 fort saves. Immunity/+10 trade off from earlier applies
> roll 1d10+31+2d6 and make 3 fort saves. Immunity/+10 trade off from earlier applies
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 50 > [d10=10][d6=3,6]
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 45 > [d10=6][d6=3,5]
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 43 > [d10=7][d6=4,1]
> roll 1d20+50 (+10 immunity, +4 vs evil) Antenora save 1
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 58 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+50 (+10 immunity, +4 vs evil) Antenora save 2
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 64 > [d20=14]
> roll 1d20+50 (+10 immunity, +4 vs evil) Antenora save 3
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 67 > [d20=17]
> roll 1d20+50 (+10 immunity, +4 vs evil) Antenora save 4
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 70 > [d20=20]
> roll 1d20+50 (+10 immunity, +4 vs evil) Antenora save 4
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 62 > [d20=12]
> OOC: Fort saves, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6+10
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6+10
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6+10
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 65 > [d20=13]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 59 > [d20=7]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 57 > [d20=5]
> The tongues slice like swords! Antenora's slashed all over, a five-set of bloody wounds covering her. But none are deep, her body resisting the abuse. Muirfinn endures much the same, scaly hide bloodied but not broken! Mandalos's laughter echos in your ears! OOC: Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> With a brief dip of his wings, Muirfinn closes the remaining distance to the balor and smashes into him! Teeth gnash, claws clash, wings slash and tails bash! In the midst of all that, Muirfinn cries, "Could use some healing!"
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Tail
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 44 > [d20=1]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 51 > [d20=8]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 53 > [d20=15]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 53 > [d20=20]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 32 > [d20=4]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 59 > [d20=20]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 51 > [d20=12]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 50 > [d20=11]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 49 > [d20=10]
> OOC: Roll the crit threats.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Winging due to smashfestivus.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 crit threat
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 44 > [d20=11]
> OOC: The othe rone too.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 crit threat
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 52 > [d20=13]
> OOC: 5 hits and one crit. AC is 50 right now.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gimme a mo
> OOC: Sure.
<Muirfinn> roll 3#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#2d8+5+17 (Wing)
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 61, 70, 58 >
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 44, 35 >
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 31, 35 >
<Muirfinn> OOC: Mid is the crit
> The demon's body is already exposed and its head is gone. This is all Muirfinn nees, claws stabbing into both arms. With a meaty RIP he rips both away, then come back in to sever demon's legs off! The torso hangs in the air a moment before Muirfinn slams it down with a wing, followed by a draconic stomp! It's enough to crush what's left of the demon - and a moment later the world becomes one giant explosion! OOC: Ref, y'all.
> roll 1d20+36 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 53 > [d20=17]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28+6 evasion y'all
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 39 > [d20=5]
<Muirfinn> OOC: That was terrible
> OOC: Still made the DC.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yay!
> The blast shatters the arena and knocks Antenora back, while Muirfinn cannot dodge. So he merely presses down, warping the explosion so it misses him entirely! As the arena shatters, the air around you begins to twist once more! "We need to move!" Antenora calls, flying ahead at a dead sprint, but not before sending divine succor to the both of you! OOC: +80 healed, Muirfinn. Act.
* Muirfinn gives a powerful flap of his wings, air bending and breaking audibly around him with a thundering crack as he accelerates rapidly. He flies under Antenora, allowing her to latch on before taking off at top speed. OOC: Runnnnnnnn
> OOC: Speed?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 1160ft/round
<Muirfinn> OOC: So real goddamn fast
<Muirfinn> OOC: 131 mph
> With lightning speed and draconic wings, the two rush forward! Hands erupts from the disruption - thousands of hands, from the size of baby's fingers to big enough to grasp mountains! Yet Muirfinn is a hair faster, hand after hand falling away as he zooms past and away, leaving the distortion behind! OOC: We'll pause there, it's late and you escaped the trap.
<Muirfinn> OOC: 131.8181818181818 mph to be precise

> With lightning speed and draconic wings, the two rush forward! Hands erupts from the disruption - thousands of hands, from the size of baby's fingers to big enough to grasp mountains! Yet Muirfinn is a hair faster, hand after hand falling away as he zooms past and away, leaving the distortion behind! OOC: Go ahead and react now.
* Muirfinn pushes on ahead, manfully fleeing the weird reality behind him.
> OOC: First of all, did you add the +80 HP healing from divine succor as you fled? Also get in the #cauldron nag nag nag.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I had forgotten. It's done. Renag.
> Antenora holds on tight as you flee. She looks back as you do, the hands left behind, 'A power that be noticed us. Hopefully it was only Mandalos and not a demon lord or prince.' Antenora's gaze stays back. She meanwhile chants a healing prayer, "Queen of the Battlefield, guide me to the Weave of the Mother..." she prays. OOC: Heal, +150 HP restored to her.
<Muirfinn> "If it is, we will deal with it."
> Antenora smiles in spite of herself as you zoom along, "Good," she pats Muirfinn's scales as the two race along. OOC: More.
> roll 1d100
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 99 > [d100=99]
> OOC: Enough time to refresh your HP completely.
> On the party zips. You only fly for a moment or two before...
> roll 1d20+32 (+4 vs evil, -10 ???)
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 46 > [d20=14]
> You fly on for another ten minutes before you come to a segment of the wall riddled with fossils. The fossils are of huge beasts, long reduced to little more than decoration. No sign of more demons for now, only the endless chasm beneath you.
<Muirfinn> "This it?"
> "It should be," Antenora says, "Can you see past illusions? Fly around and look for an opening from a false wall."
* Muirfinn flies around slowly, peering at the wall carefully. OOC: Spot check or...?
> OOC: Spot, sure.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 49 > [d20=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Guh
> roll 1d100
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 80 > [d100=80]
> It takes some time - undisturbed time. But you find a gap in the wall where it's little more than illusion, a path leading to within.
<Muirfinn> "There," Muirfinn says, swooping toward the gap. "I see it."
> "Let's do this. Be ready for anything," Antenora warns, standing up on Muirfinn's back.
<Muirfinn> OOC: How big's this gap?
> OOC: About 30ft by 20ft.
* Muirfinn flies in close, carefully landing and entering the gap. OOC: I fits!
> The two pass through and in. Ahead is a large cavern. The air ahead is distorted and twisting - merely looking at it makes your heart rise into your throat. It's hard to breathe. You can't focus. The vision ahead makes you want to kneel down adn throw up. There's...something past it. You can't make out what from here.
> Antenora grimaces, "Whatever's ahead is repugnant."
* Muirfinn nods, baring teeth. "I cannot see through the miasma, but we will likely have a fight up ahead." He shrinks down, a pair of wands flying into his hand and a handful of spells are cast. "Thorns or a halo of sand, milady?"
> OOC: What are the mechanical benefits of those?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Halo is deflection +4, thorns deals damage to anyone striking +unarmed.
> Antenora shakes her head, "Save them for those that need them, but thank you anyway." OOC: To be clear, back in normal form?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes, cannot use spells or magic items with an activation trigger while shapeshifted
> OOC: Right.
* Muirfinn puts the wands away, casting a quick spell on himself and resuming draconic form. OOC: Owl's Wisdom go
<Muirfinn> "Let's head through, shall we?"
> "Hold," Antenora shakes her head, "I may be able to bring down the distortion ahead."
<Muirfinn> "By all means, than."
> Antenora looks ahead unblinkingly, "Weave, unravel!" she commands!
> roll 1d20+29
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 38 > [d20=9]
> The distortion ahead screams like a wounded child, righting itself into rational space! Ahead is a large fortress built into the side of the canyon. It is an impassive ediface that looms before you, the gates criss-crossed with bands of iron. Carved into the left gate is a smaller, normal sized door.
<Muirfinn> "Subtle or not?"
> Antenora hms a moment, "I doubt we'll catch them unawares," she admits, "But let us converse our strength. There's little point battering down the gates unless we have to. With that distortion as a warning, I wonder what lies within. An anti-soul laboratory...I shudder at the implications."
> *conserve
<Muirfinn> "Oh, I can likely bring down the doors without expending any of my personal energy."
<Muirfinn> "And it'll supply them with a large distraction."
<Muirfinn> "Emphasis on large." Muirfinn waggles scaly eyebrows.
> Antenora nods then, "If it's so easy then, do it. But be ready in case it unleashes something horrible." She stares ahead, bracing.
* Muirfinn nods, shrinking back down to tortle size! He flips a staff from his quiver, cracking it against the ground and growling in Terran. A moment later, four massive elementals surge from the canyon walls as though through water. "Bring down those walls and kill as many demons and abominations within as you can!" he shouts in Terran, and as one they go to work, gliding forward to strike the
* Muirfinn gate. OOC: Four charges expended. Unsubtle mode engaged. Four earth monoliths.
> OOC: Make CL checks on them?
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 32 > [d20=12]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 30 > [d20=10]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 34 > [d20=14]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 40 > [d20=20]
> The four elementals appear, towering in the cavern as the begin to ravage the front of the fortress!  They strike the gate as one! OOC: Roll damage on each.
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 48 > [d8=3,6,3,8,7,3]
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 41 > [d8=7,7,2,1,5,1]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 38 > [d8=3,5,1,7,1,3]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 41 > [d8=3,3,6,7,2,2]
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 37 > [d8=2,5,4,3,2,3]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 50 > [d8=2,8,8,3,8,3]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 43 > [d8=5,5,3,3,5,4]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 46 > [d8=6,6,2,7,6,1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yay full attack
> The gate before you cracks, shudders and breaks! Before you - gah! Pure emptiness is ahead, utter blackness that churns like the stormy ocean! You can see floating places within, impossible shapes that endlessly turn and twist. A screaming gray goo, stretched apart and forming a face forever screaming. An elephant's head tugged apart by hooks, an empty and exposed eye dripping silvery liquid that is collected in a basin below. Dozens of hanging bodies, limp and sobbing as they rot before your eyes. You only have a chance to glance before...OOC: Str, all of you.
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 20 > [d20=11]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+7
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 26 > [d20=19]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Good time for that
> OOC: Yes. Roll for the elementals.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Dur
<Muirfinn> roll 4#1d20+18
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 23, 23, 23, 22 >
<Muirfinn> OOC: Wow
<Muirfinn> OOC: Those are TERRIBLE
> The elementals are pulled in, stretching before your eyes! They're spread out like putty, screaming as hooks appear from nowhere to spread them further. Meanwhile Antenora and Muirfinn are able to brace themselves, staying put despite the suction.
> OOC: Gah
<Muirfinn> OOC: But they scored higher than Antenora!
> OOC: Distance. Y'all are farther back so less suction.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I mean, I'm not arguing.
> The elementals are pulled in, stretching before your eyes! They're spread out like putty, screaming as hooks appear from nowhere to spread them further. Meanwhile Antenora and Muirfinn are able to brace themselves, staying put despite the suction. "Muirfinn," Antenora shouts over the din, befor switching to telepathy, 'The stretched face and what's happening to the elementals - it's directly twisting their souls.'
<Muirfinn> "Oh. Well. That won't do at all." Muirfinn says, peering intently at the face. OOC: How far is it?
> OOC: You're about 50ft away from the source of the vacuum. It's in there somewhere, hard to see. Also standing here may not be stable as suction. May want to do something about that.
* Muirfinn intones a word in Terran, causing the ground before them to rise up and grant them six feet of cover from the vortex. OOC: Stone Shape
<Muirfinn> OOC: That work for a temporary barrier?
> The barrier appears, providing defense against the suction. Antenora kneels before it, "Any ideas?" OOC: Yes.
<Muirfinn> "Well, I thought I'd hurl rocks and things at it until it dies." Muirfinn says, pointing over the barrier as a trio of boulders appear, streaking into the vortex to smash into the stretched screaming face. OOC: Bombardment whee
<Muirfinn> OOC: It have SR>?
> OOC: The vortex? No. What's the spell do?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Deals damage in a 15 foot radius
> The boulders appear and are sucked into the vortex! They rapidly expand and flatten, before exploding into shards that stretch out! This pattern repeats and repeats as they get sucked deeper in, becoming a storm of incredibly flat and stretched out stones.
* Muirfinn frowns. "Well that's not going to work."
> "What is..." Antenora peeks over and mutters, "Is he trying to use distortions to stretch souls out like that? That doesn't make sense. Souls aren't manipulatable by physical forces. There's more to that anomaly than just that."
<Muirfinn> "Right! Magic! Can you dispel the vortex? I can try to control it, but that'll take a bit of time."
> Antenora nods and peeks out, holding on tight as she focuses! "Begone, nightmare!" she cries out, words sucked into the vortex as...
> roll 1d20+29
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 37 > [d20=8]
> But nothing happens, the vortex still howling! "But there's still no demons...are there any demons ahead at all?" Antenora mutters, "Or is this too much for even them to endure?"
* Muirfinn begins muttering words in Auran, wind flowing from nothing to push counter against the pull of the vortex. before long a great whipping gale force arrives to rail against the power of the vortex. OOC: Greater Whirlwind, in an effort to negate the vortex.
<Muirfinn> "Not sure! Perhaps the thing consumed whatever was using it!"
> OOC: Link me.
> OOC: Where exactly are you placing it?
<Muirfinn> OOC: At the edge of the disturbance, like it's standing on the entry to the void.
> OOC: Okay.
> A great whirlwind appears! The two forces clash, for a moment bringing an unearthly calm to everything. Then the distortion ahead shifts! The wall all around it and the fortress crumbles, the greater whirlwind breaking apart and stretching dozens of times. Ahead of you is a large, pulsing mass of spinning distortion, hundreds and hundreds of stretched souls within. Within it a pair of red eyes appear, "Too late, much too late," it chides, "The anti-soul experiments are a success! I have broken down the laws of spirits!" The voice is a howling laugh, "Synethesis and replication of souls is possible by endlessly breaking them into smaller pieces. When they go below the minimum possible size, they become the opposite of souls - howling nothingness. Emptiness. A complete break in awareness!"
<Muirfinn> "Not good." Muirfinn hunkers down. "Any ideas?"
> "This abomination is a mockery of a plane! Muirfinn, planes absorb the souls of many who die and come to them, yes? This is the process in reverse. Instead of becoming one with them, they are forever aparty and empty, feeding a single awareness connected to it all." Antenora looks to Muirfinn, face calm now. "We fight. This cannot be allowed."
<Muirfinn> "Of course we fight." Muirfinn says. "We need a plan, though, because just throwing ourselves at it will probably only result in losing our souls."

> "We need a way to separate them." Antenora responds, the winds howling against your barrier. "Direct harm may or may not be capable of it. If not, we need to get creative." As she says that, the storm outside intensifies! OOC: Init. The baddie's starting to move.
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 Antenora and gets 22." [1d20=13]
* Muirfinn taps his beak. "I can be creative. Probably."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12 and gets 28." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+8 Yesthalae
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 Yesthalae and gets 14." [1d20=6]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(28)>Antenora(22)>Yesthalae(14)'
> OOC: Open Muirfinn. The storm's raging about 50ft from you.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Does this thing have any kind of corporeal form, or is it just wind and hate?
> OOC: It looks like a pulsing whirlwind of spinning distortion made of hundreds of stretched souls. It also has red eyes in there. So not terribly, no.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Grand.
* Ebiris (Ebiris@cpc9-sgyl30-2-0-cust73.sgyl.cable.virginm.net) Quit (Quit: )
<Muirfinn> "Well, let's try this again." Muirfinn says, concentrating on stopping the whirling winds. OOC: Control Winds, will link
> OOC: Make a quick caster level check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 41." [1d20=19]
> Muirfinn calls on the power to control wind itself! The whirlwind slows down, the tremendous winds down to a breeze! The howling din lessens into a confused groan of pain! At this Antenora rises, wind whipping in the breeze as she untangles a rope from her belt. She grabs it and tosses it right at the stilled whirlwind!
> roll 1d20+38 touch AC
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 touch AC and gets 45." [1d20=7]
> The rope becomes bands of opal light that wrap around the storm. Despite being little more than wind and hate, it binds the creature tightly! "This isn't part of the experiment!" the voice of the whirlwind screams, "Explain yourselves! EXPLAIN!" At it howls, it struggles against the bonds - but nothing happens! OOC: Can't make the check to escape while control winded. Go Muirfinn.
> "It's corporeal while held by the rope," Antenora says, "It should be vulnerable."
<Muirfinn> OOC: Control Winds lasts 220 mins, fyi
> OOC: Noted.
<Muirfinn> "Well." Muirfinn says, shifting once more into dragon form. "That's much better."
> OOC: Doing anything but shifting
> ?
<Muirfinn> With a quick snort, a blast of ice and snow hurls itself from Muirfinn's maw!
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 cold
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 cold and gets 79." [22d6=5, 3, 2, 2, 6, 2, 3, 5, 5, 1, 4, 3, 6, 2, 3, 4, 1, 4, 6, 4, 2, 6]
> The demon-whirlwind is unable to dodge, blasted heartily by Muirfinn's cold. Ice rims it all over, the eyes widening at the blast. At this Antenora gestures, "Be torn apart, demon!" A blast of holy energy gathers within the whirlwind, exploding out from it!
> roll 1d20+29 vs SR
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 vs SR and gets 49." [1d20=20]
> roll 20d8
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d8 and gets 100." [20d8=4, 4, 8, 4, 2, 5, 8, 7, 1, 3, 4, 7, 1, 3, 8, 7, 5, 5, 6, 8]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Woo!
> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20  and gets 35." [1d20=15]
> The detonation of holy power hits the whirlwind, causing it to glow with opal light as a few of the stretched souls are torn free. Icy winds crack apart as they escape, flying away just as fast as Muirfinn's eye can follow them. OOC: It still can't effectively act. Go Muirfinn.
> OOC: Roll your d4 on breath.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 and gets 3." [1d4=3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: My brain just automatically assumes it'll be 4 rounds >_>
> OOC: Right. Anyway, act.
* Muirfinn lumbers forward, jaws snatching out at the frozen winds as he loses into melee. OOC: Just the bite, alas no full attack. Too far awaaaayyyyy
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 47." [1d20=3]
> OOC: hit.
> OOC: Hit, even.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 counts as magiccc
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 counts as magiccc and gets 39." [4d8=1, 8, 6, 7]
> The bite tears into the whirlwind, ripping it apart like airy flesh. Another soul escapes as Muirfinn chomps away part. At this Antenora rises, spear glowing with power as she screams wordlessly and charges the abomination before you.
> roll 1d20+48 (+1 haste, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, +4 fiend dread, divine retribution, -29 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+48 (+1 haste, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, +4 fiend dread, divine retribution, -29 PA) and gets 56." [1d20=8]
> roll 3d8+600+7d6+4d6+20d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d8+600+7d6+4d6+20d6 and gets 721." [3d8=7, 3, 7][7d6=4, 4, 5, 4, 1, 2, 4][4d6=4, 6, 4, 2][20d6=1, 6, 4, 6, 4, 4, 5, 1, 1, 1, 3, 1, 5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 2, 1, 1]
> The charge slams right into the center of the whirlwind. Already frozen over and bitten open, the spear plunges right in. Opal light floods the entire whirlwind as it explodes out, souls escaping all around you. The scream of the demon fades into nothingness, the breeze dying down as absolute stillness fills the air. OOC: Free act. That's one boss fight that got completely shut down.
* Muirfinn picks windstuff out of his teeth with a foreclaw, glancing around. "Nice hit."
> Antenora takes out a cloth and wipes her spear clean, then goes to gather up her rope. "So many foes can do horrible things if allowed to persist. Better to wipe them away in one overwhelming assault." There's nothing unusual now - the entire cave is still and silent.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Nothing left, not even the lab?
> OOC: Just the ruins of it. It crumbled in the whirlwind.
<Muirfinn> Like any decent and wholesome dragon, Muirfinn pokes around the ruins of the lab for shiny valuables!
> OOC: Search check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+13 True Seeing ACTIVE
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+13 True Seeing ACTIVE and gets 23." [1d20=10]
> The place is rather ruined. You begin to poke through it - but you don't have much time. Antenora whirls around and calls, "Muirfinn!"
* Muirfinn looks up. "Yes?
<Muirfinn> :
<Muirfinn> :
<Muirfinn> "
<Muirfinn> OOC: GOD DAMMIT
> Antenora's looking back the way you came. Outside you see demons. Hundreds of demons, blotting out anything but great hordes of them. Thousands of sets of eyes stare at the two, a moment of absolute silence as eyes meet multitudes of eyes.
<Muirfinn> "Oh."
<Muirfinn> "That. That's a small problem."
> OOC: Both of you have one action before all Abyss breaks loose. Use it how you please.
* Muirfinn shrinks down to tortle-shape. "Soooo...Time Stop!"
> OOC: Casting Time Stop? Roll it.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4+1
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4+1 and gets 3." [1d4=2]
> OOC: 3 rounds. Use it as you see fit.
* Muirfinn takes a brief moment to look around. OOC: The gap to get in here is rather large, yes? Can we Gate out of here?
> The exit out is completely clogged with demons. There's space ahead and around and behind, though. 50ft before the ruins about 50ft ahead before the exit and the demon horde.
<Muirfinn> OOC: And can we only Gate out at the designated points?
> OOC: Well, it was known that the lab and surrounding area was warded.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Faaaaantastic.
* Muirfinn uses the remaining rounds to summon greater storm elementals! OOC: Burning 2 remaining 9th level slots for SNA IX
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4+1
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4+1
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4+1 and gets 2." [1d4=1]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4+1 and gets 5." [1d4=4]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Seven!
> OOC: Where are they appearing?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Mouth of the cave, giving us time and using their AOE immediately
> OOC: Okay. More coming.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Will roll damage whenever you're ready for it
* Muirfinn shifts back into dragon form as time speeds back up!
> Time slows down as Muirfinn becomes faster. With a gesture, seven storm elementals appear, back to back to back! They all appear and...OOC: Act for them. Also sec on my end. Resolve the damage and note any DCs. Note that demons are immune to electricity so don't bother rolling that.
<Muirfinn> roll 7#10d6 sonic, nice way to say hello
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 7#10d6 sonic, nice way to say hello and gets 264." [7#10d6 = 44, 41, 37, 36, 39, 31, 36]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Fort 28 for half
<Muirfinn> The elementals immediately explode with thunder and lightning, the air visibly warping with the immense crack of noise!
> roll 1d20+18 fort
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+18 fort and gets 31." [1d20=13]
> The massive horde of demons is blasted! A rutterkin is torn apart messily, while a vrock's head explodes. A hezrou falls screaming and clutching at its bleeding ears while a namless horror stumbles back, eyes popping like grapes. OOC: Antenora's going now.
> Antenora is forward like a dart, "For Sylica!" she declares, charging into the battered front of the demon army, before they can regroup or react.
> roll 1d20+48 (+1 haste, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, +4 fiend dread, divine retribution, -29 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+48 (+1 haste, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, +4 fiend dread, divine retribution, -29 PA) and gets 51." [1d20=3]
> roll 3d8+600+7d6+4d6+20d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d8+600+7d6+4d6+20d6 and gets 730." [3d8=4, 1, 8][7d6=5, 3, 3, 6, 4, 3, 2][4d6=6, 2, 4, 5][20d6=5, 4, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 2, 1, 4, 4, 5, 6, 2, 6, 4, 5, 1, 4, 5]
> Antenora flies through the stormy clouds and din without blinking, diving headlong into the demon's ranks. A dozen are skewered at once, exploding into holy light one after another. Others explode as holy smites detonate amid them, over a hundred demons slaughtered between elementals and Antenora's charge. The way ahead is cleared 15ft, but yet only more demons can be seen. "Hold nothing back, Muirfinn!' she calls. OOC: Init here. There be a shiiiitload of demons. For the sake of ease, just roll the elementals as one block since they all have the same init.
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 Antenora and gets 15." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+6 demon army
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 demon army and gets 8." [1d20=2]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Antenora(15)>Demon Army(8)'
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12 and gets 30." [1d20=18]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(30)>Antenora(15)>Demon Army(8)'
<Muirfinn> OOC: according to rules, eementals act on my turn
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn=Elementals(30)>Antenora(15)>Demon Army(8)'
> OOC: Okay.
> OOC: Go Murifinn.
* Muirfinn makes a gesture and sings a few words in Celestial. As the words peter off, rose petals begin to rain upon the mouth of the cave, falling on the demons. OOC: Rain of Roses. I love this spell. No save. Rolling SR.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 41." [1d20=19]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Oh hello 19
> roll 1d20+18 fort vs the sickening go roll the wis damage
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+18 fort vs the sickening go roll the wis damage and gets 22." [1d20=4]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Your roll is insufficient.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4 wis damage to anything evil
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 wis damage to anything evil and gets 3." [1d4=3]
> Red roses come down like rain, slashing through the evil demons assembled. They are stuck and pierced all over, demon after demon growing sick and dazed from the assault! OOC: 3 wis damage. Ow. Elementals
> .
<Muirfinn> roll 7#10d6 fort save 28 sonic
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 7#10d6 fort save 28 sonic and gets 240." [7#10d6 = 44, 34, 33, 33, 39, 30, 27]
> roll 1d20+16 demon army (-2 sickened)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+16 demon army (-2 sickened) and gets 34." [1d20=18]
> roll 1d20+36 mettle Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 mettle Antenora and gets 40." [1d20=4]
> More thunderbolts and lightning devastates the demons. They are knocked back even more from it, another few dozen popping from the assault. They simply burst from too much sonic force, exploding out like grapes. Everything around is drenched in gore and viscera, demons dying faster than you can count. Antenora glows amid them, untouched as she wades into the enemies and strikes.
> roll 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like) and gets 41." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like) and gets 56." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+35 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like) and gets 55." [1d20=20]
> roll 1d20+35 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like) crit threat?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like) crit threat? and gets 46." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+43 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like, +13 furious strike)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+43 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -10 PA, will use one swift to quick-cast death ward to prevent level draining shenanigans or the like, +13 furious strike) and gets 57." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+25 final
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+25 final and gets 34." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d8+54+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+54+4d6 and gets 75." [1d8=6][4d6=5, 1, 6, 3]
> roll 3d8+162+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d8+162+4d6 and gets 187." [3d8=2, 8, 5][4d6=2, 4, 3, 1]
> roll 1d8+54+4d6+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+54+4d6+7d6 and gets 93." [1d8=2][4d6=2, 4, 5, 4][7d6=5, 6, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3]
> roll 1d8+54+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+54+4d6 and gets 73." [1d8=1][4d6=5, 4, 6, 3]
> Yet more demons are skewered! A marilith is impaled and used to beat a pair of fat, bloated fiery fiends to death. Then she whirls around and caves the skull in of another dazed dretch, all before bursts of light incinerate a kelvezu and a dozen other nameless, shapeless horrors with it. For the merest moment you have peace, before the army rallies and charges in, the world exploding in burst after burst of unholy power and elemental might! OOC: Army's up. Do the elementals have SR or anything?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Nope!
> roll 1d20+22 vs SR 42
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 vs SR 42 and gets 36." [1d20=14]
> roll 20d6 unholy fire damage vs elementals, make ref elementals
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d6 unholy fire damage vs elementals, make ref elementals and gets 66." [20d6=3, 4, 1, 6, 1, 5, 4, 6, 2, 1, 3, 2, 5, 3, 2, 3, 5, 2, 6, 2]
<Muirfinn> OOC: They have DR 10!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+14
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+14 and gets 18." [1d20=4]
> OOC: 66 damage to all of them. Are they still breathing?
<Muirfinn> OOC: And ready to explode again
> A great blast of unholy black fire consumes all in front of the demons! Antenora isn't touched, the flames vanishing when they get within 7 feet of her. The elementals are scorched, tinted black b y the blast of unholy power! Then the full might of the demons gazes on you, countless eyes staring at the party! OOC: Will save. This is mind-affecting and fear. Antenora's immune to fear so no save, and I'm pretty sure Muirfinn is too. Elementals probably need will, though.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'm fine
> OOC: Right. Roll will for the elementals unless they're immune.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+7 elementals was checking for immunity
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+7 elementals was checking for immunity and gets 11." [1d20=4]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Aaaaand off they go
> OOC: Elementals are panicked. See the SRD.
<Muirfinn> OOC: You emoting it or shall I?
> Raw fear crackles through, sending the elementals into a panicked tizzy! Then a great tidal wave of frozen water and ice erupts out, slamming through all! OOC: Ref all. Note if you have evasion. More's still coming, Yuth.
> roll 1d20+36 immune to cold damage Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 immune to cold damage Antenora and gets 54." [1d20=18]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Is that a water effect or a cold effect?
> OOC: Cold and water. Bonuses against either applies.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Immune to water effects
> OOC: Okay. Roll for the elementals.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+14 elementals
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+14 elementals and gets 28." [1d20=14]
> roll 15d10 cold damage half elementals only
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 15d10 cold damage half elementals only and gets 72." [15d10=5, 2, 1, 7, 3, 6, 7, 6, 5, 6, 5, 8, 2, 2, 7]
> OOC: Elementals still kicking?
<Muirfinn> OOC: YUP
> The great wave passes over the party! Antenora endures and stands unbowed, while the elementals are flash-frozen! They hold their ground, frigid but alive. Muirfinn merely parts the wave by raising his hand, water not daring to strike him! All around you the stone becomes ice, strange patterns and dark sigils appearing as it forms. Then greasy blackness envelopes everything far and wide, a massive unholy blight of a hundred demons slamming down on all!
> roll 1d20+22 SR vs 42 for Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 SR vs 42 for Antenora and gets 37." [1d20=15]
> OOC: Will, elementals and Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+7 elements
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+7 elements and gets 23." [1d20=16]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+37
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+37 and gets 55." [1d20=18]
> roll 10d8 elementals full
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 10d8 elementals full and gets 41." [10d8=3, 5, 3, 6, 1, 7, 2, 8, 5, 1]
> roll 20d6 Muirfinn half
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d6 Muirfinn half and gets 62." [20d6=2, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 5, 4, 4, 1, 1, 6, 1, 5, 5, 1, 5, 2, 4, 1]
> OOC: Elementals still up?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep
> This time the darkness gnaws at all like hungry teeth. Muirfinn endures with patience borne of long battles, fending off the worst of it. The elementals are devoured by it, further torn apart by the hungry darkness. Yet Antenora still shines amid all the demons, the darkness not touching her. At this the great horde crashes forward - no more magic, instead countless attacks falling on the elementals and Antenora!
> roll 1d20+21 Elementals
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+21 Elementals and gets 30." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20+13 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+13 Antenora and gets 21." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+8 Elementals
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 Elementals and gets 14." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+30 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 Antenora and gets 42." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20+23 Elementals
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+23 Elementals and gets 34." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+14 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+14 Antenora and gets 27." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+11 Elementals
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+11 Elementals and gets 27." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+30 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 Antenora and gets 45." [1d20=15]
> roll 1d20+4 Elementas
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+4 Elementas and gets 11." [1d20=7]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Elemental AC 22
> roll 1d20+19 antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+19 antenora and gets 36." [1d20=17]
> roll 1d20+12 Elementals
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12 Elementals and gets 25." [1d20=13]
> OOC: Noted.
> roll 1d10+9+3d6+19+2d12+12+1d10+11+2d6+4d6+3d6+2d8+1d4+5d4 elementals ow
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d10+9+3d6+19+2d12+12+1d10+11+2d6+4d6+3d6+2d8+1d4+5d4 elementals ow and gets 139." [1d10=8][3d6=3, 1, 1][2d12=8, 4][1d10=5][2d6=2, 5][4d6=6, 1, 2, 1][3d6=5, 6, 3][2d8=5, 3][1d4=4][5d4=4, 4, 3, 2, 2]
> OOC: -10 for DR for a total of -40 from those four attacks. The dice at the end are addon sources of damage.
<Muirfinn> OOC: NOW they're toast
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(30)>Antenora(15)>Demon Army(8)'
> Utter chaos erupts. Antenora is surrounded and fending off countless horrors, while the elementals are swarmed under! They're torn apart and the way to Muirfinn is open! Slavering demon-heads lunge for him, while massive claws try to grab him and dozens of centaur like, armored demons charge him as one! OOC: Muirfinn, you're up.
<Muirfinn> "Well." Muirfinn says, shifting back to dragon form. "This is all quite rude." OOC: What's their distance?
> OOC: 20ft away adn closing.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Do I get AoOs?
> OOC: No, you just tranformed. If they're moving in on their next turn, yes.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Okay.
* Muirfinn lashes out with sudden and brutal violence!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Tail
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 57." [1d20=14]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 55." [1d20=12]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+38 Unarmed and gets 42." [1d20=4]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 Unarmed and gets 53." [1d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28 Unarmed and gets 31." [1d20=3]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 46." [1d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 55." [1d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 50." [1d20=11]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 51." [1d20=12]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Tail and gets 55." [1d20=16]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 to confirm crit
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 to confirm crit and gets 50." [1d20=17]
> OOC: All hits. They're quantity, not AC.
<Muirfinn> OOC: OHHH BOY
<Muirfinn> roll 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed crit)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#2d8+5+17 (Wing)
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 235." [4#5d10+5+17+2d6 = 53, 70, 61, 51]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed crit) and gets 96." [2#5d10+5+17+2d6 = 49, 47]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw) and gets 88." [2#4d6+5+17+2d6 = 36, 52]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#2d8+5+17 (Wing) and gets 60." [2#2d8+5+17 = 29, 31]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap) and gets 42." [4d6=6, 2, 2, 2]
> The demon detachment that charges Muirfinn is decimanted. A bite devours a dozen of the riders whole, while his blows and tail shatter the charging abominations that attempt to lay him low! In a second, several dozen demons are naught but ash on the wind, the dragon standing triumphant! Meanwhile Antenora suddenly dives back, the way cleared by Muirfinn's massacre, before she dives headlong into the demons once more with a shout!
> roll 1d20+48 (+1 haste, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, +4 fiend dread, divine retribution, -29 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+48 (+1 haste, +13 smite evil, +14 furious strike, +4 fiend dread, divine retribution, -29 PA) and gets 49." [1d20=1]
> Antenora plunges into the depths, but this time a wall of demons stops her! Darkness and eyes spread out all over, her spear plunging into an inky abyss rather than any demons! Then the demons advance towards her, becoming nothing but inky darkness! A massive tidal wave of black comes for both Antenora and Muirfinn! OOC: Ref you two.
> roll 1d20+36 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 Antenora and gets 50." [1d20=14]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+36+6 and gets 60." [1d20=18]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Evasion
> roll 40d6 halve this Antenora Muirfinn evades
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 40d6 halve this Antenora Muirfinn evades and gets 130."]
> The demons blur together and become a massive tidal wave! It pushes the both of you back in the cave, landing amid the ruins! All around you is darkness, full of eyes and leering faces, ever shifting! From it steps out a trio. The first is dressed in an immaculate white military uniform full of medals and decorations. He carries a metal baton and wears a close-fitting, matching cap. His skin is dark purple and smooth, his gaze scornful. On his right is a grinning, leering creature at least a dozen feet tall, all muscle and with six arms. It is nude save for hundreds of rusty metal piercings driven into its body. On his left is a sneering, tremendously fat nalfeshnee. It carries a thorn-laden whip with it. They stand 30ft away. The uniformed man claps once, "I thought I smelled a devil whore," he says coldly, "Whatever she offered you to serve was too little, tortle." His face stays distant and controlled, yet a hint of disdain comes to it. "My army of ten thousand demons does not seem likely to be sufficient against a real enemy, so I'll claim your souls personally."
* Muirfinn responds by bathing them in permafrost.
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 cold fort 30
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 cold fort 30 and gets 84." [22d6=5, 3, 5, 6, 2, 1, 5, 4, 2, 6, 4, 1, 6, 2, 2, 5, 3, 5, 4, 5, 2, 6]
> OOC: That'll nicely cut off repartee. Roll init, this is technically a new encounter.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Reflex
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12 and gets 18." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 Antenora and gets 14." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+6 black demon army
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 black demon army and gets 15." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20+10 uniformed demon
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 uniformed demon and gets 16." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+8 six armed demon
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 six armed demon and gets 13." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+17 nalfeshnee
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 nalfeshnee and gets 21." [1d20=4]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Whip Nalfeshnee(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)>Six Armed Demon(13)'
> Before anyone else can strike, the nalfeshnee snaps its whip at Muirfinn! As it does, "Surrender your soul, dragon! Your judgment is here!"
> roll 1d20+41
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+41  and gets 46." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+36
> roll 1d20+31
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 and gets 44." [1d20=8]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 and gets 46." [1d20=15]
> roll 1d20+26
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+26 and gets 34." [1d20=8]
> OOC: AC?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Not even close. 72.
> But the lashes bounce off Muirfinn's scales! The thorns fail to even scratch them in the least! The demon snarls as Muirfinn's mind is suddenly clouded. OOC: Immune to mind-affecting?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yup!
> But nothing happens! Muirfinn shakes it off! OOC: Go.
> "Repent or be wiped from Creation!" Antenora declares, wiping her brow of a wrinkled, deformed cut. Blood trickles down her face from it, down her nose and both sides of her mouth.
> "You can't be serious," The uniformed man scowls, "No. All you are good for is currency. Your souls will buy me millions of demons and thralls. The violations of your spirits will be the entertainment of the demon lords. This victory will be a military conquest written about for ages. But you...you are good for nothing but that, both of you!"
* Muirfinn stares at the nalfeshnee. "Your efforts and skill are insufficient. You cannot harm me. Turn and leave. This is the only quarter I will grant you."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+40 diplo check that's right diplo check
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+40 diplo check that's right diplo check and gets 55." [1d20=15]
> OOC: That would be an intimidation check if anything.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+14
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+14 and gets 26." [1d20=12]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Significantly less impressive!
> The demon does not seem the slightest bit phased. He meets Muirfinn's glare without the slightest fear at all. OOC: He's also immune to fear, which shuts down intimidation. Anything else this round?
<Muirfinn> "Very well. Know that I gave you a choice."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44 bite
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 bite and gets 60." [1d20=16]
> OOC: hit.
> OOC: Hit, even.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 counts as magic
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 counts as magic and gets 27." [4d8=1, 1, 7, 1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Oh wow hatbot

> Muirfinn leans in, chomping down at the demon. He catches its arm and bites hard, tearing into the unholy, toughened flesh. Lines of frost ries through its veins in the aftermath, the cold of the bite spreading throughout it. As this happens...OOC: Uniformed demon is up.
> "Die!" The uniformed demon gestures with its baton, waving it about frantically. The black demon army writhes all around you, dozens of weapons emerging from the dark flow. They assault both Muirfinn and Antenora like a storm, striking from every angle!
> roll 1d20+53 Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+53 Muirfinn and gets 57." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d20+53 Antenora AC, Muirfinn?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+53 Antenora AC, Muirfinn? and gets 56." [1d20=3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: 70-something
> roll 6d12+60 Antenora beats her DR
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 6d12+60 Antenora beats her DR and gets 106." [6d12=11, 10, 2, 6, 8, 9]
> The varied assaults bounce off Muirfinn's hide! Not a one can chip his augmented form, clanging like rain against a mountain! Meanwhile Antenora is battered by them, knocked around all over! Cuts and bruises show all over her body, as then the army breaks into chaos! The assault changes, becoming an unfocused hellstorm! OOC: Black army is up.
> roll 10#1d20 20-fishing, none of these have the bonus to hit on anything but, Muirfinn first
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 10#1d20 20-fishing, none of these have the bonus to hit on anything but, Muirfinn first and gets 116." [10#1d20 = 1, 2, 7, 10, 17, 19, 15, 20, 20, 5]
> roll 1d20 crit confirm 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 crit confirm 1 and gets 12." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20 crit confirm 2
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 crit confirm 2 and gets 2." [1d20=2]
> roll 2d12+14
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d12+14 and gets 25." [2d12=4, 7]
> roll 1d10+3+3d6 3d6 is SA if you negate precision damage
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d10+3+3d6 3d6 is SA if you negate precision damage and gets 24." [1d10=9][3d6=5, 2, 5]
> roll 10#1d20 20-fishing, none of these have the bonus to hit on anything but, Antenora next
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 10#1d20 20-fishing, none of these have the bonus to hit on anything but, Antenora next and gets 90." [10#1d20 = 17, 13, 16, 13, 5, 8, 6, 4, 5, 3]
> A rain of attacks come down, a wild assault that batters both! Antenora forces them away with a scream, glorious light causing the demons to howl and retreat back. Muirfinn is not so fortunate, battered and wounded from sheer weight of force. It's not enough to down him, but a few of his scales are cracked and blood r uns down his back. As this happens...OOC: Antenora's up.
> Energy flows into Muirfinn! His wounds heal as Antenora's wounds heal! She darts forward faster than the eye can follow, the army and the whip-demon both lashing at her as she charges to! OOC: Divine succor on both of you with her two swifts. +80 HP healing to both of you.
> roll 1d20 black army 20 fishing
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 black army 20 fishing and gets 5." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+41
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+41 and gets 52." [1d20=11]
> In a moment Antenora is -there-, spear going for the throat of the commander!
> roll 1d20+44 (+2 charge, +13 smite evil, +4 fiend dread, -20 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+2 charge, +13 smite evil, +4 fiend dread, -20 PA) and gets 51." [1d20=7]
> roll 3d8+519+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d8+519+4d6 and gets 535." [3d8=5, 6, 1][4d6=1, 1, 1, 1]
> In between the windup and impalement, the black army moves even faster! It imposes itself between the uniformed demon and the spear, taking the blow directly! The segment of it glows with opal light, dozens of demons exploding out into ash in all directions, like fireworks popping off! Dozens and dozens are utterly incinerated, yet when it clears, the uniformed demon is unharmed. He smirks and thwamps his baton into his palm, "Impressive and even more futile." OOC: Mr. Six-Arms is up.
> The strange creature with six arms spreads them wide. With a sneering grin it laughs, before striking the air before it! Reality itself blurs and shifts, the blows landing all around in defiance of all sense!
> roll 1d20+40 vs Muirfinn (-10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 vs Muirfinn (-10 PA) and gets 48." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+40 vs Antenora (-10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 vs Antenora (-10 PA) and gets 45." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+40 vs Muirfinn (-10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 vs Muirfinn (-10 PA) and gets 56." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+40 vs Antenora (-10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 vs Antenora (-10 PA) and gets 44." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d20+40 vs Muirfinn (-10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 vs Muirfinn (-10 PA) and gets 41." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+40 vs Antenora (-10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 vs Antenora (-10 PA) and gets 54." [1d20=14]
> The blows come from all directions. Yet not a one can crack Muirfinn's defenses, each time knocking the blow back and forcing reality to readjust to correctness. Antenora is just too fast, weaving around them in the air. She does a tightly contained flip in the air, going end over end to avoid and swoop through the blows. The uniformed demon watches on, "Yes, fight like that. Make yourselves worth more. At least be useful for something." Meanwhile the nalfeshnee with the whip rears back, whip drawing incomprehensible patterns in the air! A shuddering, bleeding tear in the air appears before Muirfinn, before scalding hot lava explodes in a pressurized torrent at him! OOC: Ref.
> "Fight like that," Antenora wipes blood away from her mouth with the back of her wrist, "Fight until none are left and you are dust in the wind? Gladly, demon!"
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28+6 evasion
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28+6 evasion and gets 39." [1d20=5]
> roll 20d6 fire damage and more, note if you're immune to fire. Full damage, failed the save.
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d6 fire damage and more, note if you're immune to fire. Full damage, failed the save. and gets 81." [20d6=5, 6, 4, 6, 2, 2, 4, 6, 2, 5, 3, 5, 5, 2, 1, 5, 6, 4, 2, 6]
> roll 1d3
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d3 and gets 3." [1d3=3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: BUMMER
* Kotono changes topic to 'Whip Nalfeshnee=Muirfinn's lava bath(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)>Six Armed Demon(13)'
* Kotono changes topic to 'Whip Nalfeshnee=Muirfinn's lava bath(3 rounds)(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)>Six Armed Demon(13)'
> The lava spews out, engulfing Muirfinn in a bubble of boiling torment. It surrounds to him and clings, the lava not cooling as it burns him and continues to burn him! OOC: The lava's sticking on you and not cooling off. It'll continue to do more damage each turn. May wanna do something about that. You're up.
> Around you the black demon army continues to flow and writhe, countless faces glimpsed within, rising up then plummeting back down. Faces of horror, sorrow, hate and torment. They all watch, striving to strike out at all they see, struggling against one another endlessly.
* Muirfinn weathers the spray of molten stone and fire, taking a long heedless step through the flames as his scales change from burnished silver to a brilliant shining gold. He snaps another bite at the whip whip-wielder, chunks of sizzling rock flying as he does! OOC: 10 foot step. Gold form. Fire immune. Hurray.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4 rounds for dragon breath, forgot earlier
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 rounds for dragon breath, forgot earlier and gets 1." [1d4=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: OH BOY
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44 bite
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 bite and gets 48." [1d20=4]
> OOC: Hit.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 40." [4d8=7, 7, 7, 2]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Counts as magic
> The demon gets its side bitten into, the tip of it torn off. Hundreds of writhing maggots fall out of the wound in lieu of blood, breaking apart into wet, purplish goo on the ground. The whip-demon stands its ground, bringing its whip up to ward. OOC: Uniformed demon.
> Standing firm and not retreating an inch, the uniformed demon gestures with its baton, "Strike them all down!" he calls, "Full power!" At this several demons break away and crumble to dust, but the rest surge up and attack in an augmented, overwhelming blitz!
> roll 1d20+53 (+10 ????, -10 PA) Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+53 (+10 ????, -10 PA) Muirfinn and gets 63." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+53 (+10 ????, -10 PA) Antenora ACs?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+53 (+10 ????, -10 PA) Antenora ACs? and gets 63." [1d20=10]
<Muirfinn> OOC: 72 AC
> roll 6d12+80 Antenora beats her DR
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 6d12+80 Antenora beats her DR and gets 101." [6d12=1, 10, 1, 2, 6, 1]
> Antenora is again knocked back and around while Muirfinn endures the rain of blows. Antenora is bloodied all over again as then the army erupts into chaos! All becomes a storm of black lightning, threatening to overwhelm all!
> roll 1d20+22 SR check
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 SR check and gets 28." [1d20=6]
> OOC: Ref, Muirfinn.
> OOC: Antenora SRed it.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28+6 evasion
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28+6 evasion and gets 37." [1d20=3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Son of a
> roll 9d8 this half is lightning damage full
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 9d8 this half is lightning damage full and gets 45." [9d8=1, 7, 6, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 8]
> roll 9d8 this half is -vile- lightning damage full
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 9d8 this half is -vile- lightning damage full and gets 49." [9d8=3, 5, 8, 8, 7, 1, 8, 7, 2]
> The storm of fury leaves Muirfinn zapped. In this form he can'te vade, scales flashing black as several of them pop off like overcooked meat. The tortle is momentarily dazed, a sense of wrongness overtaking him at the wound. A feeling he's known before - vile damage. As he tries to cope with that...OOC: Antenora's up.
> Antenora glows. Her and Muirfinn's wounds heal once more as she becomes a blur, striking over and over at the writhing black demon army! Even as she does she's doesn't break her gaze on the uniformed demon, meeting him eyes silently.
> OOC: +80 HP for you and her, remmeber that this can't heal the vile damage part of that.
> roll 1d20+45 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+45 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA) and gets 50." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+45 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+45 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA) and gets 46." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA) and gets 41." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+35 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA) and gets 52." [1d20=17]
> roll 1d20+30 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 (+1 haste, +4 fiend dread, -5 PA) and gets 33." [1d20=3]
> 1d8+41+4d6
> 1d8+41+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+41+4d6 and gets 63." [1d8=7][4d6=1, 4, 6, 4]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+41+4d6 and gets 64." [1d8=5][4d6=6, 3, 5, 4]
> Several more demons from the army are burnt away! As Antenora fights, 'Muirfinn,' She speaks into his mind, 'I'm going to try hitting them as hard as I can again. Heal yourself if you need to, otherwise throw all you have in! I aim to break the six-armed one, can you finish the nalfeshnee?' OOC: Sixarms is up.
> The six-armed demon watches the battles before him with great interest, pausing to focus! His fists explode into cloying, greasy darkness! He then strikes out again, reality twisting to make his blows land where he wishes!
<Muirfinn> 'I'm going to occupy him in a most unpleasant way.'
> roll 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Muirfinn first
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Muirfinn first and gets 49." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Antenora and gets 49." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Muirfinn and gets 43." [1d20=3]
> roll 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Antenora and gets 48." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Muirfinn and gets 58." [1d20=18]
> roll 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (-10 PA, ??? in effect) Antenora and gets 49." [1d20=9]
> The storm of blows is massive - but again dodging and sheer strength carry the day. The air before you breaks apart, becoming little spaces of pure darkness. The ground beneath you is thick with ash, blood and rot. A chorus of screaming souls is heard from within the army, as...OOC: Whip nalfeshnee is up. FIre damage is ignored since you immune it right now.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Whip Nalfeshnee=Muirfinn's lava bath(2 rounds)(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)>Six Armed Demon(13)'
> Snorting and making its entire body jiggle, the nalfeshnee leaps back! He's fast, moving before Muirfinn can strike. The air takes the scent of bitter almonds, as it lands 30ft further back! It then begins to grow! Its grossly obese body breaks open like overstuffed sausage. From it hundreds of baby's faces emerge, a susurrus of incomprehensible cries. After a moment they shift into words that you know, "Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty!" The babyheads chant it over and over! OOC: Muirfinn, go.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Whip Nalfeshnee(emerged)=Muirfinn's lava bath(2 rounds)(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)>Six Armed Demon(13)'
<Muirfinn> OOC: Well that's inconvenient.
* Muirfinn raises a massive scaled eyebrow. "Really." He puts his head down and charges! OOC: charging
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44+2
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44+2 and gets 63." [1d20=17]
> OOC: You'll eat an AoO from the army as well as the uniformed demon and the nalfeshnee. Okay with that?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Hit me if you can!
> roll 1d20 army is 20 fishing
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 army is 20 fishing and gets 4." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d20+46 (+5 ???) Nalfeshnee
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+46 (+5 ???) Nalfeshnee and gets 51." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+57 (+13 smite good, +4 ???)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+57 (+13 smite good, +4 ???) and gets 70." [1d20=13]
> OOC: AC?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 70
> roll 1d6+57+10d6 and fort
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d6+57+10d6 and fort and gets 89." [1d6=2][10d6=3, 4, 1, 6, 3, 2, 4, 3, 3, 1]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+36+6 and gets 61." [1d20=19]
> Whip and flailing demon-assaults miss. Yet as Muirfinn blows past, the baton of the uniformed demon lashes out. It barely touches him, yet it causes his entire side to go numb before exploding in pain! Blood and scales shoot from his left side, half his body devastated with a tap! Currents of unholy power continue to writhe over the surface, twisting Muirfinn's veins into blasphemous patterns! But he charges in and closes his jaws tight around the nalfeshnee! OOC: Hit. Damage.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 32." [4d8=2, 5, 5, 3]
> The nalfeshnee gets a chomp, part of its shoulder now gone! It's been wounded several times, bleeding maggots and the baby-faces crying out Muirfinn's guilt! OOC: Uniformed demon is up.
<Muirfinn> "You are becoming an irritation."
> "Finish the dragon, he's softened and ready to perish," The uniformed demon calls tersely, turning his attentions to Antenora, "Her soul is mine!" The black demon army gathers as one, becoming a massive blade above that plunges right down at Antenora!
> roll 1d20+53 (+10 ???, -10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+53 (+10 ???, -10 PA) and gets 69." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+36
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 and gets 40." [1d20=4]
> roll 12d12+140 ow made the save at last
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 12d12+140 ow made the save at last and gets 201." [12d12=9, 1, 2, 4, 12, 8, 2, 2, 10, 4, 3, 4]
> Antenora is impaled through the shoulder down to her hip, the blade slashing into her! IT explodes out in force, half her body ruined as well! Blood pours freely from her wounds, the angel, sagging down towards that side. But the grip on her spear doesn't lesson, as the army suddenly sends a massive blast of dark blights solely at her!
> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 and gets 26." [1d20=4]
> But they roll off, crumbling away to dust! Antenora is then moving in the air, fast as can be! She whirls around the darkness, before rising up and plunging at the six-armed demon like a descending blur!
> roll 1d20 20 fishing demon army AoO
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 20 fishing demon army AoO and gets 9." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20+48 (+2 charge, +4 fiend dread, +13 furious strike, +1 flying/height advantage, +14 smite evil, using her other swift to cast heal on herself for +150 hp, -29 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+48 (+2 charge, +4 fiend dread, +13 furious strike, +1 flying/height advantage, +14 smite evil, using her other swift to cast heal on herself for +150 hp, -29 PA) and gets 61." [1d20=13]
> roll 3d8+600+4d6+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d8+600+4d6+7d6 and gets 656." [3d8=4, 4, 4][4d6=3, 3, 5, 1][7d6=5, 3, 1, 6, 6, 5, 6]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Whip Nalfeshnee(emerged)=Muirfinn's lava bath(2 rounds)(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)'
> Antenora plunges down, the black horn spear going right into the demon's brain! It shudders and dissolves in a starburst of holy light, momentarily blinding all with radiance! When it clears, the six armed demon is utterly gone, annihilated! The uniformed demn tsks, "Weakness. A worthless subordinate." OOC: Nalfeshnee and lava is up. Lava is immuend.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Whip Nalfeshnee(emerged)=Muirfinn's lava bath(1 rounds)(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)'
> With the faces declaring Muirfinn's guilt, the looming nalfeshnee strikes at Muirfinn over and over and over again!
> roll 1d20+46 (+5 ???) 20 fishing since Muirfinn has stupid AC
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+46 (+5 ???) 20 fishing since Muirfinn has stupid AC and gets 62." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+41
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+41 and gets 48." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+36
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+36 and gets 43." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+31
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 and gets 48." [1d20=17]
> But Muirfinn stands tall! He endures the slew of attacks despite his half destroyed body, stopping the lashes by biting down on the whip and nearly biting it in half! He spits it out, the attacks stopped! OOC: Go.
* Muirfinn becomes a whirling golden ball of death!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Tail
> "Then I suppose you're admitting you're weak?" Antenora retorts, as her devastated form heals under her magic. "Only a weak, pathetic little demon would cover behind an underling that can't survive a single hit! The two of us can slaughter demons by the hundreds, and you can't even stop us!"
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 56." [1d20=13]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 52." [1d20=9]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+38 Unarmed and gets 57." [1d20=19]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 Unarmed and gets 51." [1d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28 Unarmed and gets 35." [1d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 44." [1d20=5]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 51." [1d20=12]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 49." [1d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 45." [1d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Tail and gets 42." [1d20=3]
> OOC: AC right now is 45. Do the math from there.
<Muirfinn> roll 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#2d8+5+17 (Wing)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 236." [4#5d10+5+17+2d6 = 55, 67, 54, 60]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw) and gets 49." [4d6=6, 4, 2, 4][2d6=5, 6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#2d8+5+17 (Wing) and gets 58." [2#2d8+5+17 = 30, 28]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn's lava bath(1 rounds)(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Uniformed Demon(16)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)'
> A flash of gold rends the nalfeshnee apart! It is neatly sundered in half then torn apart! Dozens of baby-heads turn to dust and fade away while the nalfeshnee is consumed by fire and gold! The whip and its piercings fall to the ground, the only remnants of the demon you just slew! OOC: Uniformed demon is up.
<Muirfinn> "Antenora." Muirfinn says conversationally as he turns toward the last larger demon. "How many demons did we kill when we arrived?"
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn's lava bath(1 rounds)(21)>Muirfinn(18)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)'
> "So you have me at a disadvantage after all," With a cold glare at Antenora and a glance at Muirfinn's victory, "Another time. The study of your battles against Athux and Lsyscrea will not be joind by my own." With that the demon flows into the horde, vanishing within it! Meanwhile the horde goes wild, spreading out ands triking wildly at the two!
> roll 10#1d20 20 fishing Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 10#1d20 20 fishing Muirfinn and gets 104." [10#1d20 = 11, 20, 10, 15, 10, 18, 4, 4, 9, 3]
> roll 1d20 crit threat
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 crit threat and gets 1." [1d20=1]
> roll 3d6+17+1d6 (1d6 is acid damage, note if immune/resistant)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d6+17+1d6 (1d6 is acid damage, note if immune/resistant) and gets 33." [3d6=2, 5, 6][1d6=3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Nope. Rude.
> roll 10#1d20 20 fishing Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 10#1d20 20 fishing Antenora and gets 64." [10#1d20 = 13, 19, 4, 4, 1, 8, 1, 3, 4, 7]
> The mass of demons strikes like a wild storm. Muirfinn gets a crack across the back from a massive club, but otherwise the two endure and survive! Meanwhile Antenora flies over to Muirfinn...
> roll 1d20 risking the AoO
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 risking the AoO and gets 9." [1d20=9]
> And then the dragon's wounds mend! OOC: 2 divine succors on you for +160 hp healing. Lava bath is up.
> The lava bath finally sputters out, falling in a wave around Muirfinn. Not that it bothers him nor Antenora, neither burned in the least. OOC: Go Muirfinn.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(18)>Black Demon Army(15)>Antenora(14)'
* Muirfinn shifts back into silver dragon form, inhaling deeply as he eyes the horde. "BY FROST BE PURGED!"
> "Now all that's left to do is finish the butcher's bill," Antenora brandishes her spear. "Swiftly, before more trouble comes."
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 Save is 30
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 Save is 30 and gets 71." [22d6=2, 4, 6, 3, 5, 5, 2, 2, 3, 3, 1, 4, 3, 3, 5, 4, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4, 6]
> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12 and gets 26." [1d20=14]
> The blast of cold slams into the mass! Dozens more demons fall away into sickly, slushy giblets! They are frozen solid and slain, the black mass starting to visibly lessen! At this they attack again and again, another wild storm of blows on the two!
> roll 6#1d20 20 fishing Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 6#1d20 20 fishing Muirfinn and gets 71." [6#1d20 = 19, 11, 17, 4, 8, 12]
> roll 6#1d20 20 fishing Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 6#1d20 20 fishing Antenora and gets 88." [6#1d20 = 17, 5, 20, 19, 10, 17]
> roll 1d20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 and gets 17." [1d20=17]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 and gets 1." [1d4=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Waha
> roll 2d10+13+2d6+1d4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d10+13+2d6+1d4 and gets 32." [2d10=6, 3][2d6=5, 2][1d4=3]
> Antenora gets a punch in the shoulder, knocking her back before she rights herself. She then strikes over and over, pouring all she has into it as her wounds heal! OOC: +160 from two divine succors on self, then full attacking.
> roll 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend bane, -10 PA)
> roll 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend bane, -10 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend bane, -10 PA) and gets 54." [1d20=14]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+40 (+1 haste, +4 fiend bane, -10 PA) and gets 51." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+35
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 and gets 43." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+30
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 and gets 36." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+25
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+25 and gets 35." [1d20=10]
> roll 5d8+286+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 5d8+286+4d6 and gets 320." [5d8=2, 2, 3, 7, 7][4d6=6, 2, 3, 2]
> Antenora is relentless. She says not a word as she flies through the army! Demons en masse are slain! Some explode as she passes, others are impaled and yet others are consumed by holy light. The entire mass is starting to quiver demon faces turning to looks of fear and horror, Antenora calling back, "Muirfinn! Finish it!" OOC: Go.
* Muirfinn immediately follows up his previous blast of frost with a completely unexpected blast of frost!
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 and gets 70." [22d6=2, 3, 4, 2, 1, 3, 2, 6, 5, 1, 5, 1, 3, 5, 3, 3, 1, 5, 2, 5, 6, 2]
<Muirfinn> OOC: DC 30
> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12 and gets 18." [1d20=6]
> The weakened mass is bathed in frost all over! Demons become little more than snow, ice and mist! The remaining masses of the army are brought low, the enemy broken! The way out appears, the victory yours! Around you lies the battle - gore, gear and half-dead demons thick beneath you and pressed into the walls. OOC: Free act.
> Antenora spares a single moment to exhale, "Come now, we need to escape before another battle tests us." She starts to fly to Muirfinn, "If we hurry, we may avoid more trouble."
* Muirfinn settles, dropping to draconic form and quickly gathering the fallen gear. "Yes. Let's go."
> OOC: Just going to grab what you can real quick? There's a lot of it around, as well as that whip and the demon's piercings. How long do you want to take on gathering it all?
<Muirfinn> OOC: How much is there? Can I eyeball it real fast and figure out how long it'll take?
> OOC: Lots. There's demon remnants and half-dead demons all over. All sorts of gear from the defeated army. It would take hours to sort and gather it all, realistically.
<Muirfinn> OOC: You're a cruel man.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'll gather what looks most valuable from a cursory glance. Curse my lack of illusion magic.
> OOC: Okay. Bagging it and then going dragon-back to hurry to a bridge?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yeah.
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 100." [1d100=100]
> roll 1d100 subtables time!
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 subtables time! and gets 97." [1d100=97]
> OOC: Is Muirfinn warded from scrying?
<Muirfinn> OOC: No
> roll 1d20+32 (+4 vs evil, -10 ???)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 (+4 vs evil, -10 ???) and gets 43." [1d20=11]
> OOC: Make a will save with a -10 penalty.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+37+6-10
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+37+6-10 and gets 47." [1d20=14]
> You rush ahead to a bridge! It's strangely empty and silent. As you approach it, however, the air around it breaks!  You're a mere 50ft away as a massive portal appears. It is pitch black and 30ft tall, the ground beneath it becoming a nine-pointed pentagram. Suddenly the air darkens and peals of thunder sound, the air twisting violently!  Within the portal you can see shimmering red shapes about to emerge - pit fiends! More pit fiends than you can count, too large to be a normal fiend. Nessian pit fiends, a foe Muirfinn has fought before. In Muirfinn's mind he hears a cold, cloying voice. It makes it hard to breathe, like the air is empty of oxygen. 'Scream, dragonling.' OOC: K:P here if you want then init.
> roll 1d20+37
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+37 and gets 39." [1d20=2]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 35." [1d20=13]
> 'Nessians...Hell's after one or both of us,' Antenora says grimly, 'We need to escape now! A prolonged battle - and the demons will respond swiftly - coudl be our doom! Open a portal!' Indeed, Muirfinn can tell it's a diabolical portal of sublime power. What's worse is that the Abyss is reacting to the flagrant incursion. This sort of attack in the Blood War is the domain of the higher generals and the rare times the nobility directly intervenes in the War, or perhaps the Dark Six personally leading an attack. With the presence of the Nessians, it's almost certainly the second or third. Someone wants you dead post-haste. OOC: Init.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12 and gets 31." [1d20=19]
> roll 1d20+9 Antenora
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 Antenora and gets 21." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20+17 Nessians
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 Nessians and gets 37." [1d20=20]
> roll 1d20+19 ???
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+19 ??? and gets 26." [1d20=7]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Nessian Pit Fiends(37)>Muirfinn(31)>???(26)>Antenora(21)'
> The fiends gush out of the portal! Nine of them stand at attention, huge blades of black iron brandished! Each has a bloody pentagram carved into their foreheads that glows with burning flame! They're filling up the immediate section of the bridge, nowhere to land for 50ft. "Get us down and open a portal out, in Alicia's name!" Antenora urges, "As we are now, we're not a match for this and whatever hellish noble dares such a flagrant attack!"  OOC: Go Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Do I gotta be on the bridge to open a portal?
> OOC: Yes. So getting to it or landing is a good call.
> 'At least get us down there!' Antenora hissing in your mind, 'If all becomes worst, I can plane shift us,' she adds, 'Go!'
<Muirfinn> OOC: Is there a part of the bridge they don't occupy yet?
> OOC: 50ft away, yes.
* Muirfinn heads for an unoccupied spot on the bridge! 'Do it!'
> Muirfinn lands! The bridge groans as Antenora begins to cast! But a grasping black hand erupts through the portal and towards the two!
> roll 1d20+63 touch AC you two?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+63 touch AC you two? and gets 75." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20+63 touch AC you two? say this is Muirfinn's since he could 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+63 touch AC you two? say this is Muirfinn's since he could 1 and gets 75." [1d20=12]
<Muirfinn> OOC: He got meh
> roll 40d6 negative energy damage both of you
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 40d6 negative energy damage both of you and gets 128."]
> The hand rips through the both of you! It doesn't tear a thing, but instead comes away with glowing life energy! It goes back into the portal, flowing into something. There's a flash of light. The figure you glimpse is an ugly, mishapen humanoid with dull black skin and a look of cold disdain on his face. Like he looks at a cockroach crawling on the floor. It wears no top and an elaborate half-robe from the bottom down. The momentarly glimpse ends as the stolen life force flows into him. OOC: You cna make K:P here if you wish.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Nessian Pit Fiends(37)>Muirfinn(31)>???(26 256 temp hp)>Antenora(21)'
> roll 1d20+37
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+37 and gets 56." [1d20=19]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 24." [1d20=2]
> roll 1d20+29
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 and gets 40." [1d20=11]
> Muirfinn can't identify the figu-reality shifts. There's a moment where reality is torn between this and light, like a tug of war, but the light wins. The two appear on a beach before a wine dark sea. A glance behind you shows the ever-rising mountain of Celestia. The air is pure here, driving acidic black smoke from your lungs in great, heaving coughs. OOC: Free act.
> roll 1d20+25 K:A for her
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+25 K:A for her and gets 35." [1d20=10]
> Antenora sags down, hacking out the foul fumes. "Almost got...gah...suppressed," she manages. "Incredibly powerful and he cast it across planar boundaries," She hacks out yet more smoke, "Celestia, we're in Celestia," she finishes.
* Muirfinn hacks up great gobs of smoke-infused foul demon flesh. "You know...HAAAAAAAAAAAAK, I'm really starting to dislike the Abyss."
> Antenora hops off Muirfinn and flies off into the see. She dives in, speaking in your mind as she does, 'The Abyss is horrible. This trip was more direct hate than psychological harm, at least.' She emerges moments later, the holy water of the endless sea sizzling lightly on her flesh.
<Muirfinn> "That's actually a great idea. I could use a dip into my element." Muirfinn says, leaping up and into the sea.

> The waters of Mount Celestia wash away the stench of the Abyss. Muirfinn feels vastly cleaner after that, the two sitting on the beach. A moment of respite after the battle. "You fought well," Antenora breaks the silence, "If I understand right, Prince Lixer and Aurora have no love of on another? I saw him in the portal. The spell that attacked our life force was his, I believe."
<Muirfinn> "We assaulted his fortress on the Negative Energy Plane in an attempt to kill him. We penetrated all the way to the throne room before we realized he wasn't home."
> "Good work," Antenora's reply comes as she gazes out at the endless sea, her eyes drawing shut after. "I fear what he'll do with what he stole. I have great insight to how my former kin think; I suspect his plan was to at the least steal our energies. Our defeat or death in lieu of retreat was likely a bonus if that occured."
> The gentle lapping of the waves soothes Muirfinn's ears. The scent of the sea is strong here, lulling him along with the ever present peace. No other creatures can be seen as far as Muirfinn's sight reaches, endless sandy shores, ocean and mountain the entire world right now.
<Muirfinn> "I'm certain it won't be good, but I don't know if he got enough to do anything."
> "Even if he cannot," Antenora says after some thought, "His father could. Both of us are sworn enemies of Baator." Here she sighs and rises, "But there's no point reflecting on what's done. The devils will scheme as surely as the sun rises tomorrow. Do you want to return to Mechanus now?"
* Muirfinn sighs, lying on his back and staring up at the sky. "If we must."
> Antenora pauses and kneels down. "Do you need more time to rest?" She smiles softly, brushing aside a bit of stray hair from her face. "The Abyss takes a toll on everyone and the peace of Celestia sings to those who care to listen."
<Muirfinn> "No, we don't have forever. Might aw well get moving." Muirfinn waves his hand, opening a Gate to Mechanus and shifting into the form of a medium-sized silver dragon. "Shall we?"
> "No, I suppose we don't," she says, heading through the portal. OOC: What's your plan here? Go back and re-rail, basically?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yup.
> After some more sorting and unremarkable events, the duo return to Yashiel's office. The chairs there are as soft as they look. As the duo rest in them, "How was your mission?" Yashiel asks, "What of Yesthalae and his anti-soul laboratory?"
> "Smashed and ruined," Antenora replies shortly, "The demon and his machinations are no more, as are many demons who stood against us."
<Muirfinn> "It...sort of ate itself, really."
> "Like the stories of the Jormugandr who forever eats his own tail," Antenora briefly smiles at that, "The Abyss forever consumes itself in meaninglessness. In this case, draconic power and my spear were there to accelerate it along. There were complications, but none that are particularly relevant. Yesthalae is dead. No body could be recovered nor could be captured. His experiments defied the natural order of souls and an abomination against order is no more."
<Muirfinn> "He turned himself into a soul-unraveling vortex, which destroyed itself when we unmade the vortex. After we hit him in his giant disembodied face."
* Ko-Waitingfortrainingcamp is now known as Kotono
> "Word will be spread," Yashiel replies, "Thank you. One less horror terrorizes Creation now. It should help Morniel and Ebony's efforts. In the meantime, you'll have a day or perhaps two to rest. There's rooms here if you'd like them."
<Muirfinn> "Oh, that would be fine. The Abyss is exhausting."
> OOC: Okay, going to rest up and heal up?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes, please
> OOC: Goes without incident. Recover HP and spells. Any chagnes to spells?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Vile damage too?
> OOC: You can get a trip to help with that. Yashiel has access to a holy altar.
<Muirfinn> OOC: That'll work.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I think I will make some spell changes. I didn't bring my animal companion because I am incapable of planning ahead.
> OOC: Okay, make the changes you want and tell me when you're good.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Rock 'n' roll
> A few days later, Muirfinn and Antenora are rejoined by Morniel and Ebony. You all are in Yashiel's office. "I've received news. Your efforts have bourne fruit," he says, "Paxtrel XIV, a higher ranking Inevitable bureaucrat, wants to personally talk with you."
> "It was a foregone conclusion," Morniel says, "But even then it took effort. Does he want to talk to all of us?"
* Muirfinn (Muirfinn@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Muirfinn (Muirfinn@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> A few days later, Muirfinn and Antenora are rejoined by Morniel and Ebony. You all are in Yashiel's office. "I've received news. Your efforts have bourne fruit," he says, "Paxtrel XIV, a higher ranking Inevitable bureaucrat, wants to personally talk with you."
> "It was a foregone conclusion," Morniel says, "But even then it took effort. Does he want to talk to all of us?"
> "He does," Yashiel confirms, "Whenever you're ready, head out of this room and took the path. You'll be taken to him."
<Muirfinn> "Well, let's go to it then."
> The party rises, heading out. Soon enough you are taken by moving ground, smoothly being transported by the plane's will. You are taken all about a vast building, glimpses of places small and large. You see many of the clockwork Inevitables and other servants of law, toiling away with eternal patience at what lies ahead of them. In time you are escorted to another office. This one is barren of everything save for a simple desk. The papers on it are perfectly organized. Sitting behind is a man of iron gray metal and gears, not standing as you enter. "Muirfinn of Aurora and Shellscale, Antenora Reynes of Sylica, Ebony of Sylica and Morniel of Mount Celestia," He reads off those names in a monotone, "I am Paxtrel XIV. I understand you have requested the memories of a mortal."
> "That's right," Morniel inclines his head forward, "Thank you for seeing us."
> Antenora follows suit, "Thank you for seeing us," she says, and in Muirfinn's mind Antenora says, 'Just do what we just did.'
> "Thank you for seeing us," Ebony echos.
* Muirfinn bows at the waist, as is his custom. "Greetings."
> "This particular mortal..." he reaches down and reads a sheet of parchment, "Kina-ja. A famous name."
<Muirfinn> "Really? Is she asked after very often?"
> "That's right," Morniel says, "If I may speak for Antenora and Ebony a moment, both of the Goddesses of Sylica have tasked them with this request. Medi's heritors are also interested, as I serve as a servant of the holy mountain."
> "A famous name for what she did," Paxtrel XIV replies blandly, "Her file is large. I've been informed you've gone to lengths to express your ordered devotion towards this goal."
* Muirfinn nods.
> Going on from that, "However, it is policy that no more than two can access these memories at a time," he continues, "As such, two of you can come view them."
* Muirfinn raises an eyebrow, cocking his head. "Unexpected."

> roll 1d20+15 Morniel
-castleheck.tx.us.lunarnet.org:@#dunes- Infinite_Ko_Loop invited Serith into the channel.
* Serith (~iron_drag@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
> roll 1d20+15 Morniel
<Serith> Infinite_Ko_Loop roll for Serith < 35 > [d20=20]
> A pause as Morniel clears his throat, coughing into his hand. "Ahem. If I may," he interjects, "But I'm not aware of this policy."
> "Nor am I," Antenora adds, "I have to agree with Muirfinn, that's an unexpected policy. Is it new?"
> Paxtrel XIV merely folds his hands and replies, "It is a new policy directive handed down recently. If you wish to appeal it, you may do so. You will need to appeal to the Magistrate General in charge of policy enforcement."
> This causes Antenora to frown ever so slightly. In Muirfinn's mind he hears her voice, 'The devils have as much sway as the archons in Celestia. It isn't unthinkable this is some sort of sabotage...though to what ends I do not see. More likely we're on the unlucky end of a policy change.'
> "How long would an appeal take?" Ebony asks, her expression staying unchanged.
* Muirfinn nods at Ebony and Antenora.
> "I am not fully certain, but the last time I saw the appeal list, it was several tomes long," The inevitable replies, still bland and unexpressive. "The urgency that a divine request endows would grant you an expedited hearing, so...several days to several months."
> "More likely closer to days," Morniel remarks, "Though it does seem to be an unneeded delay. I have no need to see this information first hand."
> "Only one of Antenora and myself would need to go," Ebony says, and with a hint of a smile, "The two of you faced the Abyss together. Your work was far more dangerous than ours, so if only two can go, it makes sense that it's the two of you."
> "Muirfinn?" Antenora asks aloud, "I have no problem with that. Yourself?"
<Muirfinn> "None at all." Muirfinn shakes his head.
* Ebiris (Ebiris@cpc9-sgyl30-2-0-cust73.sgyl.cable.virginm.net) Quit (Quit: )
> Paxtrel XIV points to the moving walkway, "Then please get on and you will be taken along."
<Muirfinn> "Very well." Muirfinn says, stepping onto the walkway.
> Antenora gets on without further comment, the two taken away. As you go, 'From the Abyss to adventures in bureaucracy.' Her gentle chuckle follows, 'It's quite a variance.'
* Muirfinn snorts quietly, but says nothing.
> You flow deeper in, being taken towards a portal. On passing through, you find yourselves standing on a great galleon. The sky above is perfectly dark and starless. In place of ocean waters are flowing images, blending together in a dark slurry of blurred images. A voice from everywhere and nowhere states, "Platform adapted for a subject with ties to Water." It has no gender and echos slightly. "Configuration is 'Ocean of Memories'. To begin, leave the ship and descend into the ocean."
<Muirfinn> "Shall we?"
> Antenora nods and walks to the edge of the ship, before hopping over the side and plunging on in.
* Muirfinn follows!
> It isn't water. It's like falling. Falling into memories, which explode and consume Muirfinn. A young girl, the child of a young family. Kina. Her name was Kina. A childhood flashes before your eyes - growing up hard and manipulative thanks to poverty. She grew up beautiful and learned to use that to her advantage. Falling in with the Sharessians - a face, a male face that brings her a mix of hate and pain. The name escapes you, blurring by, a mere sample of complex emotions. Faces of the other Sharessians, good and bad. It's like a brief sweepthrough of people she once knew, good and bad. A lifetime of Sharessian things, the preoccupation with beauty and lovemaking that mammals love so. This part returns Muirfinn to himself somewhat, the relative alienness of it rather jarring. (More)
> It's then that it slows down. The gush of memories crystallizes into one memory. A middle aged Kina, alone and in ill favor with her church. Too proud to use typical magic, too many bridges burned by her own mistakes and pride. Unwilling and unable to change that, because she was right. She knew she was right. Adoration and worship became contempt. Her heart hardened as she turned to things best not seen. A circle rimmed with blood, a young Sharessian (her name was Magai, the memories whisper) offered up. A creature of eternal beauty who rejuvenated Kina...but there had to be more for it to last. More and more came to that circle. Images of abductions and offerings, honing her skill at planning - because she was right and they were wrong. It made it easier to ignore the whispers within her, until even those stopped telling her that she was making a mistake. (More)
> Pain. That face again. That man's face. He's old now and tired, but he stands before Kina. Her hated symbol glows bright in his hand as he pushes her back, towards the circle. His face is wet with tears, even as she throws hate and insults at him. But it's alright, the demon is there. She cooes and murmurs...and sinks her claw into Kina's chest, fading away along with the ethereal light of Kina's soul, plummeting down. Surrounded by them all over. So much hate. But she wasn't wrong. The last memories scream at you - she will not accept this. This wasn't her fault. It was her fault. Sharess let her servants abandon her. They deserved it. The hate expands...and so does she. A body forms, six arms and brimming with a need to prove she was right. A need to - Muirfinn and Antenora lie on the ship's deck once more. A feeling of absolute exhaustion saturated Muirfinn. His body aches and his mind is full of the images of Kina's life.
* Muirfinn cranes his head up on an elongated neck. "Well."
> Antenora sits up. She rubs her eyes and temple, then shakes her head. "Mgh." she murmurs that, "Pride. Above lust, above the killing...pride. Unable to accept she was wrong and unwilling to atone." Rubbing her face with one hand, "Are you alright?"
<Muirfinn> "That explains...much." Muirfinn says, briefly morphing into avian form to avoid the embarassment of attempting to pull himself up off of his shell. "Beyond pride. Pride itself is not so destructive. Pride and arrogance and greed and a lack of love for the self. The inability to accept reality. The futile chasing of youth. These things led to small disgraces, which led to the demon contacting
<Muirfinn> her."
<Muirfinn> "I am fine. This makes me want to examine Sharess' faith and clergy more closely, though."
> "Pride is the most destructive sin," Antenora retorts, staying sitting. It's what leads and enables the others. Pride prevents atonement. Greed, hate, lust...all of those can be addressed by themselves. But pride makes sin inassailable." Now she stands, adjusting her armor as she goes on. "If she could only have admitted she was wrong and listen to her spirit's cries, she would have avoided her fate." At this Antenora shakes her head, "They're dedicated to love, beauty and sex. I thought your kind were not so beholden to those as most others. Of course, Kina-ja represented the other part of Sharess - martial power and capability. Sharessians are fond of noting that Sharess has claws."
<Muirfinn> "While this is not the time for a discussion on the finer intricacies of sin and pride, I appreciate your viewpoint and would like to discuss it further with you at a later date, if you would not mind." Muirfinn says, frowning. "I understand the motivations behind love and beauty. My kind appreciate love and hold it in high regard. It can end wars and unite tribes. Our gods are good, and love
<Muirfinn> us as much as we love them. We are their children. Without them, we would still be crawling upon our bellies in the sand and sea. As for sex, I understand it conceptually. I have read of it much. I suspect a great deal of these writings to be sensationalized or dramaticized."
<Muirfinn> "I have as yet not found a mating pair of mammals to observe. They react rather vocally to it. Occasionally violently."
> "Ahem," Antenora clears her throat, "Yes, a discussion for another time. But I think we have something we can hurt Kina-ja with. You saw the man she hated so much?"
<Muirfinn> "I did. He appeared sad at the time of her death."
> "That could be a weakness to exploit. She has strong feelings for him," Antenora muses, "There was no single ace to easily defeat her there, but there's enough to work with."
* Muirfinn nods. "We'll need to find him."
> "He's certainly long dead," Antenora says, "So more of a matter of finding his spirit. At least we know where to start looking."
<Muirfinn> "Of course." Muirfinn nods. "Let's return and plan our next move."
> From there, the two rejoin the other two. A quick trip gets you to a quiet, borrowed room in Mechanus. Antenora quickly explains what was seen, the party chewing it over. "So you're thinking about attacking her mind and emotions?" Ebony asks, "It's an edge. She could be provoked into attacking if she thinks he's there, if she feels that strongly about him."
<Muirfinn> "It is worth the effort, and it would prevent us from using Sharess directly, leaving her vulnerable." Muirfinn nods.
> "I think we need time to plan," Antenora says, "We'll be in touch. For now, return to Aurora."
* Muirfinn nods. "Will you be joining us there or returning to Celestia?"
> "I'll be returning to Sylica," Antenora remarks, "I'll be in touch when the time comes, in person or through Ebony. To be truthful, I should consult with Alicia or Syala next, since most likely his soul resides with Sharess. There's political matters to be dealt with."
* Iddy (~irondrago@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
* Muirfinn nods. "If you have need of me, I will be pleased to assist."
> OOC: Okay. From here, going to return to Aurora?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep!
> Thus the trio returns. Ebony meanders off to see to business. Morniel lingers, "There's one additional bit of business," he says as you walk through the courtyard, past lycanthropes and angels going through the motions of war. A few pause to salute the two, Morniel returning them without breaking stride.
* Muirfinn waves to those they pass. "How can I help?"
> "We're looking to garner more practical experience for several of our members," Morniel explains, "We'd like you to take one on as well. In particular, Lief. You're familiar with him?"
* Iddy is now known as Lief
* Muirfinn taps his beak. "The pixie, right? One of Afina's group?"
> "Yes," You stop before the entrance hall. "General Gisfal trusts you'll be able to accomplish this."
<Muirfinn> "I get on well with the fey. Part of my profession. I don't see it being a problem. Anythign I should keep in mind?"
> "No. Help him along as he needs, but he's capable," Morniel says, "He's most likely in there, flying around the Medicant golems."
<Muirfinn> "I can do that. Thanks. I'll go find him."
> Lief is indeed found inside the entrance hall. It is busy with soldiers coming and going, Lief flying around them and the silent Medicant golems. The murmur of conversation fills the hall as people travel, heading in and out of the portals. A typical, busy day in Aurora as...OOC: Go ahead, Muirfin, go ahead and get it started for Iddy.
* Muirfinn walks in to the hall, looking about for a moment before spotting Leif. He waves him over. "Leif, over here. Can I have a few moments of your time?"
* Lief stops his zipping around for a moment as he hears his name and turns to the source and staring at the turtle-man before the light of recognition goes off and he shoots through the air to stop in front of Muirfinn's face with a cheeky smile.
<Lief> "M... Muirfinn, right? What can I do for ya?"
<Muirfinn> "I understand that you are in need of some combat experience? Would you like to assist me?"
* Lief lazily floats through the air around Muirfinn, taking the chance to inspect him a bit more.
* Lief pauses in the air at that before letting his cheeky grin turn a little sharper.
<Lief> "I would be... What's it that you have in mind?"
<Muirfinn> "Simply put, I'm in the process of planning to kill a demon with aspirations of becoming a demi-god. Would you like to help?"
* Lief gets a far more interested gleam in his eyes at that.
<Lief> "Sounds like fun! It'll never what hit it! It won't have a chance against us!"
<Muirfinn> "She. Her name is Kina-ja. She's a marilith."
<Lief> "Huh. That's insteresting... It'll be a good fight, then."
* Lief lands on Muirfinn's should and takes a bold stance, pointing towards the horizon.
<Lief> "Let's be off for fame, fortune, and battle!"
> OOC: Okay then. What's your plan, you two? Wait on Antenora to get word back or do anything in Aurora in the meantime?
<Lief> OOC: I have no idea.
<Muirfinn> OOC: We'll putter about. I want to check in with Vivantha and figure out where the hell my familiar went off to since I completely forgot about that.
> OOC: Okay, we'll start with that and use it as a chance to intro Iddy around a bit.
> Vivantha is found in Aurora's courtyard. Here the forces of Aurora practice the art of war. Angels and air elementals soar through the air, in elaborate displays of aireborne prowess. Human soldiers clash with elven stalwarts, while officers lead them through. The women of the Graceful Blow practice long, elaborate combat dances that shimmer with magic and illusion, while a cadre of satyrs frolic as much as test the shields of a row of hound archons. Standing a bit away watching, all by herself, is Vivantha. Her face lights up with a smile as Muirfinn approaches, "Brave hero! How are you? Did Mechanus go well?"
> The cries of practice and battle echo farther away, a constant backdrop to the conversation.
* Lief looks intently at the practicing warriors before having his attention drawn by the new voice and watching her curiously as she talks to Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> "Hello, Vivantha." MUirfinn returns her smile. "It went well enough. Another foray into the Abyss  allowed us to destroy a soul-flaying machine and netted us some credibility with the inevitables. We were able to view the memories of Kina-ja, though they were sadder than I had expected."
> "A sad truth?" Vivantha asks with a momentary look of sadness. "Lief, you're looking well. Are you working with Muirfinn today?"
<Lief> "Yes! He offered to help me get some more combat experience! And a raid on the Abyss is always worth going on!"
> "As long as you come back," Vivantha remarks, "Have you heard the songs about our recent trip to slay Athux? I hope you manage to outdo those, then."
<Muirfinn> "Her mortal life was filled with woe. It was difficult to watch."
* Lief nods to Vivantha.
<Lief> "Every song better than the last!"
> This causes Vivantha to cross her arms, "I have no doubt of that. Mortals are headstrong and struggle to rise above their circumstances. If she was given woe, then I would expect her to return a harvest of woe." She smiles at Lief's words, "Hopefully it won't be as deadly as it was to us. It was a miracle none of us died. An actual, divine miracle thanks to Selune and her guidance."
* Lief looks a bit nervous but still grins.
<Lief> "Well, the more combat experience I get, the better chance I have later on, right?"
> "As long as you don't get cursed, maimed, mind-broken," Vivantha starts ticking off fingers, "Captured, violated in spirit by unspeakable horrors of evil, afflicted..." Stopping once she gets to the other hand, and smiling once more, "Brave hero," Glancing over to Muirfinn, "The more I reflect on our trip there, the more it amazes me. I feel as if we avoided disaster at every step. You two, promise me you'll look over each other if you go."
* Muirfinn blinks at Vivantha's words, cocking his head. Words for later. "Indeed, our fight with Athux could have gone better. It is a wonder we prevailed. We owe a great deal to Selune, as well as Canderella. I was impressed with her decision to distract him to her own detriment."
* Lief coughs nervously as the list goes on.
<Muirfinn> "Oh, I sincerely hope that things do not go as...tenuously as they did in Greenrot. I'll make efforts to prepare accordingly."
<Lief> "Y-yes, indeed. Through protecting our companions, we will survive and succeed!"
> "Good," Vivantha exhales now, "If you need my help, you only need ask. Speaking of, Canderella's been pacing around with that whip you brought back. She's working on something with it, if the number of sending spells she's having cast for her is any indication."
<Muirfinn> "Good, I'm sure she'll see it better used than the mad spawn of chaos I took it from in the Abyss." Muirfinn says.
> "Speaking of," Vivantha goes on, as above an angel and air elemental clash. It's like a tornado and a shining symbol of good clashing, blade against wind. It causes a windy thunderclap to sound over you, a momentary pause in the conversation. After that's past, the two flying back and continuing their fight, "Did you come to talk or is there a task to be done?"
<Muirfinn> "I simply wished to let you know that I had returned, and to say hello."
> That causes her to perk up all over again, "Thank you," she says warmly, "Sometimes, I fear we only see people when the duties of Aurora call."
<Muirfinn> "I'll endeavor to break that mold with you, then."
* Lief nods to Vivantha.
<Lief> "I agree! I only Muirfinn in passing, here! It's part of why I agreed to help so quickly!"
> "How about we go be social?" Vivantha proposes. "We can go see Canderella, and now that Ebony's back, she's probably with her. She'll want to talk to you about that whip in any case."
<Muirfinn> "If he knew well of what we get up to, he'd have flown screaming into the halls of Aurora when I offered him the chance to join me." Muirfinn says, nodding sagely.
* Lief eyes Muirfinn dubiously at that.
<Muirfinn> "I'd like that." Muirfinn says to Vivantha.

> From there, the group meanders to find Ebony and Canderella. They're found in Creasea's eatery. It's an eatery within Aurora, an open space with many secluded tables. A long glass case shows the magically enhanced treats within, as Creasea works. An air elemental, he moves as much by wind and gusts as a normal man moves through effort. It's like watching the summer breeze take up baking. Many of the tables are occupied by creatures of all types. The one you're looking for is a little extra secluded, the two ladies sitting there. Ebony is an angel who wears a black, hooded robe. Her face is beautiful if obscured, and she slowly sips a cup of tea. Canderella also wears black, a short dress with curly brown hair. There's something that's painfully gorgeous about her, even with the bat-like wings she sports. Something that draws you to her like a moth to the flame, her littlest motion entrancing. She's saying something that you catch the end of as you approach, "...and then, it only made sense to take the magical ring, too."
* Lief breaks out into a giant grin as he sudden zips over to the table, stopping at a hover at the edge of it.
<Lief> "Canderella! Ebony! Hi!"
<Muirfinn> "Hello, ladies." Muirfinn says, "How are things?"
> Vivantha takes a seat, murmuring greetings. Canderella smiles demurely at this, "Oh, figuring out your whip and how to trade it," she begins, patting the table. "Feel free to take a seat."
> "You say you took it from a nalfeshnee?" Ebony asks, putting down her teacup, "I would expect to find something like that on a punishment minded celestial, not another demon. I concede it makes sense when explained, but what a curious thing."
* Muirfinn nods, taking a seat as well. "That's actually what interested me in it. I thought that it was surprising to find such a thing on a demon, but, well...demons."
* Lief lands on the edge of the table and sits down, eyeing the food a bit.
<Muirfinn> "You remember Lief?"
* Lief turns his attention back to the table and grins at the others.
> There's no food on the table right now, just Ebony's teacup. Somehow Canderella seems to pick up on it, "Cresea," she calls, "Could we get something over here?" Turning back after, "You're in a good mood today."
<Lief> "Yup! Muirfinn asked me to help him on an adventure! More combat experience. And it's a chance to become better friends with him."
> "Demons," Ebony echos, shaking her head, "Forever a surprising lot. I asked Antenora the same thing. As she explained it, nalfeshnee judge mortal souls that come to the Abyss. They torment them until they become rutterkin, manes or whatever they'll become in the Abyss. Roughly, she made a point to stress how the Abyss can change at a moment's notice."
> Canderella raises a single eyebrow, "You really should avoid it if it's going to the Abyss. Muirfinn's tested his luck there twice. Heroes rarely get away with a third time. Something to do with numerology, though six is worse for that."
* Lief gains a bit of a nervous look at that.
<Lief> "Yeah, I know going into the Abyss is stacking the deck against you from the first step, but I can't exactly just back down from danger, either. I have to keep up with all of you, after all."
* Muirfinn thinks. "This last visit was actually my third visit, I believe. If you include the library."
> Canderella smiles slightly and sits back slightly. "You're right. It's just that there's never happy endings in the Abyss. At the best, you escape with your life and soul intact, and perhaps your sanity. Ah, memories," The former succubus sighs lightly, a hint of wistfulness in it.
> "Still," Ebony goes on, "Canderella, weren't you trying to do something with that whip?"
> "Yes. It's the sort of thing that has a lot of trade value," she goes on, "Everyone needs to fight demons, even other demons. I could sell it in Celestia or Baator with the same ease and profit. So the question is, what's the best thing to do with it. I have a friend in Earth who may be interested in it," she goes on, "But he refuses to negotiate with me. He had interest in me and I wasn't interested. He's part earth elemental and...ugh." Shaking her head, "To put not so fine a point on it, it would be like laying on jagged rocks, even though I liked his personality. It went poorly. It's better if I don't meet him face to face."
* Yuthikins (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> Vivantha stares a moment and shudders. "How do you end up with stories like that?"
> "He deals in energy nodes that gather in Earth. They're extrodinarily powerful if properly refined," she explains, "But he's only interested in very specific items in trade. He needed the hair of a fiend who turned away from evil and he offered much for it."
* Muirfinn (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Yuthikins is now known as Muirfinn
> "Fascinating," Ebony quietly adds, "But let's get to the point now."
* Muirfinn glances at Vivantha. "Succubi have all sorts of interesting effects on men. A good portion of them can end i n amusing tales."
> "As you like," Canderella shoots Ebony an amused look, "The point is that he's looking for a whip or polearm effective against demons. We still do occasional business, but at a distance. It's awkward," Going on with a little sigh, "He's like the earth that's a part of him - stubborn and slow to forgive or forget. But he's also avaricious for the treasures he craves to hide away, just like earth and stone."
> "That does sound awkward," Vivantha concedes at last, "Amusing, you say," she shakes her head, "I've seen lovestricken men wandering the Endless Stair, seeking succubi lovers they'll never find again. That is, until the soul they gave away in passion plummets into the Abyss at death."
* Lief stares at Vivantha and then at Canderella.
<Lief> "You two..."
* Lief sighs and shakes his head.
<Muirfinn> "Well, those tales are not amusing."
<Muirfinn> "I'll have to tell you sometime about Jonn, and the succubus he summoned who did NOT want to lay eggs."
> "Did you forget we're not mortal or fey," Canderella's voice has a slight tease, "Days long gone for me, I'm afraid. Anyway, the point I'm getting to is that the two of you would make good intermediaries, if you're interested in a side trip to Earth."
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "I'm willing to! Favor for a friend is no problem."
> "Oh?" Canderella raises an eyebrow, "I've seen succubi lay eggs. But only in the Abyss, where the Abyss wants more demons, even if it has to violate fundamental biology to work."
<Muirfinn> "Tortle eggs?" Muirfinn asks with a raised eyebrow.
> Vivantha stares again, a hint of green rising up her cheeks. "Urgh." She looks away, as a gust of wind brings a tray of food and drinks over. It looks like a chocolate cake and some finger snacks.
* Muirfinn shakes his head. "It's a bar tale. Best told not sober."
> "Dragon eggs as big as you," Canderella says demurely, taking a little cracker and nibbling on it. "The screams of agony from the succubus kept the entire castle up all night."
> "Selune," Vivantha breathes, "Kindly be silent and say no more!"
* Muirfinn shrugs. shaking a finger at Canderella. "Stop trying to out-weird me, woman."
* Lief gets an odd look on his face at that and looks forlornly at the now less apatizing snacks.
> "Very well, enough of that." Continuing to nibble, "Are you interested? He'll likely offer a distilled energy node, which can permanently empower someone."
<Muirfinn> "I'd like to see one, if nothing else. Could be cultivated as an alternative power source for the Aurora if nothing else. Perhaps an overall boost in efficiency."
> "Well, let me know when you want to go, then," Canderella says, "I can set you up with what you need."
<Muirfinn> "Anyone else game for a trip to Earth?"
> "I have other obligations," Ebony speaks up, shaking her head.
> "I'd be happy to go, brave hero," Vivantha rubs her pallid and greenish face, "The three of us, if Lief is coming. Lief, have you ever been to Earth?"
<Lief> "No, not yet. I'm looking forward to it."
> "Right," Canderella goes on, "First thing to remember is that everything is heavier on Earth. The gravity is stronger than normal. It'll interfere with your archery and flying, but you should be good enough to compensate. Earth magic is stronger there and water magic is weaker, but that shouldn't matter for you."
* Lief nods to Canderella.
> "Good." Canderella stands, "I'll get Tepen to make you a portal shortly then. If you have any preparations..."
* Muirfinn nods. "We'll take care of them."
> OOC: Ready to move along then?
<Lief> OOC: I am.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Let's roll
> Thus the trio goes outside. Here you stand outside of Aurora, floating in the empty spaces of Air. All around is emptiness, save for Aurora behind you. A breeze continually blows, like the first gush of spring.  Above, squads of air elementals fly about in patrol and practice. Ahead are Canderella and Elder Magi Tepen. The revitalized old man awaits, the staff of Vithos at the ready. "I've been informed where the portal needs to be. When you're ready."
> "When you appear, just follow the path. When asked, say you're visiting Geodae about business, courtesy of Canderella." The succubus says, waving. "Muirfinn, you're capable of opening a portal back, so no need to worry about that."
* Muirfinn trots on up in a human-sized draconic form, his scales a burnished copper. A large draconic cat follows him. "Ready to go."
* Lief lands on Muirfinn's shoulder.
<Muirfinn> "I can handle that."
> With that, Elder Magi Tepen chants. The words that flow from him twist in the air, like speaking swirls of color. "Boundaries undone by will, the way revealed by desire, power from the Weave, all shall listen and obey to this call!" Before you a swirling blue portal appears, ever-twisting.
> "Thank you," Vivantha says before heading right into the portal. She vanishes once she goes through.
<Lief> "We'll be back!"
* Muirfinn trots on past, Leif on a scaly shoulder and animal companion following closely behind. "Soon enough. Thanks for the portal, Tepen."
> Stepping into the portal is like plunging into a cave. It's dark, dank and claustrophobic. Everything is so -heavy-! Merely breathing takes more effort, as if the air was lined with lead. Fortunately, the party's light sources quickly allow vision. You stand at the end of a cave of brown stone. There's a single, well worn path ahead.
* Lief grunts a bit in surprise but does his best to adjust.
<Muirfinn> "At least the path is simple." Muirfinn says, trotting forward.
* Lief tries flying to see what the gravity does to his flying.
> OOC: What's your str score, Lief?
<Lief> OOC: 12.
> It's tough to fly like this, but Lief can do it. It's just harder.
<Lief> OOC: is there a range penalty to my archery or something?
> OOC: Yes, it's halved. Just bear that in mind for when it matters. Ready to move on along, y'all?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Go ahead. I'm doing laundry.
<Lief> OOC: I'm good for whatever.
> From there, the party heads down the path. It's not a long walk, but the gravity makes it seem more. In time you come to a much larger cavern. Here a single massive slab of green stone rises up like a tower. Dotting the walls are crystalline clusters, pulsing with light of various colors, all dark. Dark blues, greens, reds, purples nad more all can be seen within.  As you look around, the space ahead of you momentarily distorts. A human sized earth elemental appears an speaks. It sounds like Aquan to Muirfinn and Sylvan to Lief, understood perfectly. "State your business here."
* Lief nudges Muirfinn in the shoulder.
<Muirfinn> "We're visiting Geodae on business, courtesy of Canderella."
> The creature inclines its head in what might be a nod, then vanishes. A moment later space distorts again, and a man made of jagged stone appears. It's like an onyx was broken and glued back together, all sharp shards and jagged ends. It's a little bigger than a normal human and much broader, pointing out in all sorts of sharp directions. It speaks in a bassy rumble, "What business?"
<Lief> "Geodae?"
* Lief looks on in curiousity.
<Muirfinn> "Trade."
<Muirfinn> "Geodae is the name of the elemental, Lief."
<Muirfinn> OOC: Oh wow, you were asking if he was Geodae. Scratch my line.
<Lief> OOC: Yeah.
> "Trade," Geodae echos, "What do you have? I'm looking for specific items right now." He doesn't move - he stays stone still. In place of eyes are two chips of what look to be white diamond, glittering coldly.
<Muirfinn> "Indeed, we were told that you seek items that can harm denizens of the Abyss?"
> "Yes," he says, eyeing Muirfinn's draconic body, "What do you have, dragon and pixie?"
<Lief> "A whip!"
<Muirfinn> "Yes, and one that is especially fierce when used upon those mortal creatures who are both chaotic and evil."
> "Useful against the thralls of demons," He says, "I will take you elsewhere." The cave blurrs, adn when it clears you stand in a smaller, empty chasm. Vivantha quickly looks around, as meanwhile the half-elemental says, "I will have you demonstrate the whip and your strength," he announces. "If I find it satisfactory, it will suffice."
* Muirfinn glances at Vivantha. "Would you like the honors?"
> "As you wish," Vivantha nods, offering her hand out.
* Muirfinn passes her the whip!
> "All of you," Geodae speaks, "Give her the whip and prepare. Suitable creatures have been captured and are waiting," he announces. Once Vivantha has the whip, he vanishes. 50ft ahead of you, the air ripples. Before you stands a pair of creatures. The first is a humanoid, raven like creature, something the party has faced before - a vrock. This one screetches as spores fall from its body. The other is a muscled man, wearing nothing. Crystals have been embedded into its body all over, shifting and twisting its features into something alien. It says nothing, but begins to gather power! OOC: Init. A demon and...whatever the human is. Probably best not asked.
> roll 1d20+7 vrock
> roll 1d20+12 crystal man
-raijin.cv.uk.lunarnet.org:@#dunes- Kotono invited Serith into the channel.
* Serith (~iron_drag@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
> roll 1d20+7 vrock
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 25 > [d20=18]
> roll 1d20+12 crystal man
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 22 > [d20=10]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 25 > [d20=13]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Vrock(25)>Crystalman(22)'
<Lief> roll 1d20+21 Init
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 24 > [d20=3]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn=Vrock(25)>Crystalman(22)'
> OOC: Did you remember Lief's aura, Muirfinn?
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn=Vrock(25)>Lief(24)>Crystalman(22)'
<Muirfinn> OOC: I dodn't know he had one.
> OOC: He does, +3.
> roll 1d20+13 Vivantha
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 19 > [d20=6]
<Lief> OOC: is that already rolled into the 21 on the sheet for Lief?
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(28)>Vrock(25)>Lief(24)>Vivantha(19)>Crystalman(22)'
> OOC: Yes.
<Muirfinn> OOC: 28 then
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(28)>Vrock(25)>Lief(24)>Crystalman(22)>Vivantha(19'
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(28)>Vrock(25)>Lief(24)>Crystalman(22)>Vivantha(19)'
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+7+3 animal
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 21 > [d20=11]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(28)>Vrock(25)>Lief(24)>Crystalman(22)>Animal(21)>Vivantha(19)'
> OOC: Muirfinn, open. They're both 50ft away.
> "Strike fast and true!" Vivantha carols as she readies the whip.
* Muirfinn opens with the ever-classic copper dragon line of acid, centered on the demon. As he rears back to deliver the smallish blast, his form grows, swelling outward to tower over Vivantha. This causes the acid to blast out like a pressurized seal bursting!
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 Hello Acid
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 69 > [d6=6,2,5,1,2,6,2,3,3,3,2,5,6,2,6,2,1,3,1,2,3,3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Incidentally, this would cause me to expand in place, taking up more space and putting me proportionally closer to the duo. I assume it would move me by 10-20 feet.
> OOC: Okay.
> roll 1d20+19 evasion
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 37 > [d20=18]
<Muirfinn> OOC: 12 feet of reach gained.
> OOC: DC?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alas, DC 30
> The vrock is fast, too fast by far! It flies up and avoids the gout of acid, which flies and hits the back wall. It starts eating right through the stone, dissolving it in seconds! The vrock swoops up, snarling defiance as it points at Muirfinn! Black feathers begin sprouting out of his scaly body! OOC: Fortitude.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36+6
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 55 > [d20=13]
> But the feathers don't last long, falling out of his body wi thout harm. A moment later, a massive blast of force slams into the dragon!
> roll 1d20+39 CMD?
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 46 > [d20=7]
<Muirfinn> OOC: 52
> The blast is powerful, but Muirfinn stands his ground against it! OOC: Tinka nd tink. Lief, go.
* Muirfinn snorts at the vrock, acid dripping from his mouth.
* Lief releases his control over his innate invisibility and judges the distance to the Vrock, deciding to fly up to it's level and to it's right side. OOC: Intent is to get into SA range on it's right flank.
> OOC: Okay, sure thing. Make your attack roll. Include +2 since he's invisible and he can't see you, stnadard bonus.
<Lief> OOC: It's just the single attack? or the three?
> OOC: Single.
<Lief> roll 1d20+46 ATK
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 47 > [d20=1]
> Lief moves in, unseen and quick -b ut his arrow slips by the head of the vrock, missing him narrowly! OOC: Meow, Serith. Crystal-man is up.
<Lief> OOC: Was also going to declare that distracting, but it's pointless now.
> The man with the crystals clutches his head and silently screams, not a sound coming out. A concussive blast of force emanates from him, slamming into the party! OOC: Ref saves, y'all.
> OOC: Yeah, just crummy luck. Make sure to include it in your attack roll, generally.
<Lief> roll d20+37 Ref Save
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 55 > [d20=18]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28+6 evasion
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 49 > [d20=15]
> roll 1d20+37 ref Vivantha no evasion for her, alas
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 53 > [d20=16]
<Lief> OOC: Evasion, too.
> roll 21d6 Vivantha half, Muirfinn and Lief both evade and take no damage
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 66 > [d6=1,5,3,6,3,5,6,5,2,3,1,3,1,3,4,3,2,3,4,2,1]
> The silent blast of power is nimbly avoided by both fairy and dragon, while Vivantha is hit right in the chest. She coughs up air from the strike, but quickly rebounds. Behind you the walls crack, the force of it enough to pulverize stone! OOC: Ow. Companion's up, Muirfinn. Go.
* Muirfinn snorts again, straightening and with a few quick steps, he lashes out with a lightning fast bite on the vrock! OOC: Closing to 20 feet. Attack wall inc next round.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 60 > [d20=16]
> OOC: That's yoru companion's attack roll, to be clear?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Scratch.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Companion holds. Forever.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Move on
> OOC: Okay. Vivantha.
> Vivantha gracefully glides ahead, brushing off the impact. She lashes out from 30ft away, whip striking at the crystal-embedded man. She ignores the vrock and another, lesser, wave of force as she lashes out. "For victory!"
> roll 1d20+33
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 41 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+28
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 48 > [d20=20]
> OOC: Strike that, finger slipped since she had to move.
> roll 1d3+14+4d6+4
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 39 > [d3=3][d6=5,5,4,4]
> The whip lashes out, striking like a thunderclap. The impact makes the crystalman scream silently again, writhing about as his flesh on his whipped front turns a charred, dead black. He makes not a sound even as Vivantha gathers the whip back up, "It works well," she declares. OOC: Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> "I'll say."
* Muirfinn snorts again, straightening and with a few quick steps, he lashes out with a lightning fast bite on the vrock! OOC: Closing to 20 feet. Attack wall inc next round.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 45 > [d20=1]
> OOC: Congratulation, you Iddy'd.
<Muirfinn> OOC: BAHAHAHAHA
> Muirfinnc loses in, acid-dripping jaws snapping shut - but the vrock has already evaded, dodging the strike entirely! It gathers energy in, plummeling the dragon with a burst of force!
> roll 1d20+39 CMD?
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 56 > [d20=17]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alas, still 52
> WHAM! The force slams into Muirfinn, picking up his oversized body despite the gravity! He's hurtled 60ft back, into the already damaged wall. It's a massive collsion, hunks of ceiling falling like boulders on him!
> roll 10d10+6d12 ow DR applies to it if you have any, at least.
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 89 > [d10=5,1,4,4,9,2,6,3,3,5][d12=2,11,3,11,9,11]
> Muirfinn lays there amid the rubble of wall and ceiling, half buried. He's down but not out, not even the heavy gravity of Earth enough to do him in - yet! OOC: You're also prone. The ow is strong in that one. Go Lief. Vrock's in SA range without moving and still can't see you.
> "Brave hero!" Vivantha turns back and winces at the impact, "Hold on!"
* Lief takes aim, compensating for the heavier gravity and letting fly with his full wrath!
<Lief> roll d20+48 ATK 1
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 67 > [d20=19]
<Lief> roll d20+48 ATK 2
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 60 > [d20=12]
<Lief> roll d20+43 ATK 3
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 60 > [d20=17]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4 I ALWAYS FORGET THE BREATH COOLDOWN
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 4 > [d4=4]
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 4
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 41 > [d20=2]
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 5
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 45 > [d20=11]
> OOC: All five rolls hit. Damage.
<Lief> OOC: Uh, what's the best/fastest way to parse that?
<Lief> OOC: Just 5x the full string?
<Lief> roll 1d6+26+7d6+2d6
<Lief> roll 1d6+26+7d6+2d6
<Lief> roll 1d6+26+7d6+2d6
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 60 > [d6=5,5,1,4,1,4,2,2,5,5]
<Lief> roll 1d6+26+7d6+2d6
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 57 > [d6=2,6,2,2,2,4,2,4,2,5]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 66 > [d6=3,6,2,5,6,1,5,6,1,5]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 60 > [d6=6,4,2,4,3,5,1,1,2,6]
<Lief> roll 1d6+26+7d6+2d6
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 59 > [d6=4,4,4,3,1,1,5,3,6,2]
> roll 60+57+66+60+59
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 302 >
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(28)>Lief(24)>Crystalman(22)>Animal(21)>Vivantha(19)'
> Tiny arrows fly true, heavier here. One in each eye, popping them like overripe tomatoes. Another tow in the chest, piercing both lungs. A final flies right for the heart of the demon, plunging through. A torrent of bright green blood erupts out the hole, blowing it wide open. The demon gushes out, dissolving into a backwards tidal wave of green blood that stains the wall behind the demon! OOC: Owwwww. It's deadski. Crystalman is up.
* Muirfinn smashes aside much of the rubble as he settles, irritation showing on his upside-down face. "I'm fine. The vrock, not so much. Nice shooting, Lief."
* Lief grins, not that anyone can see it, and chuckles.
> The silent crystalman grimaces. A throbbing sword of force appears in both hands, before he darts right at Vivantha in one huge downward stroke!
> roll 1d20+37 (+12 ???, +5 ???, -18 PA, -5 slashing flurry)
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 51 > [d20=14]
> roll 1d20+32 (+12 ???, +5 ???, -18 PA, -5 slashing flurry)
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 34 > [d20=2]
> But Vivantha is a hair too fast. She sidesteps the first and the second goes right into her head - before the afterimage fades away. With a piruoette she glides to his side, "Too slow!" OOC: Companion holds. Vivantha is up.
> "The whip is proven!" she sings, "Finish him!" What comes next is a glorious and uplifting song, rousing blood and body! OOC: Lillend inspiration. Muirfinn, go.
* Muirfinn heaves himself up and onto his feet, knocking away stones and rocks as he does so. "I'm all right! I'm fine. Really."
<Muirfinn> OOC: More
<Muirfinn> Abruptly, his form shrinks rapidly. A bit too fast, and he falls five feet to the ground in tortle form. A sharp word sends three sharper ballista bolts of wood flying from Muirfinn's outstretched hand to collide with the remaining foe!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+27 ranged touch
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+27 ranged touch
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+27 ranged touch
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 44 > [d20=17]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 31 > [d20=4]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 36 > [d20=9]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Does V's bonus apply to spell damage if it's physical?
> OOC: Let me read the feat.
> OOC: No, it specifically says weapons. All of those hit, though.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 17 > [d6=1,6,4,6]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 14 > [d6=5,3,4,2]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 14 > [d6=6,2,3,3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Magic & Piercing
> Three splinterbolts go flying, piercing the crystal man with something besides magical crystal. Blood leaks from the wounds, the man staggering but still up. OOC: Ow. Lief, go. He's within SA range if you wanna full attack.
* Lief takes aim at the cyrstaline enemy and lets loose with a full barrage!
<Lief> roll d20+46 ATK 1
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 55 > [d20=9]
<Lief> roll d20+46 ATK 2
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 63 > [d20=17]
<Lief> roll d20+41 ATK 3
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 51 > [d20=10]
<Lief> roll d20+36 ATK 4
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 37 > [d20=1]
<Lief> roll d20+31 ATK 5
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 43 > [d20=12]
> OOC: Four hits.
<Lief> OOC: Is it evil outsider bane-able?
> OOC: No.
<Lief> roll 1d6+24+7d6+2
<Lief> roll 1d6+24+7d6+2
<Lief> roll 1d6+24+7d6+2
<Lief> roll 1d6+24+7d6+2
<Lief> roll 1d6+24+7d6+2
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 56 > [d6=3,5,5,2,2,5,5,3]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 45 > [d6=4,2,2,1,5,1,1,3]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 57 > [d6=4,5,5,1,1,6,4,5]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 59 > [d6=1,6,4,6,4,2,4,6]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 53 > [d6=3,6,2,3,2,4,3,4]
<Lief> OOC: 270
> OOC: Did you remember the sonic from lillend inspiration?
<Lief> OOC: I did not!
<Lief> roll 5d6
<Lief> roll 5d6
> OOC: Also only 4 hits, not 5.
<Lief> roll 5d6
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 20 > [d6=6,6,3,1,4]
<Lief> roll 5d6
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 20 > [d6=6,2,4,2,6]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 16 > [d6=1,3,5,3,4]
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 19 > [d6=3,4,2,6,4]
<Lief> OOC: 272.
> Arrows shaking with sonic power pierce the already wounded man. HIs body shakes with each one, vibrating apart into a pile of bloody meat and crystal in the wake of the arrow shots. Got him! OOC: Free act. We'll pause here since post-battle's a good time for it and it's getting past the 3 and a half hour mark.

> The battle is over. The vrock's remnants are gone, naught but a foul smell on the wind. The warm meat and broken crystals of the strange man lie before you, a mix of bloody hunks and shattered shards. As Muirfinn regains his bearings, "Are either of you in need of healing?" Vivantha asks.
* Lief shakes his head.
<Lief> "No, I'm fine."
<Muirfinn> "I'll be fine. My body mends quickly." Muirfinn says, shaking his head. "Save it for if we need it."
* Lief cancels his innate invisibility.
* Muirfinn steps over, form morphing into draconian shape again. He picks at the crystals. "That was quite odd."
> "Annoyances," Geodae's voice comes a secondb efore he appears before the party. "I agree, the whip is powerful. I will offer you this for it," Stony fingers snap, the ground before you parting in a perfect circle. What rises out of the ground is a rough sphere of glowing orange light and quartz. It seems to hold together through sheer magic as much o fanything else, routinely beating like an oversized heart.
<Muirfinn> "A distilled energy node?"
* Lief examines the sphere with interest.
> The light is steady despite the pulses. Lief can see that it continually shines with energy, like a crystal catching the sunset's light.
> "Yes," Geodae replies, "You may examine it first if you wish."
* Muirfinn does so! OOC: Roll?
> OOC: K:A.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23+3
<Muirfinn> OOC: BOTS
* Serith (~iron_drag@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
> OOC: Roll.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23+3
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 31 > [d20=5]
> The node is concentrated energy from Earth. It's potent and has likely gathered over unfathomable eons. If properly distilled or absorbed, it could empower a person or an object.
<Muirfinn> "We accept!"
* Lief is amused by Muirfinn's quick acceptance.
> Vivantha thus hands over the whip, the node pulsing brighter. It's bright enough to blind the party. When it clears a moment later, you stand back where you gated into Earth. Geodae is not seen, but his voice can be heard. "Our business is concluded. Should you wish to do business in the future, Canderella will be a sufficient intermediary."
> The node is there, glowing and beating steadily.
* Lief blinks.
> Vivantha blinks as well. "Powerful," she murmurs quietly, and then in her normal voice, "I suppose our business is concluded then, brave hero."
* Muirfinn gathers up the node. "I suppose it is. Is there anything either of you wished to do while here?"
<Lief> "Not for me."
> "No," Vivantha said, "If only all of our trips out were so simple and straightforward."
<Muirfinn> "Don't jinx it." Muirfinn admonishes lightly. "We could always randomly encounter another Greenrot. That would be...awful."
<Muirfinn> With that said, Muirfinn opens a Gate back to Air.
> Stepping back into Air before Aurora, the oppressive weight of Earth is left behind. Gravity's pressure leaves you, the grand fortress soaring above you. Vivantha inhales and exhales, "Now then," she says, patting the node, "What do we do with this?"
<Muirfinn> "An excellent question. Before we decide, I think we should do a bit of research to find out exactly what it can be used to do."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "Didn't Canderella say something about using it for Aurora?"
<Muirfinn> "It was mentioned, yes. I want to best apply it, though. A slight increase to the power of the Aurora could be a massive power boost to a single individual, for example."
> OOC: Going to go in and do some examining and stuff?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yup. Gonna round up Sylvie, Tepen, and Vul'lath.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Do some intelligenceing
> OOC: Okay, there's enough ranks there to get to the point without a bunch of rolling. Especially with Tepen and Vul'lath running that new knowledge booster spell.
> OOC: So more coming in a sec.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Nothing like brute-forcing a check!
> A day of rest passes. The next morning the party meets with Elder Magi Tepen and Sage Vul'lath. Sage Vul'lath is a dour-faced gith, sitting without comment. "Sylvie had a prior obligation, but the research is done," Elder Magi Tepen announces, "At least the first branch. There can be more if we get into something particularly estoric. The two of you brought this back?" A nod to Muirfinn and Lief, Vivantha currently not with you.
<Muirfinn> "Indeed. Got it from Earth."
> "First of all, the energy in here is strong but finite. Galariel and Elena agree that it's not a useful energy source for Aurora." Tepen begins. As he speaks, Elena appears. The ghost-girl is tinted blue and is wearing a simple dress today.
* Muirfinn nods. "So instead empowering a person or item."
> "To be honest," Elena explains, "It's potent, but Aurora runs on more stable sources of energy. Also, mainlining a type of elemental energy could make the air elementals react poorly."
> "Exactly," Sage Vul'lath speaks up, "Best used on someone with no ties to Water." A look at Muirfinn, "The two types don't mix, as I'm sure you know."
<Muirfinn> "Of course. It would be...unpleasant."
<Muirfinn> "So what would its effects be if used on a person?"
> OOC: *Air, not water. huge brain fart.
> "Empowerment. It's not enough to enact half-elemental status," Tepen explains, "Like Magmaheart did to Afina. But it can grant some of Earth's power."
* Muirfinn looks over at Lief. "Wanna give it a shot?"
> "It's up to you," Tepen says, "I can channel it so it shouldn't product results that will inhibit you at all. As long as you don't mix Air's essence with it, there should be no problems. Air does suit pixies better, but this node is what we have."
<Lief> "I'll take it if there's no better use for it!"
* Muirfinn nods. "While that may be the case, we may not see one of these ever again. I advise taking what you can as useful.
<Muirfinn> "
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "Good advice. I'll do it, then."
> "Alright." Elder Magi Tepen rises, "Come with us. We'll prepare the ritual circle." From there, the party heads to an empty room within Aurora. Here's a multi-patterned, interlocking set of circles are painted into the ground with molten silver, the blood of angels and pixie dust. It is three sets of three circles, with a tenth serving as the outer boundary. Runes in Terran and Celestial are spread all over, written by Hanna and Ebony. The Words of Creation fill the boundary of the outer circle, causing the circles to gently glow. At the very center of the circles is an empty space. "Lief," Elder Magi Tepen directs, "Lie there."
* Lief flies over to the space and lands, then lies down.
> From here Elder Magi Tepen walks the outer circle. He begins to chant as he does, "Grumbar, in your ever-teeming palace of rock and stone, I call on you to open the ways! The Great Mountain that never changes shall open, and from it shall flow the stone that shall entomb all Creation!" The ground beneath you gently shakes, as if in the tremors of an earthquake. The node appears above you, the light of it flowing like directed water into the circles. "I command you to spread your essence and imbue the power of the Earth forward! In the name of the eternal that defends against the ever-changing Air, spill forth!" The shaking grows heavier, as the orange light flashes all around! OOC: Roll a d100, Iddy.
<Lief> roll 1d100
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 34 > [d100=34]
> Lief feels his body tensing up, his muscles churning beneath the surface! Images of mountains and caves fill his mind as the light of the circle fades, a momentary heaviness to his body. OOC: Loot post.
* Lief stands up and flexes his arms a bit.
<Lief> "I feel... Stronger. Sturdier..."
> His body feels stronger, tougher. There's a palpable sense of empowerment. "Yes, I believe so," Elder Magi Tepen remarks, "It went well."
* Muirfinn nods. "Well done, Lief."
* Lief takes to the air again and hovers around Muirfinn.
<Lief> "Thanks! I do feel better now.."
> OOC: Okay, now that that's done, is ther eanything else barring waiting from word from Antenora and Sylica?
<Muirfinn> OOC: None from me!
<Lief> OOC: Nothing for me.
> OOC: Okay then. More coming.
> roll 1d100
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 70 > [d100=70]
> A few more uneventful days pass. There's things that go on, but none of it involves Muirfinn or Lief. The two just happen to be in the Courtyard, watching the Graceful Blow practice, when Ebony approaches, "Could we go talk somewhere? I bring tidings from Sylica."
<Muirfinn> "Of course."
* Lief follows!
> The two of you walk a little ways away, enough to have relative privacy. Once you do she says, "Antenora sends word. A plan is being organized and political difficulties with Sharess are being dealt with. There's a few things that are needed, and that it would be appreciated if you could do them while they deal with that."
<Muirfinn> "How can we help?"
> "There are three things that are needed," Ebony begins, "As you may or may not know, Kascha hails from the same world as Alicia. The region there is known as the Lost Eastlands. Take here there and seek the Forsaken of Yasyvant and the Gilded Heart. She can explain the finer details, but we need a powerful object that represents sacrifice for this. It's the best one we know of on short notice." Ticking a finger off, "Secondly, we need the blood of a child of the Jormugandr of Ysgard. They are fearsome creatures of exceeding toxicity. The Guardian of the Felic Gate in Sylica is a child of one of the children and can tell you more, or you can investigate it yourselves. The blood represents true eternal life, not the mockery Kina-ja took. Thirdly, have you heard of the Lover's Tree?"
<Muirfinn> "I have not."
* Lief shakes his head.
> "In Hades, there is a tree that shines like the sun. It holds off the curse of the greys and eludes all the daemons. It came to be when a mortal paladin gave his life and soul to save his slain wife's soul from the clutches of a yugoloth. The power of the sacrifice pleased Ilmater, who interceded and wove the two into the tree, so that they would be together forever. The tree represents true, undying love and forgiveness for one another." Here she sighs slightly, "The full story is more complicated, a sad tale of betrayal made right in the end by both lovers forgiving and sacrificing for one another. The good that wander Hades can find it for respite, while the denizens of the plane will never find it. We need one of the fruits of the tree."
<Lief> "That sounds.. Fun."
> Ebony doesn't quite crack a smile, but it's a close run thing. "It's a lot of work," she concedes, "But these objects can be used to further weaken Kina-ja when she falls into our trap."
<Muirfinn> "Of course it's in Hades. Why wouldn't it be in Brightwater, or Celestia?"
<Lief> "Has anything we've done ever been that easy?"
<Muirfinn> "Of course not. I just like to complain every once in a great while."
<Lief> "We've earned that much, at least!"
> "The sacrifice meant more there," Ebony says after a moment's thought. "How many in Celestia would give up their lives to help others? Many, if not all. How many in Hades would? Few, if any. Such an act of selfless good against the Nadir has great meaning. Still, the order which you attempt these is left to your discretion. How you go about achieving your goals is likewise left in your hands."
* Muirfinn rubs his face. "Let's get the one in...Yasyvant? Let's do that first. Hades second. Serpent scions last. I doubt that will be any fun."
> "It's probably the hardest, the child," Ebony nods slightly, adjusting her hood with one hand. "Fortunately, death heals each dawn at Ysgard, so the risk is minimal."
<Lief> "Well, I'm good with getting the most difficult over first."
<Muirfinn> "I might...MIGHT have some sway with them. Maybe. Depends on whether or not we can find one that's reasonable." Muirfinn says. "All said, if I'm going to spend an evening dead, I'd rather do it last."
> "Think it over," Ebony says, "You have time - likely a few weeks at the least," she explains, "Get your affairs in order and do your debating before going in. As much as we'd like to do this swiftly, we only have one chance at this, so sureness is preferred."
> OOC: Anything else ot ask Ebony here, y'all?
<Lief> OOC: Not me.
<Muirfinn> OOC: NAh
> OOC: Okay, do you want to do any research or talk to anyone IC about this, or otherwise do any prep or planning?
<Lief> OOC: Not me.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gonna gather info on our tagets
> OOC: How?
<Muirfinn> OOC: General research on Jormungandr in the library, and see if I can find anything on the Lover's Tree. Going back to Balmurialand would probably not be in there.
> OOC: Okay. Make two K:P checks, include the library bonus.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22+3+15
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22+3+15
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 50 > [d20=10]
<Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 58 > [d20=18]
> Jormugandr is the eternal serpent that is said to forever devour its own tail. It is said that it is a creature of venom and resurrection, life and death paired together in Ysgard. It is not a deity but said to rival them, with several mortal worlds citing it as a beast that will poison all the land and sky during the end of days. It lives deep in Ysgard in an uncertain location. A single drop of its toxin can slay a thousand men in an instant, or so the legends say. (More)
> The Lover's Tree has a long, sad tale attached to it. A paladin of the Triad and a noblewoman fell in love. They were to be wed, but a yugoloth intervened. It seduced and corrupted the noblewoman and sought to use her to slay the paladin. It almost succeeded - on their wedding night she drew the knife to slay him, but love stayed her hand long enough for the paladin to react. He was consumed with stunned fury, striking her away from the bed and greviously injuring her in one blow. Plan foiled but not defeated, the daemon laid a curse on the paladin to consume his soul for the sin of striking his wife. This would have consumed him and damned his soul to Hades, but his wife, in a final act of contrition, sacrificed herself to save him and was dragged down to Hades instead. The paladin was stricken with remorse and took off alone to Hades, all to save his wife's soul. After many battles he found her, all hope lost and leeched away by the daemons. He was not able to defeat the yugoloth in Hades, his power far too great for the hero there. As he lie dying, the paladin repeated his wife's actions, using his power and his soul to shatter the despair that consumed her. This act drew the attention of Lathander, who intervened. The daemon was cast away, face melted by the radiance of the deity. He took the two souls, one damaged by sacrifice and the other by Hades' despair, and pressed them together. They took the form of a tree there, a tree with fruit to aid those of good hearts lost in Hades. The fruit can stall and reverse the Grays as well as heal wounds. No yugoloth or native to Hades can find the tree by any means, or so it is said.
> *Ilmater, not Lathander. Stupid typo.
> OOC: Okay, now that you got all that, now what?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I still want to go to Balmurialand first
<Muirfinn> OOC: It's good to know, and might help us in Hades.
> OOC: Okay. That involves talking to Kascha, so how about I set you two up with that.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Thumbs up bro

> Kascha is found in the library. She sits in a comfortably overstuffed chair, reading a thick tome that floats before her. Her posture is prim and proper, her eyes seemingly trying to resist following the ioun stones that fly around her head. A cute look of concentration slowly forms as she reads, wholly focused on her task.
<Muirfinn> "Kascha!" Muirfinn says from immediately behind her.
* Lief zips over to hover behind the book with a wide grin.
> "Hello," Kascha says with a little twitch, keeping her eyes fixed ahead. "Ah, could you hold on. I'm trying to focus on these stones at the same time as something else. It's a little tricky-aaah!" Lief's movement is enough to make the book drop, hitting the floor with a thump.
* Lief stares at the book.
<Lief> "Sorry?
<Lief> "
<Muirfinn> "You...know you don't have to concentrate on the stones, right?"
> "I know." Kascha says, reaching up to pluck one of them down. "It's all mental - I mean, the problems. I know I have the actual reflexes to do this. It's rather interesting, as you know how spirits are shaped by belief in part? We think it's because I keep thinking that this sort of balance is difficult, even if it's only sub-concious, so I struggle with it."
* Ko-MushroomCharmNightmare is now known as Kotono
<Muirfinn> "Kascha, I have no idea what you're talking about anymore." Muirfinn looks at her, straight-faced.
> "Oh." Kascha gathers the rest of the stones, "Nevermind, I was talking about my problems. So Muirfinn and Lief, did you come to ask me something?"
* Lief points to Muirfinn.
> Kascha turns to Muirfinn, the question plain on her face. "Yes?"
<Muirfinn> "What can you tellus about the Lost Eastlands and the Forsaken of Yasyvant?"
> That draws out a long blink from Kascha, her stones absently put down on her lap. "You mean my homeland? Why are you asking about that?" Her smile slips away as she shakes her head, "I don't mind telling you, but I wasn't expecting someone to come up and ask out of the blue."
<Lief> "We're going!"
* Muirfinn nods at Lief. "We need a powerful object from her that represents sacrifice."
> "Her? ..." Kascha shakes her head and trails off, "It's a long story, and I suspect you'll need to hear most of it. Want to sit down?" Kascha asks, gesturing at nearby chairs.
* Lief lands on the arm of a chair.
<Muirfinn> "Sure." Muirfinn takes a seat in one of the plush chairs nearby. "Please, go on."
> "Millenia ago, I was a young human woman," Kascha looks away, vaguely towards the ceiling. Her voice doesn't stop, but her gaze is faraway. "An apprentice mage who went to Magill's Higher Studies Academy. The Lost Eastlands were a subcontinent, surrounded by mountains to the west and water on all other sides. It was a vibrant land. During my first year there...one of the kingdoms had an uprising amid the royal family, about who would take the throne. Then, during it, an invincible monster came. It came and destroyed everything. The entire Lost Eastlands were put to the sword and ruined. Millions perished, including myself. The survivors fled to a nearby island, as the monster could not cross the water. They named it the Destroyer." She pauses here, "That's just the beginning."
* Muirfinn raises a scaly eyeridge. "Millions?"
> "The Destroyed killed almost everyone. Entire kingdoms were lost. Empires. She didn't stop at anything." Kascha sighs and shakes her head, "Have you ever heard the stories various faiths have about the apocalypse? It was like that. No one could defeat her - and yes, it was a her, but I'm getting ahead of myself."
* Muirfinn motions for her to go on.
> "No one knew this at the time, but the Destroyer was Princess Marianne, one of the royals I mentioned. She had managed to obtain the form of a tarrasque and coupled it with her own intellect. Only the mountains to the west and the water all around kept the Destroyer from going farther. There were reasons for that, but it's not important. Soon after, the world underwent a massive catastrophe as the result of the Gnomish God-King. It's not directly related, except assuring that knowledge of the Eastlands were lost to other realms. Millenia passed. During this time, the survivors founded a faith about defeating the Destroyer. The Destroyer stalked the Eastlands, slaying any intelligent creature that dared set foot. Every generation or so, the refugees - who called themselves the Forsaken, for they felt the Gods left them...but I'm digressing. There's so much history here." Another little sigh, "It makes me nostalgic. Let me keep going towards the point."
* Muirfinn nods.
> "The point of that is that because of that cataclysm with the gnomes, the Gods were withdrawn from the world. It ensured no one could oppose the Destroyer. The Forsaken sent armies to fight the Destroyer every generation, but each was wiped out to the man. This went on for thousands of years. Thousands of years of pointless slaughter over the graveyard of civilizations. Finally, in the west, safe behind the mountains, the Crimson Guard of Balmuria brought back the attention of the Gods and other such things. In time they grew mighty and were able to pass the western mountains. They met the Destroyer and escaped her notice, managing to explore some of the ruins. There...they found my skeleton and a memory pendant I had. It was like a visual diary, meant to be sent to my parents. Seira took pity on me and called my spirit back from Arborea. I was incarnated in this form," she gestures at herself. "In time, Alicia, Seira and her allies challenged the Destroyer. They were akin to gods and hardly mortal, and managed to slay the Destroyer."
> "There's more to that, but in short, they managed to finally save the Forsaken and liberate the Lost Eastlands from the Destroyer. In the decades since then, the land has slowly begun to be repopulated." Kascha idly twirls a bit of her hair, still looking away. "The Forskane of Yasyvant you mentioned are the same Forsaken as in my story."
<Muirfinn> "Oh. Well that makes more sense, and seems much less...dangerous to seek out."
> "Before the Destroyer was killed, they lived a joyless and gray life. It was a bitter existence clung to on the edge of meaninglessness. They had but one faith centered around the Saint-Martyr Holiheant, as the rest of the Gods had left because of the gnomes." Another shake of her head, "Now a days, they're less gray and more rebuilding. Seira's worship is by far the dominante one, though some of Alicia's has crept in as well. The people remember who saved them. The traditional gods are struggling to find any purchase there. Mmm. Waukeen and Mystra do a little better since they're connected to Alicia and Seira, but it..." A stop as Muirfinn speaks up. "Oh, the realm isn't so dangerous now. The Destroyed tended to kill anything intelligent, good or evil. She's slaughter a red dragon as readily as a gold dragon."
* Yuthikins (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) has joined #dunes
<Yuthikins> "Oh. Well that makes more sense, and seems much less...dangerous to seek out."
> "Before the Destroyer was killed, they lived a joyless and gray life. It was a bitter existence clung to on the edge of meaninglessness. They had but one faith centered around the Saint-Martyr Holiheant, as the rest of the Gods had left because of the gnomes." Another shake of her head, "Now a days, they're less gray and more rebuilding. Seira's worship is by far the dominante one, though some of Alicia's has crept in as well. The people remember who saved them. The traditional gods are struggling to find any purchase there. Mmm. Waukeen and Mystra do a little better since they're connected to Alicia and Seira, but it..." A stop as Muirfinn speaks up. "Oh, the realm isn't so dangerous now. The Destroyed tended to kill anything intelligent, good or evil. She's slaughter a red dragon as readily as a gold dragon."
> *she'd.
> Nodding slightly to Muirfinn, turning to him now, "So...what business do you have with them?"
* Muirfinn (~Yuthirin@ip70-176-212-134.ph.ph.cox.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Yuthikins is now known as Muirfinn
<Muirfinn> "Okay, so the Destroyer is gone? That's good. Do you think we'll have any trouble finding the Gilded Heart?"
> "Gilded Heart?" Kascha blinks slowly, "Wait, back up. Explain what you're going for and why?"
> She then glances at Lief, "Did you two...no, I know neither of you mentioned it. Why didn't you mention that in the first place?"
<Muirfinn> "Well, I'm not exactly sure. I thought the Forsaken was a person."
<Lief> "Well, I'm just helping, sorta, so I let Muirfinn go ahead."
> "No, it referred to the survivors," Kascha explains, "Who are now no longer the Forsaken but instead rebuilding on the Lost Eastlands." So Kascha explains, "Why don't you back up and explain to me why you're looking into this and exactly what you're looking into?"
<Muirfinn> "Ebony told us that we needed to take you with us to find the Forsaken and the Gilded Heart. Or of the Gilded Heart. To be honest, I was more concerned with marching about Hades looking for a tree that may or may not be easily locatable. Also, Jormungandr's children."
> "I know what the Gilded Heart is," she explains, "Saint-Martyr Holiheant is said to have left it behind when he sacrificed his life to save the Forsaken as they first escaped the Destroyer." She rubs her chin slowly, "In truth, I'm not 100% clear on the exacts of the history behind it. The story was old when Seira heard it, and later investigation after the Destroyer's death showed it to be highly resistant to divinations. They claimed the Saint-Martyr's intervention prevented the Destroyer from crossing the water and finishing the Forsaken off, but I'm not sure if it's true. Stories have a way of becoming twisted as centuries turn them into myth."
> A moment to take a breath, "Anyway, the upwind of all of that is that it's a religious artifact of great value to the Forsaken. It's somewhat less so now that the Destroyer's gone. From what I understand, the faith of Holiheant is fading in favor of new worship. A new generation is slowly being born and raised, one that never lived as a Forsaken."
> Here Kascha shrugs, "They don't have the same memories and hardships as the generations that were Forsaken. The old ways don't mean as much ot them.
> :
> Another pause as Kascha considers, "If you had a divine mandate or highly knowledgeable source behind the request for it, I'm inclined to believe it's correct." Kascha finally says, "To tell the truth, I haven't followed up on the Holiheant side of the Lost Eastland's recovery in depth. I'd rather focus on the future than the past of my homeland. The past is full of pain and millenia of murder."
> As she hmms, "I can go with you, take you to the main city of the mainland. We can probably track down the heart from there. I doubt they'll let us borrow it easily, so it'll involve a quest, donations or whatever we get saddled with. We may be really unfortunate and get entangled in politics." A little frown graces Kascha's face, "I'm a servant of Seira, so that will open many doors by itself. It probably won't get us the heart by merely asking, though."
> At this point Kascha stops talking. A brief silence follows before she sheepishly says, "I didn't lose you in all of that, did I?"
> "Lief?" she glances over towards the pixie, "Did you get all that, too? I didn't lose you either, did I?"
<Muirfinn> "Hmmm..." Muirfinn rubs his chin. "Good to know. I rather expected that it wouldn't be so simple as to just ask for it. Might as well make the journey now. This could turn out to take the longest of the three items."
> Kascha tosses her stones back up, which begin to circle her head once more. She rises, "I can leave right away. Are the two of you ready?"
<Muirfinn> "I am."
> As you walk out through the courtyard, past the practices and mock-warfare, towards the openness of Air, "The biggest city is named Liberation Point. It's a nothern coastal city where the Forsaken first landed after the Destroyer's demise. That's where we'll be going. The city's something to see, especially from above. There's some rises not far from the city, we can appear there and fly in. I don't think we'll need to bother with disguises. Once they know I serve Seira and my name, we'll be treated extremely well. Any questions?"
<Muirfinn> "Are they opposed to dragons?"
> "Vaguely favorable. Seira's a dragon, you know!" Smiling at that, "She can take the form of massive red dragon. She won that knowledge from her studies and a cabal of ancient, planar red dragons. Except she's not evil, she only claimed the form since that's where her research lead." Tapping a long finger on her chin, "She's an exception, more accurately she'd be a gold dragon in morals. Especially since her dragonfire is golden. There's not a lot of opinion about the fey. You see, on our world, the fey essentially vanished with the Gods. Long story. They're making a resurgence, but there's not greatly known to many mortals now. So you should be fine as well, Lief. You might get mistaken for an overgrown courre eladrin, but that's it."
<Lief> "As long as they're not hostile out-right, I'll be fine!"
* Muirfinn nods. "I'll be taking the form of a silver, then. It's faster and useful, as well as the fact that when a dragon shows up, people tend to listen to what it has to say."
> Once out into Air, Kascha chants. She does it under her breath, tracing a portal open with her finger. Before you a swirling portal appears, which Kascha steps aside, "I'll go through last. Go on."
* Lief triggers his invisibility, just in case, and zips through, bow at the semi-ready!
* Muirfinn floats through, dragon-cat swimming gracelessly through the air beside his slightly-larger-than man-sized form.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Basically a medium silver dragon right now. No need to give too much away or spook the locals unnecessarily.
> Kascha is last. You stand on a windy cliff, a chill breeze blowing. It feels like mid fall or mid spring, the sky clear of clouds. Ahead of you is a long coastal plane that has a beach that the ocean laps against. There is a massive city build there, docks jutting out into the water from it. It is a mix of things. Around the docks are plane, gray stone buildings, an inner ring of blandness. BUt past them it becomes a riot of building sizes, shapes, colors and designs. There is no rhyme or reason that you can see. A cotton candy pink tower rises high into the air, unnaturally so, next ot a squat hall made of fire red brick. Nothing is the same, as if an artist had a fantastic fit of inspiration with the city. From your vantage point up here, you can see most of it. Kascha lands next to you, the portal closing behind her. "During their exile, the Forsaken became a hopeless, bland adn lifeless culture. Once the started living again on the mainland, they left that behind and found their creativity."
* Lief becomes visable again.
<Lief> "What's that pink tower?"
> "Not what it looks like," Kascha blushes just a little bit, "A mage's tower. He thinks pink is just the best color ever, far better than the gray he grew up with. He won't listen to anyone who tells him it's a girl's color. Actually, what you're sort of implying is quietly encouraged." Hmming a little bit, "There's quite upswing in births now, and the culture encourages it. They have lots of land to grow into."
> *quite a
* Lief stares at Kascha, blank faced.
<Lief> "I.. Uh..."
<Lief> "I wasn't implying anything. I just wanted to know what the pink tower was."
> Here she hms, "You know, it's lucky that someone like Sune hasn't made inroads here. The youth is probably primed for radically different morals about s-...oh." Kascha's voice drops to a little squeak, a blush taking up all her face. "Oooh! I thought...nevermind what I thought!"
* Lief turns to Muirfinn.
<Lief> "Maybe after we're done here, you should take Kascha on a date."
> "Let's go!" Kascha takes to wing, flying up and off.
* Lief eyes her out of the corner of his eye.
> "I meant to Liberation Point! To the city!" Kascha speeds pu, hurrying off.
* Muirfinn snorts, hoisting his large cat and flying lazily after them.
* Lief follows after.

> Thus the trio flies towards Liberation Point. As you fly above the city, the denizens below point and look up. You can hear the faraway murmur of many voices, Kascha leading you along amid this buzz. You fly past all the lively building and to the gray, inner ring of the city. Here Kascha descends before a squat, sturdy stone building. It looks as unappealing as a drizzly winter sky. "I think this is it," Kascha says, as people on the streets stare at the three.
* Lief stares back at the people.
> The people are dressed in a riot of colors. There's no real coorindation and almost everything is bright. A clash of reds, oranges, blues, yellows, greens, whites and other vibrant colors are worn.
<Lief> ".... I have to admit, I'm liking their fashion..."
* Muirfinn snorts, letting his cat settle to thr ground. His talons click down a moment later. "There's got to be an easier way to do that."
<Lief> "Was pretty easy for me."
* Lief grins at Muirfinn.
> "It must be a fairy thing. Afina would like that fashion too," Kascha observes, as she heads towards the doors of the building. They're big, tall doors that probably take several men to tug open.
<Lief> "You can shrink him! He'll be small enough to carry for you, and perfect sized for me to ride!"
<Muirfinn> "You were not carrying a grumpy oversized housecat." Muirfinn snorts, sending a small spray of snow into the air. His cat grumbles in response.
> As the three stand before them, the heavy doors open with a tremendous creak. They slowly invert inwards, revealing a wide open space. The walls are curiously undecorated, a large opening space tapering into a narrow, coffin lined hallway ahead. A middle aged man, balding and with a limp, comes forth to greet you. His face bears many wrinkles and looks tired, yet he does smile when he sees you, "Welcome to the house of the Saint-Martyr. It is rare to get guests of his calibur.":
* Lief looks at the old man curiously, and inspects the coffins from afar.
* Muirfinn nods regally to the man. "Greetings."
> The coffins are made of stone and look quite heavy. They also look reasonably well made, as much as Lief is knowledgeable about such things. "Hello. I am Kascha, student and servant of Seira Aryn," she inclines her head in a polite nod, "We're here on a mission."
<Lief> "I am Lief!"
* Lief greets with a grin.
> "You come on a mission," Lief gets a polite nod back from the man, "Walk with me down the halls of the lost, let us talk about it in the echos of history." HIs smile has slipped ever so slightly.
* Lief follows after him.
* Muirfinn trots befind the man, talons click-click-clicking on stone as his weird dragon cat prowls next to him.
> Thus the group goes back. Kascha speaks up once you walk alon gthe coffin-lined hall, "We're searching for the Gilded Heart," she says, getting right to the point.
> "The Gilded Heart." The man stops his walking, voice becoming sharp. "One does not come in here and merely ask for the Gilded Heart!"
* Muirfinn resists the sudden inexplicable urge to snark. "We do not do so lightly."
> "It is not a frivolous request," Kascha agrees, "It is a matter of great importance. We would not be here if it was, rather mortals would be talking to you." She smiles, a beautiful thing. "So please, understand that we aren't here on a lark."
> "Hm." The man considers for a time, bowing his head as he thinks. He rubs his chin before replying, "A donation to this temple would be a sign of your sincerity," he says after some thought, "Little else makes men serious as money."
<Muirfinn> Oh how Vivantha would seethe. Men assigning a value to that which is priceless. "How much?" He asks laconically.
> Kascha's smile becomes ever so slightly strained, but holds her peace.
* Lief frowns a bit and looks around the temple for anything... valuable or fragile...
> "The streets of the heavens are made of gold and paved with platinum, yes?" he asks back, "One hundred thousand crowns." Lief can see the temple is all stone and heavy things. Nothing looks immediately fragile.
> "One hundred..." Kascha's smile fades to a frown, "That's a gold coin," she asks as an aside to the other two, "So one hundred thousand gold coins."
* Muirfinn briefly has an image of a massive pile of golden crowns.
> With a polite smile as he spreads his hands out, "Surely the servants of the heavens have no touch of greed, and this sort of request is eminently reasonable, no?"
> OOC: Gah.
> With a polite smile as he spreads his hands out, "Surely the servants of the heavens have no touch of greed, and this sort of request is eminently reasonable, no?" The priest replies, "Seira could loosen the horde of her follows here, should it be so needed."
* Muirfinn struggles for a moment, before releasing a sharp snort, an inhale sounding like a massive ice block cracking in half. He flexes his wings, tail sweeping back and forth in amusement. "Ha! Ha ha ha! A hundred thousand for a sacred relic! Were our lives so easy, this would always we the case. We could simply buy the weapons to slay Bel. Storm the Abyss and slay abominations on our
* Muirfinn pocketbooks alone." His head swings around, sinuous neck bringing his large face and molten silver eyes level with the man, naught but half a food from his nose. "Your ancestors railed against the world, even when the gods turned from them, and proved themselves worthy." He grinds out.
<Muirfinn> "And you ask...for gold."
> OOC: I'm gonna call that an intimidation check. Roll one?
> OOC: But keep going first if you're still going.
<Lief> OOC: Can I use bluff to help?
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+14 shockingly not intimidating for a dragon!
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+14 shockingly not intimidating for a dragon! and gets 29." [1d20=15]
> OOC: Sure. Work up something reasonable and go for it.
* Lief grins at the man.
<Lief> "I wouldn't personally wouldn't want to anger him. He *is* a dragon, after-all. Long memories, long lives."
<Lief> roll d20+31 Bluff
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+31 Bluff and gets 32." [d20=1]
> "Dragons forget little," Kascha says, the normal good humor in her voice gone. She sighs, "I could respect asking us for a holy quest, for healing or something that we could grant better than others. But this is naked greed married to thinly veiled attempts to scare us off." Looking him in the eye, "I expected better from the Forsaken my Goddess gave her blood and toil to save."
> roll 1d20+31 diplo
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 diplo and gets 38." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+10 sense motive vs Kascha, working backwards here
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 sense motive vs Kascha, working backwards here and gets 11." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+10 sense motive vs Lief
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 sense motive vs Lief and gets 18." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+4 (-8 other checks)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+4 (-8 other checks) and gets 8." [1d20=4]
> The priest recoils visibly from the annoyed dragon, eyes darting to Lief as he speaks. His color turns to that of ashes at the pixie's implied threat, whipping to Kascha as she speaks. Her obvious disappointment hits him even harder, leaving him shaking in a mix of fear and shame. "I...that..." he stumbles over his words, seemingly robbed of them for the moment.
* Muirfinn turns away from tha man and to Kascha. "You told us of the storied history of these people who were once your own. You have my condolences."
> "Look at him," Kascha gestures, "A new order and time has come. Yet he still hides in the gray, barren past. Look at how he resents us for having ruined his brooding." She shakes her head again, closing her eyes, "In all truth, I expected so much better from my descendants. Lief, please remember that most humans are better than this."
> "I..." Again the man can only stammer, his head ping-ponging back and forth as each person speaks.
* Lief rubs his chin, staring at the man.
<Lief> "I dunno, they all sorta look the same to us fey... I mean, if I can't seem to find anything to trust in him, are all of them really that different? We fey tend to be of like mind."
> "Repent your greed and hate," Kascha intones, softening her voice a little bit. "I know it isn't your choice ot make about the Gilded Heart. Go, talk to whomever is your superior, then spend some time reflecting on your actions. Seira teaches that money is a tool to better the lives of others. Rather than extorting it like this, reflect on how you can use wealth to invest in a better future." Here she pauses, "You'll learn," she says. "There are many humans of great virtue...just not here."
* Muirfinn shakes his head at the man. "You have nothing to fear from me. I will not harm you. It is not my way. I can hope, however, that you can muster your morality. Kascha's disappointment is something you should dread, for no other reason than she is an angel. Of the three of us, Lief is the only one you should truly fear." Muirfinn finishes, pointing at Lief with a claw.
> "Exactly. What will Lief become to humans if he believes them nothing more than greedy thieves?" Kascha adds.
<Muirfinn> "Oh, not so much that." Muirfinn chuckles. "Have you ever seen a target of the ire of the fey?"
* Lief grins sharply and toothily at the comment.
> "Oh?" Kascha asks, "Lief, what do the fey do to those that draw their wrath?"
<Lief> "Honestly? Whatever we want! Shiney things is where I'd start.. Then probably on to important things that break.. Then... Some kind of humiliation. After that? I'm not sure... Haven't had many live past that."
> At that, the man's color somehow grows even paler. He stumbles back, "I...I'll pass on your h-honored request right away!" He bows deeply thereafter, almost managing to put his forehead to the ground, before hurrying down the hall in a tizzy.
* Lief grins happily.
<Lief> "Maybe they can learn to be better, after all!"
> Kascha sighs just a little bit, "I don't enjoy those sort of things," she admits, "I've never been an angel of wrath. But I dare say that it was appropriate. Perhaps he'll improve himself as a person and not have the gall to insult fantastical beings. It'll do wonders for his lifespan should he encounter any others. Few would deal with his insult as softly as that."
<Lief> "Well... I'm not sure about softly."
<Lief> "I mean, fey are starting to be around more, right? It wouldn't do for us to get a repuatation of not following up."
* Muirfinn snorts.
<Lief> "Might have to make some friends with the local fey."
> "Mmm. Still, murder is murder. Humans aren't like demons or devils - they can change and repent. There's no virtue in killing them except when there's no other choice." A slight shake of her head follows that, "I say that as someone who was murdered."
<Lief> "Hmm.. Well, maybe I'll tell them to not take it that far."
<Lief> "Really, we just like causing problem."
* Lief grins.
<Muirfinn> "That behavior does have its uses!"
> From there's a short wait. You don't see much of anyone else around. It merely seems empty within, a vast building that is as much an icon as it is hollow. Soon enough an old man approaches, coming down the hall. He is stooped and old, white bearded and using a cane to help himself alone. His eyes are cloudy but focus on the party, "It was spoken truly. Creatures of legend have come to the house of the Saint-Martyr."
> OOC: Gah, didn't have a scroll down from Kascha's last line.
* Muirfinn raises a scaly eyeridge at the man, but says nothing.
> "I am Uless, keeper of this sanctuary." He speaks slowly, tiredly. "Would you care to discuss this somewhere more comfortable?"
> "It would be nice, thank you," Kascha replies. The party is lead back. Everything here is austere and stony, even the sitting room you're lead to. There's hard stone benches and a stone table - not a hint of comfort to be found. The old man sits down on one of the benches without complaint, "I would not offend you by offering our simple porridge and water."
<Lief> "I'll have water!"
> The old man gets up and leaves briefly. He comes back with a simple glass of water, placing it in front of Lief. He sits back down once that's done, wincing. "Aaaaah. I'm afraid age has her claws deep into me. But...please, enough of that. Why are you here?"
* Lief flies over to the glass and takes a drink.
> It's water. Decent enough but nothing revolutionary. Meanwhile Kascha goes on, "We're seeking the Gilded Heart. We'd like to borrow it, in particular."
* Muirfinn nods. "For a short time."
> "That is...an extraordinary request," Uless replies slowly. "Absolutely extraordinary."
<Muirfinn> "It's an extraordinary task. It requires extraordinary things."

> "It's for a good cause," Kascha adds quietly, "A good cause, like the good cause Seira took on to slay the Destroyer."
> "This is a tremendous request," Uless continues to speak slowly, "It is not something done. Only the highest of Saint-Martyr's servants could access the Gilded Heart, let alone those rare few who could take it."
> "I know," Kascha says soft and gentle with her words, "But what profit is it to leave a tool of liberation gathering dust, rather than being used for what it was meant to be used for?"
* NeremWorld (~Nerem@75-172-94-163.tukw.qwest.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
<Lief> "The fact that we've come asking, with a connection to Seira should at least give us some consideration. We're not exactly the normal highwaymen types that you worry about, are we?"
* NeremWorld (NeremWorld@174-31-186-129.tukw.qwest.net) has joined #dunes
* Muirfinn settles back on his haunches. He clears his throat. "Would you like to hear a story?"
> "A story?" Uless asks back, "As you like."
<Muirfinn> "It is a sad tale. A story of a woman named Kina." Muirfinn says, foreclaws gesturing. OOC: I'mma wall o'text this one. FYI.
> OOC: Go ahead then.
<Muirfinn> "Kina was a beautiful girl, though she grew up in a difficult home. Wracked by poverty, she and her family struggled. Her early life hampered more than helped by her natural beauty. She was recruited by Sharess' worshippers early because of this, and it aided her some. Alas, age takes its toll on all natural-born things, and thus marred her beauty. Kina, however, was in posession of an overabundance
<Muirfinn> of pride. She felt it that adulation and love and beauty were her due, and age was taking them all from her without just cause. She made a decision, and in an act of horror she abducted and sacrificed a neophyte Sharessian in return for youth. She turned her face from Sharess, and a demon answered her, quick to fill the void. This creature of unholy beauty granted her wish. To retain this, the
<Muirfinn> sacrifices continued. Eventually, she was found out, was cornered by a man of Sharess. When she turned to the demon for aid, it dragged her soul down to the Abyss instead. A tale of woe and greed, but it did not end there." OOC: MOAR
<Muirfinn> "So great was her hate that her soul twisted into the form of a marilith. So filled with hate for her former mistress, and the overwhelming urge to prove herself right and better, caused her to grow powerful. She grew so powerful, she made an attempt on the life of Sharess. For her insolence, the goddess smote her directly, sundering Kina's body, but her soul and drive held her together. Sharess
<Muirfinn> was unable to slay her, for reasons I do not know. Kina, known now as Kina-ja, has roamed the planes in a state two steps beyond madness for uncountable years since. Syala desires her destruction and has made a personal request of us to locate and destroy Kina-ja." Muirfinn winds down. "The Gilded Heart is an artifact that will aid us in wiping clean a powerful stain across the planes."
> OOC: MAke a diplo check or a perform(oratory) check, whichever is higher.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+40+3 diplo
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+40+3 diplo and gets 53." [1d20=10]
> Muirfinn's words draw Uless in, the story of Kina's mortal life. When it's finally over, his expression is thoughtful. "These planes you speak of. I know only a little of them. What exactly is a marilith?"
<Lief> "Evil and vicious."
<Muirfinn> "Mariliths are demons. They wear the head of a beautiful woman and have six arms. They usually carry a weapon in each hand, and have the lower body of a snake. They are dangerously insane and unbelievably violent."
> "They're also tacticians, but it's not important. What's important is that they're creatures of nightmares, hate and evil." Kascha adds.
> "Mmm. Syala...she is linked to Alicia, I believe?" Uless asks, "The name is familiar."
<Muirfinn> "Yes, they're frightfully intelligent as well."
> "Yes," Kascha nods, "They are united."
> "I will...need to consider," The man says after a little more deliberation. "This decision requires prayer and meditation. Would you return on the 'morrow?"
<Muirfinn> "That is acceptable."
<Lief> "Thank you for listening to our story! The other human was... less agreeable. Wanted money right off the bat. Maybe Kascha was right, not all humans are the same."
> "Thank you," Kascha rises, "For your hospitality and time."
> "Humans are nothing if different from one another," Uless says, "In this era, all are shining snowflakes of color riots and newfound joy."
<Lief> "I like colors, riots, and joy!"
* Lief grins at the old man.
> "You are the young ones," Uless shakes his head, "So full of life."
* Lief smirks at Kascha.
> OOC: Okay, are y'all ready to move along? Also, any plans or just wait until tomorrow?
<Lief> OOC: I got nothin' besides maybe causing some chaos. But nothing in mind.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I have no plans, and will waiyt
> OOC:Okay.
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 26." [1d100=26]
> You get lodging in the city. Beyond the grey ring, the entire area is far more lively. While you have reactions and other such things, nothing is truly out of the ordinary - especially once you get in your rooms for the night and rest. The next morning you head back to see Uless. More people are out, a fair few eyes on the group as they head towards the destination.
* Lief zips back and forth over the crowds, looking for anything interesting.
* Muirfinn makes his way, using the fact that he is currently a 9 foot long silver dragon to keep peace for the group.
> OOC: PErception, Lief.
<Lief> OOC: Which is what? Wisdom or Spot?
> OOC: I'm sorry, spot.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 52." [d20=20]
> As you pass by an orange and white colored stone building, Lief notices something odd. An out of place metal doorway set well into the side wall of it, down an alley it shares with a purple domed building. The metal isn't painted and looks completely off-color to the rest of the building.
* Lief stares at the door for a moment before zipping over to Muirfinn, constantly looking at the door like it'll disappear.
<Lief> "Muirfinn! Kascha! I *need* that door. Come with me!"
* Lief floats over towards the door without waiting for a response.
* Muirfinn glances at Lief's retreating form. "Well, it's not like the Heart is going anywhere."
> "Lief?" Kascha follows along, "I suppose it won't," she says, as the door is reached. It's a big, imposing iron door. It's not rusted in the least and looks imposingly thick. A simple doorknob provides further entry if one wishes to open it.
* Lief stares at the door knob for a moment and then triest to turn it with his little self.
> The doorknob twists and turns, opening! Ahead you see a familiar stairway landing, stairways going up and down from it at all angles. Before you is the Infinite Stairway, a familiar sight. Dark void surrounds everything, stairways rising up into for all directions. On the floor of the landing are a few bits of colorful stone, just strewn around.
* Lief stares at it.
<Lief> "I like this place!"
> "Oh, the Infinite Stair," Kascha says, "You found a door to it. Muirfinn, if I remember right, most people won't notice it?"
<Muirfinn> "Oh yes. The Stair. I met Vivantha here, when we were being attacked by the deathdrinker. I think that's what it was called. Don't try to fly there unless you're a lillend, Lief."
* Lief cocks his head to the side a bit.
<Lief> "Really? Not at all?"
> "Yes," Kascha says, "You'll get lost and take a terrible tumble. It's a transitive plane like the Astral Plane and the normal rules of distance don't really apply."
<Lief> "Awww... Still, want to take a look?"
> "We could lose hours walking the stairs," Kascha says, "If we get the Gilded Heart, we can drop it off at Aurora and come back?" she offers.
* Lief stares longingly at the staircases before sighing.
<Muirfinn> "Once this is over, I think. We'll bring Vivantha along the trip. See the planes."
<Lief> "I guess that might be a *little* more important. Maybe. Let's get the Heart as fast as possible, then."
> "There's so much to see," Kascha says, "Though I can't got to Earth for a little under...77 years, I think? I need to check."
<Lief> "Why's that?"
<Muirfinn> "She died there once, not too long ago."
<Lief> "... Ah. I'm sorry to hear that. But glad you got better."
> "I died there recently," Kascha says, "Ithea and I, along with a few others, were there on Aurora business." Kascha explains, "I died in the battle. When a spirit dies on a plane that isn't its own, it reforms on that plane instead of dying for good. You could only kill me for good in the Cauldron." Kascha explains, "Likewise, you can only kill a devil for good in Hell, usually."
<Muirfinn> "Barring extraordinary means."
> Going on from that, "You see, when you die somewhere, Creation remembers the echos. Going there would be a paradox and it takes a long time to fade. So I literally can't go into Earth until it passes," she hms as she continues to lecture, gesturing with a finger as she goes on, "Usually the amount of time has numerological signifigance to the planar origin of the outsider. 77 years is standard for celestials, with 99 years and 66 years being common for devils and demons, respectively. Of course, it's not always that, as circumstances and chaos for the more chaotic outsiders, can change that."
<Lief> ".. That's pretty handy. Sorta wish I could do that."
> "Well, I did start as a mortal. Many  mortal souls become outsiders on death," Kascha explains, "You can't really kill a soul. When a mortal life ends, it goes to the outer plane or domain that fits. When you kill a spirit like me, the soul just returns there and reforms. Even killing it on the home plane doesn't kill the soul, but instead forces it to disperse into the plane as part of a greater whole. The bodies aren't important, but the soul is instead." A beat as she continues, "From what I understand, Yggdrasil and the fey Cycle is a closed system of reincarnation instead. Afina ran afoul of that when she became half fire elemental..." she trails off, blinking, "You know, we're going to be late if I don't stop digressing."
<Muirfinn> "True. Afina was quite upset, if I understand correctly. We should move on, though. The entrances to the Infinite Stair are myriad and random. I know of another on this plane. Vivantha likely knows more, as does Tannin."
* Lief nods and starts to head back towards the church.
> The walk back to the church is otherwise uneventful. You end up talking to Uless again, a small, humble spread of water and porridge provided. "Did you rest well?" he asks as everyone settles in.
<Muirfinn> "Indeed."
<Lief> "Yes, thank you! How about you?"
> "My old bones ache," he says, "But they prod me to sleep less." He smiles politely to that, "There's two types of us left, you know. Those who cling to the old ways out of fear, who do not want anything different. They hate the freedom they were given because they can't handle it. The others like me are too old to change, even if the world around them does. You've met examples of both here." Here he sits back and sighs tiredly, "The faith that saw us through millenia is dying. I fear in a century it will be a forgotten footnote, lost in the joy of live lived freely and without the shadow of the Destroyer. You understand..." He trails a hand across the rough surface of the stone bench he sits on, "That our people sought symbols of endurance and eternity. We were condemned by the Gods and the Destroyer forever sought to render their verdict on us. Forgive an old man his ramblings," He looks up to them at this, "But I wanted you to understand the plight of those that cling to the Saint-Martyr before anything else."
<Lief> "Wouldn't helping us with Kina-ja show people that Saint-Martyr isn't.. Uh.. Obsolete, though? Your help with a monster like her would give you something to claim, wouldn't it?"
> To this the old man smiles rather sadly. "I'm afraid the Saint-Martyr is. That entire purpose was in saving us...but what need of saviors do the saved have?" Still he goes on from that, "Even if you use the Gilded Heart of Holiheant to slay this Kina-ja, I fear this faith will still be forgotten. Instead I have another request of you." He looks ot the party, "Faraway are mountains on the edge of the Amaryl Ranges." That causes a thin smile, one Kascha shares, as if a private joke was exchanged.
<Lief> "Hmm.. That.. Doesn't sound right to me. There are lots of things people need protecting from. Just because the biggest one is gone doesn't mean the rest disappeared with it."
<Muirfinn> "Lief is correct. You succumb to despair, when there is no need for such. If your faith is to survive, it must adapt." Muirfinn nods, "What is in the mountains?"
> "I know, but let me finish, please," Uless says, "One of those border mountains has an excellent peak with a cave. It's perfect for building something there...but a dragon from the west has taken lair there. I would ask you to drive the dragon out and help me forge an eternal temple and monument to the Saint-Martyr there. Let it be forged in the ageless stone that matched our grim determination for so long, a wonder to attract those from far and wide to come to it. Something that will last far beyond the end of my life and allow this legacy to be remembered."
* Lief looks at Muirfinn.
<Lief> "Any chance of it being your cousin or something?"
<Muirfinn> "Unlikely. I'm not from this plane." Muirfinn says. "What color is the dragon?"
> Here Uless sighs, "There's little need to adapt. Seira's worship has taken that role. And why not? She was the one who saved us. She was the miracle we sought for ages. Several splinters who didn't connect with her worship ended up worshiping the goddess Alicia - but that's a story for another day," Uless remarks. "Ice. Not white nor silver, but ice. It is a strange thing."
> "A dragon of ice? That is unusual. I suppose it could be from the para-elemental plane of ice," Kascha glances over at Muirfinn, "Or perhaps a giant construct of non-melting ice?"
<Lief> "Ice dragon? Sounds interesting. Never met one before."
<Muirfinn> "Both are possible. Either way, it will be amusing."
> "As for the other part," Kascha sits back, "I suppose the right spells could make a monument. Between wish and miracles we could do it by brute force - do you think, Muirfinn?"
<Muirfinn> "I am somewhat skilled at moving of earth and stone."
<Lief> "I suppose I can scout the cave before you come in. Maybe I'll find something useful."
> "That'll help too." There's a pause as Kascha considers, "I think your terms are fair. I understand..." Here Kascha trails off, "Everything passes in time in the mortal world. In Arborea - you'd call it Heaven, even though it's only one of many. But in Arborea, there's a place were all truths are realized, even those that are a contradiction. If your Saint-Martyr protected you so vigilantly, I promise you it will be true there and it will be remembered there for all time."
* Muirfinn nods. "It's a nice vacation spot. Great shops."
> That gets Kascha to glance at Muirfinn, "...yes, that is true. There are shops in paradise," she admits, "If for no other reason than the Waukeenites would go mad without them." The look Muirfinn gets is surprisingly terse, like SHUT UP written in her expression, as nicely as she can be.
> "I don't profess to understand, but...thank you and the terms are accepted," Uless says, "Do you need any more information?"
* Muirfinn snorts quietly, ice crystals briefly filling the air.
<Lief> "To the mountains then?"
<Muirfinn> "Unless either of you have business to attend here?"
<Lief> "Just the door."
> "I was going to ask the local temple to Seira," Kascha says, "No offense met, but I have a lot of credit with them if we need information." She looks over to Lief, "I suppose we could teleport in blind if you like that. As long as we keep a spare gate or greater telepor ton hand, a tactical retreat's easy."
> *meant
<Lief> "You've done this more than I have, so I'll follow what you think is best."
<Muirfinn> "How far are the mountains from here?"
> "Hundreds and hundreds of miles away," The old man says, "But the way you speak suggests that is hardly a problem at all."
<Muirfinn> "I can fly very fast." Muirfinn confides.
> OOC: Do y'all have anythinge lse to ask him?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'm good
<Lief> OOC: I don't.
> On going out and back outside, "Muirfinn," Kascha says. Her normally sweet voice has a hint of an edge to it, "I know you meant nothing with your comment about shopping there...I was trying to be profound," she says, "To give an old, sad man some hope. Being profound and noting the excellent shopping in Brightwater doesn't mix unless you're a Waukeenite."
<Lief> "... I dunno, I kind of want to go shopping in Arborea."
> "It's worth it," Kascha says, "You should! It just wasn't the time or place to mention it."
<Muirfinn> "Ah, my apologies. I was going for a small bit of levity. He looked like he could use some cheering."
<Lief> "Cheering is good."
> "He did, that's what I was trying,"Kascha admits with a little blush. "But...did you want to gather information first or just go?"
* Lief eyes Kascha for a moment.
<Muirfinn> "Let's gather what we can. It's important to know as much as possible."

> OOC: So gathering information then?
<Muirfinn> OOC: YEP
> OOC: Temple of Seira like Kascha suggested or some other means?
<Muirfinn> OOC: We'll start there and carry on if needed
> OOC: Okay. More coming.
> The Temple to Seira is a large golden temple. It rises up over the terrain and has a large archway entrance. Dragon motifs decorate and you can see dozens of people coming and going. It buzzes with the noise of conversation and foot traffic, alive and vital.
> "We'll go inside and introduce ourselves," Kascha says, "They know me here. This'll be livlier than that stony shrine we just came from."
* Muirfinn nods. "You know this place. We'll follow your lead on our way in."
* Lief floats over the heads of the others to get a better view, trying to take everything in, and looking for shinies.
> There's plenty of shiny things about. The walls are decorated with dragon faces, often made of what looks to be red metal with rubies for eyes and golden highlights. Further inside is a large communal space, no alter but instead at least a hundred people about. They're talking about this or that, a sense of noise and energy coming from them. Several doors about lead further within. As you come in, a man near the door peels away. He's young - past his teen years but certainly not by much. He's fit and trim, wearing a gold and red highlighted set of leather armor along with a vibrantly bright purple cloak. "Oh, there you are!" he says, "Welcome, welcome. But you know this place and where it is, of course, don't you?  I'm Rendas, a priest of Seira."
<Muirfinn> "Greetings. I am Muirfinn."
* Lief focuses on one of the gems, idly wondering if there's a way to make off with it.
<Lief> "I'm Lief!"
> They look attached into the statue, a subtle attachment keeping them in place. "I'm Kascha. I am a servant of Seira and we come asking for help."
* Lief grunts a bit at seeing the solid attachments.
> "I heard," He smiles, "Why don't we go over here," he says, stepping a bit aside. There's benches here and there in the communal space and he goes to the nearest, which is open. "You've visited before, so I wondered what took you so long to come by."
> Kascha goes to sit, "This is our quest," he gestures, "Not just mine. Um, besides," Pausing for a moment with a look of puzzlement, "Muirfinn, Lief, why don't you tell him what you need. I need to get up for a moment." As she rises, she mouths, 'Back soon to them.
> OOC: Add a ' at the end of back soon.
* Lief lands on back of the bench and sits down.
> "As...you wish?" Rendas sounds a little puzzled too, an awkward pause following as Kascha gets up.
<Muirfinn> "Very well. What do you know of ice dragons?"
> "You mean white dragons?" Rendas asks back, gathering himself. "They're generally regarded as the weakest chromatic dragon, but the high mountain lairs they prefer allow them to fight indirectly through thin air and bitter cold."
<Muirfinn> "No, good sir. Ice dragons. Made of ice."
<Lief> "Like an elemental!"
* Muirfinn points a silvery claw at Lief. "Like that."
> You see Kascha goes a ways away, kneeling next to a young human child. Perhaps 10, perhaps 12, somewhere in that range. A young boy, hand son his hips and smiling. Meanwhile Rendas nods, "A dragon made of actual ice?" He hmmms, "I heard about that, something in the mountains. Stop me if you know this already, but we have an order dedicated to studying dragons. They collect all the information on dragons they can, including local news and gossip. They can sort you out."
<Muirfinn> "Excellent. Where can we find them?"
* Lief watches Kascha and then slowly grins as he remembers her comments as they were approaching the city.
> "Kascha knows," Rendas explains, "She can take you there..." Glancing over at where she is, with a little confused frown, "What is..." he murmurs under his breath, stopping after saying that and turning back. "But in any case, she can as soon as she's done with whatever she's doing. It must be instructions from the Dragon Princess."
<Lief> "Oh, maybe, maybe not..."
* Lief lets his grin turn wider and toothier.
<Muirfinn> "Or she's about to smite an infidel." Muirfinn says placidly.
<Lief> "Just let her have her little rendezvous. She's been looking forward to something happening since we approached the city, after all."
> "He's a child," Rendas stares at Muirfinn a moment, before going 'oh' and smiling. After a moment Kascha turns away and comes back, "Sorry about that," she says, "What did I  miss?"
* Lief continues grinning at Kascha.
<Muirfinn> "You've obviously never been to the Abyss." Muirfinn says, patting the man lightly on the shoulder. "You are fortunate."
<Lief> "I mean, when you deal with non-mortals, isn't everyone basically a child after a certain point?"
<Muirfinn> "They do mature as they grow." Muirfinn helpfully points out.
<Lief> "And helping them mature the right way would obviously help, too."
> "Eh?" Rendas looks completely confused now, Kascha starting to share that look. "What are you talking about?"
<Muirfinn> "Adult children."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "Some children are very mature for their ages."
> "Apt there," Kascha admits, "You see, Seira was only 20 when she ascended. She did more with her teen years than most people do with several lifetimes. Some of the faithful try and have their children match that pa..." she stops. "Wait, why did that even come up in the first place? The mature part."
* Lief stares Kascha dead in the eye and regains his large, toothy grin.
<Lief> "Welllll, there was that conversation we had as we were comming to the city..."
* Lief lets his gaze wander over to the kid she was talking to.
<Lief> "I mean if it happens here of all places, in your church, it's meant to be, right?"
* Lief goes back to locking eyes with Kascha.

> "I don't..." Kascha blinks slowly, freezing right after that. There's a perfect moment where she's simply frozen, staring right back at Lief. "AH!" It's loud enough to get some looks your way, Kascha blurting it out as she blushes terribly. She seems aware of the attention, lowering her voice, "Don't joke about something like that!"
* Ebiris (Ebiris@cpc9-sgyl30-2-0-cust73.sgyl.cable.virginm.net) Quit (Quit: )
<Lief> "Your mind was there from the second you saw the city."
* Muirfinn blinks. "...moving on."
> This gets Kascha to slowly rub the bridge of her nose, "So..." she lets it trail off in a small little voice, "What did I miss here?"
<Muirfinn> "Lief is being a pixie."
* Lief sniffs.
> "I gathered," Kascha says, "Never mind it. I meant about finding information on that dragon?"
<Lief> "Something all should aspire to."
> "I was just directing them to where they could find more information," Rendas explains.
<Muirfinn> "Yes, quite."
> "Go upstairs," Rendas explains, "Top floor, the Wyrm's Tome. They'll be able to help you more, since I know those rumors are going around."
> "Thank you," Kascha smiles to him, "Let's go then. I know the way. It's quite the view up there."
* Lief takes to the air above Kascha's head and readies to follow her.
<Muirfinn> "Thank you, good sir. We'll go there directly." Muirfinn says.
> From there you find stairs going up. It's airy and bright here, windows along the stairways letting in the day's light. More dragon are about. As you climb up, you can see little recesses where ghostly, illusory images go about. Kascha gestures to them as you go, "Those are re-enactments of scenes from the holy writings of the religion, if you're interested in that sort of thing."
> *more dragon motifs
* Muirfinn watches for a bit. "Fascinating. When we're not pressed for time, I may return to learn more."
* Lief zips around above the others, looking at the motifs and watching what he can of the images while keeping up.
> Lief can see one that looks like a group of heroes against a silvery dragon, set against the backdrop of tundra. Another is a group against an absolutely titanic beast - one that Kascha glances at and shakes her head. The beast dominates in a way that's more than its size, yet after a moment you realize it doesn't have any details. "The Destroyer," Kascha murmurs. "The features are blurred since seeing it brings back bad memories to the older generation." Going up, you reach the top floor. Here the walls have a generally cave-like motif, inlaid with bookshelves. The shelves have everything to books, to odd devices to simple piles of wealth. Large room after large room connects together, with several lacking the ceiling altogether. The air is fresh in here thanks to that, people in copper-burnished robes going to and fro. "Excuse me," Kascha intercepts the nearest one, "I come for information, in the name of the Dragon Princess. Would you inform the highest cleric of the tome that Kascha is here and requires their help in making a better tomorrow?"
* Lief looks around at the cave-like room.
<Lief> "They take the dragon thing seriously, don't they?"
* Muirfinn nods at Lief, eyeing the piles of gold and other nice things.
> As the copper-robed man hurries off, Kascha nods, "That's right. Anyone brave enough to try and take it is tracked down. Every item here is marked to be swiftly located. They're either dealt with for the heresy of stealing from a church or recruited for being daring and skillful enough for pulling it off."
* Lief moops around the room, drawing nearer to some of the gold piles, casually looking for an odd chance for minor larceny...
<Lief> loops*
> Oh, there's plenty of nice things just lying about to be taken, if Lief's of a mind.
* Muirfinn snorts. "Well at least they've got their heads on straight."
> "Mmm-hmm," Kascha murmurs, "Seira's always had an interest in redeeming people." Pausing to tap her lips, "Alicia got off to the better start there, so it's encouraged Seira to step up her own efforts."
> Kascha pauses, "It's strange to talk about goddesses as people. My view is so far out of the ordinary...there's celestials that are older than dirt that couldn't claim that." As she ruminates on that, a woman comes up. She's twenty something, with long brown hair and a warm smile. She wears the same copper robes as well as a golden circlet and golden jewelry. "Kascha!" she greets, "You brought friends this time!"
* Muirfinn raises a scaly eyebrow.
* Lief tries to take advantage of the new person's distraction!
> OOC: Since I know what you're doing, make a sleight of hand check, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+14 Sleight of Hand
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+14 Sleight of Hand and gets 24." [d20=10]
> "This is Lief and that is..." A pause as she looks around, "Lief's over there," she gestures after Lief gets a few coins. "Meanwhile, that's Muirfinn. Muirfinn, if you would?"
* Lief floats back over after squirreling away the coins and hiding them.
* Muirfinn blanks languidly, clearly ignoring Lief. "Ah yes, greetings. Would I what?"
> "The reason that we..." KAscha sounds, sounding lost. She sighs again, "Never mind. We're here about rumors of a dragon made entirely of ice. We're looking for any information you have on it."
<Muirfinn> "Oh yes, forgive me. I'm forgetful occasionally. Yes. Yes! The ice dragon."
<Lief> "Ice dragon! I sort of can't wait to fight him!"
<Muirfinn> "Patience, Lief. Perhaps we can convince him to leave of his own accord. Or her own accord."
<Lief> "But... Then the dragon loot."
<Muirfinn> "Nobody ever said anything about the loot going with the dragon."
> "That ice dragon?" The woman greets, "But where are my manners? You can call me Lessey. Reports about the dragon are new and fragmentary, but they agree that he - and it seems to be a he - is hostile and unpleasant. It blows breath of pure ice, but seems to cut through protections from cold. The mages call this 'piercing cold' and compare it to a magic type called 'searing fire'."
* Lief eyes Muirfinn.
<Lief> "Don't all dragons have stashes of loot?"
<Muirfinn> "Some don't." Muirfinn says to Lief. "Especially those who are new to an area. they may have had to leave a hoard behind for various reasons."
<Lief> "Aww."
* Muirfinn turns to Lessey. "Yes, Simmer uses fire like that, I believe. Doesn't surprise me that there is a cold counterpart."
<Lief> "Hmmm... If we can get him to come with us, then we'll have him and Simmer together!"
* Muirfinn snorts a laugh, "Anything is possible, I suppose."
> "Spirited creatures, aren't you?" Lessey replies with a laugh as well. "Don't get hit by his breath, no matter how protected you are. It also doesn't show any vulnerability to fire. Just the opposite - it's completely immune from reports. It shrugs off acid and electricity as well."
> "I'll need to prepare the right spells," Kascha murmurs, "He sounds fearsome. But what type of dragon is it? Do you have anything about its origins or history?"
* Muirfinn sighs. "Of course. Why would it be easy?"
> "Dragons are never easy opponents," Kascha admits, "This dragon also sounds anything but ordinary."
> "Well," Lessey admits, "Nothing concrete. But...is it acceptable for your friends to here privileged information of the church?"
* Muirfinn turns to point his snout at Kascha.
* Lief hovers above Kascha's head.
> Kascha considers a moment and hms, "It depends on what it is," she says, "But they aren't part of the faith, even if they're good people and reliable. As long as it isn't something that would endanger anyone."
> This causes Lessey to squint a little bit as she looks the two over, "We'd prefer it if this information isn't spread, even the vague things I allude to here. There's reasons and let's leave it at that. There's signs that there is a great creature of ice below the Amaryl Ranges. Our leading theory wonders if the dragon is connected to it."
<Lief> "'Great creature?' How big is 'great'?"
<Muirfinn> "Perhaps some creature that made its way off of the plane of Ice?"
> "Great," Lessey considers again, "Kascha, could we talk privately a moment? You'd be cleared to hear this, and you can decide what to tell them." She then looks to the other two, "I'm sorry, I hate these situations. The Dragon Princess is said to dislike them too, but it's unavoidable here."
* Lief nods.
> "It must be bad," Kascha says gamely, "Alright. Stay here, you two. I'll be back soon." With that the two go off to the next room, leaving the two alone for the moment. OOC: Doing anything of note or just waiting?
* Muirfinn shrugs, eliciting a somewhat comical reaction from his wings. "If you want to leave the fey unattended, that's fine with me."
* Lief grins.
<Lief> "I'll be good!"
<Lief> OOC: If left alone, I'll be slipping out of the church.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'm not your keeper! Do as you like!
> OOC: Going to go run off instead of waiting, then?
<Lief> OOC: I will.
> OOC: Okay then. #evildunes while I continue with Yuth in here.
> It takes about five minutes. Kascha comes back alone, "Come on, we'll talk about it somewhere quiet. It's complicated," she says, "Oh, and where's Lief?"
<Muirfinn> "He left." Muirfinn says. "I'm sure he won't cause trouble anywhere and everything will be fine. Mostly."
> "He..." Kascha slowly facepalms with both hands, "Why did he just get up and leave? Did he just go out to get some air, maybe?"
<Muirfinn> "Kascha," Muirfinn says very patiently. "the fey have this thing about sitting still. They don't."
<Muirfinn> "It's entirely natural, and he will be back. It's possible that he will have an entourage of angry townsfolk on his heels."
<Muirfinn> "Just so as you are prepared."
> "I've dealt with freespirited creatures!" Kascha exclaims, "I was part of Arborea for two thousand years!
> OOC: Gah.
> "I've dealt with freespirited creatures!" Kascha exclaims, "I was part of Arborea for two thousand years!" This is followed by a slow exhale, "He's just getting under my skin today. Maybe I'm tense because of a dragon fight looming ahead of us."
> After a pause, "Maybe it's the Destroyer coming up, too."
* Muirfinn nods. "Fey and courre are alike in many ways. Demeanor. Appearance. Levels of property damage."
<Muirfinn> "Center yourself, then. If we must fight this creature, you would be best with a clear head." Muirfinn says. "I'd rather not see you go through the ordeal that happened on Earth."
> "Let's just go outside," Kascha agrees, "We'll discuss this in the fresh air." From there it's a quick trip outside, to the side of the temple. There's some benches tucked away here, Kascha going to sit on one. "This information isn't for dissemination," she begins, "There's a real chance that this type of creature can sense when creaturers say its name or describe it past a point, or otherwise spread information about it. I trust you and Lief to know it - and you're strong enough to take responsibility."
* Muirfinn nods, standing next to the bench. "Go on."
> "It turns out I knew about this already, in part." With a sad smile, "Back in my time, the western mountains were known as the Iceryle mountains. Seira and I found someone far older than that, and they told us that the mountains were once known as the Icerule mountains. It was named after the creature that was slain there - its tremendous body became the mountains. There's signs that the creature may not be as dead as thought, but instead is stirring in its long sleep. The creature is known as a Xixecal, a bitter creature of mountanous cold and with a divine spark."
* Muirfinn blinks. "Why do I feel like I've read or heard that name somewhere before...?"
> "It's possible you've seen it in lore before. Primal ice para-elementals are mistaken for them at times. Xixecal are essentially moving mountains of ice and hate, attended by hundreds of white dragon that lair on its body." Kascha explains, "They're tied to Cyronax, Prince of Elemental Evil on Ice and the Queen of Air and Darkness, said to the ruler of the Unseelie Court of the fey."
<Muirfinn> "The fey! That's where I've heard it
<Muirfinn> "The fey! That's where I've heard it!"
<Muirfinn> OOC: Bleh
> "Oh?" Kascha perks up, "What did you hear about them?"
<Muirfinn> "Giant walking glaciers. Unkillable." Muirfinn says. "All-around bad news."
> "Accurate as far as it goes," Kascha agrees. Above this, Lief flies back and can see the two below as he approaches the temple. "Since this one's stirring, there's worries it may try and emerge. Knowing how these things work, the gods are preparing mortals on the path to stop or confront it already. Meanwhile deities of cold and evil may be seeking to use it to their advantage. In other words, it's a situation."
* Lief dives down next to them and releases his invisibility.
<Lief> "Hi!"
<Muirfinn> "See? No one died."
<Muirfinn> "Probably."
* Lief blinks.
<Lief> "What, me? I didn't kill anyone. This time."
<Muirfinn> "See?"
> "The main thing - oh, there you are!" Kascha says, "Glad to have you back. As I was saying, since it may be able to detect and hear when people speak of it, we're being cautious in case it can do more than that. Until we have some sort of confirmation either way. It's safe to say that the church is looking into it."
<Muirfinn> "Alright. Have them let us know if they require assistance. Having the church owe us a favor and wiping an elemental scourge from the face of creation at the same time can't possibly be a bad thing."
<Lief> "It? The ice-thing from before?"
<Muirfinn> "Yes."
* Lief nods.
> "Yeah," Kascha goes on, "Seira's very active about these things and dislikes stringing it along too much, so things will be done sooner than later," Kascha admits.
<Lief> "That's good, at least. The faster we can get this done, the soon we can go to the next part. Does the church need help?"
> "Not right now. We need to worry about this dragon instead," Kascha says, sitting back on the bench. "Do you want me to explain about what Lessey told me, Lief?"
<Lief> "Sure!"
> "First of all, you can't tell this to anyone else. There's a real chance this type of creature can tell when others talk about it or say its name. I trust you to be able to handle that for yourself.  Are you alright with that?"
<Lief> "Yes, I can do that."
> "Let's see...in short, the western mountains were once known as the Iceryle mountains - which was a corruption of Icerule. Icerule was the name of the giant creature that was slain and created the mountains with its body. The creature is a xixecal, a mountain of ice and hate. They're tied to the Prince of Elemental Evil...and the Queen of the Unseelie Court of the Fey, the Queen of Air and Darkness."
* Lief look entirely disgruntled.
<Lief> "Unseelie? This won't be easy or turn out well for anyone, then."
<Muirfinn> "Probably not." Muirfinn says plainly. "We'll do it anyway."
<Lief> "Yes, we will."
> "Right," Kascha agrees, "So we've found out what we can. Are we ready to head to the mountains now?"
<Muirfinn> "As ready as we'll get, I think.
<Muirfinn> "
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "A good night's rest before we leave out, then?"
> "It's still early," Kascha remarks, "Are you tired in the morning?"
<Lief> "No, but heading out into the mountains won't be as fun as the city."
> "We aren't under any strict time limit..." Kascha confesses, "What do you want to do in the city?"
<Lief> "Enjoy the comforts before heading into the mountains?"
> Kascha cocks her head to the side at that, "Muirfinn, what do you think? I seems like the waste of a day if we don't have anything productive here..." she admits.
<Muirfinn> "I'm ready to head out. If either of you have anything to do here today, we can leave tomorrow. Lazing off is not an acceptable reason to delay, though."
<Lief> "Alright. To the mountains, then."

> Lief takes off, flying through the open roof and into the open sky. Liberation Point is below him, full of life. OOC: Ball's in your court. What are you doing?
* Lief gets his bearings and pulls up his invisibility as he takes off towards the first church they visited!
<Lief> "What was that priest's name... The one in the House of the Saint-Martyr..."
> It doesn't come to Lief's mind. The greedy priest didn't mention his name, you think. Meanwhile, the trip to the church is without incident. It's as solemn and empty as it was yesterday, from the outside.
* Lief keeps his invisibility up as he searches for the priest, sticking close to the ceiling and staying close to darker corners, just in case one of the priests can see through his invisibility.
> Slipping inside isn't hard. Fortune is with Lief - the less than pleasant priest is just inside. He's pacing about, doing nothing in particular. He looks somewhere between cross and thoughtful.
* Lief watches the priest, looking for an easy place to slip the coins into... A loose pocket, an open pouch.. Anything convient..
<Lief> convenient*
> OOC: Quick spot check.
-rpgcafe.ca.us.lunarnet.org:@#evildunes- Kotono invited Hatbot into the channel.
* Hatbot (~Hatbot@72.183.113.233) has joined #evildunes
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 36." [d20=4]
> He has an open pocket that would suffice.
* Lief uses his stealth to come in close and quietly to the priest...
> OOC: Move silently chec.k
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 41." [d20=5]
> The coin is slipped right in, no signs of the priest noticing it.
* Lief moves away from the priest and goes to leave the church, a happy grin on his invisible face.
> OOC: Heading back now or doing somethin gelse?
<Lief> OOC: Heading back.
> OOC: I'll move you back into #dunes momentarily.

> OOC: How are y'all planning on getting to the mountain, first off?
<Lief> OOC: Dunno. Fly?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I can turn into a dragon the size of a large house and fly, yo.
> OOC: Right. Okay then, more coming.
> roll 1d100
> roll 1d100
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 35." [1d100=35]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 89." [1d100=89]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 18." [1d100=18]
> roll 1d100 sub table
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 sub table and gets 47." [1d100=47]
> You fly towards the west, making good time on dragonback. Muirfinn's dragon-form has excellent speed and you pass over the lands. It is a rich lands of plains that give way to forests, switching between the two with the occasional village or small town dotted about. Far on the horizon are gigantic mountains, snowcapped talons that rake up at the faraway sky. But largely it is a vast, untamed wilderness. It's a few hours past noon as you fly along. You're current soaring over an open plane when you see something ahead, a sight that stands out more than mundane birds. A winged horse flies to you, snow white in color and making no secret of its approach. It's currently about a thousand feet from the party and closing in.
* Lief stares at it.
> OOC: Any of you can make an K:A check here if you wis.
> OOC: Wish.
> roll 1d20+48 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+48 Kascha and gets 53." [1d20=5]
<Lief> OOC: K:Nature apply at all?
> OOC: ENough to tell you that it's not a natural creature. Wings don't sprout horses and horses don't sprout wings normally. It's likely magic of some sort.
<Lief> "That's... unusual to see."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23 and gets 34." [1d20=11]
<Muirfinn> OOC: +3
<Muirfinn> "I've seen weirder."
> Muirfinn can tell the beast here is a pegasus. A majestic beast that is noble and good hearted, one that serves as a mount to elite paladins and champions of good.
<Muirfinn> "It's a pegasus. Creatures of good. Let's see what it has to say."
> "It's a pegasus," Kascha says, "Seira has a few fire-touched ones in the Cauldron. A gift from Zaaman Rul," she adds absently as she peers ahead.
* Lief nods slowly.
> The pegasus approaches.  It comes to within 30ft of Muirfinn, then lowers its head. It keeps it this way several seconds, a submissive posture, before looking it. It gestures with its head, ahead and a little to the south. It flies a few dozen feet ahead and repeats it, then starts flying again.
<Lief> "So it wants us to follow it?"
* Muirfinn follows it, matching it pace for pace. "Appears so."
> "Yes. They're intelligent but they can't speak," Kascha confirms. A moment of concentration has her eyes glow a crackling white, "I don't detect the taint of evil, either," she says in a lower voice.
<Lief> "Don't suppose anyone has a mind-reading spell handy?"
<Muirfinn> "I can speak to animals with a spell. That might work as well."
<Lief> "If we need it, I should be able to detect its thoughts, with a little effort."
> "I can detect the creature's thoughts," Kascha remarks, "As can Lief. It won't ally true communication, but Muirfinn can do that."
> Meanwhile the pegasus seems content to have you follow it, leading the party along.
> OOC: Going to do anything or just follow
> ?
<Muirfinn> OOC: For now!
> It's about an hour of following. You're lead to a smallish forest surrounded by the plains. Here the pegasus lands and heads inside. There's a well worn path leading right in, making for easy passage for it.
* Lief takes flight and zip between the tree branches, practicing staying hidden in the forest.
* Muirfinn lands, letting everyone down before shrinking down to medium size.
> Kascha lands and extends her wings, stretching out. Once done she follows.
* Muirfinn trots after the pegasus.
> The path leads into the forest and to a clearing. Here lies a single white horse. Yet it lacks wings in favor of a golden horn atop its head. A unicorn, a creature easily identified by the group. Eyes of sea blue tearfully gaze down on the ground before it. Here lies another unicorn, middle torn open and blood staining the grass around it. It looks up as everyone enters the clearing, teary eyes widening at the sight of the party. "Oh, Lellenus! T-those people," The voice sounds masculine, full of sorrowful majesty. "A pixie, a dragon and an angel!"
> The pegasus - Lellenus, apparently - comes forward and whinnies, before standing at the unicorn's side.
* Lief zips through the branches, keeping an eye out for any danger, and looking for any sign of what did this.
> OOC: Spot check followed by a survival check.
* Muirfinn grimaces, stepping forward. OOC: Is the downed unicorn dead?
> OOC: You don't need ranks in heal to see it isn't breathing and torn open terribly. It be dead.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 49." [d20=17]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alas
<Lief> roll d20+32 Survival
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Survival and gets 35." [d20=3]
> Kascha stares, hand going to her mouth. "No, no, no! Who did this?"
<Muirfinn> "Yes. Who has done this?"
> No sign of anyone currently here, but Lief can find well hidden tracks going to the south. They could be followed - but the skill at which they were hidden suggests someone well trained in covering trails.
<Lief> "Tracks. To the south. They're well hidden, so it's someone who knows what they're doing. I can try to follow them after... we.. finish here.."
> The unicorn looks down at the dead unicorn once before replying. "My mate...no, Belassa," The unicorn stumbles, "She was due to give birth to our foal. A human came with wolves that stunk of winter. He struck my wife down, rendered me stunned and...took our foal." The creature's voice wavers at that, "He only said that he had need of a foal."
<Lief> "A hunter *with* wolves? That's unusual... And taking a foal... It's against nature to do this. I say we go after them, if we can't do anything here."
* Lief glances apologetically at the unicorn, knowing he sounded a little harsher than he meant to.
* Muirfinn shifts bright, cool eyes at Kascha. "Have you magic of ressurrection?"
> "I can do something. I can try, at least," Kascha says, kneeling before the slain unicorn. "This is recent, Belassa has barely begun to travel the Well of Souls. There is a good chance to call her back before she passes to Mielikki." That causes her to look up to Muirfinn, "I can't, but I was thinking of going to Aurora to bring someone who can, while you and Lief track down the offenders."
* Lief continues to study the tracks, trying to glean as much information from the as he can.
<Muirfinn> "A good plan. I'd much rather hunt down the vile excuse for a man that did this."
> OOC: Make another survival check?
<Lief> roll d20+32 Survival
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Survival and gets 41." [d20=9]
<Lief> "What kind of weapon did the hunter use?"
> The tracks match - it's wolf tracks and a single set of humanoid tracks. The wolf tracks are a bit big for wolves, while the human was wearing some sort of light shoes or boots that barely left a print at all.
> "I can only thank you," The unicorn bows his head againt to the party, "He used a sword."
<Lief> "The hunter is traveling light.. The wolf tracks are larger than normal.. Did you get a look at the wolf? Enough to tell us what kind it was?"
<Lief> OOC: Can I try a K:Nature check to identify the type of wolf?
> OOC: From the description and tracks, yes.
> "Muirfinn, open a gate to Aurora for me," Kascha asks, "I'll take care of the rest here."
* Muirfinn waves a forelimb, a circular monoplanar circle of light opening onto the plane of Air.
> Kascha steps through and vanishes within. OOC: Okay, what are you two going to do?"
<Lief> roll d20+30 K:Nature
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 K:Nature and gets 40." [d20=10]
> The creatures sound like winter wolves. They're nasty, icy predators. Watch out for the ice breath and all sorts of nasty wolfpack tactics.
<Lief> OOC: Go after them? I doubt the unicorn wants to leave the body, but the pegasus might want to back us up.
<Muirfinn> OOC: They'll be a hindrance
<Lief> "Hmm.. Looks like the wolves are Winter Wolves... Hunt in packs and have ice breath.. They're smart, know how to hunt together.. If there's a hunter with them, this is going to be dangerous."
<Muirfinn> "Ah yes, winter wolves. Unpleasant creatures. Let's go kill them all."
> OOC: Going to go a-trackin', then?
<Lief> OOC: Yarp.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Let's do this shit.
> OOC: Make another survival check, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Survival
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Survival and gets 35." [d20=3]
> The going isn't as fast as Lief would like. The guy is -good- at covering his trail, not to mention the trail of his wolves. But Lief is just that much better, able to follow at a slow pace. About three hours of travel pass, the afternoon well along now and night not too far. You can see it far ahead - it looks like a large farmhouse. The tracks head towards it.
<Lief> "They went to that farmhouse.. We'd have to get closer. I can use my invisibility and stealth, try to stay upwind of the wolves. Any ideas?"
<Muirfinn> "I can manipulate the wind if you like to kep your scent away."
<Lief> "It'd have to be subtle... If it changes too drastically, they might pick up on it not being natural."
<Muirfinn> "A simple light breeze should suffice. I do not think more is necessary for now."
* Lief nods and lets himself turn invisible, waiting for the breeze before starting his hopefully stealthy approach to the farmhouse.
> OOC: What precisely are you using, Muirfinn?
* Muirfinn shrinks down, becoming a tortle again as he calls upon the skies to grant him a light breeze, blowing over and away from the house. OOC: 5mph winds, Control Winds over a blanketed area 1/4 mile wide
> OOC: Okay.
> OOC: Make a move silently check, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 44." [d20=8]
> Lief silently flies towards the farm. On the far side of the farmhouse lie about half a dozen winter wolves. They're largely sleeping and don't seem to be too terribly aware of anything. No sign of anyone else about outside, though.
* Lief flies closer to the farm house, looking for windows or spaces to look into.
> There's a heap of windows about. You can see a kitchen, dusty and unused. A sitting room is more productive. Here sits a cloaked man, feet up in front of the fire. He's staring into it quietly, his features hidden by a cloak and hood.
* Lief studies the man, trying to see his weapons and armor before returning back to Muirfinn.
> You can't see any armor, but it could be beneath his cloak. You also can see the hilt of a sword, resting against the side of his chair and poking above it.
* Lief takes off back to Muirfinn.
> This goes without incident, Lief returning. OOC: Go ahead.
<Muirfinn> "Were you able to find the foal?" Muirfinn asks as Lief returns.
<Lief> "No, but I found the hunter and his wolves. Six Winter Wolves on the other side of the building. Seem to be mostly sleeping in the yard. The hunter is in the sitting room. His sword is next to him, but he's just staring into the fire for the moment. He's wearing a full cloak and hood, so I couldn't make out anything else about it."
<Muirfinn> "Damn, I was hoping to find out where it was so we could avoid killing it."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "With how good this guy is, and with that many wolves there, I didn't want to risk being found. At the very least, we know exactly where it isn't. If you can lock down the wolves, I might be able to take the hunter by surprise and, hopefully, knock him out. Or kill him."
<Muirfinn> "Anything I do won't be subtle."
<Lief> "Doesn't have to be. Just needs to be after I hit the first time."
<Muirfinn> "That'll be fine." Muirifnn nods, his scales flickering and rippling as they fade from polished silver to a bright burnished gold. "It'll at least be fast."
* Lief nods.
> OOC: Okay, what's your plan here?
<Lief> OOC: I plan to stealth back over to the window and nuke him. I want to buff up a bit first. I'd like to do it non-lethal, but I don't really have that choice unless there's something in the build that I'm missing.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'm gonna roast the wolves and hopefully not the foal.
> OOC: Okay. Muirfinn in here and Lief in #evildunes. Sec then we'll get this rolling.
<Lief> OOC: Ideally, I'd like to use up True Strike and Critical Strike. I'll hold off on distracting strike until Muirfinn finishes off the wolves.
> Muirfinn flies over the house, coming to the other side. He can see the wolves down there, lying about. They don't seem to notice him right away, though the shadow he's casting should tip them off pretty quic.
* Muirfinn circles the house for a moment before turning into a steep dive, growing larger and larger as he falls. His wings catch the light breeze to buffet him in and land with colossal clap of his wings and a dull THUD right in front of the wolves' resting spot. He eyes their prone forms balefully.
> OOC: Make an intimidation check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+14 lol rolls
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+14 lol rolls and gets 24." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+7
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+7 and gets 8." [1d20=1]
> Muirfinn does what a dragon naturally does to lesser creatures - pure, unthinking terror. The wolves slink back in alarm, momentarily off guard from the sheer terror! OOC: ACt, you have the proverbial initiative.
> Muirfinn does what a dragon naturally does to lesser creatures - pure, unthinking terror. The wolves slink back in alarm, momentarily off guard from the sheer terror! OOC: ACt, you have the proverbial initiative.
* Muirfinn takes a deep breath and with a titanic roar, introduces the wolves first hand to the unrelenting power of a gold dragon's fire!
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 shit's on fire yo
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 shit's on fire yo and gets 80." [22d6=6, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5, 2, 3, 6, 6, 5, 3, 2, 2, 3, 1, 4, 4]
> roll 1d20+8 DC?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 DC? and gets 17." [1d20=9]
<Muirfinn> OOC: More'n that. 30.
> The wolves barely get a chance to make any noise before flames slam into them. Fires burn all over and around as the winter wolves are immolated, burning up before your very eyes. That takes care of that.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Also no reflex saves if prone
> OOC: Prone doesn't say anything about that. It's not relevant, but where you'd get that?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I probably made it up
> OOC: Right. Anyway, ball's in your court now that the wolves are all toasty.
* Muirfinn begins to prowl around the building, waiting for the hunter to come out or Lief.
> Nothing comes out right away. Whatever's happening seems to be happening inside.
* Muirfinn gets tired of waiting and shoves his entire head through the south wall of the house!
> OOC: Lief's just a tad behind you so let me give him another line or two before I resolve that.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gotcha
> WHAM! The south wall is barreled through! It opens a nice new hole into the living room, the entire house shaking.
* Muirfinn LOOKS AROUND!
<Muirfinn> OOC: WITHOUT CAPS!
> It's a living room. Oddly, there's a sword in the fireplace. The leather sheathe that holds it is starting to smoulder in the flames.
* Muirfinn gives the sword an odd look, snaking his head further inward to peer about.
> Muirfinn heads into a hallway. Meanwhile Lief is zipping down it, visible to Muirfinn's true seeing enhanced eyes.
* Lief pulls into a hover, looking around the room with bow drawn!
<Muirfinn> "Oh. Hey."
* Lief lowers his bow.
<Lief> ".. Hi.. I thought you had a war going on in here. I found the foal, in the room back there. Hunter was tying its legs up when I found him. Seems to be asleep, but it may be more. You need to check it over."
<Muirfinn> "Of course." A brief moment of writhing flesh and loudly cracking bones and Muirfinn is a tortle again. "Show me the way."
* Lief flies back to the room, leading Muirfinn to the foal.

> OOC: Repeat your plan here real quick for buffs?
<Lief> OOC: Ideally, I'd like to use up True Strike and Critical Strike for the opening strike. I doubt I'll one-shot him, but I might be able to cripple him enough that, combined with Muirfinn doing the dragon thing and destroying his wolf backup, I might be able to bluff him into surrendering.
> OOC: Okay. Set up your actions including the spells and I'll sort it out.
* Lief focuses and calls on his magic, pulling his powers out to cast his True Strike and Critical Strike spells on himself, then preparing to slip back into stealth and return to the window of the sitting room.
> OOC: You know both of those last only a round, so you generally have to have your shot ready before casting them. Since it's your first time using them, fair heads up that you may want to change that order of operations.
<Lief> OOC: Ah, okay. I will indeed.
<Lief> OOC: I'll break this up, then, because I think you'll want a check or two in there if I'm approaching.
* Lief slips back into stealth and returns to the window of the sitting room, double checking to make sure his target is still present..
> His target is gone. His sword sits against his chair, but he's not to be seen.
* Lief takes a moment to stare in surprise before trying to jimmy open the window enough to slip in...
> OOC: Str check real quick.
<Lief> roll d20+1
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+1 and gets 20." [d20=19]
> The window's jammed and hard for a little pixie to open. But Lief pulls it off, pulling it open. OOC: Go ahead.
* Lief zips over to the sword, looking over the room incase the hunter is hiding in a corner, and then tries to knock the sword into the fire, hopefully to prevent the hunter from using it.
> The hunter doesn't seem around. Getting the sword - in a plain leather sheathe - into the fire goes without incident.
* Lief starts to search through the farm house, looking for either the hunter or the foal, both spells on the edge of his mind and an arrow at the tip of his fingers.
> OOC: Quick move silently check.
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 42." [d20=6]
> Lief slinks down a hallway. At the end is an open door. Peeking over, he can see the cloaked man's back to him. He's kneeling in front of something - whatever it is, his body is blocking the view. The room inside looks like an old bedroom, in good condition if dusty. "Hmph," The man's voice carries, "Fucking...there we go," he mutters.
* Lief edges around the sides of the room to get a look at what he's doing...
> Invisible, Lief sneaks around. The man's tying up the foal's legs, binding them tightly together. Said creature is a deep, glossy white and has a tiny nub of a horn. It's a small little thing and looks to be asleep.
<Lief> OOC: Okay, question since I've never used spells with Lief before. If I cast them, will it alert him, or will I still be on the down-low?
> OOC: If they have a verbal component, yes. If not, no.
<Lief> OOC: I think they both do, so I guess I'll pass on them.
> OOC: Okay then, ball's in your court. Act.
* Lief lines up his shots, unleashing his wrath on the hunter.
<Lief> OOC: Go ahead and roll the full attack set?
> OOC: Yeah, you have the drop on him completely. He has no idea you're there.
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 47." [d20=3]
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 61." [d20=17]
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 49." [d20=10]
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 43." [d20=9]
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 47." [d20=18]
> OOC: They all hit and they're all sneak attacks. Damage.
<Lief> OOC: I forgot the easy parse for that. 5#d6+5#d6?
> OOC: You'd roll 5# and then followed by the damage output.
<Lief> roll 5#d6+24+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#d6+24+7d6 and gets 253." [5#d6+24+7d6 = 52, 49, 58, 51, 43]
> Tiny pixie arrows fire, slamming into the chest of the unawares man. His chest now has five new holes that gush blood, the arrows going straight through and slamming into the wall. It takes big hunks of his internal organs with it, vicera dripping from the arrows as the man falls over. Based on the fact he's missing most of his chest and some of his abdomen now, he's dead. Oh, and the massive bleeding's a good cue too.
* Lief drops his invisibility and yells out!
<Lief> "Muirfinn! I found the foal! The Hunter's down!"
> At the same time, the house shakes violently!
<Lief> OOC: Back to #dunes? Want me to repeat my line there?
> OOC: No need yet. Go ahead and act in here for now.
* Lief zips back over to the door way, arrow drawn and ready for whatever running battle Muirfinn just brought into the house!
> OOC: Now into #dunes.

> The foal is found where it was before, along with one extremely dead kidnapper. Good chunks of his innards are nailed to the wall by arrows.
* Lief looks vaguely satisfied at the giblets.
* Muirfinn assesses the foal. OOC: Any wounds? Alive/dead?
> OOC: Quick heal or handle animal check. Whichever's higher.
* Lief lets Muirfinn do his thing, but takes the time to search through the room in case the hunter set any traps or left anything in the room.
<Lief> OOC: I can assist with Handle Animal.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+21 Handle Animal
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+21 Handle Animal and gets 37." [1d20=16]
* Lief recognizes what Muirfinn's attempting and stops his search to help!
<Lief> roll d20+31 Handle Animal
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+31 Handle Animal and gets 46." [d20=15]
> The foal's not wounded, just asleep. This isn't uncommon for newborns to begin with, plus from the sleep there's hints it may have been sedated. The foal doesn't look to be in danger from it.
* Muirfinn reaches down and carefully hoasts the foal into his arms. "Lief, do you want to search the place before we leave?"
<Lief> "It'd be a good idea to search the body and his belongings... He might have been hired to do this, and if we can find a clue..."
* Lief trails off before sighing and moving to investigate the corpse and house.
<Lief> "Though, with all the stress the foal has gone through tonight already, what do you think of letting it stay here and bringing the Pegasus and Unicorn here?"
* Muirfinn nods. "That works fine for me. We won't have to hurry the search then."
* Lief nods.
> OOC: Do you have ranks in search?
> OOC: Going to take 10 or 20?
<Lief> "I'll just check this room real quick for anything immediate, and worry about the house later. After I finish, I'll get the others."
<Lief> OOC: I have ranks in search.
<Lief> OOC: +30.
> OOC: Make a check and/or take 20. Taking 20 will take a lot of time, bear in mind.
<Lief> roll d20+30 Search!
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Search! and gets 35." [d20=5]
<Lief> OOC: Knew that was going to bite me in the ass on rolls.
<Muirfinn> OOC: You can always make another! Search checks are repeatable!
<Lief> OOC: I'll try again after I get the others.
> Searching. The house is largely empty, but in another spare bedroom, you find a cache of items there. They are...OOC: Loot post. Feel free to DM or try ot ID if you succeed on finding magic, Muirfinn.
<Lief> "Muirfinn, take care of things here, I'm going to bring the others."
* Muirfinn nods, putting the foal away in a safe place in the house before gathering the goods.
> OOC: Where are you going, Lief?
<Lief> OOC: To the clearing we left Kascha, the Unicorn, and Pegasus in. Wanna bring them to the house/barn instead of moving the foal.
> OOC: It's a few hours without having to follow his tracks (by air) and that'll put you well into the night. You okay with that? This is a refresher as much as anything from last session.
<Lief> OOC: I'm cool with that if Muirfinn is. I don't think there's much of a chance of getting lost, and I should be able to stealth through it if need be.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I an turn into an unnecessarily-large dragon and burn down the entire area for 50 square miles without any strong effort. I'll be fine.
> OOC: Okay. While Lief's gone, what are you going to be doing, Muirfinn? Muirfinn in here, Lief in #evildunes again since the room name just suits him. I dunno.
<Muirfinn> OOC: What's the local temp?
> OOC: 60ish. A little chilly and it'llprobably drop at night.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alright, I'll build a fire to keep the kid warm.
> OOC: Okay. Make a listen check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 and gets 43." [1d20=10]
> As Muirfinn sits before the fire, he can hear noise outside. The gentle thudding of footsteps drawing closer. It sounds like the opposite side that he made an entrance on.
* Muirfinn silently acknowledges the noise, tending to the fire as though he hears nothing. OOC: Basically presuming that whoever is out there will announce their intentions soon enough.
> OOC: Okay.
* Muirfinn (Muirfinn@174-26-91-226.phnx.qwest.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Muirfinn (Muirfinn@174-26-91-226.phnx.qwest.net) has joined #dunes
> The noise comes around the side of the house, before you hear a hiss of surprise. Sounds like someone sucking in their breath, whispers too far away to hear intelligently just barely heard. This is followed by the sound of footsteps going back the other way.
* Muirfinn nods to himself. He glances at the draconic cat at his side, lazing by the fire. He nods his head at the noise. "Go get 'em."
> OOC: Sending Chokk into action?
<Muirfinn> The cat groans, stretching as it rises. Nevertheless, it heads out into the night through the hole in the house.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alani, but yeah
<Muirfinn> OOC: It's dragon kitty time
> OOC: Darkvision or any sort of night-time vision?
<Muirfinn> OOC: None on the sheet, but I think it might be wrong
<Muirfinn> OOC: One sec please
<Muirfinn> OOC: FUCKing finally, low light vision
> In the mere star and Selune-light, Alana is able to see her prey. They're 90ft away as she comes around the side and fleeing fast. Two are looking back as they run - good odds they see her. There's four in total, each wearing a heavy black cloak. OOC: Init.
> roll 1d20+4 Cloak 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+4 Cloak 1 and gets 15." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20-1 Cloak 2
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20-1 Cloak 2 and gets 5." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+11 Cloak 3
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+11 Cloak 3 and gets 12." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+5 Cloak 4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+5 Cloak 4 and gets 13." [1d20=8]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+7
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+7 and gets 14." [1d20=7]
* Retrieving #dunes modes...
* Kotono changes topic to 'C1(15)>Alana(14)>C4(13)>C3(12)>C2(5)'
> The first cloaked man stops and turns. His face is hidden by night's shadow, said shadows dancing around his hands as bands of darkness slip over Alana! OOC: Will save. Enchantment(compulsion), mind-affecting and paralysis, in case you hit any of those resistances or immunities.
<Muirfinn> OOC: that a spell?
> OOC: Yes.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+4+4+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+4+4+6 and gets 20." [1d20=6]
> Suddenly, Alan can't move! Its like her body is paralyzed and completely unresponsive! The man turns and runs into the darkness, followed by the others. OOC: Hold monster. Allows a Will save each round, so roll it.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+4+4+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+4+4+6 and gets 15." [1d20=1]
* Nerem (NeremWorld@71-217-99-185.tukw.qwest.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* NeremWorld (NeremWorld@71-217-99-185.tukw.qwest.net) has joined #dunes
<Muirfinn> OOC: Alani cannot roll. Also, how many times are you gonna mispell this name.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Not mad, just curious
<Muirfinn> II__++: I think it's funny.
<Muirfinn> OOC: OOOOOKAY
<Muirfinn> OOC: I should stop
> OOC: Okay.
> OOC: Roll again and again. If you fail two more I'll make another line.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+4+4+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+4+4+6 and gets 18." [1d20=4]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+4+4+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+4+4+6 and gets 33." [1d20=19]
> Finally Alani manages to move again. But the four are well away now, completely out of sight in the night. It's less a question of combat and more a question of tracking now...OOC: Free act.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20 survival untrained I guess to track.
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20 survival untrained I guess to track. and gets 13." [1d20=13]
> No good. There's not much in the way of tracks, oddly. The grass doens't even look disturbed where it should be. It's quite confusing to the dragon-cat. OOC: Int?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 2
> OOC: Carry on, rest is beyond the creature's intelelct.
<Muirfinn> Having lost the trail and with nothing to go on, Alani prowls back to the house.
> OOC: Going to do anything here Murifinn, or move you along now?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Move along, not going to leave the foal.
> Soon enough Lief and company return. The two unicorns look about, "Where's the foal?" The mother asks right away on seeing Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn points at the dozing foal.
> "We brought-" Kascha begins, but is cut off as two unicorns press past her, right to the foal.
> "Yah!" Kascha wobbles and takes to the air, almost hitting her head on the ceiling.
* Lief floats around Kascha's head.
<Lief> "You okay?"
> "I'm okay." Kascha smiles as the unicorns, "How about we give them some privacy?" she suggests.
* Muirfinn snorts.
* Muirfinn turns to the unicorns. "Your foal is sedated. Stay here until it wakes. Keep an eye out as well, there are others involved in this. They came in the night, but were chased off by Alani."
> "There are?" Kascha asks, "They got away?"
* Muirfinn nods. "There are. They did. Alas."
> "Well," Kascha puts her hands on her hips, "Why don't we go follow them? Lief's good at tracking."
<Lief> "Yeah. Where did you see them?"
<Muirfinn> "Let's have Alani show you. She saw them. I only know they were on the other side of the house from the custom entrance."
* Lief nods and hovers around the dragon-cat.
> OOC: Okay. Survival check, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Survival/Tracking
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Survival/Tracking and gets 42." [d20=10]
> It's hidden - the leaves and grass seem to rebel keeping a trail. It's like it's been wiped clean by an unseen force - but you can still follow it. It reeks of magic to Lief, this isn't natural at all.
<Lief> "I can't find it so well... But it's unnatural. Really, really unnatural. I can almost *smell* the magic that's hiding their tracks. But I can follow it, I think."
<Muirfinn> "LEt's go, then."
> OOC: Going to follow then?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Sure. Might as well knock out the Sacrifice Unicorns For Dread Purposes Club before the dragon.
<Lief> OOC: Sure.
> OOC: Okay then.
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 71." [1d100=71]
> Hours of walking pass. The night is wearing on and Selune sinks low into the sky, promising Lathander's dawn soon. But the tracks lead you to somewhere. It's a little circle of stones on the planes. The tracks stop here. The circle's maybe 10ft across and utterly unremarkable on first glance.
* Muirfinn frowns. "A teleportation circle?" Muirfinn examines the circle closely.
* Lief zips around the circle looking for any other clues.
> OOC: DMing or just straight looking, Muirfinn?
> OOC: Search, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+30 Search
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Search and gets 41." [d20=11]
> The stones are unusually well lined up. They form a near-perfect circle. It's not impossible to happen naturally, but it's exceedingly rare. It speaks to this being the act of intelligent creatures rather than natural whimsy.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'll DM
> OOC: Quick spellcraft.
> Kascha utters a basic chant of detect magic, working on the circle as well.
> roll 1d20+45 Kascha is good at this
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+45 Kascha is good at this and gets 54." [1d20=9]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+50 and gets 66." [1d20=16]
> "Hmmm, hmm..." Kascha works away, trailing off as she inspects it. It's a teleportation ring of some sort. It looks old - the magic's survived well for the age of it. You'd need a password for it or be able to fake it (UMD). Your insightful reading would give yo ua bonus to faking it as well. From the looks of it, it leads to somewhere fairly far away.
<Lief> OOC: I've got UMD, if she tells me.
<Muirfinn> "Looks like an ancient teleportation circle. Still works and has a passcode, but the magic of it might be able to be subverted due to its age. If one is skilled enough, I suppose."
<Lief> "Hmm.. I can try, unless someone has a better idea."
<Muirfinn> "Go right ahead."
* Lief zips over the stones.
<Lief> roll d20+31 UMD
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+31 UMD and gets 39." [d20=8]
> Lief works. If he chants this, invokes the 10th rune and...oh! A perfect, shimmering silver portal appears before you. It is still, not a single ripple to be seen in it.
* Lief blinks at the portal.
<Muirfinn> "Well done!"
<Lief> "There we go... Whatever it is, though, it's not fey. I can tell you that much."
* Muirfinn nods. "Let's see what this is about then."
<Muirfinn> OOC: We're goin' in!
* Lief pulls up his invisibility before going through the portal.
> Thus the trio step through the portal. There's a sensation like flying upside down and shaking all over. When it clears...OOC: Let's pause here, it's a good point.

> OOC: For reference, make a move silently check. I presume you're going invisible too.
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
<Lief> OOC: Yep on invis.
<Lief> OOC: Bot!
-eraniss.tx.us.lunarnet.org:@#evildunes- Kotono invited Serith into the channel.
* Serith (~iron_drag@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #evildunes
> OOC: Roll.
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
<Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 49 > [d20=13]
> roll 1d100
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 90 > [d100=90]
> roll 1d100 sub table
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 17 > [d100=17]
> OOC: Lief doesn't see invisible, does he?
<Lief> OOC: Uh, I don't think so.
> roll 1d100 vs ??? Resurrection chance roll
<Lief> OOC: Nope. Just a couple detect good/chaos, ect. and detect thoughts. No invis stuff.
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 65 > [d100=65]
> The trip back is without incident. Kascha is there, along with not one but two living unicorns. Kascha's sitting while the unicorns slowly pace about. OOC: Go ahead.
* Lief drops invisibilty as he enters the clearing.
> "Lief!" Kascha calls and stands, "How did it go?"
> "Did you find the foal?" The unicorns ask, virtually at the same time.
<Lief> "Kascha! You did it! Amazing! We found the foal, too! It's alive and well from what we can tell. It's asleep right now in a barn a few hours from here."
> Cheers go up at that, whinnies and happy clapping from Kascha, "Good! Where's Muirfinn? He's bringing the foal along, right?"
<Lief> "We didn't want to move it, considering how much has already happened. Muirfinn's with the foal taking care of it right now. The hunter and his wolves have all been taken care of. I can lead you straight there. It's a few hours of a journey."
<Lief> "We weren't sure putting the additional stress of the foal waking up to see Muirfinn's dragon form would be wise."
> "I can travel," The resurrected unicorn says, "Take us there."
* Lief nods and takes the lead!
> roll 1d100
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 83 > [d100=83]
> roll 1d100
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 44 > [d100=44]
> As you walk along in the night, Kascha steps forward to walk in synch with Lief's flight. "Good work. Priest had to leave - I don't know if you've met him, so I'll introduce you when you get back. He's one of those celestials that's completely dedicated to his calling, to the point of his social life being non-existant."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "Sounds like someone good to have around. Dedication like that can go both ways, though. How're the Unicorns and the Pegasus doing? I know they must be on the edge of panic."
* Muirfinn (Muirfinn@174-26-91-226.phnx.qwest.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Muirfinn (Muirfinn@174-26-91-226.phnx.qwest.net) has joined #evildunes
> "Lellenus looks to be doing well. He went out to secure food and check around," Kascha says, "He won't be back until tomorrow at the earliest."
> OOC: Gah.
> "Lellenus looks to be doing well. He went out to secure food and check around," Kascha says, "He won't be back until tomorrow at the earliest." Kascha explains, glancing back, "The unicorns are quiet. They're still dealing with the shock of everything that happened today."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "What happened shocked them down to their core. I can sympathize with that."
* Lief gets a flat, vacant look in his eyes for a few moments before continuing.
<Lief> "Still, as long as they get reuinited, they'll start healing. And a new Unicorn is something to celebrate, regardless of the circumstances."
> "Mmm-hmm," Kascha murmurs. "Say...do you have nightmares of Hell's invasion?"
<Lief> "... Occasionally, I guess. It's hard to tell the difference between a nightmare and a memory. It's just something that's always there."
> "Like an old injury that doesn't heal all the way," Kascha admits. "I'd probably have nightmares of the Destroyer if I hadn't been with Arborea for so long."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "I don't think it'll ever pass. Just a shadow lurking behind me, I guess."
> "Looking ahead," Kascha says, doing just that. "And you've made a new court, too, even if you're not deeply involved."
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "It helps. But doesn't make it go away."
> OOC: Let me pause you pending how the skirmish in #dunes works out.

> You stand amid ruins. The crumbled ruins of a temple are all around you. What was once perhaps white stone is now little more than rubble and overgrowth. It is dark, night's embrace covering everything. Ahead amid the overgrowth, a small path has been cleared ahead. It leads to a crumbling old building, the pillars and style suggesting a shrine or other similar thing. Statues adorn the walls as well, but you'd have to get closer to inspect them. Behind you is the end of the courtyard, an intact, tall wall blocking a view of what is past that.
> Kascha begins to look about...
* Lief keeps his voice low.
> roll 1d20+34 Knowledge: Local(Lost Eastlands) check
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+34 Knowledge: Local(Lost Eastlands) check and gets 38." [1d20=4]
<Lief> "We should use that wall as cover. I can scout out the area while you keep an eye on the building. Sound good?"
> "I know what this is," Kascha whispers as she looks about, eyes going wider and wider. "How? The Destroyer was supposed to have shattered everything."
<Lief> "Why do I get the feeling this won't be good for our safety?"
<Muirfinn> "What is it, Kascha?"
> "Are you familiar with the deity Mask?" Kascha whispers back, eyes darting around. "He rules over secrets, thieves and darkness. In the past, before the Destroyer, people said that he had his faithful make decadent temples and hid them away from all. Only the most skilled faithful could find them and be rewarded for it."
> OOC: Either of you can make K:R on Mask if you like.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+25+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+25+3 and gets 29." [1d20=1]
<Lief> OOC: I only have K:Nature.
> Muirfinn knows that Mask is all that Kascha surmised. He is the patron of theives and a nasty piece of work. He's not the most well known deity due to his nature - very much a stick to the shadows type. He's also a loner and avoids entanglements with other deities and powers. He even stays out of the Blood War entirely, which is no mean feat.
* Lief looks slightly interested.
<Muirfinn> "...huh. Well, supposedly the temples were filled with decadence. Probably material wealth."
<Lief> "A temple for thieves? Interesting.."
<Lief> "Still, we're here. If nothing else, we should check it out just to mark it off the list. Want me to scout around for tracks? And traps, I guess, since this was a thief temple."
> "We'd best be careful and stick to the path," Kascha remarks, "I don't know if any traps have survived, but if they have, they could be deadly."
* Muirfinn nods. "KKeep an eye out. I can spring them at a distance if we see any."
* Lief nods and sets himself to the task.
> OOC: Going to scout and look for tracks/traps, Lief?
<Lief> OOC: Yarp.
> OOC: Make a quick search check for me.
<Lief> roll d20+30 Search
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Search and gets 37." [d20=7]
> There's signs of old traps on the path cleared ahead - but they've been removed and deactivated. It looks safe to Lief.
* Lief returns to the others.
<Lief> "It looks mostly safe. Most of the traps I could spot have either been removed or deactivated. I think we'll be good until we get to the building."
* Muirfinn nods. Let's move on then."
> "That makes sense. They may not have expected anyone to make it here," Kascha remarks, as the party heads onwards. Getting closer, you see the statues are of sneak-thieves, masked men and other shady looking figures. There's no door leading inside, just an opening archway. It's been covered with a long black cloth to block the view within.
* Lief motions for the others to take positions to the sides of the archway and then drops to the ground, going invisible and sticking to the shadows before lifting the bottom corner of the cloth as little as possible to get a view inside.
> Kascha does so. As Lief peeks in, he sees a grand plaza ahead. It's in ruin, several dry fountains and crumbled statues about. The last fragments of rotted tapestries hang on the walls, as well as pots that once perhaps held beautiful plants. The room itself is a high-ceilinged, long retangular shape, more or less. Doors are all over on the walls - including some well above the floor level or too small for a human to ever get through. All the doors have what looks to be bright red writing inscribed on them. The writing looks far fresher than everything else, almost brand new.
* Lief lowers the edge and turns to the others, keeping his voice low.
<Lief> "It's a.. plaza. Hall of some kind. Fountains, dry. Doors. Lots of doors. All over the place. All different sizes. The doors have writing on them that I can't make out, but the writing looks new, so someone or something is here."
> "Hmmmm," Kascha considers, "I wonder if Mask directed followers here, or some adventurers somehow found this place?" she supposes aloud. "If I were exploring a long abandoned place with that many doors and traps, I might be tempted to start labeling things. It's easier to keep track that way."
* Lief shrugs.
<Muirfinn> "Let me have a look. Perhaps I can translate it." Muirfinn says, carefully pushing the drape aside and looking in.
> IT's not that it's unreadable, it's that the writing isn't that big and you're far enough away that you can't read it. Going up to a door would help a lot.
<Lief> "I won't make guesses without more information. But... I have a feeling. I'll let you know if I think it's solid or not."
* Muirfinn heads in! Consequences be damned!
> Muirfin heads in. Stunningly, no great horde of traps or magic comes to smite him down. No one seems to be around at all. He could easily go to one of the many doors and take a look, if he wished, or do something else.
* Lief gapes at Muirfinn for a moment, then follows, sticking to the shadows and using stealth to stay hidden.
> Kascha nods back to Lief, and after Muirfinn comes in and no obvious sounds of pain or traps come, she heads in as well. Almost as an afterthought she vanishes from sight, invisible as Lief. (Except to Muirfinn's true seeing enhanced eyes.)
* Muirfinn approaches the nearest door, wary for exploding runes and ancient traps.
> This door reads the following: Locked - Possible one way.
* Lief studies the door.
> OOC: Also spot checks, y'all.
<Muirfinn> "Well."
> roll 1d20+32 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 Kascha  and gets 51." [1d20=19]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 and gets 65." [1d20=17]
<Lief> rool d20+32 Spot!
> OOC: Roll, not rool.
> OOC: You'll rue the day you used rool instead of roll.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot!
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot! and gets 52." [d20=20]
> OOC: Or not.
<Lief> OOC: Pwn'd. I SEE EVERYTHING!
> It's incredibly subtle and skillful - which to the vision and awareness of the party, is fairly obvious. The walls and door subtly shift as you go around. As if some doors are only visible at certain angles or positions. Muirfinn can also glimpse something - momentary fragments of multiple spaces and places overlapping in dimensions that make his head throb. OOC: Quick K:A check here, tortle.
<Lief> "So. Anyone want to hear my theory?"
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23+3 and gets 38." [1d20=12]
<Muirfinn> "Love to."
> "What do you think?" Kascha inquires back.
* Lief lets his gaze wander the hall.
> Muirfinn can see that there's some serious dimensional and space manipulation going on here. While things are relatively constant, space is expanded and contorted here. It's likely far bigger and complex on the inside than the outside and may ignore aspects of rational geometry, design and physics.
<Lief> "I think this was a *major* temple of Mask's. I think this is more of a travel hub than a temple, though. I think these doors are some variation of a dimension door spell, or something like the Endless Stairway, and each of these doors leads to either another temple of Mask, or a major Thieve's Guild."
<Muirfinn> "I'd wager you're right, Lief. I'd also wager that the current inhabitants aren't of the faith."
* Lief nods.
> "Probably," Kascha admits, "So the question is...what do we do next? How do we approach this problem?"
<Lief> "I'm not sure why Mask is tolerating their presence if they're not. And if we have to clear them, I think we might earn enough favor to walk through this place without it trying to kill us for it."
<Muirfinn> "It's possible the previous inhabitants had a falling out with their god, or the place was profaned in some way and Mask no longer watches over it."
> Kascha's voice drops a little bit, becoming cooler. "Lief. Anyone with the favor of Mask is not a person I want to be friendly with. Especially ones with ties to a unicorn killer and kidnapper."
<Lief> "If they *don't* have Mask's favor and are here, us taking care of him may earn us enough points to walk out of hear alive, I meant."
<Lief> "If they *do..* Well, I doubt they'll let one failure keep them from what they want. So at that point, we have to decide.. Do we want to have a home-ground fight against these guys?"
<Muirfinn> "I find it unlikely that Mask supports the group involved here. Slaying a unicorn would likely gain the ire of Meilikki. He tends to avoid inter-deific conflicts."
* Lief shrugs.
> "The thing is that there's so many doors," Kascha gestures around, "Maybe we should start by cataloging them so we at least have an idea of what's going on here?"
<Lief> "That'll take a long time. If you two want to start, I can keep scouting the area. I might find tracks somewhere."
<Muirfinn> "Good idea. Any fresh footprints could lead us straight to our quarry."
* Lief nods and sets to work.
> OOC: Survival Lief. Make a spot check, Muirfinn/Kascha.
> roll 1d20+32 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 Kascha  and gets 35." [1d20=3]
<Muirfinn> "Good idea. Any fresh footprints could lead us straight to our quarry."
<Muirfinn> OOC: Blarg
<Lief> roll d20+32 Survival/Tracking
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Survival/Tracking and gets 50." [d20=18]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 and gets 49." [1d20=1]
> There's 83 doors when done carefully to see all the doors that can't be seen at all times. It's a staggering amount. There is a trail and it leads to the 42nd door. OOC: Post in nagging with the information written on each door.
* Lief returns to the others.
<Lief> "I found a trail. It leads over here."
* Lief points to the 42nd door.
<Muirfinn> "Alright, let's see if we can't get to the bottom of this."
> "So many doors," Kascha mutters, rubbing her forehead. "This is a job of weeks or months."
<Lief> "... I still kind of want to explore them."
<Muirfinn> "Never enough time." Muirfin shakes his head.
<Lief> "So, how do we want to do this?"
> "If we can neutralize those within or otherwise deal with them, we can come back later," Kascha points out, "WE don't have a strict time limit, but losing ourselves for weeks may not be a good use of our time."
<Lief> "Do you want me to go in stealthy, or do you want to just bust in?"
<Muirfinn> "Check it out in stealth, then let us know."
* Lief nods and cracks the door just enough to squeeze through and begins the stealthy scouting.
> Ahead is a long, comfortable looking hall. There wereonce carpets here, but now only scraps remain. Several statues line the walls, most of them broken. Arrows, darts and odder bits of metal lie about the broken statues. Several floor plates have been removed, dissembled pressure plates from the looks of it. A hunk of ceiling has been bashed up pretty good as well. The remnants of some sort of mechanical clockworks can be seen within. At the far end is a broken down door. Instead of that, another black cloth blocks the way ahead.
* Lief moves down the hallway as stealthily as possible, but watching for traps. Who knows if they used parts from disassembled traps to make their own?
> OOC: Search real quick, as ewll as move silently.
<Lief> roll d20+30 Search
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Search and gets 38." [d20=8]
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 52." [d20=16]
> Meanwhile, Kascha turns to Muirfinn. "This really is too much of a diversion from our mission," she admits, "I confess I'm curious as well, but..."
> Lief sneaks ahead, reaching the curtains without incident. No sign of new traps, just old and disabled ones.
* Lief does the same with the previous cloth, lifts as small a portion of the bottom corner as he can.
> Ahead is a small little plaza, more dead pots that once held plants, perhaps. Open archways lead to several bedrooms. On a glance, three of them have beds with people in them. One has two people, notably.
<Muirfinn> "If I were driven by mere curiosity, I would agree."
* Lief takes a moment to inspect the area for any items of interest before moving back to the door.
> The plaza has nothing of note beyond old pots. You'd have to go into the rooms to search them.
* Lief heads back to the others.
> This goes without incident and Lief returns to them.
<Lief> "There's four people, in three beds, in three rooms."
<Muirfinn> "What are they doing?"
<Lief> "Sleeping from what I could see."
> "Sleeping?" Kascha echos, hmming to herself, "That complicates things just a little bit."
* Muirfinn glances at Kascha. "How so?"
<Lief> "How so? That makes it easier to sneak up on them."
> "Nevermind," Kascha says after a moment. "Do we have a plan?"
* Disconnected
* Attempting to rejoin channel #dunes
* Rejoined channel #dunes
* Topic is 'Feather=Tindas(24)>Hylath(23)>John(16)>Myann=Wood Titan mk 2(5, prone webbed)>Gildas(3)'
* Set by Kotono on Wed Feb 26 14:57:24
* Kotono (WinNT@ip68-96-9-49.hr.hr.cox.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Kobrb is now known as Kotono
* ChanServ sets mode: +qo Kotono Kotono
> "Nevermind," Kascha says after a moment. "Do we have a plan?" OOC: Was there a line after this in peer?
<Lief> OOC: Nope.
<Muirfinn> "Go in, cause terror, find out what they're up to." Muirfinn says.
<Lief> "Three rooms, three of us."
> Kascha nods at this, "Alright then." OOC: Okay, describe exactly what your scheme is here and how y'all are doing it.
<Muirfinn> OOC: That all depends on how high the ceilings are.
<Lief> OOC: I figure we'll let Muirfinn get the room with two people in it since he can go super-dragon and terrify the hell out of them. I'll take a room and hold up whoever's inside, same with Kascha. If they move to attack, we butcher.
> OOC: Fairly high, about 12ft or so.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'll go in and take the room with the larger bed. Bronze dragon, large size. Should fit ok.

> OOC: Okay then. Let's do this at once. Write out going in and your actions in there. I'll do Kascha's room last and sort that out. Note that Muirfinn's taking the room with two in bed.
* Ko-NitorisStPaddysDayMassacre is now known as Kotono
* Lief slips in ahead of the others, using his stealth to get to the farthest-from-the-door room quickly, preparing to nock an arrow in case he has to make a fast kill.
* Muirfinn shifts, scales growing larger into a somewhat shiny brushed bronze color, he grows a bit as well. he strides forward carefully, pushing aside the curtain with his head as he moves toward his chosen room.
> Kascha takes her room, slipping in slightly as she flies just above ground level...OOC: Move silently, Muirfinn/Kascha.
> roll 1d20+32 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 Kascha and gets 34." [1d20=2]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+ 6 lololol
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+ 6 lololol and gets Error: Check syntax." [1d20=7]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+6 lololol
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+6 lololol and gets 12." [1d20=6]
> As Muirfin goes in, he sees one of the figures on the bed stir. He peers up, sleepily gazing about with sleep-crusted eyes. OOC: Okay ,the party has a surprise round now, but someone's woken up so no free acting. Go ahead. We'll start with Muirfinn since it's one of his that woke.
* Muirfinn exhales a sigh through his nose as the person in the bed stirs. He steps up to the bed, claws clicking lightly on the stone. He looms over the bed, snout pointed down. "Do try not to panic." He rumbles lowly at them. OOC: I'm gonna be nice and give them a chance instead of melting them with acid.
> OOC: Okay, that calls for an intimidation check. +8 circumstancial bonus since holy fuck, you wake up with a dragon looking over you.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+14+8+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+14+8+3 and gets 40." [1d20=15]
> The man - it's a man, you can see now, bleary blue eyes staring in horror, somehow manages not to scream. He just raises his hands slowly and silently. OOC: Going to do anything to react, Lief?
<Lief> OOC: did my guy do anything yet?
> OOC: Not yet.
<Lief> OOC: I'll hold until he does anything, then I'll drop, "We have a dragon."
> OOC: Okay. Carry on for now, Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn eyes the man. "I have questions. I believe you can answer them. Shall we make an exchange?"
> Meanwhile, the other person in the bed stirs. A woman with long brown hair, looking up in that sort of half asleep way. "Dear?" she mutters incoherently, "What...?"
> "Stay calm," The man says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We have a ...uh... visitor." He gulps at the end of that.
* Muirfinn curls his lips back in an unpleasant smile, inch-long teeth shining. "Good morning. You should stay calm. Things will go much better. We can have a nice civilized discussion."
> "Bahamut's balls!" she exclaims, staring in complete horror at Muirfinn. "DRAGON!"
<Muirfinn> "Or not."
* Lief takes aim on his target..
> Kascha sighs, as meanwhile Lief can see his target stirring. Followed by the sound of a blade clanging down.
> roll 4#1d20 Kascha's going for knockout on hers, -4 nonlethal, isn't missing 'cept on a 1 here.
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 4#1d20 Kascha's going for knockout on hers, -4 nonlethal, isn't missing 'cept on a 1 here.  and gets 34." [4#1d20 = 4, 8, 15, 7]
> roll 8d6+28+4+4+4+4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 8d6+28+4+4+4+4 and gets 77." [8d6=1, 4, 5, 4, 4, 6, 4, 5]
<Lief> OOC: Can I non-leathal with a bow? >.>;
> OOC: I'm...not sure, actually. Hold on, rules check.
> OOC: No, melee weapons only. Ranged ones don't have the needed control or design to do it.
<Lief> OOC: Is there a, I dunno, disabling attack? Crippling?
> OOC: Not really. Bows are pretty lethal as far as they go.
* Lief remains invisible, but speaks.
<Lief> "Do not try to get up. If you do, I will kill you. And my dragon friend will kill everyone else."
<Lief> OOC: Bluff or intimidate?
> OOC: Intimidate.
<Lief> OOC: Ouch, don't have ranks in that. +2 synergy with Bluff, right?
> OOC: I believe os, yes.
<Lief> roll d20+9 Intimidate god I hope.
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+9 Intimidate god I hope. and gets 20." [d20=11]
> The man - it's a man, you can see - stares in shock. "The fuck," he utters in a whisper, but obeys Lief's command. OOC: Free act for now, you have the cowed or knocked out.
* Lief raises his voice.
<Lief> "He's staying. Ask your questions."
* Muirfinn eyes the loud woman briefly. "Do you wish to raise a complaint?"
> The man gently pushes her down and shakes his head. "Shh, Anna," he whispers, "So you have us. What do you want to know?"
* Muirfinn turns to the man, head leaning in and turning to the side to stare the man directly in the face. "A unicorn was murdered, and its foal stolen for foul purposes. This act offends me greatly. You will tell me what you know; who sent you to that house last night and why. I heard you outside. We tracked you here. We have found you. I am irritated. Answer."
> "It was..." he licks his lips and stares, "Just a misunderstanding. We didn't want any unicorn murdered. We needed a baby unicorn to study for something, right you are. But we didn't pay for any murder."
<Muirfinn> "Ah, perhaps not, but the deed is done. A noble and innocent creature's blood is upon your hands." Muirfinn leans back, eyeing him cooly. "I am not a mere beast, though. I will give you this chance. Explain yourselves. Fully. Right now."
> "Right you are," The man nods quickly, "You see, we work for mages on demand. Need some item to make something? We get it for them. This mage - real stand up fellow, just a bit daft if you ask me - wanted to study a unicorn. You know how a unicorn's horn can heal? He wanted to see if he could duplicate it."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+26 sense motive
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+26 sense motive and gets 42." [1d20=16]
> He's so full of shit that Muirfinn is drowning in it. This is pure, unadulterated bullshit.
<Muirfinn> "So, as a proxy, you hired a man who used winter wolves as hunting dogs?" Muirfinn snorts. "A sound career choice for the enterprising businessman. My patience wears thin."
<Lief> "I have a personal distaste for that part myself."
<Muirfinn> "Care to make another attempt?"
> "How about another tack?" The woman speaks up, "Look, you have us. How about we resort to compensation and tribute rather than making this unpleasant."
<Lief> "The death of a unicorn isn't something that can simply be *paid* for."
* Lief replies in anger.
<Muirfinn> "Unpleasantness is guaranteed. The severity is up to you." Muirfinn says.
> The woman gets another hand on her shoulder. As he does...OOC: Spot check, Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 and gets 55." [1d20=7]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Also true seeing and darkvision
> OOC: Follwup spellcraft.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+50+3 and gets 69." [1d20=16]
> The woman is preparing a spell, silent and stilled. It's some sort of force blast that'll slam into Muirfinn good and possibly stun him. It looks like a modified orb of force. If it stuns him, he'll be down for a goodly while and vulnerable. She's going to cast it in a second, but picking it up so quickly and deftly gives Muirfinn a chance to do something beforehand.
<Muirfinn> "Poor choice, girl." Muirfinn snarls, abruptly becoming a whirling ball of draconic death.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Tail
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 51." [1d20=8]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 53." [1d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+38 Unarmed and gets 44." [1d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 Unarmed and gets 52." [1d20=19]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28 Unarmed and gets 43." [1d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 45." [1d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 42." [1d20=3]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 41." [1d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 45." [1d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Tail and gets 55." [1d20=16]
> OOC: Those all hit.
<Muirfinn> roll 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
<Muirfinn> roll 2d8+5+17 (Wing)
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 49." [5d10=5, 5, 4, 2, 2][2d6=6, 3]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw) and gets 43." [4d6=3, 4, 4, 2][2d6=2, 6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2d8+5+17 (Wing) and gets 32." [2d8=5, 5]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap) and gets 49." [4d6=6, 6, 5, 2]
> Muirfinn is a blur. Claws, teeth and blows rip into the hapless sorcerer, tearing her apart. Blood and torn bedsheets go flying, splattering against the wall and her bedmate. He stares in sublime horror, the remains of her chest and head resting against him. That's when he begins to scream. Meanwhile, in Lief's room, the man on that bed suddenly darts aside, trying ot get out of the bed fast in a panic! OOC: Feel free to act, Lief.
* Muirfinn turns to the man, blood and viscera dripping from his scales. "Now, shall we try this again, or do you simply wish to die? You might still live."
* Lief instantly releases his arrow at the man, then reaches to continue unleashing his full anger! OOC: Full attack. Does Sneak Attack apply?
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 58." [d20=14]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 55." [d20=11]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 48." [d20=9]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 38." [d20=4]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 36." [d20=7]
> OOC: Those all hit. It does, he's flatfooted. Damage.
<Lief> roll 5#d6+24+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#d6+24+7d6 and gets 265." [5#d6+24+7d6 = 50, 54, 59, 46, 56]
> The man doesn't even make it off the bed. A bevy of arrow pin himb ack through it, impaling his chest, legs, arms and head. He simply bleeds out there, dead before the arrows finish flying. OOC: Init for everyone+the one surviving screamer. Kascha's guy is out cold still since she clubbed him.
> roll 1d20+12 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12 Kascha and gets 32." [1d20=20]
<Lief> OOC: Lief grants an init bonus!
> roll 1d20+7 screamer
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+7 screamer and gets 20." [1d20=13]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12 and gets 32." [1d20=20]
> OOC: Kascha's out of line of sight for it, but it's also going to be waaay irrelevant here.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Hah
* Retrieving #dunes modes...
<Lief> roll d20+21
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 and gets 33." [d20=12]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(33)>Kascha=Muirfinn(32)>Screamer(20)'
<Lief> OOC: +5 for Lief's bonus, right?
> OOC: Open Lief. You're in another room, remember.
<Lief> "This one's dead!"
* Lief calls out as he zips into the main room, still invisible, and tries to get a clear line of sight into the other two rooms!
> Lief darts out and gets just that. Kascha's still over the bed of her target, who is quite out cold. He can also see the bloodied man near Muirfinn that's still alvie. OOC: Yous till have a standard action if you want to snap off na arrow or somethign.
* Lief takes aim and fires off an arrow at the wall next to the bloodied man.
> OOC: Trying to intimidate him?
<Lief> OOC: Yeah. Trying to help Muirfinn.
> OOC: Intimidation check, +8 circumstancial bonus.
<Lief> roll d20+17 Intimidation
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+17 Intimidation and gets 27." [d20=10]
> The arrow goes flying, hitting the wall. The man, amazingly, keeps on hysterically screaming. OOC: He's already in a bad place and this just made it worse. Impressive. Muirfinn, you're up.
* Muirfinn gives the man a look. "Get a grip, man. Like you've never seen someone die before."
<Muirfinn> "Though," Muirfinn says, scratching his chin with a claw, "probably not like that. To be fair."
<Muirfinn> OOC: Giving him a minute, he's not going anywhere. I'll ready an action for if he tries to bolt.
> roll 1d20+8 will
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 will and gets 23." [1d20=15]
> It's no good. The man seems to know nothing but fear, stumbling out of the bed and trying ot run. OOC: Go ahead, Muirfinn. He's clearly panicking.
* Muirfinn punches the man in the face! OOC: Dragonpunch! Nonlethal!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 and gets 46." [1d20=3]
> OOC: Hit.
<Muirfinn> roll 5d6 nonlethal go
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 5d6 nonlethal go and gets 14." [5d6=1, 3, 2, 5, 3]
> Muirfinn's quick, socking him right in the face. This causes a crunching sound as his nose breaks, but he's still going. He stumbles out of the room in a daze...just as Kascha comes out. "Stop," she utters in Celestial, a momentary corona of light surrounding her. OOC: She was on the same tick as you and held since she had nothing to do. She's trying a hold monster SLA.
> roll 1d20+8
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 and gets 11." [1d20=3]
> And just like that, the man falls over. He's dead rigid and unmoving as Kascha says, "He's held. He shouldn't move for a bit." OOC: Free act for the moment. He'll get a save each round to try and break it as normal for hold monster.
<Lief> "I'll check the bodies."
* Lief moves to check loot on the two bodies.
<Muirfinn> "Ah, thank you Kascha." Muirfinn says, leaning back on his haunches. "Shame she decided that a fight was necessary."
> Kascha positions over him, as...
> roll 1d20+8
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 and gets 22." [1d20=14]
> He starts to rise, just as Kascha's blade comes down for his head, flat end first.
> roll 4#1d20 -4 nonlethal, 1 is the only miss
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 4#1d20 -4 nonlethal, 1 is the only miss and gets 48." [4#1d20 = 13, 13, 7, 15]
> roll 8d6+28+4+4+4+4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 8d6+28+4+4+4+4 and gets 79." [8d6=6, 6, 2, 4, 6, 1, 4, 6]
> The clang of metal on bone is followed by your hapless friend finding out what unconciousness is like. He's out cold, lumps rising on his bruised noggin. OOC: Free act.
> "It didn't go perfectly," Kascha admits, "But it's done. What do you want to do with these two?"
<Lief> "If we want to keep the intimidation thing up, we could tie them upside down from the ceiling in the bloody room."
<Muirfinn> "I'm quite interested to know who is employing them."
> "There's no need for unpleasantness," Kascha makes a face, "I can use magic to make them answer in truth. It feels wrong enough to cut down someone in their bed, even if it was perhaps justified by the acts they committed."
<Muirfinn> "Yes, I believe that would be best." Muirfinn says. "Fear is not having the desired effect. Alas."
<Lief> "Alright. Sounds good."
> From there Kascha picks up the broken nosed man and carries him to an empty bed. "Muirfinn, could you manage a healing spell? Enough to waken him."
<Lief> "Should we tie him down first?"
> "Wouldn't hurt," Kascha remarks as she puts her sword down.
<Muirfinn> "Once you are ready." Muirfinn nods.
<Lief> OOC: Do I have rope? Does anyone have rope? >.>
> OOC: Yes.
> "I'll be using a wish," Kascha explains, "Probe Thoughts is a fairly spell, and I'll use some of the added power of the wish to make it work out loud instead of telepathically. Anything you'd like me to ask him?"
* Lief moves to tie the man down, hands and legs.
> OOC: Quick use rope check, for reference?
<Lief> roll d20+32 Use Rope!
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Use Rope! and gets 39." [d20=7]
<Muirfinn> "What the purpose of taking the unicorn was, and who he was working for."
> "Do it," Kascha says, once he's tied down, "After you finish telling me any questions you'd like answered. Alright. What about you, Lief?"
<Lief> "Nothing, personally."
* Muirfinn shrinks down to tortle size, pulling a wand and, with a swish and a flick, taps the man.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 cure critical
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 cure critical and gets 39." [4d8=6, 5, 6, 5]

> Healing washes over the man, causing his eyes to open. At the same time Kascha gestures and traces a circle around her. "He won't remember being mentally probed, even with him speaking aloud," she remarks, "So don't address him directly. Now...Mother of Magic, open the path and loosen this man's tongue!"
> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 and gets 20." [1d20=14]
> The man's eyes go slack, Kascha asking him right away, "What was the purpose of taking the unicorn?" To that he answers right away in a dull, inflectionless voice, "The payment was good and the ritual was of Neurah's choosing. It was the price for the keys to open this place."
<Muirfinn> "Whose price?"
> "Who is Neurah?" Kascha asks a moment later, to which he says, "Neurah is Neurah. He came to us with knowledge and offers. He is a prophet of the Lord of Shadows. There are riches hidden away and ripe to be taken, he claims. He is powerful in the ways of might and the ways of magic. He has instructed us in the ways of the Lord of Shadow." He doesn't seem to hear Muirfinn or react to him. In a low voice, "Remember, he's under a spell and it's tied to me," she murmurs to Muirfinn, "Lord of Shadows is one of Mask's titles. Ahem!" Clearing her throat, "What was the payment and who gave it to you?" Kascha asks.
* Lief takes the conversation as cue to start checking over the rooms and bodies, also keeping sentry. Just in case.
> "The payment was ten thousand marks of the United Baronies. Neurah gave it to us, so we could go west without suspicion later. There is even more opportunity to the west and even more riches to be taken." Is his only reply. OOC: Lief, make a quick spot and search check.
<Lief> roll d20+30 Search
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Search and gets 46." [d20=16]
* Muirfinn snorts.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 39." [d20=7]
> Kascha makes a little nothing noise in the back of her throat, narrowing her eyes as she thinks. Her normally pleasant demeanor shifts as she ponders, "What does Neurah look like?" Meanwhile she turns nad murmurs, "Any other questions, Muirfinn? Lief?"
<Lief> "Why did they want the keys? What did this Neurah teach them about this place?"
<Muirfinn> "And who led you here?"
> "Neurah is tall and slender. He is a tanned man that resembles a king. I do not know why he does, it may be magic or the blessing of the Lord of Shadows. He wears rings and armor of great power and great wealth. His hair is black and his eyes are green." After that Kascha asks, "Why did you want the keys?" To which he replies, "There is great treasure hidden here. There are also portals to realms with more treasure. In the western land there are active portals that result in wealth and prosperity. It is easy money if we can awakena nd control these."
> This gets Kascha to frown a little bit, momentarily cute before her expression hardens. "Seira built those portals. Long story. Someone's been cribbing notes from her, it looks like." Clearing her throat again after, "What did Neurah teach you of this place?"
> Meanwhile Lief searches around. There's gear tucked away in dressers and the like, and no sign of an active threat. OOC: I'll post a loot rundown of what you find afterwards, lemme sort this questioning out first.
<Lief> "What was the ritual for? What was it supposed to accomplish? Bringing Mask back to power here?"
> "He told us of the treasure within. He told us of the password to the portal and to mark the doors. There is magic here that will erode your memories and confuse you, the writings help resist that, as well as organize the massive amount of passageways," he says, to which Kascha then asks, "Who lead you here?" to which is said simply, "Neurah. He showed us the path."
<Muirfinn> "How can we find Neruah?"
> Clearing her throat again after, "Whatw as the ritual for and what was it to accomplish?" she asks, eyes hardening. The answer comes, "Unicorn parts sell for great profit and the ritual can restore injuries that cannot heal in any other way. Neurah desires this ritual, though he is not injured. We do not understand why, we think it is to bolster an ally."
> This gets Kascha's jaw to clench, "How can we find Neurah?" she asks tensely. "I don't know. Neurah finds us. Neurah sees farther than us and is great in the ways of magic."
> "Any other questions? I still have some left," Kascha speaks up, the normal kindness in her voice absent.
<Muirfinn> "Are there others? Those of your group not present? Anyone due to check up on you soon?"
> A trio of nos come with that, "Anything else? There's still a couple of questions." Kascha asks.
<Lief> "What specifics do they know about the treasure and the doors? Which are safe and where do they lead?"
> Kascha asks the first, which comes back as, "We are still exploring, but all we know is written on the doors." A rather long summary of what you already saw on the doors follows. The second question presents much the same. Once done, "Muirfinn, would you knock him back out?" OOC: Refer to that nagging post with all the info. I won't repeat it here IC for the sake of brevity.
> OOC: Also loot post.
* Muirfinn takes a small amount of joy in punching the man very squarely on the side of the head. OOC: Roll? It's not like he's gonna move to dodge.
> OOC: No need.
> WHAM! One punch knocks himb ack out.
> Kascha meanwhile looks over what Lief found, "That's a lot. We may want to drop it off at Aurora...though I'd say we should at least give the gold to the unicorns if they want it, or the items if they're compatible." Hmming ot herself, "What should we do with the survivors?"
* Muirfinn eyes the unconscious man. "How many others are there?"
<Lief> "One dead on my end."
> "Two. This one and mine," Kascha replies, sheathing her sword.
<Muirfinn> "Well, looks like we will have to turn them over to proper authorities. Or lock them up on the Aurora and ask Chauntea what she wants done with them."
> "Mielikki," Kascha corrects absently, "That sounds like a good idea. Unicorns are her favored species and she takes assaults on them poorly. Spreading a bit of good will wouldn't hurt Aurora's political standing over there."
<Lief> "They might still have useful information on this place, if we're going to put these portals into our control."
* Muirfinn nods. "I have a spare set of Gate spells I can use to get them back and forth."
* Muirfinn turns to Lief. "I'm rather inclined to get the local gods into action on this.
<Muirfinn> "
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "If nothing else, this magic would be useful to learn about. If we can replicate ourselves, it could be a windfall."
<Muirfinn> "I'm not saying give it up. Just get them involved. They're already friendly to us, and them having foreknowledge of a potential Mask cell would be welcome."
* Lief nods.
> "Speaking of that," Kascha speaks up, "I may - emphasis on may - have a lead on who Neurah is."
<Muirfinn> "Oh?"
> "Back when Seira and Alicia were exploring here after defeating the Destroyer, they came on an old ruin. The entire thing was kept and maintained by a follower of Mask named Angreal. He implied that he was immortal and had succesfully hidden from the Destroyer the entire time - it was all underground, so it's plausible. If he was telling the truth about that, he's probably immensely powerful. It may or may not be related," A shrug follows. "It also doesn't help us find him. His entire lair was a deathtrap and had a lot of lateral thinking. I'm not sure he'd be there or if we could get through even if he was."
> After finishing and no immediate reply, Kascha clears her throat again. "So...going out now
> After finishing and no immediate reply, Kascha clears her throat again. "So...going out now?"
<Lief> "I've got nothing else here, unless we start checking doors."
<Muirfinn> "Which we're not doing right now." Muirfinn says, shaking his head. "He have previous engagements to attend to. I'm fine with closing this place up and informing Seira and Alicia about it."
> "This could be the work of weeks or months," Kascha agrees, "We can always come back later."
> OOC: Quick plan summary?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gate back to the Aurora, drop off the gear/prisoners, send midssives to Mielikki, Alicia, & Seira.
<Lief> OOC: Accompany Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> OOC: After that, gate back, get our asses kicked by the ice dragon, then get the Gilded Heart and go home. Prepare for next ass-kicking.
> OOC: Right, let's pause here. I'm tired as hell, we'll run again tomorrow.

> OOC: Also, quick question. It was the middle ofthe night, is the party going to take the time to rest?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I suppose. Might as well borrow the cloak wheil we're there. It'll come in handy if we need to hide
> OOC: Okay, noted. More coming.
> It is a cloudy day as you head for the mountains. There's not much else at dragon-flight heights to bother you and soon you approach the looming mountains of the Amaryl Ranges. "It's one of the border mountains," Kascha speaks up, shouting to be heard over the wind. She points down at one of the lesser mountains, "I think it should be around there!"
* Muirfinn eases down toward the indicated spot.
* Lief keeps an eye out, ready to deal with any attention the landing dragon catches.
> The mountain top is snowy. Cold numbingly licks at the trio as Muirfinn descends. It is a classical peak from the stories, a triangle rising up to stab at the sky. About 200ft or so beneath the peak is a large cliff, hundreds of feet wide. It is surrounded by ice and snow, seeming to blow from nowhere. It covers this perfect landing spot in nature's fury, blocking any good view inside. OOC: Spot checks, y'all.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 40." [d20=8]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 and gets 68." [1d20=20]
> roll 1d20+32 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 Kascha and gets 51." [1d20=19]
> The party can see the faint outline of a cave entrance 100ft ahead, past all the wind and snow. Further, the party can notice the wind blows in patterns and seems to be blowing in such a way as to prevent creatures from reaching within.
<Muirfinn> "Interesting wind patterns. Likely magically controlled. The dragon will know if we dispel them."
<Lief> "How about just passing through?"
> "Can we force our way through? Is it safe?" Kascha asks as she peers ahead. One hand goes out to shield her eyes as her breath mists around her face.
<Muirfinn> "Only one way to find out."
> OOC: If you're doing it, do so.
* Muirfinn heads into the winds!
> The winds blow intensely against Muirfinn and the party! Winter's wrath hits them head on! OOC: CMB check by the wind incoming against all of you. Let me know if you pass/fail.
> roll 1d20+45 CMD, y'all?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+45 CMD, y'all? and gets 55." [1d20=10]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+52
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+52 and gets 59." [1d20=7]
> OOC: CMD, not a roll, Yuth.
<Lief> OOC: 48, so no.
<Muirfinn> OOC: It's 52
> The winds blow like a hellish hurricane. The winds are screaming, tornado force gales. They batter Muirfinn as he glides in, battering the dragon and party. They are sent flying out, careening back. "Ugh," Kascha coughs, eyes crossed as she shakes her head clear. "We need more momentum or something ot ge through that, I think."
* Lief tumbles and shakes his head dizzily.
* Muirfinn grumbles, righting himself. "Irritating."
* Lief checks his wings for injury.
> Lief's wings seem okay to him. "That wind's really strong. They also didn't mention anything like this...is the dragon upgrading its defenses after the previous incursions?"
<Muirfinn> "Or it found out we were coming."
* Muirfinn eyes the winds. "Perhaps I can control the winds long enough for us to get through."
> "By all means," Kascha remarks, "I suppose it was too much to hope for a simple time of it," she adds with a little slump of her wings.
<Muirfinn> "Alas, the path of the adventurer is fraught with peril."
* Muirfinn shrinks back down to tortle size, doing his best to ignore the biting cold as he reaches out with his magic, seeking to control the winds and calm them. OOC: Control Winds, trying to reduce their speed.
> OOC: Link me?
<Muirfinn> OOC: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/controlWinds.htm
> The winds shudder and slacken, dying off under Muirfinn's control. The snow fall sstraight down, a curtain of white as the air goes still.
<Muirfinn> "Let's proceed." Muirfinn says, shifting into the form of a silver dragon once again as he strides forward.
* Lief takes to the air and pulls up his invisibility, sticking to the group's left flank.
> Kascha follows. The snow is heavy but no real barrier to your entrance. The cave entrance ahead is fairly large, as is the tunnel leading further within. Big enough for Muirfinn to pass through without any difficulty. It goes straight down, plunging into the darkness.
* Muirfinn proceeds.
> As you go down, the walls and ground become covered with ice. The going is slippery, enough to where Kascha starts to fly rather than walk. Coming down, you reach a massive cavern room. Columns of ice are all about, shades of blue and white. Within these columns you can see glimpses of wealth and treasures, emtomed within. There's plenty of space here - but no dragon.
* Lief keeps towards the outside of the room and watches for traps, but makes sure to stay close enough to the others to support them.
<Muirfinn> "No dragon. It's either out or elsewhere here."
> OOC: Search check, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+30 Search
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Search and gets 34." [d20=4]
> "If it's out, we're abnormally lucky," Kascha remarks, "How often do you get here and the dragon isn't home?" Meanwhile Lief can detect traps around the pillars. Magical traps that will entomb anyone but one creature within the ice columns of they touch them or otherwise try to melt or damage them.
* Lief moves next to Muirfinn and Kascha and speaks, keeping his voice low.
<Lief> "The pillars are trapped. Ice magic to entomb whoever tries for them."
* Muirfinn nods, avoiding them for now.
* Lief moves back out, keeping eyes out for anything useful.
> There's not a whole lot her eotherwise. No obvious passages leading further in or anything like that. It's just a large cavern full of frost and ice columns.
<Muirfinn> "Well. We can either wait, or set traps and then wait."
<Lief> "Hmm.. Could we somehow cover our traps with the dragons? Reduce the chances of them being noticed?"
<Muirfinn> "I suppose it's possible." Muirfinn shrugs. "I haven't actually set a trap in ages, and that was for rabbits."
<Lief> OOC: So I can set up physical traps, Muirfinn does magical?
> OOC: Okay. What traps are you thinking of here, you two?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I really don't have any way of setting them magically.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I was sort of just making a suggestion
<Lief> OOC: I'm thinking of something that'll reduce mobility. Pitfall or anchored snare.
<Lief> OOC: Magic? Maybe some kind of blinding flare? I dunno what Muirfinn can do trap-wise.
<Lief> OOC: I'm looking over the trap list right now, not sure what we have materials on hand for, though.

> OOC: Last time, you all were talking about trapping the dragon's lair since he's out. What did you come up with?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Nothing on my end! It was really just a off the cuff suggestion.
<Lief> OOC: Not much, considering it's a dragon. Only things I could come up with are a ceiling collapse and an arrow trap. I'm still not sure if we have mats for them.
<Muirfinn> OOC: We sort of don't.
> OOC: Realistically, probably not. So if not a trap, then what are y'all gonna do?
<Lief> OOC: All I have is concealment and ambush after that.
<Lief> OOC: Unless Muirfinn has a magical solution.
> OOC: Do you, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Well, I might be able to use Stone Shape
<Muirfinn> OOC: Now that I think about it
> OOc: Link me.
<Muirfinn> OOC: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/stoneShape.htm
> OOC: Possible, depending on what you have in mind. What do you have in mind?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I was thinking a large set of rocks attached precariously from the ceiling. Loose enough for Lief to push loose or something
> OOC: Sure thing. That would incur the 30% failure chance, though, so fair warning. Failure would result in the rocks falling prematurely at some point.
* Ithea is now known as Merc
<Muirfinn> I'll take it
<Muirfinn> OOC:
> OOC: Roll 1d100. Also sec.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d100 and gets 19." [1d100=19]
> Muirfinn chants and shapes a bit of clay. The ceiling above shifts to loose rocks - and moments later chunks of it begin to fall! The crashing echos throughout the cave, a pile of rocks littering the ground now. Fortunately, at least everyone had the good sense not to be under them.
<Muirfinn> "...damn."
> Kascha looks up and sighs, "Too bad," she laments, "We should clean up those rocks. Otherwise when he returns, he'll notice something's wrong right away."
* Lief nods.
* Muirfinn eyes the rocks for a moment, shifting into an earthen elemental and shoving them to the side.
> OOC: Just going to move the rocks aside or something else?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Probably hide them behind the pillars or push them into passages.
> One that's done, there's still no sign of the dragon. "Now what?" Kascha asks. She frowns as her eyes follow the ioun stones going around her head, "Any other plans?"
<Muirfinn> "We'll just wait, I suppose. I doubt the dragon will be gone for long."
* Lief nods and goes to find an ambush point.
> OOC: Going to hide then? Make hide checks, everyone. Als note if you're using invisibility or any other exotic means of covering yourself.
<Lief> roll d20+40 Hide with Invisibility
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+40 Hide with Invisibility and gets 47." [d20=7]
> roll 1d20+32 hide for Kascha, also casting greater invisibility as an at will SLA as needed. She'll drop it on Muirfinn as well if he wants.
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 hide for Kascha, also casting greater invisibility as an at will SLA as needed. She'll drop it on Muirfinn as well if he wants. and gets 49." [1d20=17]
> OOC: And strike that offer, the racial SLA is self only. Forgot.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+6 hurray
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+6 hurray and gets 14." [1d20=8]
> Several hours pass. It's cold and boring. Only Kascha's invisibility spells mark the time, coming every two minutes. It's then the party hears a loud THUMP outside, followed by softer thumps that grow closer.
* Lief readies himself and arrows...
> Unseen, Kascha stirs and renews her invisibility, all while beginning to chant a few arcane words of Celestial.
<Lief> OOC: Give me a sec.
<Lief> OOC: I'm looking at spells, I may want to ready one.
> After a beat, she chants a simple spell, one that fills the three with hope. OOC: Surge of Hope. +4 morale bonus to a bunch of things, see thecauldron for details.
<Lief> OOC: Did you ever decide on Fell the Greatest Foe?
> OOC: It's fine for ranged weapons.
<Lief> OOC: alright, I wanna prep that, then.
> OOC: Okay. Giving Yuth a sec to add in his own two cents.
<Lief> OOC: Not 100% sure on it since I don't often play spell casters. Can I just cast it beforehand, or can I ready it and trigger it before I launch my SA?
> OOC: Cast it beforehand, sounds like the dragon'sc oming. Lasts for 1 round/level so it's fine.
* Lief pulls his magical abilities and casts Fell the Greatest Foe..
* Muirfinn readies Deadfall at the entrance.
> OOC: To be cast when it shows itself?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes please
> OOC: Okay.
> roll 1d20+34 spot
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+34 spot and gets 54." [1d20=20]
> The creature advances! The entrance is 45ft away as it comes in. The creature is a massive dragon the size of a manshion, dominating over everything and darkening the room. It is made of pure ice, glittering like a thousand diamonds in the dim light. It immediately begins to look around, eyes narrowing as...OOC: We'll resolve your deadfall and then do init. It aced the spot check, so the odds of a surprise round aren't happening.
<Muirfinn> roll 20d6 no save no SR, DC 28 reflex save or prone
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 20d6 no save no SR, DC 28 reflex save or prone  and gets 73." [20d6=1, 4, 2, 5, 5, 6, 5, 1, 2, 2, 3, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 2, 5, 1, 3]
> roll 1d20+30 (+6 ???, +5 ???, +1 ???)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 (+6 ???, +5 ???, +1 ???) and gets 31." [1d20=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: WOW.
> A giant mass of dead wood appears, raining on the dragon! It's battered and knocked down, the groudn shaking as it falls! It growls loud enough to rattle your teeth as...OOC: It's prone. Init. Lief's aura isa  +5 init bonus and Kascha's surge of hope also provides a +4 morale bonus to init.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12+4+5
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12+4+5 and gets 22." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+21 Kascha (+5 Lief, +4 surge of hope)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+21 Kascha (+5 Lief, +4 surge of hope) and gets 32." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+19 (+6 ????, +5 nerveskitter)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+19 (+6 ????, +5 nerveskitter) and gets 23." [1d20=4]
<Lief> roll d20+30 (21+5 Lief +4 SoH)
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 (21+5 Lief +4 SoH) and gets 40." [d20=10]
> OOC: Your bonus is already in your init block, since you always get it, unless you changed that?
<Lief> I just copied it. So it's 35.
> OOC: Okay.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(35)>Kascha(32)>Ice Dragon(23)>Muirfinn(22; miko and proud)'
> OOC: Open Lief. The dragon's 45ft away and proneski.
<Lief> OOC: SA is 30 ft, right?
> OOC: Correct.
> OOC: Sniper's Shot can mitigate that for a round as a siwft.
<Lief> OOC: YEah, but I can't use it and Critical Strike at the same time, right?
> OOC: Yes, one or the other.
* Lief mutters under his breath and triggers Sniper Shot, and then unleashes his rain of arrows, supplimented with Fell the Greatest Foe!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 60." [d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 60." [d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 41." [d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 48." [d20=14]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 45." [d20=16]
<Lief> OOC: What's the dragon's size?
> OOC: Gargantuan.
> OOC: Four hits.
<Lief> OOC: so +5d6 from the spell.
<Lief> roll 4#1d6+24+7d6+5d6
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 4#1d6+24+7d6+5d6 and gets 276." [4#1d6+24+7d6+5d6 = 61, 69, 66, 80]
<Lief> OOC: that look right?
> The prone dragon, slower than his ambushers, is riddled with arrows all over. Its icy body is penetrated four times, great canyons made and cracks running all over it. The dragon thrashes on the ground, the deadfall cracking around him as it struggles to get up. But meanwhile Kascha strides out invisible, starting to chant. "Gates of the Heavens, open wide and shine down on the sinner before you!" she calls, as a mass of holy light descends from above, onto the dragon. It explodes in a burst of pure glorious radiance, all over the downed dragon.
> roll 1d20+29 SR check purely academic
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 SR check purely academic and gets 49." [1d20=20]
> roll 20d6*1.5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d6*1.5 and gets 111." [20d6=1, 1, 4, 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 2, 6, 3, 5, 2, 5, 6, 4, 6, 5, 5, 4]
> roll 1d20+35 (+6 ???, +5 ???, +1 ???)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 (+6 ???, +5 ???, +1 ???) and gets 53." [1d20=18]
> The blast of holy light causes parts of the dragon to melt into white feathers, with the rest of the runoff turning the color of melted gold. A split-second later, Kascha draws a sign of a gate with her fingers. From the earth a greater earth elemental rises, plummeling the downed wyrm!
> roll 1d20+23
> roll 1d20+23
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+23 and gets 40." [1d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+23 and gets 43." [1d20=20]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(35)>Kascha=Greater Elemental(32)>Ice Dragon(23)>Muirfinn(22; miko and proud)'
> roll 1d20+23 crit
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+23 crit and gets 32." [1d20=9]
> roll 2d10+10
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d10+10 and gets 18." [2d10=2, 6]
> A stony fist hits the dragon in its neck, cracking it further. The wyrm tries to rise, but the body before you dissolves into motes of snow and ice. The dragon's body cracks apart, everything suddenly consumed in a massive, sub-zero blizzard! OOC: Fort saves, y'all.
> roll 1d20+30 (+4 surge of hope) Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 (+4 surge of hope) Kascha and gets 46." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+17 elemental
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 elemental and gets 33." [1d20=16]
<Lief> roll d20+30 Fort Save (please be high)
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Fort Save (please be high) and gets 39." [d20=9]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+36
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+36 and gets 47." [1d20=11]
> OOC: 180 cold damage. Kascha half, Elemental full, Lief full, Muirfinn half. This is piercing cold damage, so resistance doesn't apply and it deals half damage to creatures immune to cold. More coming.
> The blizzard leaves all the party prone and frozen. The party is covered with snow, entombed within it. Each of you can only see snow surrounding you in all directions.
> "Ow..." Kascha's voice is a whimper, heard by all. It sounds far away, muffled and distorted by the snow.
<Muirfinn> OOC: SLAs possible here?
> OOC: Yes. They have no somatic or verbal components.
* Muirfinn concentrates, sending healing energy through himself. "Everyone alright?" OOC: Heal SLA.
> "Alive. Frozen but alive," Kascha's voice is underlaid by the sound of her teeth chattering. "Yaaaah!" Her cry is followed by a gushing sound, "Aaaah! I'm out! Hold on, the snow's nearly as deep as I am tall."
* Lief remains quiet, keeping his location secret as best he can...
> "Ugh..." Kascha's voice is heard, a little farther away. "Lief? Muirfinn? Where are you? Shout out so I can come over and help dig you out."
* Muirfinn turns himself into a 16 foot tall fire elemental.
* Lief waits until Muirfinn speaks up, first.
<Muirfinn> "...here."
<Lief> "Here."
> That does more to get Muirfinn out than any words. The snow around him melts and turns to steam, freeing him. A good four feet of snow covers everything. Kascha has taken to the air, sodden wet and shivering. The liquid is already freezing on her, covering her with a sheen of ice. "Right," she says, teeth visiblity chattering. Soon enough she helps dig Lief out, freeing him as well.
* Lief takes off tot he ceiling, keeping watch just in case.
<Muirfinn> "That went...far easier than I expected it to."
* Lief keeps his voice low.
<Lief> "I expect it wasn't.
<Lief> "
> "Dragons don't explode when they die," Kascha shivers, starting to brush ice off herself. "This is strange. Also, could you heal us, Muirfinn?"
* Muirfinn nods, shrinking down. "No, they do not. Come here."
* Lief moves in closer.
> Kascha also comes closer.
* Muirfinn pulls out a healing wand, tapping each in turn.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 Kascha
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 Kascha
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 Kascha and gets 30." [4d8=6, 1, 3, 3]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 Kascha and gets 28." [4d8=2, 1, 5, 3]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 Kascha and gets 34." [4d8=5, 2, 4, 6]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 Lief
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 Lief and gets 32." [4d8=1, 6, 6, 2]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 Lief
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 Lief
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 Lief and gets 35." [4d8=2, 7, 7, 2]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 Lief and gets 36." [4d8=6, 6, 5, 2]
> roll 30+28+34
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 30+28+34 and gets 92."
> Wound heal to Muirfinn's wand. As the wounds heal, you notice that it's getting colder - rapidly. The cold cuts through you like the cold of the dragon's death, piercing through your defenses.
* Lief moves closer to the firey Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> "Well that's probably bad." Muirfinn says, laying a hand on Kascha and using the other to tap Lief again. OOC: Heal
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 Lief
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 Lief and gets 38." [4d8=4, 8, 1, 8]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Estimated time to encounter?
> OOC: No idea. Feel free to make an K:A check.
> roll 1d20+48 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+48 Kascha and gets 66." [1d20=18]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23+3 and gets 38." [1d20=12]
> Kascha mutters a word of magic, her eyes glowing blue as she sweeps over. "I don't think the dragon's coming back. All its life energy has spread out. This area is going to be permanently sub-zero with piercing cold, but that's it. It won't be safe for anyone here momentarily."
<Lief> "In that case... Anyone able to break the magic traps on the treasure?"
<Muirfinn> "Fantastic. Well, at least the hoard isn't going anywhere." Muirfinn says, collecting his things.
* Lief drops his invisibility and eyes the treasure.
<Muirfinn> "I probably could break it down, but not in the time we have."
> "It's probably possible to dispel it," Kascha says, "But the treasure's not going anywhere at the moment."
<Muirfinn> "Freezing to death would be uncomfortably ironic."
> "If you're hellbent on it, I'll try a wish," she adds, as ti continues to get colder by the second.
> roll 1d6 piercing cold damage
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d6 piercing cold damage and gets 2." [1d6=2]
> OOC: To all.
<Muirfinn> "It'll take too much time to gather it. We can come back after devising a way to stave off the cold."
> roll 1d6 piercing cold damage to all
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d6 piercing cold damage to all and gets 1." [1d6=1]
<Lief> OOC: Muirfinn healed me up to full, right?
> OOC: Yes.
<Muirfinn> "It's likely to keep out everyone on the plane."
> "I mean to reverse the cold," Kascha says quickly, shivering visibly.
> roll 1d6 piercing cold damage to all again
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d6 piercing cold damage to all again and gets 3." [1d6=3]
<Muirfinn> "Oh. Yeah sure, give it a shot."
> roll 2d6 piercing cold damage to all again and more after this, since Kascha's casting. The DC from the cold is trivial for her concentration.
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d6 piercing cold damage to all again and more after this, since Kascha's casting. The DC from the cold is trivial for her concentration. and gets 7." [2d6=1, 6]
> Despite her cold, Kascha stands firm. She raises her wrist to her hand and bites down, drawing blood. She flicks her wrist, sending the blood flying. "By the burning blood and explosive passions in this body, I demand that the Weave bring heat once more! Let my blood burn like the blood of Zaaman Rul and purify away cold!"
> roll 1d20+23 CL check
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+23 CL check and gets 40." [1d20=17]
> The cold stops, fires springing up all around. The snow melts as Kascha continues, "Hear my wish, o Weave of Mystra! MELT!" The fires arch up and the cold simply ceases. The painful cold is gone, the fires fading. It's chilly in here but nothing more now.
<Muirfinn> "Wel done!"
* Lief claps.
<Lief> "You impress me more and more."
> "Thank you," Kascha says, glowing blue spellfire mending the wound on her wrist. She brushes off half-melted ice from her body, "The treasure's still trapped, but the worst of it's dealt with." OOC: Sacrificing Scorching Ray to heal 10 HP from her self inflicted bite.
* Lief nods.
> OOC: Okay, any plans with the treasure? Going to try something to get it out?
<Lief> OOC: Too bad DD doesn't apply.
<Muirfinn> "I can deal with the trapped goods." Muirfinn says, pulling an ornate staff from his pack. A sharp rap of one end on the ground and a massive earth elemaneal pulls itself from the exposed stone of the cavern. OOC: Hello expendable meatshield.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Earth monolith
> OOC: It could to disable the traps at least, Lief.
<Lief> OOC: Okay then!
<Lief> "Let me try.. I might be able to disable a few things before that."
<Muirfinn> "If not, this fine gentleman would be pleased to assist."
<Lief> OOC: How many pillars? I can roll all of them at once.
> OOC: Just one roll's fine.
<Lief> roll d20+26 Disable Device!
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+26 Disable Device! and gets 28." [d20=2]
> Lief works the pillars. Working on it...working on it...gah! Touching one! Touching ba- OOC: Make a Will save.
<Lief> roll d20+23 Will Save
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+23 Will Save and gets 37." [d20=14]
> Lief resists. It feels like his body is being sucked in, but he throws off the compulsion and flies back! OOC: Check failed but you can try again since you weren't trapped within.
<Lief> "That was... Uncomfortable. It felt like I was being sucked in... I can try again, though... I think."
<Lief> roll d20+26 Disable Device
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+26 Disable Device and gets 40." [d20=14]
> This time Lief goes about. HIs fingers stick into the magic around them, a few names called on and auras twisted...there! The spell's disabled on the pillars. All you have to do is get the goods out.
<Lief> "Done!"
<Lief> "Damn magic traps..."
* Muirfinn nods at the elemental as it lumbers forward, pushing over a pillar at a time. "Let's get to work. Hopefully the ice isn't holding the roof up. If it is, I can probably deal with it."
* Lief nods and starts gathering what he can, keeping an eye out for the Heart.
> OOC: Okay, this is largely uneventful and is mundane. We'll pause here and I'll post what you got out later tonight.

> OOC: Okay, so you got the treasure and presume itw as dropped off. So now what's on your agenda, you two? Go back and get the Heart or something else?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep, that's the plan
<Lief> OOC: Sounds good to me.
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 46." [1d100=46]
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 51." [1d100=51]
> The trip back to Liberation Point is without incident. It involves a normal rest on the way, a chance for the party to recover and refresh. Soon enough you meet with Uless once more, "By your presence, does this mean the dragon is dead?" he asks once everyone is seated on those hard stone benches.
<Muirfinn> "Extremely so."
* Lief grins.
> "It's done," Kascha nods in response.
> Uless inclines his head and sighs long and deep, "You are relentless. All that's left is to build the monument."
<Muirfinn> "Relentless is a new description." Muirfinn says idly.
> "It fits Aurora, but never mind it. Do you have something in mind yet, Uless?" Kascha inquires.
> Papers are gotten. They are full of sketches of a massive stone cathedral. It juts out over the mountaintop and juts out, a monument to be seen by one and all.
<Lief> "I like it?"
<Muirfinn> "It very large." Muirfinn contributes.
> Kascha bites her lip, "We'll need magic to speed it along as well as someone with skill in architecture."
<Muirfinn> "I can assist with heavy lifting if needed."
* Lief whistles distractedly, looking around the room.
> The room's fairly barren and spartan. There's not much of real interest around. "Yes, and magic can as well. Someone on Aurora should have the knowledge we need," Kascha concludes, "Do either of you happen to be skilled at it, personally?"
* Lief stares at Kascha for a momen.
<Lief> "No.."
* Muirfinn shakes his head. "Minor skill at the very best. I wouldn't want to try my hand at architecture in something like this. No sense building a house of massive stone cards atop a mountain."
> "We'll need to go back and ask around, then," Kascha says. "Unless either of you have an idea?"
* Muirfinn shakes his head. "I don't beleive we ever had cause to particularily look for one."
<Lief> "I don't."
> OOC: Okay, then the obvious next step is to head back and look for someone with the requisite knowledge. Want to move along to that?
<Lief> OOC: Sure.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Probably for the best
> The return to Aurora is peaceful. The fortress still sits in Air and you head in. Getting Elena to do a few inquires for you is easy enough and you sit down in a meeting room. A meal has been brought in from the cafeteria, a spread of conjured food and drink. Kascha idly nibbles on ab it of sweetened elf bread as Elena appears to explain. She's dressed up like Finnegan today, down to the hood. "So I asked around. We have some engineers in the non-commisioned ranks. Past that, there's two officers that are suitable for building something like that. That's a huge cathedral, by the way."
* Lief eats as well.
<Muirfinn> "Yes, it is. Who do you have?"
> "Mmm." Kascha sits back and makes happy little noises as she eats. Her ioun stones sit in her lap and her sword rests against her chair.
> "The first is Elder Magi Tepen. He's a man of way more talents than I ever imagine." Elena admits, "He saw the drawing you brought and suggested ways to improve and support it. With his knowledge and magic, he can help. The second is Sylvie. She said she doesn't have any particular knowledge of it, but between her prism and talents, she can pick it up easily." With an unladylike snort, crossing her arms, "She was starting to make suggestions with Tepen by the time I left, just from watching him work."
<Muirfinn> "Unsurprising. Sylvie can apply herself to anything and be successful."
> "Want me to get them?" Elena asks.
<Muirfinn> "If you wouldn't mind, thank you Elena."
> Once Elena vanishes, "So what do you all want to do with the treasures we brought in?"
<Muirfinn> "We can sort them out once this is done I'd think."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "I'm thinking of changing my gear up a bit, too. I think it'll be better to deal with after we finish with the Heart."
* Muirfinn nods. "Best to see to any changes before the next leg of our task."
> That gets a simple nod from Kascha. Soon enough Tepen and Sylvie arrive. Sylvie is a busty blonde, wearing a sturdy tunic and pants. She has leather straps wrapped around her wrists and fists. She wears a slender pair of glasses and has a confident smile. "You need us for building something?" she asks.
<Muirfinn> "Large stone temple on a mountain peak."
> "We can get that done," Elder Magi Tepen remarks after a moment, "With the proper magic and putting our heads together, we can get it done in record time. How important is speed?"
<Muirfinn> "A few days?"
<Muirfinn> "Maybe a week?"
> Tepen and Sylvie exchange a look, "For that sort of speed, we'll need some funds to supplement the magic we'll have," Sylvie says, "There's some Mercane in to see Afina and they're selling what we'd need. It'll cost 20,000 gold, but it'll help us get it done in time."
* Muirfinn nods. "I can swing that."
> OOC: Okay, go post the expense in loot, tortle.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Done
> OOC: Okay, ahead is goingot be a skip along as work is done. You'll have a few days of relative downtime as they work, anything y'all wanna do? Loot will be done during this as well.
<Lief> OOC: Not off the top of my head. My thing'll get done out of session.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Desperately need a bag of holding
<Lief> OOC: Yes, that I agree with.

> The days slip by as work is done. After the fourth day of construction, the work is over half done. The spell that it goes on at is breath-taking, magic and summons vastly increasing the speed of the monument's construction. Muirfinn, Lief, Kascha, Sylvie and Elder Magi Tepen sit in the half-finished entryway, as Sylvie speaks up, "So I had some spare time last night," she says, "I poked around that cave in the back, where the dragon laired."
<Lief> "Find anything good?"
* Muirfinn ladopts an interested look.
> Kascha's eyes are on her newest ioun stone, attention on watching it orbit her head. "Was it about the cold magic there?"
* Lief eyes the stone as it floats as well.
> "The magic there is fading slowly. Whatever the root of it is primally powerful," Sylvie absently brushes a strand of blonde hair back behind her ear. She sits with one knee up, leaning forwar dto rest her head atop it. "I also think that the dragon exploding wasn't quite right. It wasn't like a balor's death explosion, or even anything meant to destroy in the strictest sense. It was trying to alter the terrain to be an arctic wasteland closer to the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice, Stygia or Cania. I think the intense damage you suffered was a side effect of that rather than the aim - it wasn't aimed AT you, precisely."
* Muirfinn nods. "Fortunately, Kascha's efforts negated that."
> Elder Magi Tepen rubs his chin as he nods slowly. "Interesting. If the dragon does that, are you suggesting that it has a purpose beyond merely being a living creature?"
<Lief> "Eco-forming?"
> The white sphere floats slowly. It glows with a pearly light. Lief can see it maintains a smooth orbit. When it passes closer to Lief, he feels warm.
> "It wouldn't have been a nice place to be," Kascha says quietly. "I'm glad I did." She doesn't reply to the rest, but her interest visibly shifts to Tepen on his words.
* Lief decides to follow it in it's orbit around Kascha.
> "More or less," Lief gets a shrug from Sylvie as she blows out a long breath. "From what all of you mentioned, the dragon was unusual to begin with. It might've been a golem or some sort of creation engineered to do that. Suggesting it was created for a reason demands a motive from the creator and it likely isn't a good one."
<Lief> "Hmm.. Lots of things are showing up there. The dragon, the temple.."
> "I-" Kascha begins as Lief follows. Her eyes go criss-cross as she starts to follow Lief around her head. Closing her eyes and shaking her head at the ioun stone and pixie parade around her noggin, "It would fit the running theory that Seira's followers and my own information suggests...but it's not truly our battle." Kascha adds, "At least not right now."
> "Lots of things being uncovered has been the theme of my world - this world the past generation," Sylvie taps the ground with her hand. "It's not really surprising."
* Muirfinn nods. "Our focus is now on Kina-ja. Our efforts can be refocused once our current task is complete."
> "If whatever's down there and behind this is evil, 21 can end it," Sylvie shrugs again, "Plus this world has a heavy destiny and all of that." She adds with a little pfft at the end, "What's Kina-ja about? There's a book that describes her, oen of the Abyssal Lore series, but what are you working on with her?"
> OOC: Listen checks, all.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Listen
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Listen and gets 48." [d20=16]
> roll 1d20+32
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 and gets 42." [1d20=10]
> OOC: Kascha.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 and gets 46." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+19 spot and listen are like Sylvie's only two seriously mediocre skills
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+19 spot and listen are like Sylvie's only two seriously mediocre skills and gets 22." [1d20=3]
> roll 1d20+32 Tepen
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 Tepen and gets 34." [1d20=2]
> Lief and Muirfinn can both hear something - their own stomachs starting to rumble. With it is an odd sensation. Hunger blossoms within you, an odd feeling of being induced. Meanwhile Sylvie sits up, "I'm hungry," she says, "I'm going to go fish out some of the food we brought."
<Muirfinn> "So am I. I don't think it's normal." Muirfinn says, rising and casting a spell. OOC: Greater Dispel
<Lief> "Hm... I just suddenly got hungry, too."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+20 and gets 35." [1d20=15]
> OOC: On who or what, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Area
> Just as suddenly as it started, the feeling of hunger vanishes.
> "What was that?" Tepen follows it up by a muttered phrase, pausing to study the unseen Weave all around.
> roll 1d20+31 spellcraft
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+31 spellcraft and gets 45." [1d20=14]
<Lief> "Why.. Why would someone pick hunger?"
* Lief looks confused.
* Muirfinn grimaces. "It's better if you don't ask."
> "The Weave is...hungry." Tepen mutters as his eyes widen, "It's coming from that way," He points back, towards the dragon's cave.
> Sylvie leaps to her feet in one fluid motion, slamming a fist into her palm. "The Father then, isn't it?"
<Muirfinn> "Let's hope not." Muirfinn says. "I've had about enough of him."
<Muirfinn> "Either way, we need to check it out. If it's not, perhaps we can repair it. If it is the Father, then we need to erase the influence immediately."
<Lief> "The who?"
> "Ravenous demonic horror," Sylvie says shortly, already starting to walk, "It nearly got Ithea, and it's been bothering Muirfinn and the others off and on since then."
<Muirfinn> "Demon god. Very bad"
* Lief hmms and reaches for his bow, checking over his new scrollcase and checking over his quiver.
* Muirfinn strides alongside Sylvie, grim-faced.
<Lief> "Want me to scout ahead?"
> Kascha's own expression is grim, following. OOC: What's y'all's plan here? Any prep or just rushing in?
<Lief> OOC: I dunno. I can scout.
* Muirfinn casts as he walks, preparing himself. OOC: Casting Owl's Insight, Halo of Sand, Death Ward.
> OOC: Kascha will cast Surge of Hope on the party. Sylvie will cast Spell Resistance on herself, as well as death ward and freedom of movement. More coming.
> The party pauses to cast a few spells and to otherwise hurry along. Thus fortified, you return to the dragon's lair. Here the cold is gone. All about is a massive chasm. The walls, floor and ceiling are covered in mouths. They range from pinprick-sized to huge enough to swallow a giant whole. The sound of teeth gnashing is joined by the sound of gurgling from ahead. "Come come, dinner's done," A cheery young boy's voice calls from somewhere ahead. It echos all around, punctuated by hundreds of teeth clashing. "Muirfinn, I'm hungry to meet you and we'll have such feasts together and it's time to come home!"
<Muirfinn> "...oh damn it all." Muirfinn says, staring at the scene.
* Lief pulls up his invisibility and readies to deal death.
> Kascha steps back with a look of profound disgust. Sylvie doesn't blink, peering ahead, "Hundreds of thousands? No. Millions. Millions on him alone, countless more on all the others he spawned. That he caused."
> As the party stands there and talks, the mouths begin to chomp! Somehow, the space between you and the sea of mouths shrinks as they bite into the air. It's as if space itself is being devoured before you as...OOC: Init.
> "Enough talk!" Tepen calls, "We have to purify this infestation before it can expand further!"
> roll 1d20+28 Sylvie (+4 surge of hope)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 Sylvie (+4 surge of hope) and gets 38." [1d20=10]
<Lief> OOC: My aura gives +5 init
> OOC: 43 for Sylvie.
> roll 1d20+15 Tepen
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 Tepen and gets 17." [1d20=2]
> roll 1d20+21 Kascha
<Lief> roll d20+25 Init with Surge
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+21 Kascha and gets 24." [1d20=3]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+25 Init with Surge and gets 29." [d20=4]
> roll 1d20+6 great mouth swarm
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 great mouth swarm and gets 12." [1d20=6]
* Retrieving #dunes modes...
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+4+12+5
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+4+12+5 and gets 25." [1d20=4]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(43)>Lief(29)>Muirfinn(25)>Kascha(24)>Tepen(17)>Father's Maw(12)'
> OOC: Sylvie opens.
<Muirfinn> "Avoid lightning, cold, and sound! He's fire resistant! Use acid and healing on him!"
<Muirfinn> "And don't let it touch you!"
> In Sylvie's hand a book appears. She opens it up and utters three words of profound power. From her a 30ft wide beam of pure energy erupts out, plunging into the maw of mouths.
> roll 1d20+17 ref save
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 ref save and gets 20." [1d20=3]
> roll 21d12+21
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 21d12+21 and gets 158." [21d12=6, 8, 3, 12, 5, 8, 9, 4, 7, 11, 2, 9, 4, 6, 11, 6, 4, 9, 8, 3, 2]
> The blast rips through the maw like a great, unending arrow. It is soundless, allowing you to hear a raw scream of pain come from all around. "Die." The book vanishes from Sylvie's hands, the beam finished. There's a 30ft wide path carved ahead, utterly devoid of mouths. It stretches farther than you can see in the dark. The screams of pain continue, echoing madly in the cavern! OOC: Lief, go.
> "It's consumed millions," Sylvie shouts over the ear-piercing screams. "Ignore what it says and destroy this!"
* Lief decides to act on Muirfinn's advising on the acid, reaching for one of his new scrolls: Acid Fog!
> OOC: Okay. Make your UMD check.
<Lief> roll d20+31 UMD
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+31 UMD and gets 38." [d20=7]
> OOC: Success. Where are you positioning it.
<Lief> OOC: Over the same mouth/maw that Sylvie hit, I guees.
<Lief> guess*
> OOC: As noted, the path was cleared of mouths from 21's blast. It wouldn't be in contact with any to acid them.
<Lief> OOC: Ah, then over the densest number of mouths.
* Nephrite (~rscuderi@6532248hfc76.tampabay.res.rr.com) Quit (Quit: BRB)
> OOC: Okay, roll acid damage.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(43)>Lief=Acid Fog(29)>Muirfinn(25)>Kascha(24)>Tepen(17)>Father's Maw(12)'
<Lief> roll 2d6 Acid Damage
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 2d6 Acid Damage and gets 7." [2d6=1, 6]
<Lief> OOC: haha, so typical.
> The acid fog settles over a cluster of the mouths on the left wall. They begin to hiss in the solid fog, dissolving as they're hidden from sight. The screams slow and a man's voice demands, "Muirfinn, I'm so hungry now! Come with me and eat and eat and eat and eat, AMEN!" OOC: Tortle,go.
* Muirfinn growls, eyes cold like orbs of ice. "The Father deserves no quarter. No mercy. He will give none. Every speck must be destroyed. None can remain." Muirfinn inhales deeply, form shifting as he does. With a series of crackling bones and cartiledge, he reforms into the shape of a massive bronze dragon. Immediately the air blasts out of his mouth, along with an acrid spray of acid and bile!
* Muirfinn OOC: Breath weapon, line of acid. 5 high by 5 wide, 140 ft long. DC 30.
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 acid yo
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 acid yo and gets 74." [22d6=4, 1, 1, 5, 6, 5, 4, 1, 6, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 4, 3, 3, 5, 2, 3, 3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Targeting the half not targeted by Lief!
> roll 1d20+17 ref save
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 ref save and gets 27." [1d20=10]
> OOC: DC?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 30
> Acid is shot out at the other side of the mouths. Several of them are splashed and sizzle, while others half melt down. From within a rumble comes, like a stomach yearning for food! AS this happens...OOC: Kascha.
> Kascha leaps back, her wings up in a defensive gesture. At the same time she withdraws a curious ivory figurine, of an eagle riding a unicorn, "Seira, unleash your unicorn hordes!" she calls, as suddenly all ahead dozens of purple, ghostly unicorn heads appear, plunging into the mouths!
> roll 1d20 touch AC here, only misses on a 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 touch AC here, only misses on a 1 and gets 3." [1d20=3]
> roll 1d8+24 (this gets repeated a lot, so I'm going to roll once and assume it's average)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d8+24 (this gets repeated a lot, so I'm going to roll once and assume it's average) and gets 31." [1d8=7]
> Unicorns meet mouths all over. Some slam in and others are consumed, a momentary festival of pure violence. In the aftermaths, mouths are pierced and bloodied, while other sgnaw on semi-ethereal unicorn heads. The air around twists and churns as...OOC: Tepen.
> Tepen holds, the words to a potent spell on his lips. OOC: Keeping a wish ready in case bad shit goes down hardcore. Maw's up.
> The mouths are torn up. Unicorn arrows, acid breath, acid fog and 21 have all devastated the nightmare ahead of you. But as they writhe in battle, the ground rumbles. "Oh, let us come together and feast and eat together all of you my beautiful blessed children!" From ahead, a great storm of razor-sharp teeth come flying out, bombarding all the party! OOC: Reflex saves, all.
> roll 1d20+32 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 Kascha and gets 46." [1d20=14]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28+6+4
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28+6+4 and gets 43." [1d20=5]
<Lief> roll d20+41 Ref with Surge
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+41 Ref with Surge and gets 42." [d20=1]
> roll 1d20+45 Sylvie evasion (+4 surge of hope, +14 cunning insight)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+45 Sylvie evasion (+4 surge of hope, +14 cunning insight) and gets 64." [1d20=19]
> roll 1d20+27 (+4 surge of hope) Tepen
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 (+4 surge of hope) Tepen and gets 32." [1d20=5]
<Muirfinn> ooc: mINE HAS EVASION
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yay caps
> OOC: Yes, make sure to note evasion/improved evasion in your roll if you have them.
<Lief> OOC: Improved Evasion.
> roll 22d8 (-3d8 due to acid fog blocking some) Kascha half, Muirfinn full, Lief half, Sylvie none, Tepen full
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 22d8 (-3d8 due to acid fog blocking some) Kascha half, Muirfinn full, Lief half, Sylvie none, Tepen full and gets 78." [22d8=1, 3, 2, 5, 2, 2, 7, 2, 1, 6, 7, 1, 8, 1, 6, 3, 6, 1, 7, 3, 3, 1]
> roll 78/2
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 78/2 and gets 39."
> The rain of teeth shreds through the party! Kascha is able to throw herself flat and avoid most of it, while Muirfinn's size works against him. He gets shredded by a few dozen teeth, ripping against his scaled form. Lief's relatively slow, only hit by a few instead of dodging altogether. TEpen's knocked back by the blasts, wounded in several places. Sylvie somehow dodges - how yo uaren't sure, but at the end she's untouched. The ground rumbles again, as 60ft away (20ft down the tunnel), you can see a massive tongue emerging. It's approaching the party and nearly fills the passage ahead! OOC: Adding to init.
> roll 1d20+6 Father's tongue
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 Father's tongue and gets 16." [1d20=10]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(43)>Lief=Acid Fog(29)>Muirfinn(25)>Kascha(24)>Tepen(17)>Father's Tongue(16)>Father's Maw(12)'
> The tongue before the party writhes and drools. It makes the ground shake as it moves against it, yet Sylvie doesn't step back. She instead draws 21 once more, uttering three words as a blast of otherworldly power slices into the tongue and the maw.
> roll 1d20+17 ref maw
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 ref maw and gets 24." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+19 tongue
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+19 tongue and gets 20." [1d20=1]
> roll 21d12+21
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 21d12+21 and gets 158." [21d12=4, 5, 2, 5, 10, 2, 12, 6, 11, 12, 2, 3, 11, 1, 6, 10, 8, 8, 10, 4, 5]
> When the flash of light clears, the tongue is split in twain. Two smaller tongues lie there, twitching as the center has been vaporized by 21. Again the Father screams, a terrible sound of unthinking agony. "More!" Sylvie calls, grimacing. OOC: Lief. Acid fog damage first.
<Lief> roll 2d6 Acid
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 2d6 Acid and gets 2." [2d6=1, 1]
> OOC: Go.
<Lief> OOC: Am I in SA range of the tounges?
> OOC: Yes.
* Lief takes aim at the nearest tongue and lets loose a volley of arrows at it!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 56." [d20=12]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 59." [d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 57." [d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 44." [d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 35." [d20=6]
> OOC: Did you include surge of hope?
<Lief> OOC: Shit, no totally forgot.
> OOC: 39 for the last, which also hits. All 5 hit. Remember the +4 to each damage roll too.
<Lief> roll 5#1d6+24+7d6+20
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24+7d6+20 and gets 372." [5#1d6+24+7d6+20 = 80, 68, 70, 79, 75]
<Lief> OOC: the +20 was the 5x+4 for Surge
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(43)>Lief=Acid Fog(29)>Muirfinn(25)>Kascha(24)>Tepen(17)>Father's Tongue(16 ko)>Father's Maw(12)'
> The tongue is riddled with arrows! Both of them are pierced all over and fall, going limp. They aren't moving much, twitching more than anything else. OOC: Down but not dead. Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn snorts, flicking his head as healing energies envelop him, only to leap from his form and envelop the mass of mouths! OOC: Heal on the maw, testing the bit about healing magic dealing damage.
> OOC: How much does heal restore for you? 150?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes. MAx.
> roll 1d20+16 will for half
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+16 will for half and gets 36." [1d20=20]
<Muirfinn> OOC: DC 31
> The tongue curls up and blackens from the touch, wilting instead of restoring! It's still down, both halves black and lightly twitching. "That's it! Keep it up!" Tepen calls. Meanwhile...OOC: Kascha.
> With the tongue down, Kascha chants in Celestial! A great smite of holy power slams down from above on the tongue and maw.
> roll 20d8*1.5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d8*1.5 and gets 127.5." [20d8=3, 1, 7, 4, 8, 5, 3, 5, 7, 1, 8, 5, 2, 3, 8, 1, 2, 4, 4, 4]
> OOC: No save for the tongue, doesn't matter if it halves it or not.
> roll 1d20+13 maw
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+13 maw and gets 29." [1d20=16]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(43)>Lief=Acid Fog(29)>Muirfinn(25)>Kascha(24)>Tepen(17)>Father's Maw(12)'
> The tongue blackens further and crumbles away, revealing a horribly maimed stretch. The mouths are mostly gone, blasted away before they could get going. Before your eyes they slowly begin to fade, the cave returning to normal. OOC: Free act for the moment.
* Lief drops his invisibility
* Muirfinn eyes the receding madness. "He does not retreat. The Father is relentless. Be on your guard.
<Muirfinn> "
<Lief> "That was... Creepy."
* Muirfinn nods at Lief. "The demon is a monstrosity of the worst kind."
* Lief eyes Muirfinn, then brings up his invisibility at that.
> OOC: Advancing on then?
<Lief> OOC: I'm not. I'm following the guy with experience at fighting this thing.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Might as well.
* Muirfinn proceeds into the cavern with extreme caution, eyes flickering about. "Keep well alert."
* Lief does so, moving closer to the ceiling to get a better view.
> OOC: We'll pause there then. It's a good point before kicking off another battle, encounter or whatever you find within.
<Muirfinn> OOC: You devious bastard
<Lief> haha.

> Ahead, the former cavern of the ice dragon has changed. It has twisted into a passage plunging into the chill mountain's interior. For the moment it is only dull stone as you plunge in ahead. OOC: Marching order/anything else as you go in?
<Muirfinn> OOC: ME FIRST! ME ME ME OH PLEASE PICK ME!
<Lief> OOC: Works for me. Muirfinn has point. I'll stick with invis and out on the flanks.
> OOC: Sylvie will take second, Tepen in the middle and Kascha in the rear. Lief will cover the flanks. Okay. More coming.
> The party hurries down. The passage slopes downward and the temperature rises. It's getting warm in here - and you notice the stone beneath your feet is becoming softer. More giving, with shuddering pulses shaking the walls. Ahead the path continues for 60ft. Past that is a wide open room. 30ft into that and 90ft from the party hangs a writhing ball perhaps 10ft wide and tall. It is an amorphous shape of mouths, tongues and emptiness. The walls within the room have mouths, but many are cracked and surrounded by empty space. You can hear dozens of whispers, conflicting and with cracked voices. From them one voice rises in volume, "Hunger...hungry, my children, let us eat together and feast together for today is the promised day and the promised day has come and we will eat! AMEN!" Tongues extend from the sphere of mouths, starting to advance towards the party, six of them! OOC: Init here.
<Lief> roll d20+21
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12+4+3
<Lief> OOC: don't forget my bonus.
<Lief> OOC: BOT
<Muirfinn> OOC: I didn't.
> OOC: Moment, I'll rouse ab ot.
* Hatbot (~Hatbot@72.183.113.233) has joined #dunes
<Lief> roll d20+21 Init
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 Init and gets 36." [d20=15]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+12+4+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+12+4+3 and gets 38." [1d20=19]
> roll 1d20+21 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+21 Kascha and gets 33." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20+15 Tepen
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 Tepen and gets 21." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+33 Sylvie
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+33 Sylvie and gets 44." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+10 mouth core
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 mouth core and gets 23." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+8 tongue 1
> roll 1d20+8 tongue 2
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 tongue 1 and gets 20." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20+8 tongue 3
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 tongue 2 and gets 25." [1d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 tongue 3 and gets 22." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+8 tongue 4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 tongue 4 and gets 19." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+8 tongue 5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 tongue 5 and gets 19." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+8 tongue 6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 tongue 6 and gets 15." [1d20=7]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(44)>Muirfinn(38)>Lief(36)>Kascha(33)>Tepen(21)'
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(44)>Muirfinn(38)>Lief(36)>Kascha(33)>Tongue 2(25)>Mouth Core(23)>Tongue 3(22)>Tepen(21)>Tongue 1(20)>Tongue 4=Tongue 5(19)>Tongue 6(15'
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(44)>Muirfinn(38)>Lief(36)>Kascha(33)>Tongue 2(25)>Mouth Core(23)>Tongue 3(22)>Tepen(21)>Tongue 1(20)>Tongue 4=Tongue 5(19)>Tongue 6(15)'
> OOC: Sylvie opens.
> Sylvie stands her ground, scowling as she watches the horror unfold.
> OOC: Gah.
> Sylvie stands her ground, scowling as she watches the horror unfold. "Any of you have a plan?" she banters back.
> "Killing it?" Kascha says, "Just looking at that thing makes me nauseous!" A hint of a greenish cast comes to her cheeks as she shakes her head.
<Muirfinn> "Well we could try to make friends." Muirfinn responds, putting forth some bravado.
> "Right. Massacre it is," Sylvie glances at Muirfinn, before withdrawing 21 once more. The air hums with silent power, vibrating before you as three words are uttered, a torrent of power following that gushes down the hall.
> roll 1d20+29 core
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 core and gets 37." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 1 and gets 31." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 2
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 2 and gets 28." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 3
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 3 and gets 36." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 4 and gets 30." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 5 and gets 26." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 6 and gets 37." [1d20=17]
> roll 21d12+21
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 21d12+21 and gets 171." [21d12=11, 5, 2, 8, 4, 10, 1, 6, 6, 11, 12, 6, 12, 12, 6, 8, 4, 7, 2, 8, 9]
> 21's blast shakes the entire mountain. The mouths on the wall shatter into nothingness, fading before your eyes. The tongues and core are charred terrifically, as if put into a bonfire. The burns on them glow a soft white, great chunks of flesh dissipating. OOC: Ow. Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn heaves a deep breath, blasting the mass of mouths with an immense streak of acid!
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6 acid, save is DC 30
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 acid, save is DC 30 and gets 73." [22d6=4, 4, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3, 4, 2, 4, 1, 6, 5, 5, 1, 2, 4, 4, 1, 5, 2, 4]
> OOC: What's the range on your breath weapon?
<Muirfinn> OOC: A lot. 140 ft
> OOC: Okay then. Refs incomign.
> roll 1d20+29 Core
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 Core and gets 41." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 1 and gets 40." [1d20=20]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 2
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 2 and gets 21." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 3
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 3 and gets 22." [1d20=2]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 4 and gets 28." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 5 and gets 31." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+20 tongue 6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 tongue 6 and gets 37." [1d20=17]
> The whispers have stopped. There is silence for a moment before an ear-piercing scream erupts from all the mouths. It is just in time for Muirfinn's great gush of acidic fury, burning fury engulfing the tongue and core. The Father's screams echo amid the the cavern! "Get it!" Kascha calls, "Before it can mount an offensive! The battle's going our way!" OOC: Lief.
<Lief> OOC: are there tongues near me, or are they all dead?
> OOC: Tongues are 90ft away and have taken obvious heavy damage. Core's also 90ft away.
* Lief moves into a better position to launch an attack on the core. (Moving into SA range, 60ft. Fly speed)
> OOC: Okay. Just the move or anything else?
<Lief> OOC: Think that pretty much takes up my whole turn, doesn't it
<Lief> ?
> OOC: Fly's a move action.  You still have a standard.
<Lief> OOC: He just gets the one attack on a standard, right?
> OOC: Yes.
<Lief> OOC: eh, it's something I guess. In SA range now, right?
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK: Core
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK: Core and gets 59." [d20=15]
> OOC: Yes and hit. Damage.
<Lief> roll 1d6+24+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 1d6+24+7d6 and gets 61." [1d6=4][7d6=2, 6, 6, 3, 5, 5, 6]
> Lief jets forward towards the chamber. Here he can see the sphere throbbing as mouths crumble, only for new ones toe merge. These mouths are half formed and falling into other ones, devoured instantly. His arrow flies into the sphere, shattering teeth and splitting lips as it bursts through acid-charred inner materials. At this Kascha flies ahead 20ft, pointing ahead, "There! Strike! Queen of Stars, open the gate to the realms of power and eradicate what I see before me!" From above a burst of light comes down, exploding amid the core and mouths.
> roll 1d20+29 SR
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+29 SR and gets 41." [1d20=12]
> roll 20d8
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d8 and gets 91." [20d8=2, 1, 4, 2, 7, 5, 7, 8, 6, 6, 1, 3, 4, 2, 3, 7, 8, 7, 2, 6]
> roll 91*1.5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 91*1.5 and gets 136.5."
> roll 1d20+27 core
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 core and gets 39." [1d20=12]
> roll 1d20+17 tongue 1
> roll 1d20+17 tongue 2
> roll 1d20+17 tongue 3
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 tongue 1 and gets 28." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+17 tongue 4
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 tongue 2 and gets 25." [1d20=8]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 tongue 3 and gets 33." [1d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 tongue 4 and gets 28." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+17 tongue 5
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 tongue 5 and gets 27." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+17 tongue 6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 tongue 6 and gets 20." [1d20=3]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(44)>Muirfinn(38)>Lief(36)>Kascha(33)>Mouth Core(23)>Tepen(21)'
> Having been battered by power far and wide, the tongues disintegrate into thin ash. The core spins around and around, teeth falling out from dozens of maws. The long, loud scream continues as all the mouths open wide! The core itself splits into a recess of countless more mouths. From this recess a greasy black miasma comes out, spreading nigh-instantly all about! OOC: Fortitude, all.
> OOC: Remember the bonus from surge of hope.
> roll 1d20+30 Kascha
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 Kascha and gets 46." [1d20=16]
<Lief> roll d20+30+4 Fort Save
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30+4 Fort Save and gets 52." [d20=18]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+4+36+6
> roll 1d20+39 Sylvie
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+4+36+6 and gets 66." [1d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+39 Sylvie and gets 46." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+24 Tepen
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+24 Tepen and gets 38." [1d20=14]
> roll 20d6 Tepen
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 20d6 Tepen and gets 59." [20d6=5, 4, 4, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 5, 3, 1, 4, 3]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(44)>Muirfinn(38)>Lief(36)>Kascha(33)>Mouth Core=Fog(23)>Tepen(21)'
> Absolute darkness falls. The miasma thickens into a solid fog. It feels strangely chilling to the touch and you can barely seen a foot away from you, let alone move! From far away, Muirfinn can hear Elder Magi Tepen screaming in pain. OOC: Essentially blind in this strange fog. Doing something about it might be ag ood idea. Movemetn is also highly limited ala solid fog. Tepen's up.
> Muffled voices. Neither Lief nor Muirfinn can see what Tepen does, but...
> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 and gets 21." [1d20=1]
> Nothing seems to happen! OOC: Rotten luck. Sylvie's up.
> roll 1d20 touch AC, only 1 misses
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 touch AC, only 1 misses and gets 2." [1d20=2]
> roll 1d20+28
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 and gets 34." [1d20=6]
> Whatever Sylvie does is lost in the fog. OOC: Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn shrinks down to tortle size, waving his hands through a quick series of motions. a magic circle briefly appears beneath his feet, blasting out to scour the fog away! OOC: Greater Dispel, same as Tepen
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+20 and gets 36." [1d20=16]
> This time the fog shatters. The fog is gone like glass crumbling away, revealing the battlefield once more! OOC: Successfully dispelled. Lief, go.
* Lief lines up his shot at the Core and lets loose with his full barrage of pointy death!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 49." [d20=5]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 51." [d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 42." [d20=3]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 48." [d20=14]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 31." [d20=2]
<Lief> OOC: Damn, forgot the +4 to those.
> OOC: Four htis.
<Lief> roll 4#1d6+24+7d6+16
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 4#1d6+24+7d6+16 and gets 295." [4#1d6+24+7d6+16 = 73, 77, 76, 69]
> "Thank you," Tepen wheezes, his face now a waxen, sweaty white.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(44)>Muirfinn(38)>???>Lief(36)>Kascha(33)>Tepen(21)'
* Muirfinn nods at Tepen.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(44)>Muirfinn(38)>Lief(36)>???>Kascha(33)>Tepen(21)'
> Arrows fly on the damage, exposed core. They rip into it over and over, the entire thing pierced and dribbling out green gas. A scream echos through the air as the mouths devour one another, until nothing is left at all. Around you, the open space begins to become stone once more - fast! OOC: Kascha's up.
> Kascha eeps as she ducks, a hunk of solid stone becomign fully real where her head was a moment ago. "We need to escape!" Kascha calls, "To me! Take my hands and form a circle!" At this Tepen nods, stumbling over to Kascha. Sylvie turns back and nods grimly, hopping over a hunk of rock, "Teleportation?" she asks as the air shimmers as more stone appears, everything rapidly becoming filled in. OOC: Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn joins Sylvie at her side, rapidly casting a spell. He reaches out to the stone, forcing his will upon it. OOC: Stone Shape, attempting to halt the fill-in until we can gather.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Sylvie should be Kascha.
> OOC: Make a CL check here. Competing effects.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22+1
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22+1 and gets 33." [1d20=10]
> The appearing stone forces back, enough to give the party a little more time and space! OOC: Success. Leif.
> OOC: Lief, even.
* Lief moves back towards Kascha, landing on her shoulder, not seeing any current threats...
<Muirfinn> "I've slowed it down, but it won't hold forever. Let's leave."
> Once together, Kascha quickly chants, "G'home! G'home to where my heart forever lays!" she says, as reality bleeds away. The slam of stone hitting stone echos as you traverse, a moment that stretches out seemingly forever. You then stand in a deep forest glade, the air warm and the scents pleasant. A burbling brook is nearby. Kascha sighs, "Whew. Arborea. It had the shortest incantation I could think of."
> OOC: Free act.
> Sylvie cracks her knuckles, "That one wasn't so bad as far as battles go," she remarks. "If only we didn't have to face nightmares for something worthwhile to use 21 on." She wanders to the brook and kneels, getting a double handful of water and drinking.
* Lief drops his invisibility and takes to the air over their heads.
> "Hold on," Kascha looks up to her newest iouns tone, which flashes a glorious white as healing energies flowthrough the group. OOC: Mass Heal on all, +200 HP healing.
<Muirfinn> "I will be sincere. I do not like dealing with the Father's antics." Muirfinn sighs. "Thank you, Kascha."
<Lief> "That thing was creepy as hell."
> "Thank you," Tepen echos, leaning on the Staff of Vithos. "Have you faced a stronger manifestation of the Father before?"
* Muirfinn shakes his head. "This is the worst yet, I believe."
> "You should see what I saw," Sylvie looks over her shoulder towards Lief. "21 lets me see every single sin when I look at someone. He has to have eaten millions and millions of lives and souls, and Oghma only knows how many more are to blame from his followers."
<Muirfinn> "The largest, at least."
> Kascha kneels and slowly sits, resting on the grassy ground. She tucks her wings in and leans against a tree. "Could the Father be getting stronger or the seal weaker, or were local conditions to blame?"
<Muirfinn> "I do not know."
> "If worst comes to worst, we know 21 can finish him," Sylvie remarks after another mouthful of water. "In case we can't find that Glasae Queen or someone else that fits. You never got around to tracking her down, did you?"
<Lief> "What is it, anyway? If we knew what it was, maybe we could kill it? At least start looking into it while we deal with Kina-ja."
<Muirfinn> "I know exactly what it is, and how to kill it."
<Muirfinn> "Mirajane fits the bill of the Glasae queen rather nicely."
<Muirfinn> "She has also stated a desire to help. All I need to do is find the forces to take him down. Then we can release and destroy him forever."
> "Allow me," Tepen speaks up, "There's no point keeping it quiet with you now, since you fought him. In short, the Father is a demon outcast and is said to be the child of Pale Night and Demogorgon, two of the most powerful demon princes. He seems to represent cannibalism and bottomless hunger. From what I understand, he takes mortal form and passes himself off as a holy man. But all his lessons lead to mortal creatures becoming mindless cattle and cannibals. He brought a prime world to ruinb efore he was sealed away in a book."
* Lief looks at Muirfinn.
<Lief> "How do you keep getting me into things like this?"
* Muirfinn chuckles in spite of himself. "You agreed to come along. I did warn you that there would be horrors."
* Lief rolls his eyes.
> "The Father was bad luck," Kascha admits, "If I recall, wasn't his book mixed up in other, innocent books?"
<Muirfinn> "The initial book was, yes."
> "Still," With a shrug, Kascha looks up, "How about we rest here then return back to our work?"
* Lief nods.
* Muirfinn nods, stretching. "A short rest works for me."
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 12." [1d100=12]
> OOC: Rest passes without incident. Restore spells and daily resources. Any spell changes?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Not today
> OOC: Okay. More coming.
> A few more days pass. Soon enough the party stands just past the temple - a massive, rising cathedral of granite slotted into the mountaintop. It juts out proudly, catching the sunlight. It is a grim thing, a citadel atop the lower mountain, as if blocking the way to the higher peaks of the Amaryl Ranges ahead. With you is Uless, who looks on it all. He closes his eyes as a single tear escapes his eyes, "It is done," he whispers, "Who was I to doubt servants of the slayer of the Destroyer? Now...now even if the faith fades, it will not be forgotten. Our suffering will not be forgotten."
* Muirfinn Observes the temple solemnly.
> "It won't be," Kascha murmurs to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
> "It's good work. It'll last," Tepen adds as he looks up at it all.
<Lief> "The defenses are really impressive."
> "Here," Reaching into his tunic, "The Gilded Heart." What is in his hand looks to be a gem interwoven with thick bands of gold and steel.
<Muirfinn> "Ah, thank you." Muirfinn says, taking it gently.
> On taking the heart, Muirfinn feels a deep sense of melancholy overtake him. In the meantime, "There is one other thing," Uless tears his gaze from the heart and to Kascha, "You recall the underling who was rude? Well, he recently had a run-in with Seira's church. He was found with stolen treasure from their church, in spite of his claims of never having been there."
* Lief makes a point of not watching the conversation...
> "Yes...?" Kascha says slowly, "I recall him. That sounds strange. Did they ascertain the truth? Is there some complication I could help with?"
> "They did. He was innocent. The auguries were not entirely clear, but they suggested a fairy's deed was to blame. Lief, Kascha, are there any fey up to mischief at Liberation Point that you know of?"
<Lief> "Fey usually are, no matter where they are."
<Muirfinn> "Best to just avoid them altogether."
<Lief> "Hey now."
* Muirfinn snorts.
> "Not that I personally know of," Kascha says.
> "I will tell them that," Uless says. OOC: Congratulations, you got the heart! Sub-quest 1 of 3 down! We'll begin next time with setting up the second one. Which of the two remaining ones do you want to tackle first? As a reminder, they are: The blood of a child of Jormugandr OR finding the Lover's Tree and and getting a fruit from it.
<Lief> OOC: I'm down for True Blood.
> OOC: Child of Jormugandr it is. Okay, I'll have that ready for next session.
> OOC: Bear in mind ways yo uwant to get info about them and any people you want to come along to help, if any.
> OOC: Ebony suggested talking to the guardian of the Felic Gate in Sylica, but beyond that it's up to y'all.
<Muirfinn> OOC: We'll start there

> OOC: So you two are going to talk to the Guardian of the Felic Gate. Going alone or taking any company?
<Muirfinn> OOC: That's a good question.
<Lief> OOC: I don't know any of these people.
> OOC: Feel free to suggest along roles you think would help then, Lief. I can suggest.
<Lief> OOC: Well, I dunno. Tanky person, maybe? But we have enough damage output that it may not totally be needed.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I mean, Baleruk's kinda tanky.
<Muirfinn> OOC: So is Ellese.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Both are somewhat dodgy though.
<Muirfinn> OOC: OH
<Muirfinn> OOC: LET'S TAKE DANA
> OOC: Dana it is then. She's tanky and has psionics, so she fits that well.
> OOC: I'll set the two of you up.
> Dana's found in the library. She's tucked away in a corner, snoozing away in a chair. Despite her heavy armor, she manages to be sprawled out. Her head lolls against the back of the chair, her body slumped down, as if frozen in the middle of sliding off. She's snoring gently.
* Lief hovers in front of her for a moment.
* Muirfinn clears his throat.
* Lief thinks better of what he was going to do.. First impressions and all.
> Dana cracks one eye open, "Muirfinn, Lief," she says, yawning after. She doesn't cover her mouth and instead says, "The fuck do you two want?"
<Lief> OOC: Does Lief know her?
> OOC: A little bit.
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "We're headed to Jormugandr. Thought you might want to come."
<Muirfinn> "Well." Muirfinn says, straightening regally. "The current plan is to go to Ysgard and likely thrash one of Jormungandr's spawn. You in?"
> "Ysgard and fighting some giant serpent? Hell yes I am," Dana stands and adjust her armor, getting a heavy shield out from behind the chair. It has a silver dragon motif, little wisps of cold leaking from the dragon's mouth. She cracks her neck after, "So where in Ysgard is this?"
* Lief flies around her, inspecting her armor.
> The armor is full plate. It looks to be made of a radiant stone - and on the inside you can see there are large metal pins that plunge right into her body. In spite of that, she doesn't look to be bleeding.
* Muirfinn shrugs. "We have a location somewhere. I have it written down."
> "Good enough! Let's go," Dana says. OOC: Okay, so heading to the felic gate now or something else?
<Muirfinn> OOC: WE RIDE FOR GONDOR AT THE DAWN
<Muirfinn> OOC: I mean, yeah, let's go.
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 79." [1d100=79]
> The trip into Ysgard and then Sylica is without incident. Stepping through the portal, you find yourself before a rolling plain. It's verdant, beautiful and peaceful. On the horizon rises a great mountain that shines with an opal-colored glow. The peak is shrouded in light and hidden away. All around you is a sense of gentle peace and rest. This lasts a moment, before a massive wyrm-snake descends from the sky. It's scales are slightly off, each one a different shade of worn brown or gray. The creature eyes the party without comment.
* Lief stares at it silently for a moment before going invisible.
> The creature's gaze fixes on Lief, peering at him even as he hides behind invisibility. It slooowly licks its lips with a flickering, snake-like tongue.
* Lief floats behind Dana.
> Dana smirks and says, "Aaaw, you're scaring the little guy. So what's with the big, strong and dumb routine, asshole?"
* Lief readies arrows.
> "I have been told you may come," The Guardian says, "You seek a child of World Serpent?"
> OOC Gah.
* Muirfinn raises an eyebrow. "Greetings. Yes, we do. Can you help?"
> "I have been told you may come," The Guardian says, "You seek a child of World Serpent?" The creature's voice is surprisingly human-like, yet seems to softly echo in your ears. Occasionally flickers of blue magic show around its body as you watch it. The creature is large enough to wrap around the three of you thrice over without difficulty. "I can. My primary duty is to guard the gate of Sylica." Its tail flicks back and forth in the air, "I am rarely the one seekers come for knowledge." The creature's scaly lips slowly begin to go upward, showing teeth. "I believe it is customary for a quest first?"
> This causes Dana to roll her eyes, "Here we go. Hey, you need something, so we're going to be your bitch to do it. Bend over, fetch and take it."
<Muirfinn> "And what would you have us do?"
> "I'm studying the arts of a beguiler," The Guardian says, "I have heard Aurora has a Fey Queen who is a master of those spells. I would like an introduction to her." The creature's smile grows higher, "In all truth, Antenora and Syala asked me to cooperate already. There's no need to bother with a serious quest. I've heard of your victory in the Abyss."
* Muirfinn blinks. "Oh. That's refreshing. You wish for an introduction to the queen?"
* Muirfinn taps his beak. "Are you allowed to leave your post?"
* Lief drops his invisibility and lands on Dana's shoulder.
> "I can, but I prefer not to. This is my lair and home," The Guardian says, "I would like for you to bring the Queen here."
> Dana starts to shrug, but stops as Lief lands. "Whatever," she says.
<Muirfinn> "...I will ask her. She is somewhat reclusive since her rescue."
> "Very well. In the meantime, the children of Jormugandr," The Guardian goes on at this, "Have secret lairs patterned after the true World Serpent. Most are secret. Those that are publically known are suicidal to assault. I can suggest three - one a mountaintop palace of stone, snow and boiling water, one a deep cave of frozen animals and ancient fossils and one a burning firescape of magma, with an abode of pure force carved out in the depts of the magma. Choose one and I will tell you how to reach it."
<Muirfinn> "They all sound so delightful." Muirfinn says. "I find it difficult to choose."
<Lief> "Well, we've already delt with snow once."
<Muirfinn> "I'm not the largest fan of fire, myself."
<Muirfinn> "Deep cave?"
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "Works for me."
> "Deep cave sounds good." Dana agrees, "Whichever works for me fine."
> The great wyrm chants. IT sounds strange, as its voice becomes far gruffer and rumbles. When the chanting is done, the wyrm shimmer-shakes once. In your mind knowledge flows - a series of high mountains, one of an infinite number of nameless mountains in the endless expanses of Ysgard's top layer. They overlook a fjord as large as mortal nations, water a deep blue that matches the finest sapphires. Atop one of those mountains you see a secluded cave entrance. "I have passed a location into your minds. It is sufficient for teleportation magic to take you there. It will not be an easy or a safe journey to reach the child. Be prepared and be ready. The fossils need only a moment to return to life and the frozen animals await, alive and aware, ready to strike. These are not ordinary animals, but things tens of thousands of years old. Be wary."
* Lief turns to Muirfinn.
<Lief> "So, want to load my arrows?"
> Dana nods and begins to smile, "This is going to be fucking awesome."
* Muirfinn nods at Lief. "We'll take a day to do so. Just let me know what you want."
> "Bring the Queen before or after, as you wish," The Guardian says, "I suggest you prepare well. It has had ages to prepare a lair. It will not be a short journey."
* Muirfinn nods. "We'll prepare."
> In that moment, reality dims. There is a tremendous sense of presence before you, nigh choking everything else out. She is not there one moment and there the next. A white haired angel, clad only in light and glory. Syala rests a hand on the Guardian's neck, stilling the wyrm instantly. It is all you can do to not stare at her, all of your senses overwhelmed by the goddess before you. "I sense the Gilded Heart. I'd like to see it while you're here."
<Lief> "Well, how about Flame Strike and Vortex of Teeth? If we go back to Aurora first, Enervation. And Rot of Ages for the lesser arrows. And Splinterbolt....."
* Lief trails off at the appearance of the angel and just stares.
> Dana takes a step back and weakly shakes her head, "Aw fuck," she murmurs, gaze glued to the angel before her.
* Muirfinn raises both eyebrows. "...ah. Yes, of course." Muirfinn says, reaching into his robe. "I have it right..." A consternated look. "Wait. It was just..Ah."
* Muirfinn pulls the metal and stone heart from his pack. "Here it is."
> The heart is taken in Syala's hand. She looks down at it with a serene smile, "...yes, it will do," she finally says. "Keep it safe until it's time." The heart is handed back. "You're doing better, keep this up." Her gaze goes to each of you in turn, the pressure of it a palpable force, making it hard to breathe. Once the heart is taken, Syala is gone - there one moment and another simply not. Reality readjusts at that, the rest of the world relevant to your senses once more.
> The Guardian audibly exhales, a scrape of teeth on teeth. "I...Was there anything else?" it says, sounding a bit dazed.
> "The hell was...was that about?" Dana mutters, rubbing her eyes, "Shit, doesn't she have anything besides completely overwhelming?"
* Muirfinn just sort of stares, not moving for a moment. Just standing there, holding the Heart.
* Lief continues to stare as well.
* Muirfinn shakes his head, jowl skin flopping a moment before straightening. He puts the Heart away. "Right. We have preparations to make if we don't want to spend the next eternity getting slaughtered as we push our way through the cave."
> "S-she was projecting," The Guardian says after several moments. "She rarely does anything but hold her presence back, let alone project it like that," it says. "Y-yes, prepare."
<Muirfinn> "She was making a point." Muirfinn says.
> "What the fuck kind of point was that? A don't fuck with me point?" Dana rubs the back of her neck, "Did you piss her off or something?"
> After a moment, she reaches up and taps the top of Lief's head with a finger. "Lief?" Dana asks, "You still in there?"
<Lief> "Maybe not a 'don't fuck with me,' but a 'don't fuck up' point."
* Lief turns to Muirfinn.
<Lief> "I didn't know we had *those* kind of eyes watching us on this."
<Muirfinn> "The point, I believe, is that she is watching, she approves, and that she is willing to show her support in both powerful and obvious ways." Muirfinn says. "Lief, remember what kind of adventures I promised you."
* Lief scoffs, but takes to the air again and puts his arrow away.
> OOC: Okay, heading back now?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes.
> OOC: Okay. First off, any non item/loot prep to do before heading to the cave, either of you?
<Lief> OOC: Not for me, I don't think. I just need to get my arrows loaded.
<Muirfinn> OOC: The hat is a charisma thing and It's not ready. Will have to wait.
> OOC: As for the rest, there's a chance to do prep now. This won't be a casual dungeon as noted, so y'all have a choice to pause here and get loot in order with the rest of the session's time. (Dana will also take advantage if so.) Otherwise, we can progress on now sans any more prep.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Oh let's pause. I want to do up some scrolls tomorrow
<Lief> OOC: OKay. I'm open to suggestions on poisons. I can afford one, maybe two of the epic ones.

> Any last minute purchases coming? Any last prep to do before heading off to your destination?
<Lief> OOC: Uh, 5 of the greater spellstoring arrows getting Enervation, 5 getting Greater Dispel Magic, 5 Quill Blast, and 5 Flame Strike. Unless those are bad choices. (I should have posted this but forgot to until you asked)
<Muirfinn> I'm set.
> OOC: Quill blast isn't compatible with spellstoring since it's not a targeted spell and it doesn't really make sense to work on an arrow anyway. Others are fine. RAW flame strike isn't but it's really no different than a fireball arrow or whatever, so I'll allow it. Post that and assume CL 21.
> OOC: Feel free to swap the 5 quill blasts for something else real quick. For the sake of time, if you don't have a sub lined up, just copy one of the other three spells iwth those.
<Lief> OOC: Sure.
<Lief> OOC: Posted
> OOC: Okay. Meantime, how are yo uplanning on getting to that mountain entrance? Gate by Muirfinn or something else?
<Muirfinn> OOC: We'll gate in unless there is another preference?
<Lief> OOC: I don't care.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gate it is!
> With a gate, the three appear within Ysgard. You stand atop a mountain, one seen in your vision granted by the Guardian of the Felic Gate. Immediately you are battered by the bone-chillingly cold air of the fjords, cutting into your like frost-rimmed knives. Behind you and far below is a massive fjord of emerald blue water, stretching farther than you can see, even from this lofty vantage.
* Muirfinn immediately shifts into the form of a silver dragon, basking in the cold.
* Lief shivers.
<Lief> "Should have gotten a cloak."
<Muirfinn> "Probably." Muirfinn nods sagely.
> Dana shivers just a little bit and smiles, "Good start," she looks around. The cave entrance is big enough for a large-sized dragon, looks like. It's a passage going downwards - unremarkable on a glance.
<Lief> "Want me to scout ahead, or just cover?"
<Muirfinn> "Likely a good choice. Stay high and wary."
<Muirfinn> "The scouting, that is."
> OOC: Make hide and move silently checks, Lief.
* Lief nods, pulls up his invisibility, and takes to the top of the cave, staying a little ahead of the others, keeping watch out for traps and surprises.
<Lief> roll d20+40 Hide
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+40 Hide and gets 52." [d20=12]
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 52." [d20=16]
> The passage winds downwards for perhaps a minute of cautious, stealthy flying. You notice the ground and walls get icy within. People who rely on walking would doubtlessly find it slippery. Eventually you can see something ahead as the path levels off. A large room dominated by a huge block of ice in the center. Within is a snowy tiger the size of a house. It is frozen in an eternal roar, face twisted in feline fury. On either side of the feline is a passage leading deeper within. They hook off in opposite diretions.
<Lief> OOC: The others with me, or still hanging behind?
<Muirfinn> OOC: You're scouting
<Lief> OOC: Yeah, but I've scouted before and had people right behind me.
* Lief takes note of it and returns to the others.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Not today!
<Lief> "It gets icey inside. Ground and walls look really slippery. The tunnel opens into a huge room with what looks like a tiger the size of a house frozen in a block of ice. It looks unhappy. Remember the warning we got?"
> OOC: They'd have stayed back, yeah.
* Muirfinn nods. "Well, we'll be ready to fight if it animates."
> "A tiger that big? Fuck the hell yes," Dana smirks, drawing her rapier.
<Lief> "Can't you maybe... Talk to it? It *is* an animal. You are a druid, aren't you?"
<Lief> "I might be bale to empathize with it, too, if it does.." OOC: Wild Empathy, right?
<Muirfinn> "Well I suppose I could at that." Muirfinn says.
> OOC: Yes.
<Lief> "I'm sure the place is littered with fights. Having at least one non-fight or possible ally could help? Besides, I kinda wanna see Dana ride to war on a house size tiger."
> "That's also boring as shit," Dana retorts, "...though that idea's a good one too," she admits.
* Lief stares at her flatly.
<Lief> "You'd love the hell out of a giant war tiger and you know it."
* Muirfinn snorts.
* Muirfinn proceeds inward to the cave.
> OOC: Muirfinn, walking or flying?
<Muirfinn> OOC: For hilarity, I'll walk in as a dragon. Quadruped ftw.
> OoC: Cold dragon+that, so you should be fine.
> roll 1d20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20  and gets 19." [1d20=19]
> The party heads on down. It's slippery but both Dana and Muirfinn make it through alright. The party makes it down to just outside of the room with the giant, snowy tiger. OOC: Ball's in your court, y'all.
<Lief> "Want me to go in and check it? If it's a proximity trigger, I'll be invisible. Might give you two an advantage."
* Muirfinn peers in, eyeing the tiger. "...wow, that's impressive."
<Lief> "Told ya."
<Muirfinn> "If you like, go ahead, but be wary. It likely has a keen sense of smell and may be able to locate you regardless."
* Lief nods.
* Lief heads in, but sticks close to the top of the cave, watching the ice block.
> Dana looks on with a growing grin. In th meantime, Lief heads into the cave, 60ft from the tiger. The moment he crosses the threshhold, the ice around the tiger shatters! You are buffeted by a mighty roar, the tiger licking its chops as it looks about - before pouncing right at Lief! OOC: It's awake! AWAKE! Init.
> roll 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief) and gets 18." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+15 giant tiger
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 giant tiger and gets 33." [1d20=18]
<Lief> roll d20+21 Init
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17+5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 Init and gets 25." [d20=4]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17+5 and gets 33." [1d20=11]
* Retrieving #dunes modes...
* Kotono changes topic to 'Giant Tiger=Muirfinn(33)>Lief(25)>Dana(18)'
> OOC: Muirfinn and Tiger act at the same time. Go haead, Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn drops dragon form, quickly casting a spell while pulling a rod from his quiver. OOC: Speak with Animals, extended
<Muirfinn> "Hello there!"
> OOC: D'you have wild empathy?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Traded it for something else!
<Lief> OOC: I have it, but I dont' think I have Speak with Animals.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+21 Handle Animal holy shit
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+21 Handle Animal holy shit and gets 34." [1d20=13]
> This gets the tiger's attention - it's bowling right past and through Lief now, focusing instead on Muirfinn! OOC: Lief, make a reflex save.
<Lief> roll d20+37 Ref Save
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+37 Ref Save and gets 45." [d20=8]
> Being already high up and fast, Lief darts out of the way of the massive beast. But now it's pouncing right at Muirfinn!
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw 1 and gets 51." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw  and gets 63." [1d20=19]
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) bite
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) bite and gets 45." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw crit? and gets 50." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) rake
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) rake and gets 49." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) rake
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) rake and gets 46." [1d20=2]
> OOC: AC, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: FIFTY.
> "Let's play!" The giant tiger rumbles gleefully, as it claws and bites into Muirfinn. OOC: Hit and a crit then.
> OOC: To be clear, it said it to Muirfinn since he's all animal speaky right now.
<Muirfinn> "NOT THE FACE!"
> roll 4d8+25+12d8+50 chomp any DR?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 4d8+25+12d8+50 chomp any DR? and gets 139." [4d8=2, 5, 6, 8][12d8=7, 5, 1, 3, 2, 7, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 1]
> roll 1d20+48 CMD?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+48 CMD? and gets 50." [1d20=2]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Nope
<Muirfinn> OOC: Dear Christ.
> OOC: No, what's your CMD?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 55
> OOC: Okay thanks, needed it for something.
> The tiger pounces in! One claw, bigger than Muirfinn, bats him up into the air like a toy! It goes right up to the cat's mouth level, where it promptly snaps him up in a bite! Muirfinn is shaken around like a mouse, jostled back and forth before tumbling back to the ground in a heap! "Taste fishy! Like fishy!" The tiger says.  OOC: Ow. Prone.
> OOC: Lief, go. It's 20ft past you and 10ft below you at the closest point.
> Dana merely grins wider at this.
> "This is going to be an amazing adventure!" Dana'sg rin just grows bigger and bigger, "Oh fuck Muirfinn, that has to have hurt!"
* Muirfinn lies there on the floor. "...not as planned."
<Lief> OOC: I'm gonna try Wild Empathy just 'cause.
* Lief studies the animal, trying to figure out a way to make it more.. amiable.. to the group..
<Lief> OOC: Does that take a round of study, or just roll for it?
> OOC: Just roll it.
<Lief> roll d20+15 Wild Empathy
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+15 Wild Empathy and gets 16." [d20=1]
<Lief> OOC: hahahah
> The tiger turns, and Muirfinn hears it say in a sadistically playful voice, "There's a mouse up there too!" OOC: Dana's up.
> "Let's do this!" Dana steps in, rapier out as she unleases a storm of thrusts at the giant feline.
> roll 1d20+37 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+37 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience) and gets 42." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience) and gets 42." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+27 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience) and gets 38." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+22 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 (-3 rapier storm, 16 pp for a swift action +5 damage offensive prescience) and gets 26." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d6+24+1d6+24+1d6+24
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d6+24+1d6+24+1d6+24 and gets 79." [1d6=4][1d6=2][1d6=1]
> Dana goes right into the face of the cat, thrusting elbow-deep with her rapier. Dana leaps up and stabs, impaling it half a dozen times in its chest as her body shimmers, an after image predicting her moves a second before she does them. A soft hum comes from her as she thrusts and thrusts and thrusts, finally falling back down. Trails of blood come from the wounds, staining the tiger's snowy white fur. OOC: Ow. Muirfinn and the kitty. Go Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn stares at the tiger's underside for a brief moment before shifting intn an uncomfortably large dragon and proceeding to return the mauling. OOC: Gone colossal.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43-4 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43-4 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38-4 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33-4 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28-4 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39-4 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39-4 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39-4 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39-4 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39-4 Tail
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43-4 Unarmed and gets 50." [1d20=11]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43-4 Unarmed and gets 49." [1d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+38-4 Unarmed and gets 50." [1d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33-4 Unarmed and gets 39." [1d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28-4 Unarmed and gets 34." [1d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39-4 Claw and gets 50." [1d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39-4 Claw and gets 49." [1d20=14]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39-4 Wing and gets 37." [1d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39-4 Wing and gets 55." [1d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39-4 Tail and gets 36." [1d20=1]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39-4 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39-4 crit? and gets 48." [1d20=13]
> OOC: AC's 36, figure it out from there.
<Muirfinn> roll 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
<Muirfinn> roll 2d8+5+17 (Wing)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#2d8+5+17 (Wing)
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 222." [4#5d10+5+17+2d6 = 64, 57, 55, 46]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw) and gets 85." [2#4d6+5+17+2d6 = 44, 41]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2d8+5+17 (Wing) and gets 32." [2d8=8, 2]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#2d8+5+17 (Wing) and gets 60." [2#2d8+5+17 = 27, 33]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap) and gets 46." [4d6=2, 6, 3, 5]
<Muirfinn> OOC: That's a total of 6 con lost
> Down on the ground, Muirfinn grows gigantic! Dana is knocked back with a yelp, send skidding on the icy ground. The giant tiger is kicked up, the prone dragon battering, clawing and biting its underside. The tiger is constantly slammed into the roof, only to be hit again as it comes down! Leaping upf or the final blow, a massive tail strike sends the tiger flying again, back to the ice that held it - and right at Lief! OOC: Ref, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+37 Ref Save
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+37 Ref Save and gets 55." [d20=18]
> Lief darts up again, narrowly avoiding the flying cat. It lands in the ice, innards trailing behind it from a torn open underside. It lies there in a bloody heap, dead as can be! OOC: That was amazingly brutal. Free act.
* Muirfinn drags himself to his feet. "That cat was tremendously rude."
* Lief coughs.
<Lief> "Well. Uh. Think we can use the pelt, at least?"
> It's tough getting pu this large. Muirfinn scrapes against the walls and hits against the ceiling, but manages to rise. "Damn," Dana remarks, "It's dead as hell."
<Muirfinn> "It'll be fine tomorrow." Muirfinn warns.
<Lief> "So.."
* Lief flies down next to the... Corpse... and tries to figure out a way to take the pelt.
<Muirfinn> "Skin it if you like, but be mindful that it WILL be alive tomorrow. And probably unhappy."
<Lief> "Well.."
<Lief> "Maybe on the way out."
> "So which way?" Dana asks as she walks on up. "Left or right?"
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "Pick one and I'll check it out."
<Muirfinn> "I'm assuming that we'll die at least once in this cave." Muirfinn says. "Take that as you will."
> "Left then," Dana says absently, going to sit on a chunk of ice near the slain tiger.
* Lief heads left, going invisible again.
> OOC: Quick hide and ms checks again.
<Lief> roll d20+40 Hide
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+40 Hide and gets 58." [d20=18]
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 43." [d20=7]

> Past the broken corpse of the house-sized dire tiger, Lief flies down the left passage. He is invisible and silent as the wind, gliding on. The path begins to wind in a broad circle, sloping downward. The icy ground gets worse here, a casual look suggesting walking will be troublesome. The passage also narrows. While Muirfinn's oversized dragon form could manage the entrance, it soon shrinks to small enough to allow only large sized creatures. On and on it winds for a good 5 minutes. At the bottom it opens into a large chasm full of walls of ice that reach from ceiling to floor. IT forms a maze of ice. Ahead there's a passage that leads ahead and one to the right.
* Koaway is now known as Kotono
* Lief silently grumbles to himself and returns to the others.
> This takes another five minutes. Muirfinn and Dana await...OOC: Goa head. Fast healing should've patched you up by now, Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn /join #thecauldronshrinks accordingly, expanding as they enter the chasm. "
<Muirfinn> OOC: Ooooops
<Lief> "That one goes on for a while. Floors get really slick, it looks like, and it narrows down quite a bit. Don't think you'll fit like that, Muirfinn. Heads down to a maze, two enterances. Maze walls go from floor to ceiling."
> "A maze? Really?" Dana shrugs, "Beats the last maze I was in, though."
<Lief> "Want me to check the other passage?"
<Muirfinn> "Blast. A maze. Made of ice, I suppose?" Muirfinn ponders. "If you wouldn't mind, Lief. Be careful, though. I'm sure there are other traps waiting for us. Don't depend too heavily on your invisibility."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "I'm sticking to odd angles along the ceilings. The more powerful things are, the less they tend to look up. At least, that's what I always hope for."
> OOC: Another quick hide/ms combo set.
<Lief> roll d20+40 Hide
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+40 Hide and gets 45." [d20=5]
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 53." [d20=17]
> Lief flies down. This passage starts to wind, but after two minutes abruptly goes to the right and straight ahead. The walls have a dim radiance down here, negating darkvision but providing adequate illumination. 60ft ahead you can see a room opening up. There's a few dozen blocks of ice about, each one holding a rather large and angry looking bear. Based on your knowledge of nature, you can tell those are dire bears. Really strong dire bears, no less.
* Lief notes the numbers and heads back to the others.
<Lief> "Winding passage, a couple minutes of flight long. Opens to a room full of frozen Dire Bears. Stronger than normal ones, too."
<Lief> "Lights up a bit, too. From the walls and ice."
> The trip back is also without incident. Lief returns. He finds Dana leaning against a broken hunk of ice, talking, "...so then I was like, why don't you just cut off his fucking - oh. Giant angry bears? Sounds better than a shit-eating maze."
* Lief shrugs.
* Muirfinn nods at Dana, amusemed. He turns to Lief. "Mazes are more dangerous, I'd wager, and frustrating. Lots of blind corners. Let's give the bears a try."
* Lief returns to the ceiling and moves above Dana and Muirfinn.
> The party heads down. The flooring is icy but not unmanageable down this passage. It takes two minutes to reach 60ft away from the bears...OOC: Go ahead, ball's in your court.
* Muirfinn heads inward carefully, focusing his sing to see where the trigger is for melting the ice. OOC: Assuming it's a magical proximity trigger. Gonna try to stop right at the entrance before triggering.
<Lief> "So my way didn't work so well last time.."
> OOC: Your sing?
> OOC: No really Yuth, what the hell is your sing?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Oh WOW
<Muirfinn> OOC: Sight
> OOC: Quick spellcrafting.
<Muirfinn> "None of us died. I'd say we still came out ahead. At least we know the beasts' demeanor."
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+50 and gets 57." [1d20=7]
<Lief> "Mine's about to match theirs."
> It looks like it starts the moment you step into the room 60ft ahead. The room looks to be about 30 by 50ft or so. It's hard to tell details due to all the bear-bearing ice blocks.
<Muirfinn> "...that's a lot of bears."
> "Hell yeah it is," Dana grins, cracking her knuckles before drawing her weapon.
* Lief likewise readies his bow and arrows.
* Ebiris (Ebiris@cpc9-sgyl30-2-0-cust73.sgyl.cable.virginm.net) Quit (Quit: )
<Muirfinn> "The ice will melt as soon as we cross the threshold. We know that this time, so we may have the initial advantage. Stay on your toes." Muirfinn shifts back to tortle form, pulling a staff from his quiver. "I'll make a distraction. Are we ready?"
<Lief> "I am."
* Lief returns to invisibility, not that it helped last time.
> "Ready," Dana says.
<Muirfinn> "Let's go." Muirfinn says, crossing the border and casting a summoning spell through the staff. OOC: Summoning earth elemental monolith. Earth glide ftw.
> OOC: Where exactly is it manifesting?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Outta the floor, probably waist high due to height constraints.
> OOC: How large is it?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gargantuan
<Muirfinn> OOC: The size chart seems to be eluding me at the moment
> Where exactly relative to the room is it appearing?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Center of room
> OOC: Okay.
> The earth monolith appears in the center of the room! Ice blocks are pushed aside as it rises up! At the same time, your view into the room vanishes away. The floor at the opening in splits open, a giant slab of stone smoothly rising up from the opening to block the way ahead. OOC: Roll init here? You can keep concentrating on the monolith to keep it around as you please, but the stone ahead is at least a temporary damper on commanding it.
<Lief> roll d20+21 Init
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 Init and gets 35." [d20=14]
> roll 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief) and gets 16." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+6 dire bear horde
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 dire bear horde and gets 20." [1d20=14]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17 and gets 31." [1d20=14]
> OOC: Roll for the monolith too.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(35)>Muirfinn(31)>DBH(20)>Dana(16)'
<Muirfinn> OOC: I thought they act on my turn
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(35)>Muirfin=Monolith(31)>DBH(20)>Dana(16)'
> OOC: Go Lief. You're 60ft from the now blocked off entrance to the bear room.
<Lief> OOC: I'm outside of the room, or inside? And if inside, how far from the closest bear?
> OOC: Outside, 60ft away as I just said.
* Lief approaches the door, but doesn't do anything, waiting for the local magic specialist to figure something out. OOC: Full movement to the door.
> OOC: Okay. Muirfinn, go.
* Muirfinn keeps stride with Lief, pulling out a wand and tapping the barrier, causing it to destabilize. OOC: Wand of Crumble.
<Muirfinn> roll 10d8 ignores hardness
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 10d8 ignores hardness and gets 35." [10d8=5, 8, 1, 5, 3, 3, 6, 1, 2, 1]
> Before you, the stone slab crumbles away. Within you can see the monolith is surrounded on all sides by uniced and angry dire bears! Roars echo about as...OOC: Command the monolith, Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> "Kill all the bears!" Muirfinn says in Terran.
> "Alright!" Dana calls, "Let's go in and do this!"
<Muirfinn> The elemental lunges forward, massive arms swinging together to mash the closest particular dire bear into dire paste. OOC: 20 ft reach yo
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+42
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+42
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+42 and gets 57." [1d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+42 and gets 46." [1d20=4]
> OOC: Two hits.
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6d8+18 and gets 46." [6d8=7, 6, 1, 4, 5, 5]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6d8+18 and gets 41." [6d8=2, 3, 5, 4, 1, 8]
<Muirfinn> That done, Muirfinn ducks to the side, allowing the others through.
> WIth an overwhelming swing, the monolith grabs two dire bears and slams them together. It's like a pair of boulders meeting, with a meaty grinding following as the bears are reduced to naught but bone fragments, bit sof fur and splashes of blood. OOC: Two bears down. DBH is up.
> The bears advance as one on the monolith before them! OOC: The monolith can make an AoO first.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+42
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+42 and gets 45." [1d20=3]
> OOC: Damage.
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6d8+18 and gets 51." [6d8=2, 8, 6, 7, 4, 6]
> The elemental strikes out, a boulder-fist hitting one leaping bear and sending it hard into a far wall. It lands in a broken heap, but a dozen others pounce on it, biting and clawing away!
> roll 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)
> roll 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)
> roll 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)
> roll 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)  and gets 56." [1d20=13]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)  and gets 47." [1d20=4]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)  and gets 50." [1d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)  and gets 57." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)  and gets 54." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+43 (-10 PA, +4 rage, +2 ????)  and gets 58." [1d20=15]
> OOC: AC?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 25!
<Muirfinn> OOC: Assume they autohit if it lives.
> roll 2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30+2d4+30 and gets 217." [2d4=4, 4][2d4=1, 4][2d4=4, 2][2d4=2, 3][2d4=4, 3][2d4=4, 2]
> OOC: If it has any HP left, note it in thecauldron
> .
> OOC: I imagine it has some DR to take the edge off that.
<Muirfinn> OOC: DR 15
> OOC: 75 total off that.
<Muirfinn> OOC: 90 by my calc. 15*6
> OOC: You're right.
> OOC: Anyway, does it survive?
<Muirfinn> OOC: By a lot
> The dire bears leap on the monolith. They cling to him all over, clawing and biting away hunks of stone. The mighty earth creature is cloaked in dire bears, trying to shred it from top to bottom. Meanwhile Dana advances, catching up with Lief and Muirfinn.  OOC: Lief.
<Lief> OOC: How far is the closest bear?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Definately within range
> OOC: 20ft. It's a huge swarm of them. You're within SA range.
<Muirfinn> OOC: The elemental takes up a 20x20 square
<Lief> OOC: excellent.
* Lief floats inside the the room, just to ensure the door doesn't close on him again and takes aim at the closest bear, launching a volley of arrows at it!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 63." [d20=19]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 54." [d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 55." [d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 42." [d20=8]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 35." [d20=6]
> OOC: All hit, these aren't bastions of AC.
> OOC: You're invisible and they can't detect it, so those are SAs.
<Lief> OOC: Dana's +damage thing only hits her, right? Not me?
> OOC: Yes, it's just her.
<Lief> roll 5#1d6+24+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24+7d6 and gets 258." [5#1d6+24+7d6 = 50, 56, 50, 52, 50]
> A pair of perfectly aimed arrows go into the back of the head of the nearest bear. It topples over, dead. More fly at the monolith, hitting a duo of bears clinging to it. Two more headshots, two more bears falling to the ground with pixie-arrows in the brain. OOC: Ow. Muirfinn and monolith.
* Muirfinn squeezes past Lief, shifting into dragonform and snapping at a hanging bear.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 46." [1d20=2]
> OOC: How big a dragon? There's already a big-ass monolith in there.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Large?
> OOC: That's fine. Hit.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17 bite bite
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 bite bite and gets 31." [4d8=4, 2, 1, 7]
> Muirfinn snaps the arm off a dire bear! He tears it away as the beast falls in agony, bleeding all over. As the transformed dragon spits that out...OOC: Monolith.
<Muirfinn> The monolith smashes bears across the room, sweeping its arms in wide arcs across its body!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+42
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+42
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+42 and gets 49." [1d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+42 and gets 50." [1d20=8]
> OOC: Hits.
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6d8+18 and gets 48." [6d8=5, 2, 6, 3, 8, 6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6d8+18 and gets 45." [6d8=6, 7, 2, 1, 8, 3]
> A sweep of the elemental's arms sends bears flying! One heads right for Muirfinn, bashed badly and flying like an arrow, landing just before him. As this happens, the swarm continues to attack the monolith.
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) and gets 49." [1d20=11]
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) and gets 39." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA)
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) and gets 40." [1d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) and gets 41." [1d20=3]
> roll 2d4+35+2d4+35+2d4+35 and more coming after this
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d4+35+2d4+35+2d4+35 and more coming after this and gets 123." [2d4=1, 2][2d4=4, 4][2d4=4, 3]
> The bears and the monolith continue to wage war! Great gaping hunks of earth are torn away as a few intrepid bears crawl into claw and teeth made holes in the monolith. They begin to wreck it from the inside out, relentlessly battering it. The sound of roars and stone hitting the ground echos, as a few bears turn and attack the other nearby, visible target - Muirfinn!
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn and gets 55." [1d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn and gets 58." [1d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn and gets 52." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+38 (-15 PA) vs Muirfinn crit? and gets 49." [1d20=11]
> OOC: AC?
<Muirfinn> OOC: 70
> roll 2d4+35
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d4+35 and gets 40." [2d4=1, 4]
> A bear goes up and latches onto Muirfinn's draconic shoulder. It bites down on his scaly body, ripping away flesh and scale. OOC: Ow. Dana.
> Dana wades right into the battle, grinning from ear to ear, "Fuck yeah! Here, you dumb bastards!" she calls, before her rapier flashes out.
> roll 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, -5 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, -5 PA) and gets 49." [1d20=17]
> roll 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, -5 PA) crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, -5 PA) crit? and gets 42." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+27
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 and gets 45." [1d20=18]
> roll 1d20+27 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 crit? and gets 41." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 and gets 36." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+22 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 crit? and gets 38." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 and gets 33." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+17 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 crit? and gets 34." [1d20=17]
> roll 2d6+58+2d6+58+2d6+58+2d6+58
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d6+58+2d6+58+2d6+58+2d6+58 and gets 265." [2d6=2, 6][2d6=1, 5][2d6=4, 4][2d6=6, 5]
> Dana wades into the battle fearlessly. A quick swipe pierces the heart of the bear before Muirfinn, before she runs into the battlefield. Thrust after thrust downs bears, three more falling to holes in the heart or head. "Come on, you fucking cocksuckers! Here I am! Right here!" OOC: Ow. Lief.
* Lief follows the swath of blood Dana cuts with his own arrows, hoping to make similar holes in the bears!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 61." [d20=17]
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 57." [d20=13]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 50." [d20=11]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 54." [d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 47." [d20=18]
<Lief> OOC: Woot, 20. I roll that same +bonus, right?
> OOC: Crit threat on the third roll. Yes.
<Lief> roll d20+34 Crit
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 Crit and gets 42." [d20=8]
> OOC: Third roll is a crit. That means triple damage - except forthe SA dice, which don't multiply. Anyway, the other three also hit.
<Lief> OOC: Okay, so I'll roll 4#1d6+whatever and then roll the crit seperate? Or hows the best way to do this?
> OOC: Roll the three normal htis normally then roll the crit seperately.
<Lief> OOC: Three? Four, right?
> OOC: You hit four times. Three are normal hits and one is a crit. Resolve the normal hits and then resolve the crit
> .
<Lief> roll 3#1d6+24+6d6 (Normal)
> OOC: Oh no, you have five attacks. I'm an idiot and you're right.
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 3#1d6+24+6d6 (Normal) and gets 146." [3#1d6+24+6d6 = 47, 47, 52]
<Lief> roll 1d6+24*3+1d6 (Crit)
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 1d6+24*3+1d6 (Crit) and gets 80." [1d6=4][1d6=4]
<Lief> roll 1d6+24
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 1d6+24 and gets 26." [1d6=2]
<Lief> OOC: Okay, that confused the hell out of me and I think I did it wrong. Redo it?
> OOC: You left off the SA damage. #elysium a sec.
> OOC: Yeah, just reroll the entire thing since you botched the SA too. It's 7d6.
<Lief> roll 4#1d6+24+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 4#1d6+24+7d6 and gets 218." [4#1d6+24+7d6 = 51, 65, 52, 50]
<Lief> roll 3d6+72+7d6
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 3d6+72+7d6 and gets 97." [3d6=4, 1, 2][7d6=1, 3, 2, 1, 3, 6, 2]
<Lief> OOC: 315 total.
> More arrows fly, dire bears pierced through the heart. One on the golem catches an arrow in right through the eye, toppling off like a broken toy. The bears are thinned out now - the recent flurry of violence has reduced them to about a dozen. You're winning! OOC: Muirfinn'n'Elemental time.
<Muirfinn> The elemental swings!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+42
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+42
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+42 and gets 47." [1d20=5]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+42 and gets 55." [1d20=13]
> OOC: Bot hit.
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6d8+18 and gets 43." [6d8=5, 5, 2, 4, 4, 5]
<Muirfinn> roll 6d8+18
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6d8+18 and gets 40." [6d8=2, 6, 1, 6, 6, 1]
* Muirfinn takes a quick step, snapping out another bite at a bear! OOC: 5ft step
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 56." [1d20=12]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 29." [4d8=3, 3, 1, 5]
> Already wounded bears are smashed together, another hit with a bite that tears it in half! The remainder is reeling, most on the elemental who gets the worst of the weakened assault.
> roll 1d20+28
> roll 1d20+28
> roll 1d20+28
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 and gets 31." [1d20=3]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 and gets 47." [1d20=19]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 and gets 42." [1d20=14]
> roll 1d20+28 Muirfinn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 Muirfinn and gets 30." [1d20=2]
> roll 1d20+28 Dana
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 Dana and gets 32." [1d20=4]
> OOC: Elemental AC
> ?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Autohit
> roll 2d4+20+2d4+20+2d4+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d4+20+2d4+20+2d4+20 and gets 72." [2d4=1, 1][2d4=3, 2][2d4=2, 3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: They literally can't miss
> The elemental gets further shredded, torn open by the remainder. But what few left have another problem - Dana strides in with  sneer, "Is that it? I'm not even fucking bleeding? The fuck is wrong with you? You're bears, you maul us instead of...this!"
> roll 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, -5 PA)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 (-3 rapier storm, -5 PA) and gets 39." [1d20=7]
> roll 1d20+27
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 and gets 44." [1d20=17]
> roll 1d20+27 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 crit? and gets 45." [1d20=18]
> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 and gets 39." [1d20=17]
> roll 1d20+22 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 crit? and gets 27." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 and gets 30." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+17 crit
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+17 crit and gets 18." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d6+29+2d6+58+2d6+58+1d6+29
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d6+29+2d6+58+2d6+58+1d6+29 and gets 196." [1d6=3][2d6=1, 5][2d6=5, 6][1d6=2]
> Dana walks about with a bored expression. Absent-minded rapier thrusts pierce the remaining bears. She blinks with a puff of ectoplasm, appearing atop the remaining bears as thrust after thrust finishes them off. She lands as the last few bears hit the ground. With the ice and bears gone, you can see ways ahead. In the back of the room is a circular chasm going down, a pole there, as if to slide down. To the right is another passage as well, curving up slightly.  OOC: Free act. Bears got massacred.
<Lief> "That went well.."
* Lief drops his invisibility and hovers in front of Dana.
> "Too damned easy," Dana grumps, kicking a dead bear in the head. A pixie arrow falls out, hitting the ground.
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "I'm sure we'll find worse the further we go. Should we check for treasure, or just keep going
<Lief> ?"
<Muirfinn> "Don't get too upset. I'm certain we'll all get to see some pain. I've already had plenty." Muirfinn says with distaste.
<Lief> "Says the giant dragon with a giant elemental at his beck and call."
* Muirfinn dismisses the elemental, looking innocent.
* Lief rolls his eyes and goes back to his question.
<Lief> "Treasures or keep moving?"
> "What sort of treasures would a bear have? Honey and bearshit?" Dana cracks her neck, "Let's get going."
* Lief shrugs and moves to scout ahead.
* Muirfinn nods. Unlikely they'll have anything but what they are. This isn't a well-trafficed area, so anything left behind is likely to be obvious.
* Muirfinn nods. "Unlikely they'll have anything but what they are. This isn't a well-trafficed area, so anything left behind is likely to be obvious."
> OOC: Which passage, Lief?
<Lief> OOC: Good question!
<Lief> "Up or down?"
<Muirfinn> "Down."
* Lief zips to the back of the cavern, going invisible and then heading down, following the pole.
> OOC: Normal 2 stealth checks, and also make a spot check.
<Lief> roll d20+40 Hide
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+40 Hide and gets 46." [d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 51." [d20=15]
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 43." [d20=11]
> Lief flies down. As he does, he can notice the pole has little needles and blades hidden along it. Subtle things, the sort of thing that would slice people going down the pole. Beyond that, it takes about a minute to reach the bottom. The pole stops as it empties into the low-hanging roof of a massive underground lake. Said lake is cold and has chunks of ice floating in it. It's a dark color that contrasts with the light the ice chunks shed. From the end of the pole and the opening it's about a 30ft drop.
* Lief takes a moment to study the water and cavern, looking for any sign of movement or clue as to why the water is so dark.
> OOC: Spot check real quick.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 48." [d20=16]
> Lief can discern slight ripplings in the water. It's subtle but hints at something moving in it. Something big.
* Lief grunts with disatisfaction at being unable to identify what it is, but heads back up to the others.
> The trip back up is without incident. As you approach, "...That's the worst of it," Dana says, chatting with Muirfinn. "He didn't even have one in the first place, so he - oh, Lief's back."
<Lief> "Long way down. Pole stops at the top of a cavern, pole is trapped with blades by the way, and then a 30 foot drop to water. There's ice floating in it, giving off light, but the water is pitch black. I saw ripples in it, too; something big is in there, but I couldn't catch a glimpse of it."
> "Sounds great," Dana says, walking up to the edge of it. "Did you see how sharp the blades were?"
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "Small blades and needles. It would cut you up pretty bad, I think. Worse for you if there's poison on it."
<Muirfinn> "How big is big?"
<Lief> "I couldn't catch a glimpse of it, but the lake is massive. Anything that needs that much space has to be *really* big. The water looks ice cold, too."
> "It sounds good, what it is," Dana remarks, "Are we going to do this or look at the other path?"
* Lief shrugs.
<Lief> "I'll go wherever you want me to."
<Muirfinn> "I'd rather pass on fighting something in the water. My kind are bred for it, but neither of you have any advantages under water. Let's have a look in the other direction."
> OOC: Goign to scout the opposite direction then?
<Lief> OOC: Sure.
* Lief nods to Muirfinn and goes invisible, heading the other way.
> OOC: Stealth checks plus a quick spot check.
<Lief> roll d20+40 Hide
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+40 Hide and gets 41." [d20=1]
<Lief> Roll d20+36 Move Silently
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 52." [d20=20]
> OOC: No Roll, just roll.
<Lief> roll d20+36 Move Silently
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+36 Move Silently and gets 53." [d20=17]
> OOC: Lowercase.
> You fly along perhaps half a minute. It's getting to be a fairly steep gradient up. As you go...suddenly you notice something on the ground. The ground beneath you is starting to ripple, and you can see something just starting to surge up at you. OOC: You can react, be it to dodge, attack or whatever. You successfully nailed the spot check and then some.
* Lief moves to dodge out of the way, getting his bow ready for retaliation.
> Lief darts 10ft back. A moment later a large hand of earth rises up, snapping closed around where he was. OOC: Init, Lief.
> roll 1d20+2 hand of stone
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+2 hand of stone and gets 11." [1d20=9]
<Lief> roll d20+21 init
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 init and gets 40." [d20=19]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(40)>Hand of Stone(11)'
> OOC: Go Lief.
* Lief lets a volley of arrows off at the hand, also keeping an eye out for whatever might be doing this.
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 51." [d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 49." [d20=5]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 50." [d20=11]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 39." [d20=5]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 49." [d20=20]
<Lief> roll d20+29 Crit?
> OOC: All hit. No SA or crits, it's a construct.
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 Crit? and gets 32." [d20=3]
<Lief> OOC: Ah, forgot that.
<Lief> roll 5#1d6+24
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24 and gets 135." [5#1d6+24 = 29, 30, 25, 25, 26]
> A bevy of arrows rip through the stony hand. Parts of it crumble as the rest sinks back into the floor and out of sight. OOC: Free act.
* Lief cautiously advances again, keeping ready for any other surprises...
> You go up another half minute, when you can see something beneath you - the exact same sort of ripple, like another hand is coming.
* Lief prepares to have the same response and moves to clear the area..
> Lief darts back, avoiding another hand! OOC: Go, it literally can't beat you in init, so feel free to take the first action.
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 62." [d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 61." [d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 55." [d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 42." [d20=8]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 42." [d20=13]
> OOC: Damage.
<Lief> roll 5#1d6+24
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24  and gets 141." [5#1d6+24 = 28, 27, 28, 29, 29]
> Another volley of arrows wrecks this hand just a sgood, falling back into the ground and out of sight. OOC: Free act. Wasn't even a bump to you.
* Lief continues his scouting!
> Another minute is event free. You come to a narrowing of the passage, just big enough for a door to block the way forward. It's an unremarkable iron door on first glance, a pull ring in the center.
* Lief inspects the door suspiciously, looking for locks and/or traps.
> OOC: Search check.
<Lief> roll d20+30 Search
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 Search and gets 32." [d20=2]
> No obvious traps. However, the door's really rather warm. Much warmer than it should be based on the ambient temperature.
* Lief is curious, but decides to head back to the others.. The oddity making him cautious.
> The trip back down is without incident. You find the two waiting for you...
<Lief> "Trapped passage. Stone hands from the ground. Tunnel narrows down to a door. Couldn't spot any traps, but the door was warm. *Much* warmer than it should be."
* Muirfinn ponders, pacing. "So we either have some sort of water creature...or something that produces an abnormal amount of heat. Water or fire."
<Lief> "Yep."
<Muirfinn> "Granted, of course, assusuming that it's actual fire." Muirfinn says. "How was the passage itself, aside from the animated stone?"
<Lief> "Steep and narrows down to the size of the door."
<Muirfinn> "That'll have to do. Let's give it a shot. Worst case, it dead-ends and we have to go through the water anyway."
* Lief nods and heads up!
> OOC: Walking order?
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'll go first
<Lief> OOC: Me on Muirfinn's shoulder, ready to take flight.
> OOC: Dana'll follow right behind. Okay.
> The walk up is unremarkable. No hand resurgence as you reach the iron door.
<Muirfinn> Muirfinn's scales ripple as he shrinks to fit into the passage, shifting to gold as they approach the door. "If you would kindly get behind me, I will protect you from burns if I can. If there are any." Muirfinn examines the door,
* Lief uses Muirfinn as cover and concealment.
> "Boring," Dana remarks, but stands behind him. OOC: How are you examining the door?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Looking for evidence of extreme heat. Glowing metal, maleability, etc.
> The door's solid iron. There's no sign of unusual heat, save for the warmth from touching it.
* Muirfinn takes hold of the ring on the door and pulls.
> The door is pulled open with one heavy claw. Behind it is...lava! A wave of lava, holding solid in defiance of gravity for just a moment, before it begins to pour out! OOC: Init here.
> roll 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief) and gets 19." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20 lava flow
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 lava flow and gets 7." [1d20=7]
<Lief> roll d20+21 init
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 init and gets 28." [d20=7]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(28)>Dana(19)>Lava Flow(7)'
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17 and gets 22." [1d20=5]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(28)>Muirfinn(22)>Dana(19)>Lava Flow(7)'
> OOC: Lief, go.
* Lief eyes the lava and waits for Muirfinn to do something about it... OOC: Holding action
> OOC: Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn shoves the door closed.
> Muirfinn goes to close the door - but it's resisting, an odd grinding sound as he tries. OOC: Str check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17 and gets 22." [1d20=5]
<Lief> OOC: Can I move to help since I held action?
> It takes a tremendous effort, but Muirfinn is able to slam the door shut. A few bits of lava hit im, but his gold dragon form is little more than warmed by it.
> OOC: No need, DC was 20. Free act.
<Lief> "Well then... Lake of cold water?"
> "Damn," Dana eyes the door, "Guess so."
* Muirfinn eyes the door. "This place is ridiculous."
<Lief> "So now we're left with a lake or a maze."

> OOC: Going back down and away from the lava-door?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Let's give the maze a try?
<Lief> OOC: Works for me.
> OOC: Listen checks, y'all.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Listen
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Listen and gets 43." [d20=11]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Hold on, SR is behaving most unpleasantly
> roll 1d20+7 Dana isn't the listeningest.
> OOC: Sure.
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+7 Dana isn't the listeningest. and gets 24." [1d20=17]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+ and gets Error: Check syntax." [1d20=6]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 and gets 45." [1d20=12]
> The party makes it about a third of the way back down to the intersection of dead bears when both Lief and Muirfinn hear a rumbling from below.
<Muirfinn> "That's probably bad."
* Lief looks around, readies his bow, and goes invisible.
> As Lief glances down, he can see the beginnins of a reddish glow from the passage below, leading back towards the bear massacre.
> "Eh?" Dana stops, "The fuck is it now?"
<Lief> "Something under the ice!"
> OOC: To be clear, you're an incline and heading down. The passage further down is the way you came. The glow's coming from there, not under the ice.
<Muirfinn> "Under the..." Muirfinn looks down. "...is that lava?"
<Lief> ".... Good thing I can fly?"
* Lief kind of nervously looks at Dana, not that she can see it.
> "Lava?" Dana blinks and peers down the passage, as the red glow gets brighter. You can hear a faraway sound, like running water, starting to get closer. It's coming from below.
> As the party hesitates, the reddish glow gets even brighter. It's a good, ruddy red glow that's rising up to meet you. It's starting to get warmer in here, too. OOC: Y'all may want to do something, you're on a clock here.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Love to act, can't access my sheet or spells
> OOC: See #elysium.
<Lief> "I think we need to move *now* if we want to get to the maze... Muirfinn can you fly with Dana?"
* Muirfinn (Muirfinn@75-171-5-46.phnx.qwest.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
* Muirfinn (~Yuthirin@174-26-56-160.phnx.qwest.net) has joined #dunes
<Muirfinn> "That would likely be the lava melting the ice and flashing it into steam, which in turn melts more ice. This will become unpleasant rather quickly." Muirfinn says, casting a spell on Dana. OOC: Energy Immunity: Fire
> Dana is thus protected, "That's fucking great," Dana says, "I'm all for being melted in lava, but do we really want to die here?" She glances over at Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> "Well, if we die, we'll be back tomorrow."
> Meanwhile, the red glow intensifies, now reaching the party. You can hear a steady rumble from below - and at the edge of your vision, you can see the tunnel's full of lava! It's rising up to fill the tunnel and meet the party in its fiery embrace!
<Muirfinn> OOC: Gooooooold dragon!
> OOC: Duly noted.
<Lief> OOC: I am not protected let us make haste.
> OOC: Back up towards the lava door or down towards the onrushing lava?
<Muirfinn> OOC: One sec
<Lief> OOC: I'm sorta holding till Yuth gets sorted.
* Muirfinn casts another spell on Lief. "OOC: Energy Resistance: Fire 30
<Muirfinn> "That should sort us. Provided we;re not completely submerged."
<Lief> "So onward towards the Maze?"
<Muirfinn> "Suppose so."
* Lief looks at the rising lava nerviously.
* Lief heads towards the Maze!
<Muirfinn> "You'll be fine. Probably."
> "You mean the passage to the maze that's full of fucking lava?" Dana says incredulously.
<Muirfinn> "Yes. Dana, are you...scared?"
<Lief> "You're sure this spell will keep us safe? Up is the way out, but down is lava swimming.."
> "Of course not," Dana snorts, "But my gear won't melt now, will it?"
<Muirfinn> "Not at this point. We can go back up. The protections will last a while longer, either way. If we go up, you'll be protected in case the lava continues to rise."
<Muirfinn> "Though if the lava is down there, perhaps it has drained out of the area we first saw it in.
<Muirfinn> "
> One can note the lava continues to rise as the party talks. My, it's hot in here now. At least your protections are easily holding against this level of heat.
<Lief> "You're the boss here, Muirfinn. Pick!"
<Muirfinn> "Well lets try that. Worst case, we take a warm bath for a bit."
* Lief follows Muirfinn!
> OOC: Going back up then?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yers
> The party hurries back up. The lava follows, but at least the party is faster than it. You reach the door with barely a red glow behind you.
* Muirfinn in turn yanks open the door!
> The door opens. The lava is gone, a passage sloping up fast and sharply ahead. It's also narrow - Lief and Dana should be able to get through, but a large-sized dragon will have difficulty. Below you can hear a rumble, and the red glow advances much faster.
<Lief> "Close the door behind you
<Lief> ?"
* Muirfinn drops to wyrmling size. An easy medium! And he pushes the door closed!
> OOC: Str check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17 and gets 20." [1d20=3]
> With a powerful pull, the door is closed behind the party.
<Muirfinn> "There. LEt's keep moving."
* Lief nods and moves with the group.
> Dana glances behind it, "So going up?" Thus the party begins to walk up. As they do...suddenly there is a tremendous howling of the wind, a moment before the party is battered by a terrific wind rising up from behind them. It's picking up - FAST! OOC: You have one standard action each as the winds intensify.

* Lief braces hims for the wind and latches hold of the larger and stronger flier, Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn drops dragon form, casting quickly! "That's enough of that." OOC: Control winds, to still the air. Need link?
> OOC: Please.
> OOC: What's your concentration mod? There's a check but I'm fairly sure you autopass.
<Muirfinn> OOC: 33
> OOC: You do. Caster level check, opposed effects.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22 and gets 37." [1d20=15]
<Muirfinn> OOC: +1
> The winds batter momentarily before coming to a stop around the party! OOC: Act. The spell will suppress the wind in the area for the duration.
* Muirfinn shifts again, assuming draconic form. "Let's go."
* Lief nods and heads out with the group.
> Dana crosses her arms and nods, "Nice trick," she adds as you go, "The winds are a real pussy move," she calls out, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Come on, we came here for some giant serpent action, not some fucking winds and traps! What is this, Mechanus?"
* Muirfinn snorts. "Somehow I doubted you'd appreciate fighting against wind."
> "What the fuck ever," Dana starts to follow along. OOC: Walking on ahead?
<Lief> OOC: Yep. I'm holding off on scouting since the pace is kinda pushing with the lava and wind and stuffs.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep
> The party walks for perhaps 5 minutes. Then...OoC: Anyone who can make a spellcraft check is entitled to do so.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+50 and gets 63." [1d20=13]
> Muirfinn can feel a ripple in the air around the party. Some sort of field - stepping forward any more will trigger it. It's hard to notice, but your exceptional senses have detected it. You'd need to study it with detect magic or the like to learn more.
<Muirfinn> "Wait." Muirfinn says, peering closer at the field. OOC: DM on
* Lief stops and waits for Muirfinn..
> It's a teleportation field. Based on the energy around it, the anti-teleportation measures of the mountain end just before it.
> Dana stops and waits, arms crossed.
<Muirfinn> "Teleportation field. More cheap tricks."
> "Oh come on. Really? I swear, if I end up naked in a Ysgard dungeon AGAIN..." Dana growls low in her throat.
* Muirfinn slowly looks at Dana. "...again?"
* Lief stares at Dana.
<Lief> "That sounds... like an idea.. I need to make a note of that idea."
* Muirfinn shakes his head, shrinking down to cast dispelling magic. OOC: Greater Dispel
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+20 and gets 28." [1d20=8]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Fuck
> Glowing ahead, "Yes, again." Dana remarks, as Muirfinn's magic fails to undo the Weave here.
> *glowering ahead
* Muirfinn grumbles, casting again!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+20 and gets 27." [1d20=7]
<Muirfinn> OOC: OH COME ON
<Lief> OOC: Welcome to my dice.
* Muirfinn stares at the field, as though it is mocking him.
> The field bravely resists Muirfinn's magic. As the silence meanwhile stretches on, "What, haven't you been naked and in mortal danger in Ysgard before?"
<Muirfinn> "No."
<Muirfinn> "Also, I am out of dispelling magic. In Ysgard."
* Lief stares at Muirfinn for a moment.
<Muirfinn> "So who wants to walk into the teleport field first?"
* Lief looks away.
<Muirfinn> "It's either that or go swimming in molten rock."
<Lief> "Well.. I guess I *am* the scout.."
<Muirfinn> "Good luck, try not to get eaten by anything."
* Lief readies his bow, brings up his invisibility, checks his arrows... and heads in.
> In a blink, Lief vanishes. "And there he goes, vanishing. In Ysgard," Dana adds, deadpan. OOC: #evildunes, Lief.
<Muirfinn> "So much for a milk run." Muirfinn says. "I was so hoping this would go as planned. We'd come in, kill a few giant animals, wrestle an immortal snake thing half to death, and claim our prize."
> "It's never that easy, is it?" Dana grumbles to herself, "Want to follow?"
<Muirfinn> "Let's give him a minute, see if he can come back."
> Dana nods and leans against the wall. "Last time it was a self-righteous asshole who put us through one of those portals that removes everything from you. It was training and it involved a lot of lava."
<Muirfinn> "Seems unpleasant."
> At this, a minute passes. No sign of Lief.
<Muirfinn> "Well, let's head in." Muirfinn says, shifting to dragon form again. "Follow closely so you can grab on in case there's a drop."
> Thus the two pass into the field and...(More)
> The two appear in midair! It takes Muirfinn a moment to right himself and stop falling - and a minute more when Dana, heavy armor and all, lands right on his back! She rolls off and throws her arms around his neck, dangling from it like a massive paperweight! Meanwhile, Lief is just a bit below the two, as you are in crystal-clear air of the open sky. You are over a massive fjord, icy cold wind blowing against him. You're a few thousands feet above the fjord's crystal blue waters. Further ahead are mountains, just like Ysgard tends to be.
> "Guh! FUCK!" Dana says, wringling Muirfinn's neck as she tries to hold on. "Bigger! Get bigger!"
* Lief drops his invisibility as he watches the two tumble and tussle.
* Muirfinn obliges, increasing to colossal size.
<Lief> "You know, Dana..."
<Lief> "... Phrasing."
> As Muirfinn expands, Dana lets go! She falls for only a moment before she vanishes, landing nimbly atop Muirfinn's now massive back. "I don't think tortles even work like that shit." she says. OOC: Dimensional slide, -5 PP.
<Muirfinn> "We don't." Muirfinn confirms. "We've been over this."
> "So now what?" Dana asks.
<Lief> "Well, I can't spot much from here, despite the altitude, but there's a cave over there."
* Lief points.
<Lief> "I was heading towards it before you followed me."
<Muirfinn> "Let's go to it, then." Muirfinn says, winging lazily toward the cave entrance.
* Lief nods and takes off towards it, going invisible again.
* Ebiris (Ebiris@cpc9-sgyl30-2-0-cust73.sgyl.cable.virginm.net) Quit (Quit: )
> The flight down takes you to about 200ft above the fjord's waters. Here is a cave in the side of the fjord's cliff. It's quite large and fairly shallow - only 30ft deep or so. It looks unremarkable on a glance.
<Lief> "How odd for a cave to be this high and not part of a system..."
<Muirfinn> "There's a sufficient amount of powerful entities in Ysgard to create their own caves. Not too terribly uncommon."
<Lief> "But only a 30 foot space?"
<Muirfinn> OOC: Is there a ledge, or just a hole in a cliff face?
> OOC: Just a hole. A rather large hole.
* Muirfinn heads for the hole!
> It's just a bit small for Muirfinn go to into this size. He takes up the entire cave this way. Not that it's a problem, Dana just sits down.
* Muirfinn looks about. OOC: True Seeing on!
> It looks to be just a cave to Muirfinn's eyes.
<Muirfinn> OOC: And it just...is a hole? Does it go any further in?
> OOC: Looks like it, yeah. It stops at 30ft in. Do you have any ranks in K:A&E or K:N?
<Lief> OOC: I have K:N
> OOC: Roll it, Lief.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+35 K:N
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+35 K:N and gets 43." [1d20=8]
<Lief> roll d20+30 K:N
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+30 K:N and gets 33." [d20=3]
> Life and Muirfinn can both tell that the cave isn't natural. From the marks on the walls, it looks to have been carved out by rather large claws or the like.
<Muirfinn> "Like I said, powerful individuals." Muirfinn says, measuring the claw marks against his own claws.
> They're just a little bit smaller, more or less.
<Lief> "So, do we wait for whatever made this to come back, or do we pick a direction and go? Or go back to Aurora and start over?"
<Muirfinn> "Claws are smaller than my own. Might have been another dragon." Muirfinn says. "Worst case, we might need to start over. The teleportation field threw us for a loop. Not sure where on Ysgard we are right now."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "If we end up back in Aurora, we can stock up to better prepare for what we've already run into."
<Muirfinn> "Indeed. Let's look around here more first." Muirfinn says, heading back toward the entrance.
* Lief goes with Muirfinn.
> OOC: Going to search the area? How far? Any plans in particular?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Figure I'll search the area, about a square quarter mile
<Muirfinn> OOC: From the air
<Lief> OOC: Well.. Uh.. Using survival knowledge, I can pretty much guess that a village will be near freash water and the ocean, so I'll sorta be looking for those things.
> OOC: Okay.
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 66." [1d100=66]
> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 60." [1d100=60]
> OOC: Muirfinn, do you have any anti-scrying defenses active?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Mind blank work?
> OOC: Yes.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Thenn yes
> roll 1d20+35
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 and gets 45." [1d20=10]
> The party begins to search. Nothing noteworthy at first - when suddenly, the mind blank spell around Muirfinn shatters like glass. Violently so, crumbling bits of arcane fire falling from around Muirfinn's head. It's followed by a massive peal of thunder, Ysgard shaking.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Uhhhhh
<Muirfinn> OOC: That's Medi's Mind Blank potion
* Lief readies his bow, trying to look in all directions.
> OOC: Oh, I thought you had just cast it or had it cast on you. Strikethat then.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Dunno what the caster level is for it
<Muirfinn> OOC: But I'd assume it's colossally epic
> OOC: Yes. Enough to beat that check. As I recall, you took it in response to that Lixer attack in the Abyss?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Indeed
> The party begins to search. Nothing noteworthy at first - Muirfinn feels a faint presence against him, but it fades away after a moment, utterly banished.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50 spellcraft to determine what that was
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+50 spellcraft to determine what that was and gets 51." [1d20=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: My rolls
> Something -really powerful- just crashed into your mind blank. Medi's magic held easily. Whatever it was, it was magic beyond the nine circles.
<Muirfinn> "Something just tried to attack my mind. Be on your guard."
<Lief> "Uhh.. What about mine?"
* Lief looks around nervously.
> Dana nods, "Right," she says, a glow of reddish-white light surrounding her head. OOC: Personal Mind Blank up, -11 PP.
> OOC: Lief, do you have any protections against scrying up?
* Lief pulls a scroll of Mind Blank out and tries to fire it off.
<Lief> OOC: No, but I can throw some on. Or try to at least.
> OOC: Make the UMD check.
<Lief> roll d20+31 UMD
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+31 UMD and gets 49." [d20=18]
> OOOC: Success, post the scroll's use in loot.
> "Ah hell. More devils?" Dana looks around, "Some stupid fucking cocksuckers are about to come and get killed, aren't they?"
<Muirfinn> "Devils, demons, it never ends. Even in Ysgard."
> "Still, back to Aurora now or to the cave entrance?" Dana akss.
<Muirfinn> "I feel as though we're missing something. That attack couldn't have just been at random."
<Lief> "Could it have been the cave? A hide-hole of whatever attacked? Some kind of trespassing spelling on the cave?"
<Muirfinn> "If it were the latter, it would have happened while we were in the cave, and likely to all of us."
<Muirfinn> "Let's do one more pass."
* Lief nods and scouts with Muirfinn.
> OOC: Make spot checks, y'all. Dana won't bother since her mod sucks.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d2048
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d2048 and gets 299." [1d2048=299]
<Muirfinn> OOC: >_>
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 and gets 57." [1d20=9]
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 41." [d20=9]
> There's not much around. You do notice the occasional large shape deep within the waters, but nothing else of note.
<Lief> "I've got nothing on my end."
* Muirfinn grumbles. "This is irritating."
* Lief grunts.
<Lief> "Maybe, but at least it's a lesson we survived."
> "It's fucking horseshit that I'm going to shove up his pisshole," Dana mutters, "The entire lava path was an excuse to toss us out and make us start over!"
<Lief> "Yeah, but at least you get to fight the bears again."
<Muirfinn> "Lief has a point."
* Lief holds up a fist-full of arrows.
<Lief> "I have lots of them."
> OOC: Okay, so the question is now what are y'all gonna do?
* Lief stares at Muirfinn stone faced.
<Lief> OOC: At this point I'd say back to Aurora and load up on Dispel, Fire resist, and Cold resist stuffs.
<Muirfinn> OOC: That.
> OOC: Okay, is that going to include a night's rest?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Preferably.
> OOC: Okay, any purchases/prep then? Going to bring anyone else into this or anything like that?
<Muirfinn> OOC: The team is suitable
<Muirfinn> OOC: Just need moar dispels
<Lief> OOC: Yarp. If you want I can snag some dispel scrolls? Or anything else you wanna suggest.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Rarely a poor choice
> OOC: Okay then, post any purchases you're going to make.
> The next day results in a rested and prepared party. A gate spell by Muirfinn returns the party to the mountain cave's entrance. It's the same as yesterday, awaiting the party to go in.
> OOC: Dana'll have cast personal mind blank just before leaving, since this seems to be a potential thing.
> OOC: -11 PP
> .
<Muirfinn> "Right. Let's try this again."
<Lief> OOC: I should get someone in Aurora to do that for me instead of burning a scroll on it.
> OOC: Assume Tepen did it before you left, then. CL 21 for it.
> As the party heads in, "Any plan or just beat the shit out of the giant tiger again?"
<Muirfinn> "Reasoning with a sadistic tiger isn't on my list of things I want to try again."
<Muirfinn> "Ever."
* Muirfinn makes his way inside.
* Lief shrugs and follows.
> OOC: Any plan here or just going to go on down and provoke it, asusming nothing's changed?
<Muirfinn> OOC: We'll proceed as before. Any changes to procedure will provoke necessary responses.
<Lief> OOC: Yarp.
> OOC: Okay. We'll pause here then so we don't pause in a battle.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Ok!

---

Lief's side trip by teleporting first:

> Lief plummets for a few seconds before instincts takes over. He stands over a massive fjord, icy cold wind blowing against him. He's a few thousands feet above the fjord's crystal blue waters.
* Lief looks around and tries to get his bearings, looking for anything identifiable.
> It's a massive fjord surrounded by  mountains. It more or less looks like the general area of Ysgard the mountain was in. With Ysgard being an infinitely large plane, that may or may not mean anything.
* Lief tries to spot anything that could be of interest, such as a building or cave.
> OOC: Spot.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
<Lief> OOC: Bots.
-eraniss.tx.us.lunarnet.org:@#evildunes- Kotono invited Hatbot into the channel.
* Hatbot (~Hatbot@cpe-68-203-15-105.austin.res.rr.com) has joined #evildunes
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 46." [d20=14]
> It's hard to see from this distance, but Lief's sharp eyes can see a large cave entrance far below and ahead. It'll take some flying to reach.
* Lief sighs and looks around, decides to try flying back up a bit to where he appeared from. Maybe it's a two way field? Highly doubtful.
> No such luck on that. Lief flies around but nothing happens.
* Lief sighs again and heads towards the cave.
> OOC: Back into #dunes with my next line, Lief.

> OOC: Any precautious before you head down to where the tiger was yesterday?
<Lief> OOC: Not on my end. I has arrows.
> OOC: DAna's good, she already cast personal mind blank. She'd rather save her PP otherwise for now.
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'll activate Speak with Animals and extend it again, in the unlikely event that Ripface McTigergouge has changed his tune
> OOC: Okay.
> Thus the party goes down. Eventually you can see something ahead as the path levels off. A large room dominated by a huge block of ice in the center. Within is a snowy tiger the size of a house. It is frozen in an eternal roar, face twisted in feline fury. On either side of the feline is a passage leading deeper within. They hook off in opposite diretions. In other words, it looks like it did yesterday, before the tiger was slain.
> "Round 2?" Dana asks, "So are we just going to brawl with the overgrown housecat, or do we have a plan?"
<Lief> "I just scout and shoot things."
<Muirfinn> "Option 1." Muirfinn says, shifting into dragon form.
> OOC: Who's crossing the threshold first? Marching order? Also, how large a dragon?
<Lief> OOC: I'll let Muirfinn take point on this one. I'll follow in and then go up for clear shots.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Large dragon goes first.
> OOC: Dana will be right behind, in position to step forward and stab it up. Okay.
> The party walks in. At 60ft away, the ice around the tiger shatters! It roars aloud, and Muirfinn can hear, "Playtime again!" before it pounces at the party! OOC: Init.
> roll 1d20+15 giant tiger
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 giant tiger and gets 24." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief) and gets 16." [1d20=6]
<Lief> roll d20+21
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21  and gets 37." [d20=16]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17 and gets 20." [1d20=3]
<Muirfinn> OOC: +5
* Retrieving #dunes modes...
* Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(37)>Giant Tiger(24)>Muirfinn(20)>Dana(16)'
> OOC: We'll wait for Lief to return to go all shooty.
<Lief>  OOC: bak.
> OOC: You're up Lief. The tigers are 60ft away.
* Lief takes aim and fires a volley at the tiger!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 56." [d20=12]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 57." [d20=13]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 48." [d20=9]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 36." [d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 34." [d20=5]
> OOC: All hit. No SA since you're out of range, unless you want to drop a sniper's shot. This is more a reminder than anything else, since I think you've forgotten it a few times.
<Lief> roll 5#1d6+24
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24 and gets 144." [5#1d6+24 = 30, 30, 30, 29, 25]
<Lief> OOC: I sorta did forget, but at the same time, I remember that this thing didn't last long either way.
> The twang of Lief's bow echos amid the cave! The giant tiger gets five tiny holes in it, but ones that go all the way through! The beast's charge is slowed but not stopped, as it pounces on Muirfinn with a visible glee, "Let's play!"
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw 1
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw 1 and gets 45." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) claw  and gets 49." [1d20=5]
> OOC: That was claw 2.
<Muirfinn> OOC: AC 70
> roll 1d20+44 (+4 charge) bite
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+44 (+4 charge) bite and gets 59." [1d20=15]
> roll 2d20 two rakes, needs a 20 to hit that
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d20 two rakes, needs a 20 to hit that and gets 24." [2d20=9, 15]
> But this time? Muirfinn is ready! His scaly body stops the blows as magical abjurations flare around him! The tiger is held at bay, dragon claw against tiger claw! The two faces meet, bites fending each other off as...OOC: Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn calmly weathers the storm of feral feline ferociousness, returning the strikes and more!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Tail
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 58." [1d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 61." [1d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+38 Unarmed and gets 56." [1d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 Unarmed and gets 53." [1d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28 Unarmed and gets 43." [1d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 57." [1d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 56." [1d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 59." [1d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 56." [1d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Tail and gets 57." [1d20=18]
<Muirfinn> OOC: HOLY CHRIST
> OOC:...well.
> OOC: Roll your crits, those all hits. This is going to be academic.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Wing
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 Unarmed and gets 44." [1d20=11]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Wing and gets 54." [1d20=15]
> OOC: It's all fucking aces.
<Muirfinn> roll 6#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
<Muirfinn> roll 2#4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw)
<Muirfinn> roll 3#2d8+5+17 (Wing)
<Muirfinn> roll 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 6#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 318." [6#5d10+5+17+2d6 = 58, 45, 48, 55, 53, 59]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#4d6+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Claw) and gets 88." [2#4d6+5+17+2d6 = 39, 49]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 3#2d8+5+17 (Wing) and gets 99." [3#2d8+5+17 = 34, 29, 36]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d6+5+25 (Tail Slap) and gets 45." [4d6=3, 4, 5, 3]
> Muirfinn becomes a blur of scales, claws and blows. Winds whip around him as he savages the tiger, obscuring the carnage. Blood, fur and bone go flying in all directions! Meat slams against the wall as his foe is completely torn asunder, your previous obsticle now little more than stains all about! Blood splatters Lief and Dana, the carnage complete! OOC: Free act.
<Lief> ...
> Dana wipes her face and flicks the blood off. "Well shit!" She turns to Muirfinn, "Why are you taking all of our fun?"
<Lief> "That was.. thorough."
* Muirfinn calmly picks viscera from his claws. "Shall we on, then?"
<Lief> "Sure. Which direction?"
> One path leads to a maze of ice and the other to the bear battle, as the party recalls.
<Muirfinn> "Want to give the maze a shot before we fill the place full of lava again?"
<Lief> "Works for me."
> "Sounds better than lava," Dana remarks casually.
* Lief leads the way into the maze!
> OOC: Balance checks, Dana and Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d2+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d2+3 and gets 4." [1d2=1]
> roll 1d20+5 (minus the ACP, which I'll look up if her roll looks close)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+5 (minus the ACP, which I'll look up if her roll looks close) and gets 9." [1d20=4]
<Muirfinn> OOC: I don't know why I did that
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+6 and gets 20." [1d20=14]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Also, quadruped bonuses
> roll 1d6 Dana ow, this fast heals away quickly at least
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d6 Dana ow, this fast heals away quickly at least and gets 1." [1d6=1]
> By about halfway down, the footing is downright treacherous. Dana takes one step too far and slips, falling flat on her back with a heavy OOOF! "Shit!" she calls. OOC: Terrain here is slippery, ground based characters basically have to spent 10ft of movemetn to move 5ft. See here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#iceEffects
* Lief winces.
* Muirfinn snorts, letting out a squeaky wheeze as his form shrinks into that of a tiny brass whelpling dragon, easily taking off and flying near Lief.
<Muirfinn> "You should be careful, Dana." Muirfinn teases.
> Dana gets up with a grunt, balancing on wobbly feet. "Let's just go. I'll be slipping and sliding."
<Lief> "Try using the wall for stability?"
> Dana does just that, walking slow and careful. With that the party advacnes on. Despite some more slips, nothing of note occurs until the maze. At the bottom it opens into a large chasm full of walls of ice that reach from ceiling to floor. IT forms a maze of ice. Ahead there's a passage that leads ahead and one to the right.
<Lief> "I say.... Right."
<Lief> "Because the right way is the right way."
> "Unless it's the wrong way," Dana quips, "And you end up getting assfucked by someone who outthought you."
* Muirfinn shrugs, arcing right.
<Lief> "I'll let you take care of that if it comes to it, Dana."
<Muirfinn> "We might get teleported to Dispater's inner throne room. Maybe."
* Lief goes invisible and hovers above and ahead of the group a bit, acting as a lookout.
> The passage goes ahead for 15ft, up a four stair stairway and then hooking northwards. 20ft ahead is a fountain of flowing water and ice, with a passage ahead past it and a passage to the right.
* Muirfinn turns right again.
* Lief moves with Muirfinn.
> The passage to the right goes for about 50ft. At the end, you can see a black block of ice. It's opaque and impossible to see anything in it.
<Lief> "... Anyone want to touch it?"
<Muirfinn> "Not especially." Muirfinn says, taking a deceptively tiny breath. "You may want to take a step back behind me."
* Lief does so.
> Dana shrugs, "Like I'm fucking afraid," she rolls her eyes. "Shit."
* Muirfinn spits a beam of incandescent fire at the wall.
> OOC: The block of ice or...
> ?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes
<Muirfinn> OOC: That's what I meant
<Muirfinn> OOC: Totes magoats
> The gout of fire gushes out! The black ice melts, and in the steam you can see them. They're 50ft away, a pair of rather unassuming little canine creatures. Wolverines? One barely has a chance to study them, before they dart at the party with snarls of pure savagery! Muirinn can hear one of them say, "Get them, brother!" OOC: Init here. Congratulations, you woke up the wolverines.
> roll 1d20+10 Dana
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 Dana and gets 20." [1d20=10]
> roll 1d20+9 wolverine twins
> roll 1d20+9 wolverine twins
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 wolverine twins and gets 28." [1d20=19]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 wolverine twins and gets 23." [1d20=14]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17+5
<Lief> roll d20+21 init
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17+5 and gets 31." [1d20=9]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 init and gets 25." [d20=4]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Wolverine Twins(29)>Wolverine Twins(23)>Dana(20)'
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(31)>Wolverine Twins(29)>Lief(25)>Wolverine Twins(23)>Dana(20)'
> OOC: Open Lief.
<Muirfinn> OOC: What's the local space look like?
<Lief> OOC: Me? Mine was 25 how do I go first?
> OOC: Murifinn, sorry. I'm sued to you killing init.
> OOC: I also can't fucking type!
<Muirfinn> OOC: <3
<Muirfinn> OOC: What's the local area look like? Space-wse
> OOC: 10ft wide passage for the next 50ft ahead. It opens upw here the wolverines are. Walls are ice.
* Muirfinn expands, filling in space to a medium dragon as he flies ahead into the fray. He snaps at one of the wolverines from the air!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 64." [1d20=20]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 50." [1d20=6]
> OOC: Hit and crit.
<Muirfinn> roll 2#4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 2#4d8+17 and gets 82." [2#4d8+17 = 42, 40]
> Muirfinn dashes in and bites the wolverine on the left! It's bitten deeply...but after a moment he and his brother both blur. When it's done, neither is wounded at all! At this, the two twins as one leap up, trying to bite Muirfinn!
> roll 1d20+32 chomp AC?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 chomp AC? and gets 36." [1d20=4]
> But Muirfinn's hide ignores all the bites, unable to even pierce is draconic scales. OOC: Okay, Lief, go.
* Lief gets an odd idea and holds his attack in order to attack in conjunction with Dana..
<Muirfinn> OOC: AC is 70
> OOC: Okay. Twins are up again.
> With the attack on Muirfinn failed, the two wolverines turn adn charge headlong at Dana! OOC: They provoke an Aoo if you want to take it, Muirfinn.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44 wolv 1
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 wolv 1 and gets 59." [1d20=15]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44 wolv 2
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 wolv 2 and gets 54." [1d20=10]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 34." [4d8=3, 7, 1, 6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 31." [4d8=1, 5, 3, 5]
> OOC: A singular AoO.
> OOC: They provoke as a unit.
<Muirfinn> OOC: They are not two separate entities?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Oh
> OOC: Not for this. They're cheating, as I presume you can see by now.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Just keep the first one then
> Muirfinn bites down as the wolverines charge. He gets the same one again, but again they flicker and the wound is gone!
> roll 1d20+34 (+2 charge) vs Dana's AC of 59
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+34 (+2 charge) vs Dana's AC of 59 and gets 53." [1d20=19]
> But Dana brings her shield up. The two hit against it, a burst of icy mist springing up as they're blocked cold. Dana draws it back and has her rapier out...OOC: Lief, you had something here?
<Lief> OOC: I'm going to attack the one she doesn't.
> OOC: Go for it.
> roll 1d20+37 (-3 rapier storm)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+37 (-3 rapier storm) and gets 38." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20+32
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 and gets 36." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d20+27
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 and gets 47." [1d20=20]
> roll 1d20+27 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 crit? and gets 40." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 and gets 38." [1d20=16]
> roll 1d20+22 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+22 crit? and gets 33." [1d20=11]
<Lief> OOC: I'll go after you're done.
> roll 2d6+38+2d6+38
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d6+38+2d6+38  and gets 92." [2d6=6, 4][2d6=2, 4]
<Lief> OOC: Done?
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 47." [d20=3]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 62." [d20=18]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 56." [d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 42." [d20=8]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 33." [d20=4]
> OOC: All hit. We aren't dealing paragons of defense here.
<Lief> OOC: SA apply?
> OOC: No, they're not flatfooted
> .
<Lief> roll 5#1d6+24
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24 and gets 138." [5#1d6+24 = 26, 30, 25, 27, 30]
> Arrows and rapiers fly! It makes many wounds, and this time, only a few vanish from Lief's target. The majority of the wounds stay, the simultaneous strikes drawing real blood! OOC: Muirfinn.
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(31)>Wolverine Twins(29)>Wolverine Twins(23)>Lief=Dana(20)'
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 and gets 3." [1d4=3]
> "That's fucking it!" Dana calls, "You think this stupid, cheap-ass trick is going to work?"
* Muirfinn flies lazily back over to the group, holding for now. OOC: Need a full attack to deal out appreciable damage it seems.
> OOC: Okay.
> The wolverines turn, leaping up to try and bite Lief as he rains arrows down on them.
> roll 1d20+32 AC?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 AC? and gets 39." [1d20=7]
<Lief> OOC: 33
> roll 1d20+32 followup attack from the hit
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 followup attack from the hit and gets 41." [1d20=9]
> roll 4d8+40+8d8+60 ow
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 4d8+40+8d8+60 ow and gets 146." [4d8=2, 7, 7, 4][8d8=4, 1, 7, 3, 2, 7, 1, 1]
> The two wolverines leap up and catch Lief, chomping into him from either side! They pull him down, yanking him back and forth! Lief's body is torn open in several places, used as a chew toy in a canine tug-of-war! With him in the grasp, they try and do it again!
> roll 1d20+32 follow up turn
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+32 follow up turn and gets 36." [1d20=4]
> roll 8d8+60
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 8d8+60 and gets 87." [8d8=3, 2, 5, 4, 1, 1, 4, 7]
> OOC: Update your HPs in #thecauldron after all that. Ow.
> OOC: DR/cold iron isn't penetrated, so that applies 3 times. So -30 damage total.
> Lief is savagely torn and jerked back and forth, held in both mouths as the wolverines savagely maul him without a second thought! OOC: Lief and Dana.
* Lief takes aim at one of the wolverines, targeting the one Dana doesn't again!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 55." [d20=11]
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 61." [d20=17]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 54." [d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 40." [d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 43." [d20=14]
> OOC: Using a ranged weapon in melee range? That'll provoke an AoO, are you okay with that?
<Lief> OOC: I don't really have a choice, do I? If I try to leave, I get an AoO too, right?
> OOC: Indeed. Dana's gonna suggest holding a sec and letting her try something, though.
<Lief> OOC: I'll do that, then.
> Dana grins, "DODGE!" she calls to Lief. Her face splits apart, becoming a black dragon's maw. A massive torrent of acid gushes out, engulfing both dragons and Lief! OOC: Ref you three. She's using breath of the black dragon, augmented up to 21 PP.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Blargh
<Lief> roll d20+37 Ref Save
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+37 Ref Save and gets 53." [d20=16]
<Muirfinn> OOC: I'm up above
> roll 1d20+15 wolverines, she can aim it down not to get you, sicne they dragged lief down.
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 wolverines, she can aim it down not to get you, sicne they dragged lief down. and gets 17." [1d20=2]
> roll 21d6 full
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 21d6 full and gets 60." [21d6=2, 2, 5, 1, 2, 1, 1, 4, 6, 1, 3, 3, 4, 3, 1, 1, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3]
> The acid engulfs the already wounded wolverines. They stumble around, burned all over, as Lief darts out and dodges. The twins collapse, half melted messes of acid-eaten flesh and bone. OOC: Free act. Y'all saw right through that gimmick.
* Lief lands on Dana's shoulder with a wince and checks over his wings for damage..
* Muirfinn patches up Lief with a few wandings!
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 37." [4d8=5, 5, 3, 7]
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 40." [4d8=5, 5, 7, 6]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 34." [4d8=6, 3, 5, 3]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 30." [4d8=1, 5, 3, 4]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 37." [4d8=7, 1, 4, 8]

> Thus Lief's injuries are healed. The black ice is gone, revealing a stairway going up in a winding spiral. Beyond it is a passage going on ahead.
> OOC: Update your HPs in #thecauldron from Muirfinn's healing storm.
> OOC: Okay. Ball's in your court, y'all.
* Lief moves in to scout the room! OOC: Invis up.
* Muirfinn lands on top of Dana's head.
> Dana rolls her eyes and looks up, "So are you acting like a fucking fairy now?" she retorts to Muirfinn. The room's pretty unremarkable. It's ice and natural stone. The stairs go up farther than you can see, the spiral nature stopping your view higher up. The passage ahead soon slopes down and out of sight.
<Muirfinn> "Your head is warm." Muirfinn retorts.
* Lief gives Dana an irritated look at her comment, but she probably can't see it.
* Lief returns to the others.
<Lief> "Spiral stairs. Can't see the top."
> If Dana shows any sign of seeing it, it's not one Lief sees. "I figure the other way then. Going up's going fucking backwards here, isn't it?"
* Lief drops invisibility to shrugs.
<Muirfinn> "Maybe, maybe not. Let's check it out. Worst case scenario, we either get teleported out again or we have to fight some horrid beast that I'm certain you'll be happy to destroy."
* Muirfinn points a claw toward the way Lief scouted. "Onward, faithful steed!"
* Lief nods and brings his invisibility back up, heading off ahead of the group as scout, but keeping them in view.
> OOC: Going up then? Wasn't clear.
<Lief> OOC: Yes.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Please
<Muirfinn> OOC: Sorry
> "Shit, when I get ridden, it's usually someone with a cock," Her retort comes with the party goes up the stairs. It's not a long stairway. It opens up to a chamber of pure, thick ice. The ice is a solid white and opaque, hiding anything within. The room's a circle about 40ft in diameter.  Near one wall is a bed of hay.
<Lief> "Want me to go in and check the walls out?"
<Muirfinn> "Sure, just be careful."
* Lief enters the room cautiously, and mvoes to inspect the walls, looking for hidden things and magics.
> OOC: Spot check.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 33." [d20=1]
> The walls are opaque ice. The bed of hay looks unremarkable. Otherwise there's not much of note in the room.
* Lief calls out to the others.
<Lief> "Can't find anything else. Looks clear to come in."
* Muirfinn alights from Dana's head, flying inside.
> Dana walks on in, looking about. "A dead end? Looks like some country hick's spare room."
<Lief> "A dragon's room, maybe? Somthing big, at least."
* Muirfinn eyes the hay. "Not enough possessions for a dragon, really."
> "I got nothing," Dana says, "Any of you have anything?"
<Lief> "I looked once, but didn't find anything."
* Muirfinn examines the airea closely, flitting from place to place as he looks for anything suspicious!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48 Spot
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 Spot and gets 49." [1d20=1]
> It looks unremarkable to Muirfinn as well. It's a room, just like Lief saw it.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Even with true seeing?
> OOC: Does TS detect magic?
<Muirfinn> OOC: No, but my always-on Detect Magic does!
> OOC: Spellcraft.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+50 and gets 66." [1d20=16]
> There is magic around the bed of hay. It looks designed to draw creatures that lie onto it into the ice.
* Muirfinn points with a claw. "Don't lie on the hay, it'll pull you into the ice."
* Muirfinn eyes the walls. "That likely means that there are creatures entombed in the walls here."
<Lief> "Think they're still alive, then? If they are, they could be.. Disgruntled at having been frozen."
<Muirfinn> "Yes, and probably."
> "Why don't we try melting it, see what pops out?" Dana suggests casually, "Maybe it'll be good for a fight."
<Lief> "Could be useful allies, too."
<Lief> "... Though that hope hasn't been working out for us so far."
* Muirfinn nods, heaving a breath and blasting the ice with fire!
<Muirfinn> rol 22d6
<Muirfinn> roll 22d6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 and gets 78." [22d6=3, 6, 3, 4, 3, 6, 4, 3, 4, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 5, 1, 2, 1, 6]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d4
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d4 and gets 2." [1d4=2]
> Muirfinn blasts fire ahead! A large chunk of the ice ahead melts! Amid the steam a shadowy thing emerges - the party's sharp eyes is able to make out the shadowy form of a flying creature. But one barely has a chance to study that, as a great wave of electricity crackles out at the party! OOC: Ref saves, y'all.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28+6
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28+6 and gets 43." [1d20=9]
<Lief> roll d20+37 Ref Save
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+37 Ref Save and gets 50." [d20=13]
> roll 1d20+27 Dana ref
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 Dana ref and gets 47." [1d20=20]
> OOC: Remember to note evasion if you have it.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Oh yes duh Evasion
<Lief> OOC: Evasion.
<Lief> OOC: Improved Evasion rather.
> roll 18d6 both Lief and Murifinn none, Dana half and she has electricty resistance 5 too
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 18d6 both Lief and Murifinn none, Dana half and she has electricty resistance 5 too and gets 82." [18d6=3, 6, 6, 6, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 1, 5, 6, 3]
> roll 82/2
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 82/2 and gets 41."
> The burst of lightning is fast, but Muirfinn and Lief are faster. Muirfinn is gone in an instant, darting aside on dragon wings. Lief instead flies forward, dodging the blasts as he clears the shock-zone entirely. Dana merely stands there and takes it, shield up. Ahead, 40ft in the mists and mostly hidden, is some sort of bird like creature. You can see crackles of electricity around it, as...OOC: Init.
> roll 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief)
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+10 Dana (+5 Lief) and gets 23." [1d20=13]
> roll 1d20+12 birdy
<Lief> roll d20+21 Init
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 Init and gets 22." [d20=1]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12 birdy and gets 22." [1d20=10]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Dana(23)>Birdy=Lief(22)'
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17+5
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17+5 and gets 39." [1d20=17]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Muirfinn(39)>Dana(23)>Birdy=Lief(22)'
> OOC: Open Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn roars a squaaky roar at the thing in front of him, looping crazily before coming to a stop. He grows larger, easily reaching a height of 6 feet tall as he settles on the ground. "I don't suppose we can talk about this? Maybe get out out of there and be reasonable?" OOC: Readying an attack in case the thing strikes again. Speak With Animals should still be up unless it's been more than
* Muirfinn 40 minutes since the tiger.
> OOC: Okay.
> Whatever the creature is, there's no reply. Dana holds a moment, waiting for it to come out the mist...OOC: Lief and Birdy. Dana want to hold since it might advance so she can FA it.
<Lief> OOC: Distance to it?
<Lief> OOC: Just saw it.
* Lief launches a volley of arrows at the bird-thing!
<Lief> OOC: Blah, sorry I misread stuff. I'll hold.
> At the same time, electricty gathers inward...before a titanic blast of lightning comes forth, far worse than the last one! OOC: Ref saves.
> roll 1d20+27 Dana ref
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+27 Dana ref and gets 39." [1d20=12]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28+6 evasion
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28+6 evasion and gets 46." [1d20=12]
<Lief> roll d20+37 Ref Save, Imp. Evasion
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+37 Ref Save, Imp. Evasion and gets 50." [d20=13]
> roll 24d8 Dana full, Muirfinn full, Lief none
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 24d8 Dana full, Muirfinn full, Lief none and gets 95." [24d8=3, 4, 1, 2, 8, 6, 3, 1, 4, 3, 5, 4, 5, 4, 6, 6, 8, 3, 4, 1, 7, 1, 2, 4]
> OOC: Electricty damage.
> The blast of thunderous wrath blows the mist away! As Muirfinn and Dana helplessly thrash in the voltage, Lief is able to see what lies ahead. It looks like a hawk, made out of electricity as much as flesh. There is a palpable sense of power to it, like a low-grade electrical shock going through your eyes when you see it. OOC: Everyone held so we'll cycle init again. Muirfinn, you're up.
* Muirfinn leaps ahead, wings bouying him aloft as he streaks into melee! His form twists, scales shivering as the flicker from brass to bronze! He snaps out with a bite!
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+44
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+44 and gets 49." [1d20=5]
> OOC: Hit. Damage.
<Muirfinn> roll 4d8+17
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d8+17 and gets 38." [4d8=7, 5, 3, 6]
-> *Muirfinn* Elec immune in bronze form?
> Muirfinn flies out, chomping the bird of electricity. Massive voltage fills him, but his new form holds off the worst of it. As this happens, Dana shrugs and goes to its side, before her head transforms into that of a green dragon and acid consumes the beast.
> roll 1d20+28 ref she's going all breathy on it, 21 PP on an augmented black dragon breath. Not gonna stick mr voltage with a metal sword
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 ref she's going all breathy on it, 21 PP on an augmented black dragon breath. Not gonna stick mr voltage with a metal sword and gets 31." [1d20=3]
> roll 21d6
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 21d6 and gets 64." [21d6=2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1, 1, 4, 2, 3, 4, 6, 1, 2, 1, 3, 3]
> The bird twists out of the way, but a gush of acid still gets on its wing. Flesh sizzles as...OOC: Lief, go.
* Lief launches a volley of tiny, pointy arrows at it!
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
<Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
<Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
<Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
<Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 59." [d20=15]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 48." [d20=4]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 43." [d20=4]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 50." [d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 41." [d20=12]
> OOC: Well, those all hit. You're out of SA range, though.
<Lief> roll 5#1d6+24
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24 and gets 138." [5#1d6+24 = 27, 29, 27, 29, 26]
> The hawk is pelted with arrows. The rain causes bursts of electricty to erupt out, but the only person nearby is Muirfinn, who harmlessly absorbs them. At this it darts in, trying to peck Muirfinn.
> roll 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC and gets 9." [1d20=9]
> roll 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC and gets 1." [1d20=1]
> roll 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC and gets 19." [1d20=19]
> roll 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20 1 fishing here with your AC and gets 8." [1d20=8]
<Muirfinn> OOC: 70
<Muirfinn> OOC: Just in case
> But Muirfinn's scales hold against the pecks, the bird wobbly in the air from the acid, bite and arrowstorm! OOC: Go Muirfinn.
* Muirfinn eyes the creature a moment before laying into it.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+38 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+28 Unarmed
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+39 Claw
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 46." [1d20=3]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 Unarmed and gets 59." [1d20=16]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+38 Unarmed and gets 45." [1d20=7]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+33 Unarmed and gets 43." [1d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+28 Unarmed and gets 29." [1d20=1]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 41." [1d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+39 Claw and gets 40." [1d20=1]
<Muirfinn> OOC: Wow.
> OOC: 4 hits.
<Muirfinn> roll 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed)
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4#5d10+5+17+2d6 holy damage, plus 1 Con damage each hit. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver (Unarmed) and gets 215." [4#5d10+5+17+2d6 = 48, 56, 56, 55]
> The bird, already badly injured, is battered own. It falls in a heap and ceases to move, electricity fading. OOC: Free act.
<Lief> "So, do we want to try again?"
* Lief eyes the bird and then decides to check it over for loot. Just in case.
> OOC: Search or spot check, Lief.
<Lief> roll d20+32 Spot is higher
* Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot is higher and gets 41." [d20=9]
> Checking over the bird's body, you can see it is laced with crystal. From the looks of it, the electricity is generated or amplified by the crystals. They seem to be a melded part of its body and not an external addition.
<Lief> "Muirfinn, look at this. These crystals look like the source of that electricity. Useful to us?"
> Dana slowly shakes her head, "Had a good volt for what it was," Dana says agreeably.
* Muirfinn tromps over, examining the crystals.
> OOC: K:A check.
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23 and gets 34." [1d20=11]
> The crystals are a natural growth of the creature. They've been augmented to greatly enhance the electricity the creature can control, to a massive degree. Someone spent some serious time empowering this creature, Muirfinn can tell.
* Muirfinn opens his mouth to say something then jerks, snarling. He paces around the corpse a moment before saying, "Take them, or do not. I'm leaving. Right now."
> "What?" Dana says, "Was this thing half-tortle or fucking something? You act like you just got sand in your pussy."
* Lief raises an eyebrow at that.
<Muirfinn> "I've received a message from Tepen. Vivantha has been abducted." Muirfinn says, heading back the way the group came.
> "How the bleeding fuck did the y do that?" Dana follows, "Must've gotten her off Au..." she begins, then softening slightly, "Hell?"
* Lief blinks and follows.
<Muirfinn> "Don't know. The Sending was brief."
> From this, the party hurries up. The path back is easy - with the enemies cleared, at least it's just a bit of a hike. Once you emerge back out, "Round 3, then. Fuck it, we'll sort it out then. We'll kick their asses and be back."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "Our people take priority over this."
* Muirfinn nods. "Yes. If necessary, we'll return and level the mountain. I grow tired of the games." He waves a claw, a circular portal slicing the air open, leaving the path clear to Air.
* Lief heads through!
> The party returns to Aurora. Elena awaits for them just inside, "Elder Magi Tepen's waiting for you in the meeting room," she says, "I'll tell you what we know while we walk." Aurora's courtyard is full - forces mobilizing and preparing, orders being barked. Elementals stand side by side with humans, angels and stranger things yet.
* Lief follows along.
<Muirfinn> "Tell me what you know."
> "Vivantha was out a little ways," Gesturing out into Air, "Watching the maneuvers of the air elementals. Travelers came up and they seemed friendly - she called to them and waved. They came up and magic happened. According to Drena, they threw out concentrated, targeted magic modified to be nonlethal. The strike incapacitated Vivantha. The air elementals and Drena made a good advance, but seconds later they teleported themselves out with Vivantha. In Tepen's words, it was professional work done by professionals, maybe premier mercenaries. They looked humanoid, human, elven, that sort of thing. Drena's passing on an exact account of what they look like right now, so it can be analyzed, and Balyss is managing divinations with Hanna's help."
> After taking a breath as you head towards the entrance hall, "Afina and Jaela are out. Ithea will probably be heading the efforts to get her back, with Adrian's help."
> Waving her hand about, "We're mobilizing, just in case this is a precursor to enemy action."
<Muirfinn> "I will join them, and aid where I can." Muirfinn says.
> "Yeah, me too," Dana says, "
> OOC: Gah.
> "Yeah, me too," Dana says, "Always wanted to see how long it takes some asshole to bleed out after I rip his balls off."
<Lief> "I'm with you, too, unless they need Commandos somewhere else."
> "We'll get it done. Come on," Into the entrance hall and towards the portals, leading to where Elder Magi Tepen awaits...OOC: And we pause there! Next time, after Iddy's vacation: Ithea returns! Busting the dreadful kidnapping caper! Stay tuned!

> It's a quiet time on Aurora. Ithea's enjoying a quiet period, sleeping in and all curled up in her bed. She's warm under blankets, Rukkig nearby. Even 27 is sleeping on the floor nearby, a quilt spread under him. It's one of those rare, perfect moments where everything feels right and nothing is wrong. Naturally, it's then that Ithea is disturbed by Elena calling, "Ithea, you might want to wake up. You have a visitor coming."
* Ithea sighs and gets out of bed, careful not to disturb either Rukkig or 27. "Who's the visitor?" she calls back.
> "Sylvie," Elena's standing nearby, wearing an outfit that resembles a maid crossed with a warrior's breastplate. "She got a new practice room set up and she wants someone to fight against."
* Ithea blinks. "That's unusual?" Ithea notes as she grabs her gear and gets ready. "Tell her I'll be there in a few, I guess."
> "Not really, but I figured I should wake you up for it," Elena says, sticking her tongue out, before vanishing. Getting dressed is without incident. Rukkig and 27 are both still out. Coming out, you find Sylvie. She's resting against the opposite wall, a wave as Ithea comes out. "I wonder how many catnap jokes Adrian would make," she greets with a smile.
<Ithea> "One. I'd flatten his ass after that," Ithea answers. "What's got you wanting to have a fight of all things anyway?"
> "Meow!" Sylvie holds her hands up in protest, smirking. "Grumpy much? Anyway, I was out with Muirfinn recently, ended up helping smash a manifestation of The Father." Falling in step with Ithea, as you head towards the nearest portal, "Facing an Abyssal nightmare like that's good to motivate you."
> Glancing over, "It's not a fight. It's practing, sparring. The room'll help."
<Ithea> "So is it mostly the motivation thing, or just wanting to try out a new toy thing for you?"
> "Motivation, and to make sure you're keeping up," Sylvie finishes that with a little smile, a portal and then another gone through. You end up in a plain training room. The floor's covered in mats and there's a rack of wooden weapons to the side. It's otherwise empty and unremarkable. "We shouldn't be bothered in here, I asked Elena to make sure no one comes for us unless it's an emergency. Anyway, this room will ensure that any normal injury won't be anything life threatening. So as long as we don't try anything nasty like draining life energy, it's no problem. Soooo," Stretching as she walks 20ft away from Ithea, "Have you ever learned how to fight bare-handed?"
<Ithea> "I can manage, I suppose, though an expert would probably find all sorts of openings in my moves. Generally not worth it," Ithea says. "I like having my reach too."
> "Let's start simple. Glaive versus fists," Cracking her knuckles, "Nothing too fancy. No stunning, no arcane fire, nothing like that. Just a good go-around. I have plenty of healing memorized, so I can patch up what little damage we do take here." Slipping into a ready stance, "Let's do this." OOC: Init.
> roll 1d20+24 Sylvie
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+24 Sylvie  and gets 39." [1d20=15]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Sylvie(39)'
<Ithea> roll d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+22 and gets 40." [d20=18]
* Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea(40)>Sylvie(39)'
> OOC: Open Ithea. You're 20ft away from Sylvie. Lots of space on all sides and unremarkable terrain. IT is just a training room.
* Ithea holds in place and simply holds her glaive ready to strike Sylvie once she steps within range. OOC: Ready action to strike.
> Sylvie hesitates as well, maintaining her stance. Seconds pass before she cracks a smile, "You know, it doesn't work if both of us wait for the other to come in and wallop them."
<Ithea> "Well, you did say no arcane fire. Took that to mean no magic. Puts the one who waits at an advantage since the first to strike will only get that one strike before the other takes control of the round," Ithea notes. "We both know that."
<Ithea> ooc: who waits has*
* Ithea pauses and adds as a taunt, "Also, you're pretty predictable."
> Chuckling at it as she shakes her head, "We know each other too well." Slowly rolling her neck at that taunt, "Please, like I can't figure out what's coming from you. I actually thought about teleporting behind you, but Aurora stops that tactic. Too bad, I don't use it as much as I should. But why not, I'll suffer for practice." With a smirk, "C'mon, kitty, show me your claws!" With that, Sylvie charges on in! OOC: Trying tumble to avoid an AoO. It's against your CMD.
> roll 1d20+59 CMD?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+59 CMD? and gets 64." [1d20=5]
<Ithea> ooc: CMD of 76. Too bad~
> OOC: Go for an AoO if youw ant.
<Ithea> ooc: Don't mind if I do.
<Ithea> "Teleporting into melee's my trick, Sylvie. You don't have near the style for it," Ithea says with a sniff as she sweeps her glaive to knock her off her feet.
<Ithea> roll d20+35
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+35 and gets 46." [d20=11]
> OOC: Trip attempt?
<Ithea> ooc: Nah, I don't have Improved Trip. Just a normal attack. Add +4 though, forgot bonus for AoOs
> OOC: Bare hit then.
<Ithea> roll d10+16
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d10+16 and gets 25." [d10=9]
> Sylvie weaves to the side, a blur of speed - but Ithea's just a bit faster, striking her with the blade of the glaive on the arm. It doesn't cut, instead a shallow welt rising. It also doesn't stop Sylvie, who lashes out with a quick kick at Ithea's exposed side.
> roll 1d20+39 (+2 charge) AC?
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+39 (+2 charge) AC? and gets 59." [1d20=20]
> roll 1d20+39 (+2 charge) AC? ow
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+39 (+2 charge) AC? ow and gets 42." [1d20=3]
<Ithea> ooc: 56
> roll 3d10+28
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3d10+28 and gets 41." [3d10=5, 2, 6]
> OOC: Nonlethal
> .
> The kick catches Ithea right in the ribs. A blow that should have snapped a few only leaves a sharp sting. It hurts like hell, but it's a different sort of pain. Much less agonizing and more stinging. OOC: Go, readied action. It's your turn anyway, so go for it.
<Ithea> ooc: Doesn't the readied action go before the trigger attack? I figured it was unreadied or such and then got the AoO
> OOC: That works too. It doesn't matter that much here since it's one on one. Go for it.
<Ithea> ooc: It kinda did matter since readied action does double damage against charge, AoO triggers feat bonuses, and having her in range means full attacks. So it does affect attacks for me =p
> OOC: Go for it then.
<Ithea> ooc: Just FYI
* Ithea takes a step back and keeps herself in the optimal distance for her glaive as she starts slashing away at Sylvie, hitting various different points though focusing on taking advantage of her previous strike as well.
<Ithea> roll d20+37
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+37 and gets 43." [d20=6]
<Ithea> roll d20+32
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+32 and gets 44." [d20=12]
<Ithea> roll d20+27
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+27 and gets 47." [d20=20]
<Ithea> roll d20+27 can't really crit but...
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+27 can't really crit but... and gets 33." [d20=6]
<Ithea> roll d20+22
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+22 and gets 25." [d20=3]
<Ithea> roll d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+17 and gets 30." [d20=13]
> OOC: One normal hit.
<Ithea> roll d10+18
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d10+18 and gets 28." [d10=10]
> The flurry of blows goes back and forth. Ithea manages to get Sylvie across the shoulder, but otherwise it's all bobbing and weaving. "Not bad," Sylvie ducks a slash, stepping in and countering with her own flurry of blows.
> roll 1d20+35
> roll 1d20+35
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 and gets 41." [1d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+35 and gets 40." [1d20=5]
> roll 1d20+30
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 and gets 38." [1d20=8]
> roll 1d20+25
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+25 and gets 31." [1d20=6]
> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+20 and gets 38." [1d20=18]
<Ithea> ooc: whole lot of misses. AC 56
> It's just that, a good and solid exchange of strikes. This time Sylvie's blows are parried, pressure without being overwhelming. "Funny how much we rely on tricks to get by," she comments as they exchange the shots. "Could've hit you each time if I really put some effort into it. Alright, stop." Winding down from that, "Remidns me that I need to visit Afina with that gold I have lying around."
<Ithea> "I wouldn't call 'em tricks, personally," Ithea comments with a grin. "But yeah, we wouldn't have much chance of hitting each other like this."
> Sylvie nods and grins back, "So give me your best shot. Nothing lasting but negative energy, so see if you can knock me out in one string. Don't worry, I visited Hanna before I came over and I'll spring right back up. Just stop if I go down."
> "Oh, hold on," Sylvie holds up a hand.
> She quickly chants twice, holding her hand to her chest. You hear something about Oghma and healing, but she mutters it.
> roll 4d8+20
> roll 4d8+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 4d8+20 and gets 40." [4d8=8, 3, 5, 4]
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 4d8+20 and gets 37." [4d8=5, 7, 4, 1]
> "Alright, give me a good shot," Sylvie bounces on the balls of her feet, on the defensive. OOC: She's going total defense for a dodge bonus to AC. Go Ithea.
* Ithea shrugs and casts a spell on her weapon that she normally has on it (GMW) and clicks her boots together (haste) first. She also activates Renbuu's gift. "You sure you're ready?"
<Ithea> roll d10 for chaos devotion
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d10 for chaos devotion and gets 4." [d10=4]
<Ithea> ooc: boo, wanted odd
> "Oh wait, if you're doing that?" Sylvie holds a hand up.
* Ithea grumbles. "I should have just attacked. Go for it?"
> Sylvie casts a trio of spells. A shield of force appears around her, strange illusions momentarily wrap around her and her body becomes cat-like, like she's been spliced by a tiger. "Now I'm ready," she says, taking the same defensive position. OOC: Go for it.
> "Should have," Sylvie grins right back.
<Ithea> Casting one more spell, Ithea starts her assault! Sylvie might be surprised as this is a new trick... (swift wraithstrike, all attacks are touch attacks. Then PA-10, arcane strike lv5, and cunning insight on each attack)
<Ithea> roll d20+46
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+46 and gets 54." [d20=8]
<Ithea> roll d20+46
> OOC: Wraithstrike's been looooong banned.
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+46 and gets 52." [d20=6]
<Ithea> ooc: Baaaah =p
<Ithea> ooc: No PA/wraithstrike then, and change of plans.
> OOC: Fair enough, feel free to redo the attack from the ground up.
* Ithea keeps some of the meaner spells off the fight (no disintegrating, that'd be hard to explain, and even though she did seem to be okay with negative energy, she'll pass on enervation). She still goes a bit mean as she quick casts Touch of Idiocy and then begins her attack, also channeling the same spell.
<Ithea> roll d20+56 for a touch attack first, then full attack
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+56 for a touch attack first, then full attack and gets 58." [d20=2]
> OOC: Hit.
<Ithea> roll d6 -int/wis/cha
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d6 -int/wis/cha and gets 6." [d6=6]
> OOC: Why up to +56, though?
> OOC: You were at 46 with your glaive, so I doubt your raw touch would be better.
<Ithea> ooc: -17 actually, since I included glaive bonuses. I was originally doing 35 base, +1 haste, +4 GMW, +5 arcane strike, +11 cunining insight. I shouldn't have included GMW, cunning insight and base +2 on weapon.
> roll 58-17
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 58-17 and gets 41."
> OOC: Sec, this requires mathimacation.
<Ithea> ooc: I figured. Touch of Idiocy is mean on her
> OOC: Bare miss. Fulla ttack is a go.
<Ithea> roll d20+56 don't feel like power attacking since the spell missed.
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+56 don't feel like power attacking since the spell missed.  and gets 74." [d20=18]
<Ithea> ooc: I forget, do I have to roll a separate attack for channeled spells?
> OOC: Was that the channeled one first?
<Ithea> ooc: Or just roll the d6 now?
> OOC: Just roll the d6, and roll the rest of the damage when it's all done. I'll direct you.
<Ithea> roll d6
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d6 and gets 6." [d6=6]
<Ithea> ooc: Dummy Sylvie is a go~
<Ithea> ooc: Not as dummy as I would have liked though
<Ithea> ooc: And now for the rest of the attacks~
<Ithea> roll d20+51
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+51 and gets 70." [d20=19]
<Ithea> roll d20+51 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+51 crit? and gets 64." [d20=13]
<Ithea> roll d20+46
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+46 and gets 62." [d20=16]
<Ithea> roll d20+41
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+41 and gets 45." [d20=4]
<Ithea> roll d20+36
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+36 and gets 56." [d20=20]
<Ithea> roll d20+36 crit?
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+36 crit? and gets 41." [d20=5]
<Ithea> roll d20+31
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+31 and gets 49." [d20=18]
> OOC: Two hits and one crit.
> OOC: Oh wait.
> OOC: I almost forgot displacement. Do you overcome illusions with true seeign or anything similar?
<Ithea> ooc: nope, not that I can recall anyway
> OOC: d100 on each of those hits.
<Ithea> roll 2#d100 for normal hits
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 2#d100 for normal hits and gets 167." [2#d100 = 69, 98]
<Ithea> roll d100 crit
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d100 crit and gets 77." [d100=77]
> OOC: All got through. Damage.
<Ithea> roll 5#d10+25+5d4
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 5#d10+25+5d4 and gets 213." [5#d10+25+5d4 = 45, 41, 45, 40, 42]
> Sylvie dodges the first blow - only to get one in the head! She's knocked back and straight up, Ithea leaping to follow! She slashes at Sylvie a dozen times, back and forth as she's knocked upwards and then down, landing in a heap. She has welts all over but isn't down, slowly rising, "Good try," she winces, "And you can stop right there."
> roll 3#4d8+20
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 3#4d8+20 and gets 115." [3#4d8+20 = 43, 36, 36]
> roll 213-115
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 213-115 and gets 98."
> roll 4#3d8+15
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 4#3d8+15 and gets 113." [4#3d8+15 = 28, 31, 24, 30]
> A flurry of spells follow, Sylvie's welts receding. She sits up and rubs her arm, "Not bad. I do think I need to improve my baseline defenses now."
<Ithea> "I think that was pretty well, all things considered. I did only get three hits in," Ithea points out.
<Ithea> "It probably helps that you're not evil. That would have hurt a ton more then."
> "Yeah, but the idea's not to get hit at all." Sylvie picks herself up, dusting her knees off.
> OOC: Gah.
> "Yeah, but the idea's not to get hit at all." Sylvie picks herself up, dusting her knees off. "So Ithea," Smirking as she gets up, "Want to dispel that touch on me? Oh, and how's it going with Stille?"
* Ithea dispels the spell. "Things are going fine, really. He's been better about some of the personal space issues, and I'm better about letting him be...well, male."
* Nephrite (~rscuderi@6532248hfc76.tampabay.res.rr.com) Quit (Quit: BRB)
> Sylvie snickers, "Men," she says, starting to go through some basic drills. Chatting as she works, "Have you seen Lief lately? He's been running around with Muirfinn."
<Ithea> "Considering I haven't seen Muirfinn around lately, that wouldn't do much for seeing Lief either if that's the case," Ithea points out.
> "He's been busy. See," Going on as she flows through a few more strikes, going through a set that has her flow like water, "He's been chasing down a depraved marilith - redundant, I know - and visited Sylica. Apparently Syala tasked him with several quests in pursuit of that. He's been running around, going out with him was helping finish one of them. Lief's been along for the whole thing. We needed several days to build a giant mountaintop cathedral. Would've been easier if The Father hadn't meddled."
<Ithea> "Yeah, well, if Muirfinn and Lief are dealing with Father's crap, good for them."
> "Amen," Sylvie says with a little twisted smile, as suddenly Adrian appears through the portal in, "Playtime's over, kitty," he announces, "We have an official, full on problem. Vivantha's been kidnapped."
* Ithea frowns. "How'd that happen? From where and when? Not from Aurora itself at least, I hope?"
> "From outside. Looks like mercenaries, we're still getting information together," he explains, "Come on. Elena and Tepen already have the gears moving, and we're the only generals at Aurora right now."
* Ithea nods and follows after Adrian.

> Muirfinn and Lief are lead back into Aurora's meeting room. Here they find Adrian, Elder Magi Tepen and Ithea awaiting. Adrian rises, "Hey there. Elena filled you in on the basics?" OOC: Ithea, feel free to intro yourself for Lief.
* Muirfinn nods. "Yes. What's the plan look like?"
* Ithea only gives a quick wave to Muirfinn and Lief, figuring that the kidnapping is more important than pleasantries and catching up.
* Lief floats around Ithea with a grin and a wave, greeting his semi-aquaintence.
> "Right." Sitting back down, "Elder Magi?" Adrian asks.
> Tepen clears his throat and begins, "We're still gathering information with divinations and scrying," he announces, "As well as taking measures to defeat any possible means to foil those activities. So this information is liable to change. First, to summarize what Elena told you already: Vivantha was kidnapped while right outside Aurora. Focused magic knocked her out in one fell swoop and they teleported away with Vivantha before resistance could be mounted. Highly competent work all in all, suggesting professionals. Are there any questions on that so far?"
<Ithea> "Do we know who, or is that one of the things we're still trying to divine?"
<Lief> "Do we know what kind of magic they used? We might need to take steps if they're exploiting a weakness."
> "We're working on the who right now," Tepen replies with a slight nod to Ithea, "We haven't ruled out enemy action. If this an attack by Hell, it isn't their normal style. They've generally favored direct attacks on us rathern than intermediaries."
* Muirfinn shakes his head at Lief. "Our protection only extends to the walls. Beyond, we are vulnerable."
> "Yes," Tepen says, "Drena was able to identify the spells being cast. Cones of cold, delayed blast fireballs, orbs of fire and cold and similar spells. All were augmented by means of searing heat or piercing cold. Several of the spells were further enhanced with metamagic, suggesting archmages or use of metamagic enhancing magical items."
<Ithea> "Not all of them favor direct attacks. Remember Mala? Have to keep devils like her in mind too."
> "That's the devil of it," Adrian admits, "Inside Aurora's walls, we're safe. Outside of it?" He shrugs, "Generally, we stay around the Heavens or planes that tilt towards good, so that the devils can't just walk up and start something."
<Muirfinn> "Do we have any leads on where they've taken her?"
> "That's true," Tepen agrees, "She's actually one of our suspects. All of the traitors are."
<Lief> "Hmm.. Is that type of magic a trademark for anyone we know?"
<Muirfinn> "Not as of yet."
> "That's another thing we're looking into," Tepen confirms to Lief, "We're hoping to use that to narrow down the field of possibilities."
> "Hold on," Elena smoothly interjects, appearing in the room. "Balyss was able to divine something useful."
<Ithea> "That was quick...they're not trying too hard to hide themselves, are they?" Ithea murmurs outloud, her tail swishing from side to side as she ponders that.
> "Well, what was it?" Adrian asks, eyes drifting towards Ithea's tail a moment. But he keeps his own council.
* Muirfinn looks disgruntled.
> "Balyss cast a miracle and called on Selune to help, since Vivantha had recently been touched by Selune." Elena begins, "First of all, she can confirm there's interdictions against divinations in effect, but she was able to get past them. She saw the image of an great eagle clutching a rabbit in its talons. Does that mean anything to any of you?" OOC: K:P check here, y'all.
* Lief catches sight of Adrian's line of sight and watches Ithea's tail, too, considering...
<Lief> OOC: No K:P!
> roll 1d20+23 Adrian
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+23 Adrian and gets 27." [1d20=4]
> roll 1d20+51 Tepen
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+51 Tepen and gets 56." [1d20=5]
<Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22+3
* Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+22+3 and gets 37." [1d20=12]
<Ithea> roll d20+41 Ithea. Add +5 if collector of stories affects check (which looks like it does for identifying eagle?)
* Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+41 Ithea. Add +5 if collector of stories affects check (which looks like it does for identifying eagle?) and gets 46." [d20=5]
> Ithea can recall one such thing - a group of mercenaries based in the Astral Plane. She forgets the name, but she remembers they're elite, discreet and have a sigil of an eagle capturing a rabbit.
<Ithea> "It does. Back before I joined up with everyone to search for Medicant, I'd heard stories about a group of mercenaries based out of the Astral Plane. That sounds like their sigil, I'm sure of it," Ithea notes, before frowning. "I...can't recall their name, however."
<Muirfinn> "It's a start." Muirfinn says. "We can hit Brightwater for more."
> Adrian shakes his head. "Doesn't ring any bells for me-oh?" Turning to Ithea, "Astral Plane, mercenaries. A little more than we had. Elena, pass that onto the people in the library. Get Vul'lath and Sylvie in there if they aren't already and have them get a name for that group. Have the diviners focus on that." Glancing at the others, "Any other suggestions?"
<Lief> "Hmm.. Well, from what you've said of their tactics, they sound like they operate like a Commando group. If they snagged Vivanthia right outside of Aurora, then it's likely they've got us under surveillance. It's a fair bet there's still one or two near by."
<Lief> "Probably inside Aurora itself, if not just near by."
> "It will take time to comb the library, in any event," Tepen says, "A trip to Brightwater for information gathering may be prudent." At this he shakes his head, "We've doing scans of the area around Aurora. If they're hiding themselves, it's with means that can withstand the sight of angels and other spells. It's also possible they stopped any monitoring after getting Vivantha."
<Ithea> "Well, if someone hired these mercenaries to snag her, I'm less certain of it being devils now. I can't imagine them not wanting to involve themselves personally and hiring mortals," Ithea notes. "And I'm pretty certain I'd remember some group of mercs better if there were any devil members."
* Lief nods to Ithea.
> "It's not the tactics they've used on us commonly, but Hell might be getting desperate. That or Gathgorian's behind it and he has different notions than Abigor." An open grimace at that, "But it doesn't seem his style, from what we know about him. He's more direct than Abigor was."
> "Right," Elena vanishes away after those instructions.
<Ithea> "Did Vivanthia ever mention any enemies from before she got involved with us? Perhaps the Lannark Imperium?" Ithea asks, turning to Muirfinn.
<Lief> "I can agree with that. It's not devil style, but I wouldn't rule it out. If it *is* devils, it sets a dangerous precident about their resourcefulness and ability to use proxies."
> "Then again," Elder Magi Tepen considers, "Gathgorian's fought in the Blood War for uncountable years. He'd surely have contacts with mercenary companies." After pointing that out, he hmmmmmmms. "Elena," he says, said blue ghost-girl reappearing, "Make sure to add the Lannark Imperium to the list of investation targets, if it wasn't already."
<Muirfinn> "I can't discount the Lannark, we need to look into them as well. Other than that, I don't know. The mercane, perhaps? They were rather irritated with us."
> "They're also dealign with Afina," Adrian shakes his head, "Possible, but....mmmm. They present a unified face, but it doesn't mean they don't have plenty of factions. Dammit!" Cursing and shaking his head, "We're expanding the list of suspects, not paring it down."
> "Be that as it may, this suggests we may soon do war on the Astral Plane," Elder Magi Tepen remarks, "Tell me," He looks to everyone, "Does anyone need a refresher on how to conduct themselves on the Astral Plane, as well as local conditions?"
* Ithea snorts. "I don't think we're expanding it that much. Devils and the mercane are possible, but fairly unlikely given circumstances. The Lannark are the more likely culprit given what we know, although it could be someone we haven't divined at all yet. We do know it's someone that would have the gold or the power to direct a team of mercs good enough to catch my attention even briefly
* Ithea though."
* Muirfinn shakes his head. "I've been there recently enough."
* Lief turns to Adrian.
<Lief> "We could work backwards instead. Who can we mark off the list, instead of counting up our possible enemies. That's surely a shorter list."
> "Mmm. We can mark off all the Heavens," Adrian begins, "Even the one we don't ge talong with, Bahamut, wouldn't stoop to measures like this." Sitting back and crossing his arms, "Hmmm. Can't rule out the slaad, simply because the slaad are completely unpredictable."
<Lief> "Well, it could be the devils have pull over the group beyond just hiring them... A contract with a ranking member, or..."
* Lief squints as he tries to remember.
<Muirfinn> "Bahamut would never." Muirfinn shakes his head. "And Tiamat wouldn't either. She'd just start causing large-scale chaos."
<Muirfinn> "This isn't her style.
<Muirfinn> "
> "Speaking of fiends, no reason it couldn't be the yugoloths. We burned them awhile back when we rescued Lief and the pixies," he remarks, "This sort of scheme could be something they brewed up."
<Lief> "Wasn't there a Teifling traitor? We could be looking at something like that, too. Though a concerted group of Teiflings doing their proginator's will is a bit concerning."
<Muirfinn> "Slaad aren't organized enough to hire anyone."
> "All you need is one slaad to do it," Adrian counters back, "Yes, that's Mala, I think. Already mentioned."
<Ithea> "That's her," Ithea agrees.
<Lief> "Hmm.. Well, considering how they operated, it's a long shot, but there could be traces in the area. Who've sent out to canvas the area? If there was a fight, there's likely some trace of them."
> "Ahem," Tepen remarks, lightly coughing into his hand. "Be that all as it may," he says, "At the moment we're spinning our wheels. Getting a name to this mercenary group would do us much more good than speculating about who may have hired them. If we divine that, we can get that information from them. At sword's end, if need be. Muirfinn, you suggested a trip to Brightwater?"
<Lief> "They'd hae launched the ambush and then their primary goal would have been escape. I doubt they stayed around long enough to wipe all evidence away. Vivanthia's good enough to have put up a fight, right? If we can find some blood or something, can't we track them with some finger wiggling?"
> "One problem," Adrian says, "Well, two. I thought of that a moment myself." Reaching down, he pulls up a rather intimidating skull helmet. "I thought of seeing if I could find anything like that, perhaps this would help me since it lets me see veins and the like. The problem is that we're in Air. Even if she bled - and fir eand ice spells don't product blood usually - it's fallen straight down since then."
* Muirfinn nods. "It's a good place to start. Tepen, see if you and Vul'lath can leverage the Mercane. If they're on our side, now is the time for them to prove it."
> Tepen nods, "We'll call in some favors."
<Ithea> "Brightwater or the Astral Plane itself and some good old fashioned asking around and waving a bag of gold or Aurora's reputation might help track a name for the mercs faster at this point than more divination magic," Ithea comments.
* Lief grunts at Adrian's comment.
> "Yeah," Adrian sits back, "Throw in a motherfucker with it, too." HE reaches up and slowly rubs his temple, "Hopefully we'll get this sorted and moving into the fun part, with swords and decapitations."
<Lief> "Might still be worth a look, if we can find the ambush site. We could get lucky, for once, and there's a piece of land it hit."
> Adrian nods, "I'll send..." he hmms a few moments, "Drena's probably the best call there. If anyone can find anything on Air, it's him. I'll ask Balyss and Hanna to throw in a few divinations on that as well, if they can spare them."
* Lief nods.
> After that, "Kitty," he smiles just a little bit, "How about you, Muirfinn and Lief go poking around Brightwater? I can run things here."
<Lief> "Those portals in the temple are looking better and better. If we can establish them, then it'll give anyone tracking us fits."
<Muirfinn> "Good idea on Drena. See if we can get Chan involved, too. I'm sure she'd like it if Medi's scions owed her a favor."
<Ithea> "Even after marrying, you still haven't outgrown that nickname?" Ithea asks with a haughty sniff. "There's no hope for you at all, is there? Fine, we'll head out to Brightwater and see what we can dig up."
> "In the meantime," Elder Magi Tepen speaks up once more, clearing his throat, "We should start considering a rescue force. We don't need to decide yet, as Aurora's already at readiness, but it's worth considering."
> OOC: Okay, plans here? Anything you want to try before going all Brightwatery?
<Lief> OOC: Not on my end. I'd still suggest doing an internal sweep for spies, but that's NPC jazz.
> OOC: Fair enough and it'll be done.
<Ithea> OOC: I imagine there's not enough time for Lief to get a belt of awesomeness.
<Lief> OOC: Actually, hold on.
<Lief> "Hmm.. A thought. Instead of this being targeted at Aurora, could this be something Vivanthia's past? Something personal we're not aware of? It might be worth looking into. If it is, we could miss it simply because we've over-shot the threat."
<Ithea> ooc: And I'll just fetch Rukkig, for the sheer impossible possibility of us getting into the scenario where I can threaten someone with "Now, are there any volunteers, or does the fire kitten vaporize someone else?" while Rukkig meows atop a pile of disintegrated ashes.
> "Entirely possible," Tepen admits, "We'll send a messenger to the lillend and ask them that."
* Lief nods.
> OOC: Noted, Ithea.
> OOC: Going to use another portal to get tehre and another to get back, Muirfinn?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yes please.
> Going back outside, the trio finds Aurora is surrounded by air elemental soldiers. They part just enough for a portal to Brightwater to be made, and thus the party goes through. Before you, Brightwater is the city of gold. Waukeen's realm often glistens with gold of all types, luminent as a heaven. Myriad shops cater to everything, joined at times by street vendors and little nooks. You see creatures of all types - humans and elves, dwarves and smaller things, humanoids and beyond. Outsiders of many stripes and types are about, as well as stranger things yet. OOC: Go ahead and set yourselves up for GIing. I'll call for rolls after that, wait for it.
* Lief takes position slightly above the group, keeping an eye out for anything threatening or suspicious. Altitude affords viewpoint!
<Ithea> "Do we split up further and each search for information on our own, or stick as a group?" Ithea ponders. "If it's a group targeting Aurora, splitting up's not the best of moves, but it could result in more leads. What do you think, Muirfinn?" Ithea asks the tortle, deciding to rely on his wisdom.
* Muirfinn ponders. A while back, Vivantha and I made contact with a group of dragons and dragonkin called the Silverbrow Consortium. It might be wise to start there. As for splitting up, we may wish to stick together on this."
* Muirfinn ponders. "A while back, Vivantha and I made contact with a group of dragons and dragonkin called the Silverbrow Consortium. It might be wise to start there. As for splitting up, we may wish to stick together on this."
* Ithea nods. "Your show then, Muirfinn. You know where to lead to," she states as she gestures with a hand wave for him to do just that.
* Lief pulls up his invisibility, just in case.
<Ithea> "I'll probably want to wait outside, as a reminder," Ithea adds. "Don't forget the dragon curse that Afina, Jaela and I share."
> OOC: Okay then, more coming. No GI check yet.
<Muirfinn> "Ah yes, of course. Wise of you."
<Ithea> "Feel free to say terrible things about me if they ask why you involve yourself with such a terrible person as myself," Ithea notes drily.
<Muirfinn> "You know I wouldn't."
> The party heads back to Windfall Avenue. It has streets of gold. The buildings here are tall and loom over you in dozens of stories, yet not a single one casts a shadow. All is bright here, and above the sky glitters like bright diamonds. As you step onto the street, a voice is heard in Lief's mind. 'Welcome to Windfall Avenue, valued fey visitor. As you are certainly already aware, Windfall Avenue's skies are forbidden territory past the rooftops. Please do not fly above them. Thank you and continue your business, valued guest.'
<Ithea> "Thanks...but if it'll get you info on saving Vivanthia, by all means, really, do go ahead and vilify me."
<Lief> "Huh."
<Lief> "They don't want me above the roofs."
* Lief continues on above the group, but stays below the roofs.
* Muirfinn nods at Lief. "Best to abide."
* Ithea pauses and adds once more, "Of course, nothing that will result in a dragon trying to eat me. Killing dragons is never a pleasant task."
> The building the party is looking for is not hard to find. After all, it's not every day you see a imposing, dozen story tall behemoth of a building with a front of pure amethyst. The light from the golden streets reflects up into it, turning the impossibly large slabs of gemstone to sparkle a bright, pale purple. A grand door big enough for a great wyrm dragon to pass through is open, as if to invite any and all to come in. But it's hard to see inside, your eyes constantly sliding over what's inside and not registering it at all. Above the door leading in is a dragon's head carved of amethyst, fit for a a town-sized dragon. It's open in an eternal, silent roar.
* Muirfinn snorts. "Lucrative, though."
* Ithea can't help but give a quick laugh that she covers her mouth with a fist. "True that."
<Ithea> "Should I wait here, or still reasonable to keep following for now?"
* Lief keeps an eye out for anything interesting or shiney as they go...
<Muirfinn> "Alright, stay here." Muirfinn says. "I'll go inside and talk with them."
<Ithea> "Good luck."
> OOC: Into #evildunes, tortle.
> As the two wait, various creatures of obvious wealth pass. One in particular gets your attention - it looks to be a tall human on a glance, middle aged and wearing clothes that nearly drip gemstones. He walks along with a cane, whistling a merry tune. "'lo, 'lo," he says as he passes, giving the party a glance. "Capital making adventurers, I presume?"
<Ithea> "What adventurer isn't?" Ithea asks back, in reply of his question.
* Lief inspects the man, trying to determine if he can see through his invisibility.
> He hasn't looked at Lief or shown any signs of addressing him. Meanwhile, he says, "Yes." Raising his cane slightly in acknowledgement, "I believe your fame precedes you, Ithea of Aurora."
<Ithea> ooc: any knowledge or other skill to try and return the favor and identify the man?
> OOC: K:Local with anything that related to Brightwater.
<Ithea> ooc: I...just got K:local without naming any place so I could identify Sylvie! I dunno about it relating to Brightwater!
> OOC: We'll say no for now and sort that out post-session.
<Ithea> "Yours does not, however. I'm afraid you have the best of me then, sir...?" Ithea fishes for a name.
> "Essalock. Rathan Essalock." He inclines his head forward slightly, "A mere merchant can't compete with world shaking heroes, I'm afraid. It's terribly unfair."
<Ithea> "No mere merchant could set up shop in Brightwater, though a clever one with a silver tongue surely could," Ithea retorts with a small smile. "Still, I suppose I'm flattered. No kind words for my companion though?"
* Ithea gestures over towards Lief as he continues to observe the self-proclaimed Rathan.
<Lief> OOC: I'm invisible.
> "I beg your...ah." The man nods, before reaching into a pocket. He takes out a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles and puts them on. He then looks at Lief. "Ah. I wasn't aware you were traveling with company unseen. Hello."
* Lief drops his invisibility with an irritated look at Ithea, then greets the merchant.
<Lief> "Hello. What about us has your interest?"
* Ithea shrugs at Lief, not apologetic in the least.
* Ithea then smiles again at the merchant. "See? No mere merchant at all. Look how quickly you see the unseen," she notes with a grin.
> He pauses as a rather muscular earth elemental stomps by. His skin is covered in pure gold. He rates a glance from Rathan before he turns back to you. "Oh, it's never a bad time to meet famous names and faces. You would be Lief of Aurora?"
<Lief> ".... I would.."
* Lief is slightly disturbed and suspicious of this fame... Outside of the tournament, his stealthy style shouldn't be gaining him fame..
> The man smiles, "Forgive me, but many distinguished merchants discuss Aurora. Your crusade against Baator has made waves in the mercantile world."
* Ithea shrugs, and just stares back, awaiting to see if there's a request following, a quest, or some other such thing from the merchant.
> An awkward pause follows, several seconds long. Once finished, "Ahem. Excuse me," he says, "It was a pleasure to meet both o fyou."
* Lief nods to the man, pulling his invisibility back up.
<Ithea> "The same, I suppose. Do you own a shop around here then?" Ithea asks, not really sure what else to say.
> That draws a little bit of a smile, "I own a few. I prefer to be a contributing partner rather than an active manager. But please, come to Sunset Charcuterie if you're hungry. A free tour and samples would be the least we could do for both of you.  It's down on Luster Road."
<Ithea> "Thank you. Now might not be the best time, but I may take you on the offer later."
> "Until then," He smiles once more, "Good day."
> From here, it's not long until Muirfinn returns...OOC: Go ahead, tortle.
<Muirfinn> "Hello, you two." Muirfinn says as he comes up on the group. "Everything go alright?"
<Ithea> "About what you'd expect with us waiting around just standing in way. You have any luck with your contacts?"
<Lief> "Ithea's famous."
<Muirfinn> "A bit. The group we're looking for is called the Urgent Talons. Specialists in kidnapping, among other things. No known location. It's possible that they're not actually in the Astral, though."
<Muirfinn> "Of course Ithea's famous. She's done..." Muirfinntrails off for a moment before waggling his fingers. "...things."
<Ithea> "Well, a name is something, I suppose. Anything else?" Ithea asks.
* Ithea doesn't react to Muirfinn and Lief's side conversation, and attributes it to Abyss weirdness. She'd heard they were up to their necks deep in that lunacy.
<Muirfinn> "They're old for mortals, possibly led by a mage above the 9th circle, and their tactics are based on swift action with overwhelming force."
* Lief nods.
<Lief> "So a quick strike commando set up."
<Muirfinn> "Possibly vulnerable to a protracted campaign, yes."
<Lief> "Their bases are going to be really heavily trapped. And they'll probably just evacuate once we attack, so we need to figure out how to lock them down first."
> OOC: Okay, so what are y'all gonna do now? Head back or something else?
<Muirfinn> "Also, the only way to contact them is with an eagle token. Which we might need to get ahold of."
<Muirfinn> OOC: LET'S RESEARCH THAT
<Ithea> ooc: Up to Yuth. He's the one hiding information now! Didn't even tell us about summoning th...oh wait, there he goes =p
<Lief> "Hmm.. I wonder. Muirfinn, is there a way to intercept a teleport?"
<Muirfinn> "Probably."
<Lief> "We might be able to use that... I get the feeling that these guys will have some kind of teleport system set up for their evacuation. If we can get something in place without them realizing it, we may be able to stage an assault and then get a hold of them that way."
<Lief> "It would keep us from exposing our team and forces to a protracted battle... But they'd have to teleport."

> Going inside, Muirfinn finds it the same as before - except by the front door is Diamond. "Good day, Muirfinn," she greets, "Welcome. If you're here to see Sisatar, I must inform you that he is currently away on pressing business."
* Muirfinn frowns. "That's unfortunate. I was hoping to ask for his aid. Is there someone else here able to assist me?"
> "I am here and capable of lending aid," Diamond replies, "We may be able to come to terms, depending on what aid you seek."
<Muirfinn> "I seek information on a band of mercenaries. They bear a symbol of an eagle with a rabbit in its talons."
> "That may be information we can provide," Diamond says with a smile. "You understand there will be a fee for the information. I would estimate 2,000 gold, pending adjustments for the difficulty and sensitivity of the information."
<Muirfinn> "Done."
> "Please, come with me," she says, "There will be refreshments while you wait." OOC: Skip along a bit?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yep
> You are back in the room of gemstone structures to wait. It's not long this time, perhaps 15 minutes before Diamond returns. "The information is at hand," she explains, "But the cost is 4,000 gold due to the sensitivity and considerations of the information. Is this acceptable?"
* Muirfinn quietly offers her a sack of coins.
> OOC: Post the expense in loot.
<Muirfinn> OOC: Done
> The money is taken. Once done, "You're most likely looking for the Urgent Talons. They're a mercenary group that is commonly assumed to operate out of the Astral Plane. They specialize in kidnapping missions, spying and espionage. They take jobs only from those who have one of their eagle tokens. They've several centuries old despite being mortals. It's believed they have a way to counter-act aging, likely having to do with the Astral Plane. They're extremely killed and low-key, except for their actual attacks, which rely on brazen daring and brief, overwhelming force."
<Muirfinn> "How can I find them?"
> "If you have an eagle token, you can summon them," she explains, "Otherwise, they're believed to be in the Astral Plane. This is unconfirmed. Our own investigations suggest it is not true, as the normal means to travel in the Astral Plane don't find them. It's possible they've found a way to stop that."
* Muirfinn looks, if possible, more disgruntled.
<Muirfinn> "Is there anything else?"
> *skilled, not killed.
> "Informally, yes." Diamond says, "We would appreciate if this part stayed with you and you alone. Is that acceptable?"
<Muirfinn> "Yes."
> "We once did business with them. Mister Sisatar found the service exemplary, but did not like the image or style they employed. While the split was amicable, he authorized investigations into them after. Unfortunately, the group is skilled at covering their tracks and little was found. Based on the magic they have, we suspect a mage capable of magic beyond the 9th circle leads them."
* Muirfinn nods. "You have my thanks. If you learn anything else of them, I would appreciate it if you could inform me as soon as possible."
> "If we do, we will be in touch with terms," Diamond agrees, "Thank you." OOC: Going back out?
<Muirfinn> OOC: Yeah.

[18:01] <@Ko-ThehuntforLagtori> OOC: Just to be clear since it wasn't last time, are y'all returning to Aurora?
[18:01] <Lief> OOC: Uh, that or we could go check out that merchant's thing.
[18:01] <@Ithea> ooc: yes
[18:02] <@Ithea> ooc: or up to Lief, I guess if he wants to do that?
01[18:02] <Muirfinn> OOC: Muirfinn has no idea that the merchants thing happened/
[18:02] <@Ithea> ooc: Lief can suggest it if he wants to do it then!
[18:03] <Lief> OOC: Kay!
[18:04] <Lief> "Muirfinn, Ithea got propositioned to visit some merchant's place while you were inside. He had enough trinkets and jewels on that we might be able to find something useful."
06[18:05] * Muirfinn ponders. "He may have one of these tokens. It's worth looking into. The gods work in mysterious ways."
[18:06] <@Ithea> "It sounded like a food place, but I suppose anything's possible," Ithea comments.
[18:07] <@Ithea> "It was over in Luster Road," Ithea adds.
01[18:07] <Muirfinn> "Oh...a food place? If you feel it would be relevant, we can have a look."
03[18:07] * Ko-ThehuntforLagtori is now known as Kotono
[18:09] <@Kotono> OOC: Heading on over then?
01[18:09] <Muirfinn> OOC: YAR PIRACY
[18:13] <@Kotono> Luster Street is a ways away. The area here is merely opulent rather than stunningly wealthy. Small, beautiful buildings are like little pieces of art, each one a restaurant or food store. The scent of cooking food from hundreds of shops fills the air, turning a walk down Luster Street into a mouth-watering adventure. You pass whole animals being open-roasted, great piles of strange and wonderful
[18:13] <@Kotono> produce, stores promising the finest foods and more. Sunset Charcuterie is a quaint log cabin, save for the 'logs' being made of pure white stone. The scent of cured meat hangs heavily in the air outside. Glass windows show off rows of sausages, hanging hams and other delicacies.
[18:14] <@Ithea> ooc: It's a road! Not a street!
[18:14] <@Ithea> "Well, it certainly looks like it'll have delicious food. Not sure about tokens," Ithea notes with a smile.
06[18:16] * Muirfinn looks around. "We should really come back here after this is all over."
06[18:17] * Lief sniffs the smells.
[18:18] <Lief> "Mmmm.. Smells good. Wish I could cook like this in the field instead of living off the land."
[18:18] <@Kotono> As the party stands around and talks, "Hi there!" A cute little brunette elf walks up from amid the passerbys, wearing elegant golden clothes. She wears cutesy cat ears attached to a band that wraps over the top of her head. "Meow and welcome! You look like someone who needs to know about the Cat's Meow!"
06[18:19] * Lief looks at the elf, then at Ithea.
06[18:19] * Lief tries to keep a straight face, but lets out a snicker. Or three.
[18:20] <@Kotono> Going on and slipping into Feline, "Hi!" She says to Ithea after no immediate reply, "You can get the best food for a feline-blooded here, without going back to Rapture!"
[18:20] <Lief> "Looks like you have a solid back up job here, Ithea."
[18:21] <@Ithea> "That's...good to know, though I think we'll have to pass on that today," she replies politely before turning to Muirfinn. "Muirfinn, you don't seem to think we're going to have much luck stumbling onto those tokens here either, perhaps we should head back to Aurora and share what we've learned?"
[18:22] <@Kotono> At the brusque rejection, the elf nonetheless smiles and bows, "That's okay, but just remember the Cat's Meow next time you're hungry! Bye!" She hurries off quickly at that.
[18:25] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay, going back to Aurora now, y'all?
[18:25] <@Ithea> ooc: yes
[18:26] <@Kotono> roll 1d100
06[18:26] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 100."12 [1d100=100]
[18:26] <@Kotono> roll 1d100 subtables
06[18:26] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 subtables and gets 35."12 [1d100=35]
[18:27] <@Ithea> ooc: oh dear. Look what your luck has gotten us into now, Iddy.
[18:27] <Lief> OOC: You should let me roll those. For *reasons.*
[18:29] <@Kotono> The party heads back to one of the plazas put aside for gate spells and plane shifts. As the party goes along...OOC: Spot checks, ya'll.
[18:29] <Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
06[18:29] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 37."12 [d20=5]
01[18:29] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
06[18:29] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 and gets 56."12 [1d20=8]
[18:30] <@Ithea> ooc: 63
[18:30] <@Ithea> ooc: clarifier - taking 12
[18:33] <@Kotono> As the party walks, Ithea catches something out of the corner of her eye. An alley between two rich buildings. It is dark and dingy, despite being surrounded by bountiful wealth otherwise. The shadows down are deep and cloaking.
[18:37] <@Ithea> "...Hey Muirfinn," Ithea gestures subtly towards the alley, figuring his eyesight, magically enhanced, might catch something in those shadows. "Those shadows, think your eyes could penetrate 'em?"
06[18:38] * Muirfinn looks. OOC: By your powers combined, I am True-Seeing Man!
[18:38] <@Kotono> Muirfinn sees the alley after a moment - his eyes want to ignore it so badly, sliding over it over and over. But eventually his enhanced vision triumphs. It is familiar to him, looking like the entrance of the alley to Glitterosm's shop, only darker.
[18:39] <@Kotono> Also in the wrong place in town from last time, admittedly.
06[18:39] * Muirfinn ignores the compulsion, striding toward the alley!
06[18:39] * @Ithea assumes that the tortle has found something amazing and intriguing and follows behind him!
06[18:39] * Lief follows cautiously, pulling up his invisibility and getting his bow ready..
[18:40] <@Kotono> The trip down the alley is dark. The glitter of everythinge else is muted here as you head down to the door at the end of the alley. It's unchanged on a glance, at least to Muirfinn.
06[18:43] * Muirfinn casts his eyes about, searching for the reason this alley is so protected.
[18:43] <@Kotono> OOC: DMing?
01[18:44] <Muirfinn> OOC: No, that's your job
[18:44] <@Kotono> OOC: Har. Are you?
01[18:45] <Muirfinn> OOC: Zing! Yes.
[18:45] <@Kotono> OOC: Spellcraft.
01[18:45] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+50+3
06[18:45] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+50+3 and gets 63."12 [1d20=10]
[18:47] <@Kotono> The magic here is in great turmoil. Something within the building is rising to a tremendous cresendo. The feel of the magic causes your guts to clench and breath to draw short. It feels wrong, off, empty.
01[18:50] <Muirfinn> "There's a problem with the magic here." Muirfinn says, trying to find a way in. "Looks like someone is doing something they souldn't."
[18:50] <Lief> "They usually do."
[18:51] <@Kotono> There's the door, if Muirfinn cares to open it. There's no windows or anything, though.
06[18:53] * Muirfinn obliges his inner curiosity, pushing the door open.
[18:58] <@Kotono> The door is opened. Ahead is the following. Within you see a small circular entrance, with a grand mural on the ground. It seems to be an artistic rendering of the planes in a great circle. It shows everything you know in fine detail and grand beauty. Beyond it are clusters of three bookshelves each, dotted about in erratic patterns. Light comes from above, sets of seven spheres of light rotating
[18:58] <@Kotono> around to provide illumination. However, all of this has been overwritten by great scrawls of black ink. Everything is covered with symbols and numbers, some sort of massive formula.  On the floor 45ft away is Glitterosm. HE is dark-skinned, bald and wearing a robe. Said robe is torn and dirty, his body covered in sweat.  He scribbles with a brush, drawing yet another part to the formula. As
[18:58] <@Kotono> the door opens, a blast of bitter cold buffets the party. It's colder than the chilliest winter day, unnaturally frigid. As you reel from that, Glitterosm turns. His eyes are empty black, no light or anything within. Silent tears run down a face locked into an expression of horror. In spite of that, he laughs joyously, "Hahahahhaha! It's time! You're HERE!" Standing and spreading his arms wide,
[18:58] <@Kotono> "The Pale Mother's veil is beginning to crumble. Help me. Orcus has roused himself into his greatest fury yet. Help me. " Each imploration for help is folloed with more tears coming. "The First has awoken at long last. Help me. The Father is so hungry..." He titters at that one, licking his lips, "Help...me...I can't stop seeing. Once you look, you never stop seeing!"
01[19:00] <Muirfinn> "Dammit, Glitterosm, I told you to come find me if you had trouble." Muirfinn says grumpily.
06[19:01] * Lief eyes the person cautiously..
06[19:01] * @Ithea frowns. "We found him while he's still somewhat lucid. We got me free from Father's grasp, I'm sure we can do something for him...right?"
[19:01] <@Kotono> At these words, the room ahead whines as a torrent of cold air blows around. Books come off the shelves, flying all about. "Help...Help..." He laughs in spite of it, "THERE'S HERE!" At this, a whirl of cloying darkness surrounds Glitterosm, as...OOC: Init. Baaaad things are happening and it's hitting the fan pretty fast here.
[19:02] <Lief> roll d20+21 Don't forget your +5 from me
06[19:02] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 Don't forget your +5 from me and gets 31."12 [d20=10]
01[19:02] <Muirfinn> "With any luck, hopefully." Muirfinn says as he leaps back.
01[19:02] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17+5
06[19:02] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17+5 and gets 30."12 [1d20=8]
[19:02] <@Ithea> roll d20+22+5
06[19:02] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+22+5 and gets 31."12 [d20=4]
[19:03] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+18 Glitterosm
06[19:03] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+18 Glitterosm and gets 26."12 [1d20=8]
03[19:03] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea(31)>Muirfinn(30)>Glitterosm(26)'
[19:03] <@Kotono> OOC: Iddy?
[19:03] <@Kotono> OOC: Oh no, I just flat missed yours.
03[19:03] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea=Lief(31)>Muirfinn(30)>Glitterosm(26)'
[19:03] <@Kotono> OOC: Ithea and Lief open. Go.
[19:05] <Lief> OOC: I'll let Ithea go first.
[19:06] <@Ithea> ooc: go ahead while I wait on Yuth's reply to my question
06[19:06] * Lief loops around the room to get into Sneak Attack range... OOC: Moving to close to 30 ft, off to, say the left.
[19:07] <@Kotono> Lief flies in. The wind is terrible, cold immediately numbing his body. This range won't be good for archery, though at this range he should be able to make a try at it.
[19:07] <@Kotono> roll 5d6 cold Lief, Ithea's up.
06[19:08] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 5d6 cold Lief, Ithea's up. and gets 21."12 [5d6=1, 6, 5, 4, 5]
06[19:11] * @Ithea claps a hand quickly on Muirfinn as she teleports the two of them behind Glitterosm (OOC: Dimension Door, quick cast), before she begins to attack Glitterosm. Not knowing how much damage he can take right now, she starts off with some nonlethal attacks, to get a good measure for how much damage the possessed man can take and still weaken him. (OOC: nonlethal, -4 to attacks, AS 5 and
06[19:11] * @Ithea channeling Touch of Idiocy)
[19:12] <@Ithea> ooc: any issues with dimension door before I attack?
[19:13] <@Kotono> OOC: None. He has wards but they're fucked up right now.
[19:14] <@Ithea> roll d20+40 attack 1, if it hits, I'll do ToI first before resolving other attacks
06[19:14] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+40 attack 1, if it hits, I'll do ToI first before resolving other attacks and gets 59."12 [d20=19]
[19:14] <@Ithea> roll d20+40 crit?
06[19:14] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+40 crit? and gets 56."12 [d20=16]
[19:15] <@Kotono> OOC: Crit.
[19:15] <@Ithea> ooc: any SR, if that hits?
[19:15] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes, and there will be a counter-attack.
[19:16] <@Ithea> roll d20+24+8 to beat SR
06[19:16] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+24+8 to beat SR and gets 39."12 [d20=7]
[19:16] <@Kotono> OOC: Success.
[19:16] <@Ithea> roll d6 Touch of Idiocy to Int/Wis/Cha
06[19:16] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d6 Touch of Idiocy to Int/Wis/Cha and gets 4."12 [d6=4]
[19:17] <@Ithea> ooc: Do you want to resolve counterattack first?
[19:17] <@Ithea> ooc: or do all of my attacks?
[19:17] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes. Resolve the first hit's damage while I resolve the counter. Then we'll do the rest of the attacks once that's sorted.
[19:17] <@Ithea> ooc: I forget, do channeled spells crit when the hit crits?
[19:17] <@Kotono> OOC: You'd have to look, but I think so.
[19:18] <@Kotono> Ithea smacks Glitterosm hard, right in the stomach with the butt of her polearm. Arcane fire burns as he's knocked back. A moment later, his stomach bursts. Open. Blood comes out, twisting and turning and writhing! It bends at impossible angles and shapes, all advancing towards Ithea!
[19:18] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+28 touch AC?
06[19:18] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+28 touch AC? and gets 41."12 [1d20=13]
[19:19] <@Ithea> ooc: touch AC of 39, so hits
[19:19] <@Kotono> roll 10d6 and more
06[19:19] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 10d6 and more and gets 32."12 [10d6=2, 2, 4, 1, 4, 1, 3, 3, 6, 6]
[19:20] <@Kotono> The blood slams right into Ithea. It winds her momentarily, then pain erupts in her shoulder. Her own blood rips out, twisting in the air in an endless loop of strange shapes and patterns that hurt your eyes to look at. OOC: Will saves, all. This is mind-affecting.
03[19:20] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea=Lief(31)>Ithea's Blood A>Muirfinn(30)>Glitterosm(26)'
01[19:20] <Muirfinn> OOC: Immune
[19:20] <Lief> roll d20+23 Will Save
06[19:21] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+23 Will Save and gets 26."12 [d20=3]
[19:21] <@Kotono> OOC: Did you get mind blank before going out to that Ysgardian dungeon trip, Lief?
01[19:21] <Muirfinn> OOC: I believe he did
[19:21] <Lief> OOC: Yeah, I believe so.
[19:22] <@Ithea> roll d20+32+11 will, inspiration for competence boost
06[19:22] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+32+11 will, inspiration for competence boost and gets 62."12 [d20=19]
[19:22] <@Ithea> ooc: well that might have been overkill
[19:22] <@Kotono> OOC: You're off the hook then, Lief.
[19:22] <@Ithea> ooc: Can't find anything about it critting btw, and threads I see generally seem to think it doesn't crit.
[19:22] <@Kotono> The shape is strange, but the party shakes off the unsettling vision. OOC: Carry on, Ithea.
[19:23] <@Ithea> roll 3#d10+20 nonlethal
06[19:23] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 3#d10+20 nonlethal and gets 79."12 [3#d10+20 = 29, 21, 29]
[19:23] <@Ithea> roll 5d4 lethal
06[19:23] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 5d4 lethal and gets 14."12 [5d4=2, 2, 4, 3, 3]
[19:23] <@Ithea> ooc: Carrying on with rest of attacks~
[19:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+35
06[19:23] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+35 and gets 38."12 [d20=3]
[19:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+30
06[19:23] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+30 and gets 49."12 [d20=19]
[19:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+30 crit?
06[19:23] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+30 crit? and gets 34."12 [d20=4]
[19:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+25
06[19:24] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+25 and gets 29."12 [d20=4]
[19:24] <@Ithea> roll d20+20
06[19:24] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+20 and gets 32."12 [d20=12]
[19:24] <@Kotono> OOC: Onenormal hit.
[19:24] <@Ithea> roll d10+20 nonlethal
06[19:24] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d10+20 nonlethal and gets 27."12 [d10=7]
[19:24] <@Ithea> roll 5d4 lethal
06[19:24] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 5d4 lethal and gets 12."12 [5d4=2, 4, 1, 2, 3]
[19:25] <@Kotono> Ithea dodges and strikes again. She manages to catch Glitterosm in the side, momentarily staggering him as...OOC: Muirfinn. One at a time if you're going to FA on him.
[19:26] <@Ithea> ooc: I'll use opportunist as a followup to Yuth's first successful hit, and if mine hits, he'll get +2 circumstance bonus to atk/dmg for his remaining attacks.
[19:26] <@Kotono> OOCL Noted.
06[19:28] * Muirfinn melts, features flowing away into purest water. Huge fists rise up to pummel Glitterosm. OOC: Water elemental form making a comeback. Immune to cold. Non-lethal damage inc
01[19:29] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+43
06[19:29] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+43 and gets 50."12 [1d20=7]
[19:29] <@Kotono> OOC: Hit. Damage.
01[19:30] <Muirfinn> roll 4d10+5+15+2d6 holy damage, nonlethal. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver. Full attacking, more yet?
06[19:30] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 4d10+5+15+2d6 holy damage, nonlethal. Counts as magic/good/bludgeoning/silver. Full attacking, more yet? and gets 55."12 [4d10=8, 7, 6, 8][2d6=4, 2]
[19:31] <@Ithea> roll d20+44 opportunist to help with +2 bonus?
06[19:31] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+44 opportunist to help with +2 bonus? and gets 64."12 [d20=20]
[19:31] <@Ithea> roll d20+44 crit?
06[19:31] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+44 crit? and gets 54."12 [d20=10]
[19:31] <@Ithea> roll 3#d10+20 nonlethal
06[19:31] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 3#d10+20 nonlethal and gets 71."12 [3#d10+20 = 23, 27, 21]
[19:31] <@Ithea> roll 5d4 lethal
06[19:31] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 5d4 lethal and gets 8."12 [5d4=1, 1, 2, 2, 2]
[19:32] <@Ithea> roll d20+24+8 SR
06[19:32] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+24+8 SR and gets 38."12 [d20=6]
[19:32] <@Ithea> ooc: Outside of touch of idiocy possibly hitting again, I'm done. You should have your +2 circumstance to atk/dmg
01[19:33] <Muirfinn> OOC: I'm gonna assume more is safe to post now
01[19:34] <Muirfinn> OOC: Just gonna go ahead
01[19:34] <Muirfinn> OOC: Stop me now!
[19:34] <@Kotono> OOC: Not yet, was a sec.
01[19:34] <Muirfinn> OOC: Ere we go
[19:34] <@Kotono> OOC: So hold up.
[19:35] <@Kotono> Blows rain down on the beleaguered numerologist. He buckles and collapses in a heap, battered down. But the darkness is still swirling and it's still painfully cold!
[19:35] <@Kotono> roll 5d6 cold to Ithea'n'Muirfinn and more coming
06[19:35] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 5d6 cold to Ithea'n'Muirfinn and more coming and gets 10."12 [5d6=2, 2, 3, 2, 1]
[19:35] <@Kotono> OOC: Glitterosm's out but bad things are still happening. Lief, you're up.
[19:36] <@Ithea> ooc: Attack the blood, I guess?
[19:37] <Lief> OOC: So it's just the darkness and the blood?
[19:37] <@Ithea> ooc : Yes. You must now shoot magic missiles at the darkness.
01[19:37] <Muirfinn> OOC: Immune to cold unless it's piercing
[19:37] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes.
[19:37] <@Kotono> OOC: It isn't.
01[19:38] <Muirfinn> OOC: Whee~
06[19:38] * Lief fires at the blood!
[19:38] <Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
[19:38] <Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
[19:38] <Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
[19:38] <Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
[19:38] <Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
06[19:38] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 56."12 [d20=12]
06[19:38] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 48."12 [d20=4]
06[19:38] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 47."12 [d20=8]
06[19:38] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 41."12 [d20=7]
06[19:38] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 41."12 [d20=12]
[19:41] <@Kotono> OOC: All hit.
[19:41] <Lief> OOC: SA?
[19:41] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes.
[19:41] <Lief> roll 5#1d6+24+7d6
06[19:41] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24+7d6 and gets 261."12 [5#1d6+24+7d6 = 56, 56, 47, 52, 50]
[19:43] <@Kotono> The blood is shredded by arrows. IT crumbles to red dust, but at the same time wounds explode all over Ithea's body! Arrow wounds, bleeding profusely as her most vital regions are devastated. OOC: 261 damage. DR does apply, so -50 to that for 211 total. Ow. Y'all should be happy you blitzed him before he got his gimmick going. Ithea, go.
[19:43] <@Kotono> roll 5d6 all of you take this cold damage this round, just going to roll it at once now
06[19:43] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 5d6 all of you take this cold damage this round, just going to roll it at once now and gets 20."12 [5d6=5, 3, 6, 3, 3]
03[19:43] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea=Lief(31)>Muirfinn(30)>Glitterosm(26)'
06[19:46] * @Ithea glares at Lief for being so...effective with her poor innocent possessed blood, as she does some healing on herself. It's not -that- effective, but it'll help keep her up. While she's add it, she also casts some resistance against cold for herself.
[19:46] <@Ithea> roll 4d8+20 healing touch
06[19:46] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 4d8+20 healing touch and gets 41."12 [4d8=6, 7, 7, 1]
06[19:46] * Lief sweats invisibily at the glare from General Kitty.
[19:46] <@Kotono> Ithea heals the worst of her wounds as her body grows inured to cold. Below, the darkness continues to concentrate around Glitterosm. It's getting even heavier, thicker. OOC: Muirfinn.
[19:47] <@Ithea> "Can we gate from here to Aurora, Muirfinn?" Ithea asks. "The faster we can move him while he's unconscious..."
[19:48] <@Ithea> "Hopefully the darkness abandons Brightwater while its target is gone, and Aurora's protections will keep it out from there too, I'm hoping."
06[19:48] * Muirfinn grabs Glitterosm by the leg, dragging him toward the door. "Let's leave the building first. Just in case."
06[19:49] * @Ithea nods.
01[19:49] <Muirfinn> "Also." Muirfinn pokes Ithea, healing her. OOC: Heal! 150hp go
[19:49] <@Kotono> OOC: Heading out as well, Lief.
[19:49] <@Kotono> OOC: Heading out as well, Lief?
[19:49] <@Ithea> "Thanks."
[19:49] <Lief> OOC: Uh, I don't see a reason not to? Except to search the place for loots and/or clues.
02[19:50] * Nephrite (~rscuderi@6532248hfc76.tampabay.res.rr.com) Quit (Quit: BRB)
[19:50] <@Kotono> The party heads outside. But as they reach the door, they find Glitterosm can't come out. It's like the door out is forged of iron for him, an absolute barrier he can't cross.
06[19:52] * Muirfinn tears a hole in the wall instead.

[18:01] <@Kotono> The wall isn't fighting back and isn't that hard to wreck. The problemis that Glitterosm still lies unawares and can't seem to cross out through the smashed wall.
[18:02] <Lief> "Enchantment. Can you dispel it?"
06[18:02] * Muirfinn looks about as irritated as a water elemental can. OOC: Beyond the cold, what are the conditions like in the room?
[18:03] <@Kotono> OOC: Cold and windy. Nasty. Doesn't seem to be freezing Glitterosm, at least.
06[18:03] * Muirfinn shrinks down to tortle form, a spell ready at his lips as he does his best to ignore the cold. OOC: Greater Dispel
01[18:04] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20 area dispel
06[18:04] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+20 area dispel and gets 21."12 [1d20=1]
01[18:04] <Muirfinn> OOC: OH MY GOD
[18:04] <@Kotono> Muirfinn calls on the Weave to crumble -b ut the magic resists his call. OOC: No go.
06[18:05] * @Ithea gives it a shot too, even though her dispelling magic isn't near as powerful as Muirfinn's.
06[18:05] * Muirfinn stares ahead a moment. "My luck with dispelling has suddenly waned as of late."
[18:06] <@Ithea> roll d20+10 dispel magic because I get no greater dispels
06[18:06] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+10 dispel magic because I get no greater dispels and gets 12."12 [d20=2]
[18:06] <@Ithea> ooc: Well, at least it's not a 1
01[18:06] <Muirfinn> OOC: This is ridiculous
[18:06] <@Kotono> Ithea tries to crumble the Weave as well, but the winds continue to howl. No go.
[18:07] <Lief> "I have a scroll of Greater Dispel?"
06[18:07] * Lief produces it and offers it...
[18:07] <Lief> "Unless you want me to try it?"
06[18:07] * Muirfinn raises his hands again in sheer defiance of all sensibility, blasting the room with disruptive magic! OOC: AGAIN.
01[18:07] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20 area dispel
06[18:07] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+20 area dispel and gets 22."12 [1d20=2]
06[18:08] * Lief watches, blank faced, scroll in hand.
[18:08] <@Kotono> Muirfinn ocne again tries to slash the Weave, but it is all powerful and resists.
06[18:08] * Muirfinn lowers his hands slowly. "...sure, go ahead. I can't seem to get a grasp on it."
03[18:09] * Hatbot was kicked by Kotono (Out.)
03[18:09] * Serith (~iron_drag@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
06[18:09] * Lief coughs and gives it a try...
[18:09] <Lief> roll d20+31 UMD Scroll
[18:09] <Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 51 >12 [d20=20]
[18:09] <@Kotono> OOC: Success. Make the dispel check.
[18:10] <@Kotono> OOC: Scroll's CL20, so 1d20+20.
[18:10] <Lief> roll d20+20
[18:10] <Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 22 >12 [d20=2]
[18:10] <Lief> OOC: hahahahahah
[18:11] <@Kotono> Lief reads the scroll off. As it crumbles to dust, the Weave refuses to relent. If anything, the winds inside are gettings tronger! OOC: -1 scroll, post it in loot.
06[18:11] * Muirfinn straightens, enraged. "Right! I'm going to burn the house down."
06[18:12] * @Ithea looks down at the unconscious numerologist. "I don't think he's in any shape to disagree. Will we be able to get him to Aurora after that?"
06[18:12] * Muirfinn opens a Gate to Air and attempts to push Glitterosm through.
[18:12] <@Kotono> OOC: Where's the gate? Inside?
01[18:12] <Muirfinn> OOC: YUP
[18:13] <@Kotono> OOC: Cl check under the circumstances.
01[18:13] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+22+1
[18:13] <Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 24 >12 [d20=1]
[18:15] <@Kotono> The Gate struggles to appear - and before you, it twists and writhes! What appears on the other side is a blasted hellscape, all cracked ground and roaring flame!
06[18:16] * Lief blinks and looks in.
[18:16] <Lief> "I... I, uh... I can scout through there, if you want."
[18:17] <@Kotono> "Heh," As the party chats, a laugh comes from Glitterosm. Before you, the numerologist begins to stir! OOC: Init, took too much time. He's baaaaack and recovering.
[18:17] <Lief> roll d20+21 Init
01[18:17] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17
[18:17] <Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 22 >12 [d20=1]
[18:17] <Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 33 >12 [d20=16]
01[18:17] <Muirfinn> OOC: +56
[18:17] <@Ithea> "Don't be daft, Lief," Ithea says flatly, as she draws her gift from Sylvie, before noticing Glitterosm. "Should have smacked him harder, dammit."
01[18:18] <Muirfinn> OOC: +9999999999
01[18:18] <Muirfinn> OOC: So much init I win the game
[18:18] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+18 Glitterosm
[18:18] <@Ithea> roll d20+22+5 init (I am assuming Lief's +5 still applies)
[18:18] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 31 >12 [d20=13]
01[18:18] <Muirfinn> OOC: Game over
[18:18] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 47 >12 [d20=20]
03[18:18] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea(47)>Muirfinn(33)>Glitterosm(31)>Lief(22)'
[18:18] <@Kotono> OOC: Open Ithea.
[18:19] <@Ithea> ooc: I assume he's still in melee range considering we were gonna drag him along and such?
[18:19] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes.
06[18:21] * @Ithea immediately wails on him repeatedly with the blunt end of her glaive, trying to knock him out again. "And stay down this time! We're trying to save your stupid ass!" (OOC: AS5, nonlethal, and channeling touch of idiocy)
[18:21] <@Ithea> roll d20+40
[18:22] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 52 >12 [d20=12]
[18:22] <@Ithea> ooc: any SR for touch of idiocy?
[18:23] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes, but as I recall you auto-beat it.
[18:23] <@Kotono> OOC: HIt, anyway.
[18:23] <@Ithea> roll d6 for idiocy then
[18:23] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 4 >12 [d6=4]
[18:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+35 attack #2
[18:23] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 51 >12 [d20=16]
[18:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+35 attack #3
[18:23] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 38 >12 [d20=3]
[18:23] <@Ithea> ooc: sorry, -5 there, so 33
[18:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+25 attack #4
[18:23] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 36 >12 [d20=11]
[18:23] <@Ithea> roll d20+20+11 attack #5 with an inspiration cause why not
[18:23] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 44 >12 [d20=13]
[18:25] <@Kotono> OOC: Only 4 attacks, you don't get a 5th iterative.
[18:25] <@Kotono> OOC: All 4 hit, anyway. Damage.
[18:25] <@Ithea> ooc: Then I've been doing something wrong since I went epic!
[18:25] <@Ithea> ooc: *takes off last attack from sheet*
[18:26] <@Ithea> roll 4#d10+20 nonlethal
[18:26] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 29, 28, 21, 29 >
[18:26] <@Ithea> roll 4#5d4 lethal
[18:26] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 13, 12, 10, 14 >
[18:26] <@Kotono> The beating sends Glitterosm right back down, knocking him cold before it cna begin again! OOC: Free act. Nicely done in containing the situation.
06[18:27] * @Ithea draws the hoop that lets her use Gate, and tries to use it!
[18:27] <@Ithea> ooc: CL check of the hoop right? So d20+17?
[18:27] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes.
[18:27] <@Ithea> ooc: Do any of my bonuses for CL apply?
[18:28] <@Kotono> OOC: No, it's a magical item.
[18:28] <@Ithea> roll d20+17
[18:28] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 37 >12 [d20=20]
[18:28] <@Ithea> ooc: WE GOIN HOME, BITCHES
[18:28] <@Kotono> Inside the room, a portal to Air appears!
[18:29] <@Ithea> ooc: Is the other gate still open as well?
06[18:29] * Muirfinn is very abruptly a water elemental again, heaving Glitterosm at the portal! "OUT!"
[18:30] <@Kotono> OOC: Yes.
[18:30] <@Ithea> roll d20+41 K:Planes to identify the other plane (hell? abyss? other? no clue?)
[18:30] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 53 >12 [d20=12]
[18:30] <@Kotono> Glitterosm is tossed at the portal! He hits against it like a wall, landing in a heap.
[18:30] <@Kotono> roll 3d6 damage to him.
[18:30] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 14 >12 [d6=3,6,5]
06[18:30] * Muirfinn very nearly swears.
06[18:31] * Muirfinn drops back down, quickly casting two spells.
[18:31] <@Kotono> Ithea can identify it to a layer of the Abyss - 281, Hatefires. It's nasty, there's lots of fire and it burns the life adn morality out of you. Lovely place to be damned for all time, tends to happen to visitors.
06[18:31] * @Ithea also uses detect magic to try and see if that helps while Glitterosm is unconscious. It might not be healthy, but clearly they're not doing well figuring things out right now!
[18:31] <@Kotono> OOC: Quick spellcraft.
01[18:31] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20 dispel area
01[18:31] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+20 dispel area
[18:31] <Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 39 >12 [d20=19]
[18:31] <Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 35 >12 [d20=15]
01[18:31] <Muirfinn> OOC: FUCK YOU HATBOT
[18:31] <@Ithea> roll d20+39 spellcraft
[18:31] <@Kotono> OOC: You had more dispels, Muirfinn?
[18:31] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 52 >12 [d20=13]
01[18:31] <Muirfinn> OOC: YUP
[18:32] <@Kotono> Muirfinn conjures another dispellation! At this, the magic collapses with a groaning howl. The portals fade with it, the winds ceasing. As it does...OOC: Listen checks, y'all.
01[18:33] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+33
[18:33] <Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 46 >12 [d20=13]
[18:33] <@Ithea> "...dammit, Muirfinn! I can only use that once a day!" Ithea complains.
[18:33] <Lief> roll d20+32 Listen
[18:33] <Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 37 >12 [d20=5]
[18:34] <@Ithea> ooc: Take 12 for 63
[18:34] <@Ithea> ooc: Did I get anything out of the spellcraft check?
[18:35] <@Kotono> Ithea gets a glance, but the magic collapses befores hec an read it. Meanwhile, the party can all hear a soft footstep behind them.
06[18:35] * @Ithea turns, making sure it isn't trouble.
06[18:36] * Lief like wise turns to the sound, bow ready.
06[18:36] * Muirfinn turns, hefting Glitterosm by the arm with a mildly crazed look on his face.
[18:40] <@Kotono> You turn. Behind you is an angel - a six-winged figure of tremendous light. Somehow this radiance was not obvious until this moment. It is taller and larger than a man, all muscle clad in armor. For a mere moment, surprise decorates his face. But it clears like a bit of fog before the morning sun. "I under-estimated your awareness," he murmurs, "Brightwater chose wisely after all."
01[18:42] <Muirfinn> "Are you also here to fight? Because now is not a good time."
[18:44] <@Ithea> "I think he was here to deal with Glitterosm's issues only to find that we resolved them. Calm down, Muirfinn, jeez!" Ithea exclaims, though she keeps an eye on the angel's reaction to make sure that is the case (and if it's not, hopefully he reveals something in his expression...of course, they tend to be fairly stone faced, but this one seemed surprised earlier so who knows!)
[18:44] <@Kotono> Shaking his head, "I am not here to fight. Allow me to explain: Do you think the deities of Brightwater would miss a demonic incursion within, even with Glitterosm's wards? Yet as I came to act, you all were drawn here. It seems that you were meant to be his salvation, not I."
[18:45] <@Ithea> "Well, he's still possessed by the abyss's touch. We're keeping him knocked out until we can resolve that and help cleanse his head. I don't suppose you're able to save us the trouble there?" Ithea asks.
[18:46] <@Ithea> Speaking of which, Ithea gives a quick check to make sure he's good and out for a while still, and smacks him some more if he looks close to waking up again.
[18:49] <@Kotono> He's out cold. "I could, but I think..." He pauses here, before smiling wryly, "Take him to your Aurora. The gratitude for saving him will likely draw him to your crusade. In the Heavens, everything happens for a good reason. This," he gestures with one wing out, "Seems the perfect way to your destinies to meet."
06[18:51] * Muirfinn calms visibly. "You know, he could probably find Vivantha. Tell me good sir, my...our companion has been abducted from the gates of the Aurora by mercenaries. called the Urgent Talons. Might you know of them?"
[18:52] <Lief> "Which god sent you? It'd be good to know who, exactly, is willing to take action."
[18:54] <@Kotono> "I do. They sometimes work in Brightwater," he says, "...aaah. I serve Waukeen." He inclines his head deeply, "I am Gold. In all truth, I was not meant to be seen." With another wry smile, "The machinations of the Heavens are best unseen, but your struggles combined with your sharp ears undid me. But to your point, yes, I do know them. They are powerful wizards, sorcerers and other spell casters."
[18:56] <Lief> "Seeing as you work for Waukeen... We know we need a token of sorts to find them... Could we make a deal?"
[18:58] <@Kotono> "We could," he admits, "Return tomorrow to this place, we can meet again and discuss it, should you need it. Those that have such a token will not give it over lightly - at the least, money will be needed."
06[18:58] * Lief nods and waits for Muirfinn to do his thing.
06[18:59] * Muirfinn nods. "We'll be here."
[19:00] <@Ithea> "If we manage to find another way to reach them, we'll send someone to let you know as well," Ithea offers as well. "Or even better, if we can get Vivantha back before then, we'll come ourselves, hopefully with the information of the Urgent Talons being no more. That'd be information worth selling, I'm sure."
[19:00] <@Ithea> "Dunno if we'll manage to be that lucky, but if there's one thing Lifasans are good at, it's hoping."
06[19:00] * Muirfinn snorts.
[19:01] <@Ithea> "You're a hoper and you know it," Ithea says in reply to Muirfinn's snort.
[19:02] <@Kotono> "Until then," Gold replies solemnly, "Good fortune with you." OOC: Heading back to Aurora? Plans from there?
[19:03] <@Ithea> ooc: head back, heal up, help or get some help for Glitterosm, spread new knowledge about Urgent Talons, hope others have gotten leads or can get leads with what we've learned.
[19:03] <@Ithea> ooc: Also, if Glitterosm can be helped, see if he can't help.
01[19:03] <Muirfinn> "I'm not making light of it, I was merely reminded of Mirajane. She's an excellent example, even if she's not Lifasan."
[19:03] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay.
[19:04] <@Ithea> ooc: And otherwise, wait to the next day and meet Gold, I guess? Unless someone else can suggest something?
[19:04] <@Kotono> OOC: They'll be a meeting when you get back, but yeah.
[19:04] <Lief> OOC: Not unless we want to trawl around that town.
01[19:04] <Muirfinn> OOC: All of the above
[19:06] <@Kotono> The trip back is without incident. Glitterosm is taken to the infirmary for treatment. The party then meets with Adrian and Elder Magi Tepen again. After Muirfinn explains what they learned, "That matches what we dug up," he remarks, "Sylvie and Vul'lath got the same thing. You can visit them for the details if you need them, but they're protected by some intense magic. They think it's something
[19:06] <@Kotono> that stops the place from registering as part of the Astral Plane, in spite of being a part of it. Which means you can't travel to it on the Astral. With normal protections against gates, that means there's no way to get to them easily."
[19:07] <@Kotono> "Which means that a lead to getting one of those tokens is paramount," Elder Magi Tepen says. "If we have an example of the magic they use, we can begin to understand it, and perhaps work out counter-measures. The alternative is to try brute-force with wish and miracles, but such is unrelable, effort intensive and will give us away before we get there, most likely."
06[19:09] * Muirfinn nods. "If Gold can get us a line on a token, can I get access to Aurora's funds in order to acquire it?"
[19:10] <@Ithea> "I have no objections," Ithea says.
[19:11] <@Kotono> "Done," Adrian says, starting to grin, "We'll just have to loot them extra-hard to make up for it. Also, Ebony sent word to Sylica that your quests may be delayed on account of this. Word hasn't come back yet, but she expects it to be understanding. I understand you aren't on a strict time limit there."
06[19:14] * Muirfinn nods.
[19:14] <@Kotono> "Good. Also Lief, I heard about your ideas for the wolves. We'll go over that when we aren't in crisis mode, but it's good. Anything else?" Adrian asks.
[19:15] <Lief> "Not off the top of my head. Did we secure that temple with the portals?"
[19:19] <@Kotono> "We sent someone over," Adrian says, "But under the circumstances it's low priority. We called in a few favors from allies that way to hold it, so it should be fine." OOC: So ya'll are gonna rest up? Were you going to deal with Glitterosm before that?
[19:21] <Lief> OOC: I'd say get Glitterosm done with, personally.
[19:22] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay then.
01[19:22] <Muirfinn> OOC: Yes
[19:23] <@Kotono> From here, the party returns to Glitterosm. He lies in an infirmary bed. The Jarl looms nearby, overshadowing everyone easily. His arms are crossed as he keeps watch on Glitterosm. Nearby, 27 is curled up on the floor and asleep. "He's asleep," The giant rumbles, "He should be alright once he awakens, which should be shortly."
[19:24] <@Ithea> "Was there any difficulty?"
06[19:25] * Muirfinn eyes 27.
[19:26] <@Kotono> A shake of his head, "He's on the mend. You dispelled the worst of it," he replies.
[19:26] <@Kotono> 27 looks to be asleep - before rising instantly and going to stand before one of the portals, merely a foot from it. At the same time, Glitterosm stirs, slowly sitting up and looking around. "...what?"
01[19:27] <Muirfinn> "You should have called." Muirfinn says, shaking his finger reprovingly.
[19:28] <@Ithea> "How are you feeling?" Ithea asks. "Healers should have taken care of the physical injuries, but you did go through a pretty terrible ordeal. Believe me, I can relate unfortunately."
[19:31] <@Kotono> "Like I'm awakening from a night of drinking. I struggle to remember, and the only images are flashes of nightmare," he replies, slowly.  At the same time, there's a ripple by the portal, followed by, "AAAAAH!" Hanna says, almost running right into 27 and stumbling back right into the portal, which cuts off her scream. 27 then promptly walks right into the portal.
01[19:32] <Muirfinn> "27 is still stalking Hanna?"
[19:32] <@Kotono> Glancing over at all of that, "...where am I?" Glitterosm asks.
06[19:32] * @Ithea blinks. "...where did you come from, Hanna?"
01[19:33] <Muirfinn> "The Aurora." Muirfinn says to Glitterosm.
[19:33] <@Ithea> "Don't call it stalking, Muirfinn. It sounds nasty when you put it like that," Ithea says.
01[19:33] <Muirfinn> "That's what it's doing though." Muirfinn replies calmly.
[19:34] <@Kotono> "Ah. Of course," Glitterosm mutters, "Who are you?" he asks Ithea, then Lief, then up to the Jarl.
[19:34] <Lief> "Lief. Commando. Mostly."
01[19:35] <Muirfinn> "Also, pixie." Muirfinn helpfully supplies.
[19:36] <@Ithea> "It's not like he's hiding himself or anything, you know. That's not stalkerish," Ithea argues, before clearing her throat and turning back to GLitterosm. "My apologies, I didn't think about introducing myself. I'm Ithea."
01[19:37] <Muirfinn> "Still stalking."
[19:37] <@Kotono> "Charmed," he esays, voice strangled. "So what happened?"
[19:38] <@Ithea> Curiosity getting the best of her, Ithea calls out, "Elena, is Hanna alright? And is 27 bothering her right now?"
[19:38] <@Ithea> Turning back to Glitterosm, "You looked too deep into the Abyss it sounds like, and it got into your head. It's hard to get it out when that happens if you don't have friends keeping you safe."
[19:39] <@Kotono> "Then I owe all greatly. Thank you, Ithea. Thank you, Lief. Thank you, Muirfinn." He says to them, one at a time.
[19:39] <@Kotono> Elena quickly appears, "Was. He got thrown into another portal." Elena shrugs lightly.
01[19:40] <Muirfinn> "They're fine." Muirfinn waves Ithea off. "It's been going on for a while."
01[19:40] <Muirfinn> "You're welcome, Glitterosm. You should have called before it got that bad."
[19:41] <@Ithea> "The tortle has a point. We almost walked right past your place," Ithea adds.
[19:44] <@Kotono> "Perhaps so," he admits, "I believe I owe all of you a look into your numbers," he says, "Do any of you have need to peer into the potentials?"
01[19:46] <Muirfinn> "One of our number has been abducted by the Urgent Talons. I do not mean to press you so soon after your episode, but is there any way you can help us locate her?"
[19:46] <@Ithea> ooc: Since Ithea's never dealt with numerologists, is there a knowledge check for that?
[19:47] <@Kotono> OOC: K:A.
[19:47] <@Ithea> ooc: her only experience is in knocking them out after all
[19:47] <@Kotono> "Give me a period to recover and I can," he says, "Also, Lief. You are a fey?"
[19:47] <@Ithea> roll d20+41 K:A
[19:47] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 54 >12 [d20=13]
[19:47] <Lief> "I am."
06[19:47] * Lief raises an eyebrow at the question, as if the answer should be obvious.
03[19:47] * Lief (~irondrago@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has left #dunes
03[19:48] * Lief (~irondrago@cpe-173-172-46-15.tx.res.rr.com) has joined #dunes
[19:48] <@Kotono> Ithea knows that numerologists are mages that use the power of numbers to create phenomenon. They're capable of doing all sorts of thigns with them - including divination, if one is inclined that way.
[19:48] <@Kotono> "I see. I'll account for that," he says, "Give me an hour and I should be sufficient to look."
[19:49] <@Ithea> "Deal with Muirfinn's request first. I'd worry about any others after we get Vivantha back."
[19:50] <@Ithea> "Anything we can do to help? Food or drink? We do host some of the best in all the planes here."
[19:50] <Lief> "Why is my being fey important?"
[19:53] <@Kotono> "I need to adjust the numbers for it," he explains, "Food would be good." OOC: REady to hop along a bit?
01[19:54] <Muirfinn> OOC: Please

[17:48] <@Kotono> ----
[17:48] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay, so you're going to have Glitterosm do some divining for you. Refreshm one on what you're having him look at?
01[17:49] <Muirfinn> OOC: Where Vivantha is and how the fuck we sneak into the secret base of the bad guys.
[17:50] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay.
[17:51] <@Kotono> Glitterosm rises and is taken to an empty room. Here he quickly conjures invisible servants of air, who paints intracate diagrams all about. Numerological calculations soon fill the entire room as the party watches. "I understand what you wish to see correctly?" He asks one last time.
06[17:52] * Muirfinn nods.
[17:57] <@Kotono> Thus the numbers are invoked. The numerological symbols spin and twirl all about the party! It's a tremendous maelstrom of light and math, seeming to constantly refine complex calculations before your eyes. It turns into a gleaming pattern of numbers that turn in just the right way, as the flow into Glitterosm's head.
[18:01] <@Kotono> Slowly the numerologist shakes his head, turning, "The numbers are..." he begins, slowly rubbing his forehead. "They agree. A place beyond the number 2 and 4 in particular, and removed from 6, 7, 8 and 9. A deadened place in the Astral Plane."
06[18:02] * Muirfinn nods. "What's the best way to get there?"
[18:02] <@Ithea> ooc: any knowledge check to understand his numbers?
06[18:03] * Lief gets an odd look on his face as he doesn't understand anything that was just said.
[18:04] <@Kotono> OOC: K:P, Ithea.
[18:04] <@Ithea> roll d20+41 K:P
[18:04] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 60 >12 [d20=19]
[18:04] <@Kotono> "It's a place beyond the duality of the body and the soul, and beyond death. But it's also a dead place. A contradiction." Glitterosm says slowly, "To reach it, you have to go to a place where death becomes life, or life becomes death, within the Astral Plane."
[18:06] <@Kotono> Ithea: He's talking about various planar numerological concepts. 2 represents duality, and the body and the soul as one. Four tends to represent death and leads into the higher numbers, which are tied to the afterlife. 6 is tied to the Abyss, 7 to the Heavens, 8 to Limbo nad 9 to Baator. In other words, what he just said explains it neatly enough.
[18:09] <@Kotono> On getting blank looks and a lack of a reply, he sighs. "What it means is that you need to find somewhere related to life and death on the Astral Plane. One of those probably has ties to it. If you have any gith that owe you a favor or are on good terms, they'd be the ones to ask."
[18:10] <@Ithea> "Alright, I guess that's our next move," Ithea says, not having any idea of where such a place in the Astral Plane might be herself.
01[18:10] <Muirfinn> "Vul'lath might know." Muirfinn muses.
[18:12] <@Kotono> Vul'lath is found in the library. Sylvie's with him ,going through a book and taking notes. Said gith turns and gives the party a steady look. OOC: Go ahead and set yourselves up since you have a question. Sec.
06[18:14] * Lief hovers above the group, letting the magically and plane-inclined take the conversation.
06[18:15] * Muirfinn arrives! He steps up to the duo. "Vul'lath, I believe we have a lead that you could help us with."
[18:18] <@Kotono> "Go on," he says, as Sylvie glances up enough to wave, then goes back to her reading.
01[18:19] <Muirfinn> "Divination has turned up that the location of the mercenaries is in a place on the astral plane that is related to both life and death. A place where the lines between the two blur. Does that sound familiar?"
[18:20] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+61 (+4 circumstancial)
[18:20] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 70 >12 [d20=9]
[18:22] <@Kotono> Vul'lath considers for long moments before he knows. "The lich-queen Vlaakith has long experimented with the powers of life and death. It is said she has left sections of the Astral Plane overcharged with negative energy as a result of her experiments. Such places are avoided, as there is nothing but death there. But," Sage Vul'lath smiles grimly, "I know of one that also had some success. The
[18:22] <@Kotono> Elsian Grounds. It is the only place that fits what you say."
01[18:24] <Muirfinn> "Where can we find it?"
[18:25] <@Kotono> "It's not warded. Anyone who seeks to travle there on the Astral Plane will find it. You'll want to be protected against negative energy." He adds, "Adrian's planar warrior arts would serve him well there. Any capable spellcaster will benefit from the Astral's particular traits."
06[18:29] * Muirfinn nods. "I'd normally ask if you wanted to go, but..."
[18:30] <@Kotono> "Indeed," Vul'lath nods, "I know. Go. Do what you need to do." OOC: Any more questions? I fnot, are you all ready to move along
[18:30] <@Kotono> ?
01[18:33] <Muirfinn> OOC: GO GO GO
[18:33] <Lief> OOC: I'm good.
[18:35] <@Kotono> OOC: Resting now and going to be ready for tomorrow, I presume? What's your plan here? Confer and get a party together? Go to the Astral? Go meet with the solar? Something else?
01[18:36] <Muirfinn> OOC: LEt's not blow off the solar.
[18:36] <Lief> OOC: Yeah, the angel dude.
[18:37] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay, going with just you three or bringing anyone else along? Also refresh HP and spells since night's rest.
01[18:38] <Muirfinn> OOC: Let's bring Balyss and uhhhhhhh someone suggest a caster.
[18:41] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay. Paging Miss Kitty.
[18:41] <Lief> OOC: Not me, I don't know anyone else >.>
[18:41] <@Ithea> ooc: I don't have any preference for casters.
[18:41] <@Kotono> OOC: Just choose someone then, y'all.
[18:42] <@Ithea> ooc: Fine, bring Simmer
[18:42] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay.
[18:44] <@Kotono> The next day brings the group together. Balyss is there, golden skin shining as her angelic wings twitch. Her heavy armor and mace glisten in the light of Air. Simmer's burnt form follows, crackles of flame dancing over her body. "So," Balyss picks up, "Brightwater?"
06[18:44] * Lief eyes Simmer a bit oddly, flying around her to inspect her before doing the same with Balyss.
01[18:46] <Muirfinn> "And then the Astral." Muirfinn confirms.
[18:46] <@Kotono> "Right. So gate us," SImmer says, "We're goign to burn people today, so let's get it going."
06[18:48] * Muirfinn Gates!
[18:49] <@Kotono> The trip into Brightwater is a familiar one now. A trip to Glitterosm's shop is without incident, and you find Gold awaiting the party. "Are you still interested in a token?"
01[18:54] <Muirfinn> "/me shakes his head. "It's possible we might need it later, but we have a strong lead we'd like to follow first."
[18:54] <Lief> "Yes, I believe we are."
[18:54] <Lief> OOC: Reneg mine.
06[18:54] * Muirfinn shakes his head. "It's possible we might need it later, but we have a strong lead we'd like to follow first."
[18:55] <@Kotono> "Alright. I'll be here at this time, each day," Gold replies, "Good fortune with your efforts."
06[18:56] * Muirfinn nods. "Thank you. Hopefully we return successful."
[18:57] <@Kotono> OOC: To the Astral now?
01[18:57] <Muirfinn> OOC: ONWARD TO CERTAIN DHOOM
[19:02] <@Kotono> The Astral Plane. The endless expanses of the timeless Silver Sea hitthe party. That alien sense of stasis follows, the needs of the body frozen in a perfect instant. The dim glow of the Astral is all around you, as you float in the emptiness. All around you is gentle solitude.
[19:02] <@Kotono> "Right," Balyss says, voice echoing lightly in the void, "Just focus on where you want to go. The AStral and Selune will show us the way." She begins to fly forward.
[19:03] <@Kotono> "Yeah." Simmer follows, "Remember, magic's quicker to cast here. Even your pixie tricks, Lief, so don't be afraid to use them while fighting. IT means double the burning or double the magic."
06[19:03] * Muirfinn focuses on the Elsian Grounds.
06[19:04] * Lief fixes the place between life and death in his mind and readies himself for the journey!
[19:04] <@Kotono> "Which means no thinking about your boyfriend," Balyss calls over, "Got it, Ithea?" She grins as she says that.
[19:05] <@Ithea> ooc: I don't get the joke >_>
[19:05] <@Kotono> OOC: Feel free to call her on that, then.
[19:06] <Lief> "Is this about the plushie thing? I kinda want one of those."
[19:06] <@Ithea> "Should I be worried whatever you're implying about your own family?" Ithea asks.
[19:07] <@Ithea> "You'll have to talk to the demons about those then. Not sure how you heard about those though..." Ithea replies to Lief.
06[19:07] * Lief grins.
[19:07] <@Kotono> "Plush...?" Balyss trails off, a little look of puzzlement flashing across her face. "Oh, those. Wow, awkward subject change. Um...about that." Balyss coughs. "I'm fairly sure I mentioned them a time or two when I had too much applejack."
06[19:08] * Muirfinn eyes the group out of the corner of his eye.
[19:08] <@Ithea> "...applejack," Ithea repeats flatly. "Man, Balyss, I don't think you should be casting any stones at your brother with your own drinking problems."
06[19:09] * @Ithea shakes her head and starts flying in a random direction. "Anyway, we might as well get going, hopefully we get there quickly."
[19:10] <@Kotono> "I don't have a drinking problem!" Balyss shoots back, waving her arms, "Honestly, I have drinks every now and again and people think I'm a lush. What about the days of spreading Selune's word and tending to the faithful in between drinks?" Thus the party bickers lightly as they fly on...OOC: More.
[19:10] <@Kotono> roll 1d100+30
[19:10] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 103 >12 [d100=73]
[19:10] <@Kotono> OOC: Flying order?
[19:11] <Lief> OOC: I'll be invisibile (for what it's worth) and at least even with the lead, if not the lead since, ya know... Scout/Commando.
01[19:11] <Muirfinn> OOC: MEH FURST
[19:12] <@Ithea> ooc: In case it matters, Ithea should have a fly speed of 110. I don't really care about order, dunno how much it matters. If Lief and Muirfinn are at the front, Ithea will watch the rear though.
01[19:12] <Muirfinn> OOC: Fly speed here is dictated by int score
[19:12] <@Kotono> OOC: Then since they're casters, Balyss and Simmer will take the middle. Everyone, list your flys peed here? It's int score times ten.
[19:12] <@Ithea> ooc: I've already stated mine.
[19:13] <Lief> OOC: 230, I believe.
[19:13] <@Ithea> ooc: Like hell
[19:13] <Lief> OOC: Oh, int modifier.
[19:13] <@Kotono> OOC: No, total int score.
[19:14] <Lief> OOC: then yeah, 230.
[19:14] <@Ithea> ooc: That is....ridiculously fast
[19:14] <@Ithea> ooc: but okay, 320 then I guess?
[19:14] <@Kotono> OOC: He is. He's a smart pixie.
[19:14] <@Kotono> OOC: Balyss is 180 and Simmer is 220. Lief is 230ft. Ithea is 320ft. Muirfinn?
[19:14] <@Ithea> ooc: I was sure it was int bonus, but fair enough. Didn't think travel was that naturally fast.
01[19:15] <Muirfinn> OOC: Sec browser just went kaboom
01[19:15] <Muirfinn> OOC: 230
[19:16] <@Kotono> OOC: Balyss is 180ft and Simmer is 220ft. Lief is 230ft. Ithea is 320ft. Muirfinn is 230ft.
[19:17] <@Kotono> The party flies on. After...time, as much as time matters where there is no time flow at all, the party can see something ahead. It's just a dot at first, but ti slowly enlarges. Far ahead and a bit above the party, a great wooden ship sails through the void of the Astral Plane. It's coming generally towards the party and will cross perhaps a hundred feet above them.
[19:17] <@Ithea> ooc: Is it the same ship we encountered once a long time ago that I don't remember a damn thing else about?
01[19:18] <Muirfinn> OOC: If it causes trouble I'm just gonna kill everything on board.
[19:19] <@Kotono> OOC: Impossible to say from here, Ithea. Duly noted, Muirfinn.
[19:19] <@Ithea> roll d20+51 spot
[19:19] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 62 >12 [d20=11]
[19:19] <@Ithea> ooc: Can I tell now? =p
[19:19] <@Kotono> Balyss comes to a stop, grasping her holy symbol in hand. "Gith ship?" she asks aloud.
[19:19] <@Kotono> Ithea thinks it isn't quite the same ship. Same basic style, though.
[19:21] <@Ithea> "Same style as another I've encountered in the past. Don't know that it'd have any business with us, just fly around it. If they attack, then they're probably with the mercs, otherwise we can just ignore them."
06[19:21] * Lief keeps an eye on it, just in canse.
06[19:21] * Lief keeps an eye on it, just in case.
06[19:22] * Muirfinn nods.
[19:22] <@Kotono> "Say the word and I'll set that barge on fire," Simmer remarks, slowing down as well. Meanwhile the ship approaches. You can see the decks are loaded with sailors, and the edges of the ship with archers. As it gets closer, you can see the crewmen are githyanki, yellow skinned, pallid and altogether unpleasant looking.
06[19:23] * @Ithea keeps an eye on the ship for any possible attacks, but otherwise does as she has said and flies behind the others. She'll keep an eye on it until its well past them if need be.
06[19:24] * Muirfinn eyes the ship, prepared to shapechange at a moment's notice.
[19:25] <@Kotono> OOC: Spot checks, all.
[19:25] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+9 Balyss
[19:25] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 10 >12 [d20=1]
[19:25] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+30 Simmer
[19:25] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 38 >12 [d20=8]
[19:25] <Lief> roll d20+32 Spot!
[19:25] <Serith> Lief roll for Serith < 44 >12 [d20=12]
[19:26] <@Ithea> roll d20+51 spot
[19:26] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 64 >12 [d20=13]
06[19:26] * Muirfinn eyes the ship, prepared to shapechange at a moment's notice.
01[19:26] <Muirfinn> OOC: Whyyyyyyy did it do that
01[19:26] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48
[19:26] <Serith> Muirfinn roll for Serith < 67 >12 [d20=19]
[19:28] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+15
[19:28] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 19 >12 [d20=4]
[19:28] <@Kotono> The sharper eyed members of the party - everyone but Balyss, really - can note a particular gith approach the edge of the ship. He is clad in heavy armor and carries a shining silver sword. He stares down at the party as the ship goes over. As it does, he raises his sword in salute before stepping back. Soon the ship has moved past the party, no signs of hostile activity.
[19:30] <@Kotono> Once gone, Balyss murmurs a quick prayer to Selune. "Better than having to fight them."
[19:30] <@Ithea> ooc: Anything to identify him since we saw him?
01[19:31] <Muirfinn> "That would have been time-consuming and could have wasted valuable resources." Muirfinn agrees.
[19:33] <@Kotono> OOC: K:P.
[19:33] <@Ithea> roll d20+41+5
[19:33] <Serith> Ithea roll for Serith < 66 >12 [d20=20]
01[19:34] <Muirfinn> OOC: NAILED IT
[19:36] <@Kotono> The figure was a githyanki hunter with a silver sword. Most likely that ship was pursuing various githyanki heretics or a sword thief. As one in that position, he would be captain of the ship and have absolute control. Moreover, the only acknowledge targets they wish to show respect for - odds are he recognized some of Aurora's more famous officers here.
[19:38] <@Ithea> "Well, that gith seemed to respect us if anything, given his gesture. More of Aurora's growing reputation, I guess," Ithea notes. "No clue as to his own identity, but probably a hunter of some sort. We probably won't encounter much for a while along the path it was flying from, since others would be more likely to try and fly around the ship."
01[19:39] <Muirfinn> "Well, that's nice. Someone showing respect by NOT trying to kill us. Novel."
[19:40] <@Kotono> "Oh well," Simmer snaps her fingers, "Less firewood."
06[19:40] * @Ithea laughs. "You know, for all your talk about being glad about not fighting, you sure do sound like you were itching for it. C'mon, let's keep flying on."
[19:41] <@Kotono> roll 1d100+20
[19:41] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 65 >12 [d100=45]
[19:41] <@Kotono> roll 1d100+10
[19:41] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 21 >12 [d100=11]

[18:13] <@Kotono> ----
[18:13] <@Kotono> OOC: Quick check. Vul'lath mentioned you'd need protection from negative energy or the like. Have any of that prepped?
[18:14] <@Ithea> ooc: I'm sure Muirfinn took care of it.
[18:15] <Muirfinn> OOC: I can do a couple death wards, and Attune Form for days if it'll work
[18:16] <@Kotono> OOC: Attune Form's fine, he mentioned planar effect protections will do. Can you throw it on the whole party? Alternately, Balyss has mass death ward for 21 minutes per pop.
[18:16] <Muirfinn> OOC: I has a wand. consider everyone protected.
[18:17] <@Kotono> OOC: Done. Line coming.
[18:18] <@Kotono> For an endless time, the party flies on. An eternal moment that never ends, the cessation of time in the Silver Sea destroying all sense of progression. Yet you go on in those gaps between forever, flying on in the void. Eventually, the party comes to something ahead. The Astral Plane ahead roils. It darkens, the dim radiance of the plane fading ahead. Deep in this dark cloud, glimpses of some
[18:18] <@Kotono> sort of building or ruin can be glimpsed. It's still well ahead of the party.
[18:20] <Muirfinn> "Well, at least the place isn't hidden."
[18:20] <@Kotono> "I think we're here," Balyss announces. She peers ahead, a hand over her eyes. "If any of you get in trouble and need magic in there, let me know."
[18:20] <Lief> "Does it need to be? Who would want to go in there? Besides us."
06[18:21] * Lief pulls up his invisibility to get ready for going in.
[18:22] <Muirfinn> "Don't depend too much on your innate stealth, Lief. It's entirely possible that some will be able to see through it. Be careful."
[18:23] <@Kotono> "I'm fine. I'll burn away the life leeches if I need to," Simmer flies on.
[18:23] <@Kotono> OOC: Flying order ahead?
[18:23] <Muirfinn> OOC: I'll lead the non-stealth group.
[18:23] <@Ithea> ooc: same as before? Yuth+Iddy > NPCs > Me
[18:23] <Lief> OOC: Sounds good.
[18:24] <@Ithea> ooc: Also, brb
[18:25] <@Kotono> OOC: Spot checks, Muirfinn and Lief. Just for reference.
[18:25] <Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
06[18:25] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 38."12 [d20=6]
[18:26] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48+3
06[18:26] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48+3 and gets 52."12 [1d20=1]
[18:30] <@Kotono> The party flies on. Soon enough, they can see more of what lies within. The darkness stretches about 200ft out from the interior, which houses what looks like a sprawling, single story palace of stone. It looks to be classical, with pillars and open entryways. It's hard to tell, but both Lief and Muirfinn can see shadows moving in the deeper darkness.
[18:30] <@Kotono> OOC: Gah.
[18:30] <@Kotono> The party flies on. Soon enough, they can see more of what lies within. The darkness stretches about 200ft out from the interior, which houses what looks like a sprawling, single story palace of stone. It looks to be classical, with pillars and open entryways. It's hard to tell, but both Lief and Muirfinn can see shadowy creatures moving in the deeper darkness. They're cloaked in darkness and
[18:30] <@Kotono> you can't make out any details.
[18:31] <Muirfinn> "Shadows inside. Could be shadowy figures, or undead shadows. Unsure." Muirfinn relays back, peering closely ahead.
[18:32] <@Kotono> The figures, whatever they are, seem to be retreating to within the palace.
[18:33] <@Kotono> Balyss peers, "I can't see a damned thing," she mutters, "We'll just have to bring Selune's light to them."
[18:33] <Muirfinn> "They're heading into the palace. It's possible we've been spotted."
[18:34] <@Kotono> "That implies organization. They're not mindless undead," Balyss hmms, "We'll be facing at least a small level of coordination."
[18:35] <@Kotono> "So more fire," Simmer shrugs, "We already know we're giving up a terrain advantage, so we just burn them all."
[18:36] <Muirfinn> "Or there's some sort of controller within. Necromancer or something."
[18:36] <@Kotono> OOC: So moving in?
[18:37] <Muirfinn> "No sense hanging about." Muirfinn says, proceeding on.
[18:37] <Lief> "Well, we don't know what their detection abilities are. It's possible we could get the drop on them. Maybe. Probably not. But maybe."
[18:40] <@Kotono> The party proceeds on. The palace is a sprawling thing of halls within. It's darker just within, providing privacy within, even without walls. You come in near a long hallway going in both directions, if one wishes to venture in. The pillar work is simple enough - nothing too fancy on a glance.
[18:41] <Muirfinn> OOC: True Seeing is active!
06[18:41] * Muirfinn looks about for signs of an ambush.
[18:41] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+48 spot
06[18:41] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+48 spot and gets 62."12 [1d20=14]
06[18:41] * Lief watches for enemies and traps as well.
06[18:42] * @Ithea is likewise watchful.
[18:44] <@Kotono> With the party watching as they look around, they can see the darkness ahead ripple. What emerges out is shadows - the undead the party has all faced before. Dozens and dozens of them, silently howling in impotent fury as they gang-rush the party! Their faces occasionally ripple into that of agonized humanoids of all stripes, with githyanki being predominant. OOC: Init.  The horde of shadows is
[18:44] <@Kotono> 60ft away and gushing out.
[18:45] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+8 Balyss (+5 Lief)
06[18:45] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 Balyss (+5 Lief) and gets 12."12 [1d20=4]
[18:45] <Lief> roll d20+21 Init
06[18:45] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 Init and gets 34."12 [d20=13]
[18:45] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+15 Balyss (+5 Lief)
06[18:45] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 Balyss (+5 Lief) and gets 29."12 [1d20=14]
[18:45] <@Ithea> roll d20+22+5
06[18:45] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+22+5 and gets 47."12 [d20=20]
[18:45] <@Kotono> OOC: Second Balyss is Simmer
[18:45] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+12 shadows
06[18:45] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+12 shadows and gets 16."12 [1d20=4]
[18:45] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17+5
06[18:45] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17+5 and gets 28."12 [1d20=6]
03[18:46] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea(47)>Lief(34)>Simmer(29)>Muirfinn(28)>Shadow Horde(16)>Balyss(12)'
[18:46] <Muirfinn> "Sometimes it's not worth being right." Muirfinn sighs.
[18:47] <@Kotono> OOC: Open Ithea.
[18:50] <@Ithea> ooc: first, K:R for devotion?
[18:50] <@Kotono> OOC: Sure.
[18:51] <@Ithea> roll d20+41 K:R for KD.
06[18:51] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+41 K:R for KD. and gets 45."12 [d20=4]
[18:51] <@Ithea> ooc: Might as well see if there's anything special knowledge wise about these shadows or if they're common old shadows
[18:53] <@Kotono> OOC: They look like common shadows, but they seem more tormented than usual. Something was methodical about turning them and inflicted great pain to do so.
06[18:53] * @Ithea casts Chain Lightning once, hopefully wittling the numbers down significantly, and depending on the effect, cast a second one right after.
[18:53] <@Kotono> OOC: d100 on both since they're doing the shadow thing.
[18:53] <@Ithea> ooc: I don't see anything about attack rolls, just spell resistance. Do they have any?
[18:53] <@Ithea> ooc: ah right that
[18:53] <@Ithea> roll d100
06[18:53] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d100 and gets 25."12 [d100=25]
[18:53] <@Kotono> OOC: Second d100 for thes econd one. First one whiffs.
[18:54] <@Ithea> roll d100
06[18:54] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d100 and gets 52."12 [d100=52]
[18:54] <@Kotono> OOC: Second one goes through. Link me? No SR, so roll damage.
[18:54] <@Ithea> ooc: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/chainLightning.htm
[18:55] <@Kotono> OOC: Roll damage already.
[18:55] <@Ithea> roll 1.5*20d6 for primary target, half that for like, 23 or so secondary targets (I'd have to double check my caster level). Reflex halves damage.
06[18:55] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls 1.5*20d6 for primary target, half that for like, 23 or so secondary targets (I'd have to double check my caster level). Reflex halves damage. and gets 102."12 [20d6=4, 2, 2, 1, 4, 1, 4, 6, 4, 6, 2, 4, 4, 6, 1, 1, 3, 4, 3, 6]
[18:55] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+15
06[18:55] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 and gets 25."12 [1d20=10]
[18:55] <@Kotono> OOC: DC?
[18:56] <@Ithea> ooc: 24 secondary targets. DC is...26, I think? (Int+10+spell level, right?)
[18:56] <@Kotono> OOC: YEs.
[18:57] <@Kotono> The blasts of lightnign strike, ripping through the center of the hoard. Dozens of shadows are ripped apart in bursts of ozone and lightning, weakening the entire horde's numbers. OOC: Ow. Good start. Lief, you're up. Go.
06[18:57] * Lief follows Ithea's lightning with a storm of arrows behind it!
[18:57] <Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 1
[18:57] <Lief> roll d20+44 ATK 2
[18:57] <Lief> roll d20+39 ATK 3
[18:57] <Lief> roll d20+34 ATK 4
[18:57] <Lief> roll d20+29 ATK 5
06[18:57] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 1 and gets 56."12 [d20=12]
06[18:57] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+44 ATK 2 and gets 57."12 [d20=13]
06[18:57] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+39 ATK 3 and gets 43."12 [d20=4]
06[18:57] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+34 ATK 4 and gets 39."12 [d20=5]
06[18:57] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+29 ATK 5 and gets 48."12 [d20=19]
[18:58] <Lief> OOC: does SA apply?
[18:58] <@Kotono> OOC: No, they're undead and you're out of range anyway. d100 on each unless your weapon is ghost touch or the like. Which glancing your weapon is ghost touch, so no d100s. 5 hits, damage.
[18:59] <Lief> roll 5#1d6+24 damage
06[18:59] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls 5#1d6+24 damage and gets 130."12 [5#1d6+24 = 26, 25, 25, 25, 29]
[19:03] <@Kotono> The arrows fly true, rippling with holy power as they strike. They turn the shadows solid as they pierce them, a half dozen more winking out under Lief's assault. Simmer nods, "Got it, just like that," she calls, "Now BURN!" Withdrawing Arcanum XII, Simmer quickly sends an eternal fireball within their ranks. OOC: First spell is an auto quickened empowered, maximized and fiery lingering flames
[19:03] <@Kotono> with transdimensional spell through Arcanum XII.
[19:03] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+15 ref
06[19:03] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 ref and gets 30."12 [1d20=15]
[19:04] <@Kotono> roll 15*6
06[19:04] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 15*6 and gets 90."12
[19:05] <@Kotono> roll 90+45+15+45 (war spell added)
06[19:05] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 90+45+15+45 (war spell added) and gets 195."12
[19:06] <@Kotono> The fireball explodes in the center of the shadows, burning several of them to spectral ash. Simmer holds back ont hat, the party's rapid assault decimating the lesser undead rapidly. Over 3/4ths are now dead, the remainer spread out. OOC: Muirfinn, go.
06[19:07] * Muirfinn rears back, form inflating and turning the color of burnished gold as he takes a deep breath. He holds it for a moment before spewing forth a great spray of incandescent flame!
[19:08] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+15 ref
06[19:08] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 ref and gets 27."12 [1d20=12]
[19:08] <Muirfinn> roll 22d6 fire damage in cone, you failed
06[19:08] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 22d6 fire damage in cone, you failed and gets 85."12 [22d6=3, 4, 5, 4, 4, 2, 5, 6, 6, 6, 1, 6, 3, 6, 3, 5, 2, 1, 1, 4, 5, 3]
[19:08] <@Kotono> OOC: d100 unless it beats incorporeality.
[19:08] <Muirfinn> roll 1d100
06[19:08] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d100 and gets 1."12 [1d100=1]
[19:08] <Muirfinn> OOC: AGAIN WITH THIS SHIT
[19:09] <@Kotono> The rest of the shadows are battered by fire, but it passes through them harmlessly. The few survivors turn and retreat back into the building, passing through the covering darkness with ease. OOC: Free act. You massacred them.
[19:09] <@Kotono> "If that's it, this will be more like extermination than battle," Balyss quips, slowly flying ahead. "They couldn't even close in."
[19:10] <Lief> "MMmm... We're going to regret that. Never say things like that."
06[19:11] * Muirfinn nods sagely, whiskers twitching.
[19:11] <@Ithea> "Balyss doesn't learn. She kept making that mistake at the slaad's dungeon," Ithea notes. "It's really terrible."
[19:12] <@Kotono> "Hah. There's no way this is as bad as fighting on the surface of the sun," Balyss glances back at Ithea. "Really now."
06[19:12] * Lief sighs.
[19:12] <Muirfinn> "You...wait, what?"
[19:12] <Lief> "I'll just be away from you from now on."
[19:12] <@Ithea> "You just keep tempting fate, don't you, Balyss?" Ithea says with a shake of her head.

[18:01] <@Kotono> ----
[18:01] <@Kotono> > The rest of the shadows are battered by fire, but it passes through them harmlessly. The few survivors turn and retreat back into the building, passing through the covering darkness with ease. OOC: Free act. You massacred them.
[18:01] <@Kotono> > "If that's it, this will be more like extermination than battle," Balyss quips, slowly flying ahead. "They couldn't even close in."
[18:01] <@Kotono> <Lief> "MMmm... We're going to regret that. Never say things like that."
[18:01] <@Kotono> * Muirfinn nods sagely, whiskers twitching.
[18:01] <@Kotono> <Ithea> "Balyss doesn't learn. She kept making that mistake at the slaad's dungeon," Ithea notes. "It's really terrible."
[18:01] <@Kotono> > "Hah. There's no way this is as bad as fighting on the surface of the sun," Balyss glances back at Ithea. "Really now."
[18:01] <@Kotono> * Lief sighs.
[18:01] <@Kotono> <Muirfinn> "You...wait, what?"
[18:01] <@Kotono> <Lief> "I'll just be away from you from now on."
[18:01] <@Kotono> <Ithea> "You just keep tempting fate, don't you, Balyss?" Ithea says with a shake of her head.
[18:02] <@Kotono> OOC: What are y'all doing now?
[18:02] <@Ithea> ooc: Keep moving forward?
[18:02] <Muirfinn> OOC: Let's clear the place. No sense in leaving anything to follow us in an ambush or report back to the doods
[18:02] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay.
[18:02] <Lief> OOC: Yep. I'm down with clearing.
[18:04] <@Kotono> Thus the party passes into the darkness. It's a thin screen of black. Within are patterns all over. It look sto be arcane diagrams, patterns and flows. To the party's training, you can easily tell it's some part of a vast magical design, but you'd need to study it for more information. The shadows are out of sight - they had the jump you on moving and seem to have gotten out of sight altogether.
[18:04] <@Kotono> Inside it's hollow - no further walls, just endless patterns, diagrams and magical energies. The patterns are written in silver ink that still shines like the Astral Plane itself. There's a sense of stillness in the air, as if things have gone long undisturbed.
[18:05] <Lief> "Anyone have any idea what this is?"
06[18:05] * Lief keeps an eye out for ambushes...
[18:07] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+23 arcana What the fuck is that check
06[18:07] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+23 arcana What the fuck is that check and gets 41."12 [1d20=18]
[18:09] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+30 Simmer's curious too
06[18:09] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+30 Simmer's curious too and gets 48."12 [1d20=18]
[18:10] <@Ithea> roll d20+41 catgirl's gotta check too.
06[18:10] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+41 catgirl's gotta check too. and gets 54."12 [d20=13]
[18:10] <@Kotono> OOC: Spot, Lief.
[18:10] <Lief> roll d20+32 Spot
06[18:10] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Spot and gets 33."12 [d20=1]
[18:12] <@Kotono> The pattern is part of a tremendously large arcane sigil. It looks to be a multi part diagram dealing with positive and negative energy. The scope is boggling - this must have taken years and years to design. You aren't sure of the ultimate purpose of it, you'd have to find a more central part. This is an outer segment of it. Meanwhile, Lief doens't see anything awry, fortunately.
[18:13] <Muirfinn> "This...is a very large sigil. Or ward. Of some sort." Muirfinn says.
[18:13] <@Kotono> Simmer hmms after giving it a study, "See this part here?" Tapping the floor before a swirling circle of silver, "It's a sign for infinity. I use it in some bright fire magic to represent life or the Ouroboros. This is related to life and death magic."
[18:15] <@Kotono> "That matches what we know," Balyss says with a light shrug, "Can you figure out anything more from it?"
[18:16] <Muirfinn> "We'll need to find its center."
[18:18] <Lief> roll d20+32 Listen
06[18:18] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+32 Listen and gets 50."12 [d20=18]
[18:19] <@Kotono> As Lief keeps watch, he hears a soft footstep to his left side. Very subtle, very skilled. He only just notices.
[18:19] <Lief> "Shhh..."
06[18:19] * Lief motions the others to the side.
06[18:20] * Lief goes invisible and readies his bow, looking for a target.
[18:21] <@Kotono> OOC: Quick question before anything else. You weren't invisible before that? Okay then.
[18:21] <@Kotono> "What-" Balyss begins, but it's already too late. Gouts of black acid explode everywhere, as...OOC: You prevented an ambush, but they were rigged up to go hostile at any sign of anyone noticing and they saw Lief reacting. Init here, y'all.
[18:21] <Lief> OOC: I honestly dont' remember.
[18:21] <@Kotono> OOC: You said going invisible, so I'll run with that you weren't.
[18:22] <Lief> roll d20+21 Init
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Lief rolls d20+21 Init and gets 39."12 [d20=18]
[18:22] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+15 Simmer (+5 Lief)
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+15 Simmer (+5 Lief) and gets 18."12 [1d20=3]
[18:22] <Muirfinn> roll 1d20+17+5
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Muirfinn rolls 1d20+17+5 and gets 28."12 [1d20=6]
[18:22] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+8 Balyss
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+8 Balyss and gets 11."12 [1d20=3]
[18:22] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+13 ???
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+13 ??? and gets 33."12 [1d20=20]
[18:22] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+9 ??? 2
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 ??? 2 and gets 13."12 [1d20=4]
[18:22] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+9 ??? 3
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 ??? 3 and gets 11."12 [1d20=2]
[18:22] <@Kotono> roll 1d20+9 ??? 4
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+9 ??? 4 and gets 14."12 [1d20=5]
[18:22] <@Ithea> roll d20+22+5
06[18:22] * Hatbot --> "Ithea rolls d20+22+5 and gets 42."12 [d20=15]
03[18:23] * Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(39)>???1(33)>Muirfinn(28)>Simmer(18)>Balyss(11)'
[18:23] <Lief> OOC: Ithea beat me.
03[18:23] * Kotono changes topic to 'Lief(39)>???1(33)>Muirfinn(28)>Simmer(18)>???4(14)>???2(13)>Balyss=???3(11)'
03[18:23] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea(42)>Lief(39)>???1(33)>Muirfinn(28)>Simmer(18)>???4(14)>???2(13)>Balyss=???3(11)'
[18:24] <@Kotono> OOC: Ithea opens, but now that Muirfinn's true-seeing ass can look in the right direction, more coming first.
[18:26] <@Kotono> 25ft to the left of the party and 10ft is a creature. It has a body that ends at the neck, a swirling black vortex in place of a face. Three birds with the same vortexes instead of heads perch on his shoulders. The creature wears ornate armor and carries a blade of black stone, as well as a shield of the same black stone. Muirfinn can see it with true seeing. OOC: Open Ithea. Unless you have
[18:26] <@Kotono> true seeing too, you can't see it or its location.
[18:27] <Muirfinn> "LEFT!" Muirfinn shouts, pointing.
[18:28] <@Kotono> "Left?" Balyss asks, "What is it?!" She's bringing her shield up, Lunarock coming up into a guard position.
[18:28] <@Ithea> "Where'd that acid come from?" Ithea asks at the same time, and not having much to go on besides Muirfinn's cry, she holds on attacking until she has a better idea of the location of the enemy. "Where to the left?"
[18:28] <@Ithea> ooc: holding
03[18:29] * Kotono changes topic to 'Ithea(42)>Lief(39)>Headless Man(33)>Muirfinn(28)>Simmer(18)>Bird 3(14)>Bird 1(13)>Balyss=Bird 2(11)'
[18:29] <@Kotono> OOC: Okay. Lief, go.
06[18:29] * Lief looks left for a target, but lacks True Seeing and finds nothing, and thus holds as well.
[18:29] <@Kotono> OOC" Okay.