Around Ladydove - The Countryside on the Border of Anauroch

[Surreal]

Ok, ok, let's chalk this up to getting used to a new game and new players/DM.

"You dare call me a liar?" exclaimed Maglu'glath in anger, overcoming his initial shock at the cleric's outburst. "I am Maglu'glath of the Igna Caminus clan. I am the chosen of the gods to..." he trails off for a moment for he was about to say 'to protect my people' but that was no longer the case. The reminder of his failure to his people prompts his anger further. "I am blessed by the gods, with powers beyond my kin, but I am of my kin nonetheless. You insult me and you insult my people." Mag's eyes began to glow orange, reflecting his anger. Devanar could see Mag's form boiling under the surface. The goblin visage remained on the surface, but his stance now reflected that of the guards. The the beast within, too, was now coiled in predatory pose.

ooc

Mag truly does believe what he says, and he is rightly pissed at being called otherwise. He still doesn't want to fight, but his honour has been compromised. This either falls into an intimidate or diplomacy roll to improve their attitude (most likely intimidate, but I'll include both)
intimidate: 32 (if wins, change attitude to friendly temporarily)
diplomacy: 30 (depends on initial attitude)

[Brainpiercing]

I'm all for it.

Devanar shook his head in disbelief. The creature seemed actually convinced of what it was saying.
'Liar I didn't say. Ye might be of your kin, but ye art also something else. True Seeing doesn't lie. I can see your goblin form, and you other form. Don't ye sometimes change shape into something else? Perhaps that other shape is your true form.'
He had to admit to himself that fighting now would be a bad option. Even though it was no longer invisible Devanar was not sure if the guards could hold it off long enough for him to cast his second Divine Power - and without the spell Devanar's combat prowess was quite weak. So he went on talking.
'Whatever ye may be, I don't know your kind as one to posess a child. So I think we may both be in the same boat. Have ye had contact with the child? You must have handled it. Did it do anything to you? Are ye feeling unwell in any way after handling it?'
The child had killed its parents, there was a chance it had also tried something on this creature.

Devanar's Sense Motive: 21
Mag's Intimidation does little because Devanar doesn't want to fight anyway, and the guards are already scared into not wanting to attack.

[Surreal]

Maglu'glath took a moment to compose himself. He was typically quick to anger, but he was letting his emotions cloud his judgement. He relaxed his stance and took a more neutral pose, his eyes returning to a dull yellow shade. Devanar could see the beastly creature within also uncurling, softening the bristles along the back of its neck.

"You are correct that I have another form" stated Maglu'glath. The cleric could obviously see that he had been blessed with beastial powers, and was rightly frighted, thus his reaction a moment ago. Clerics are such a haughty bunch, so quick to draw conclusions' mused Maglu'glath. "But who are you to claim that you know which is my true form?"

This ran the danger of becoming a philosophical debate however, so Mag was quick to move on.

"Now that you mention the child... the dead man did seemingly collapse for no reason, then later when I touched the child, I felt a wave a sickness come over me. Was this the work of the demon? I heard you say that the child was no longer possessed..." 

[Brainpiercing]

'Aye, so I said, but without knowing it was you who tied the rider back onto the horse', Devanar replied. 'However, there should be no demon hiding within the babe at the moment. My True Seeing should reveal it, too. I was going to take a look at the babe with another spell when I saw you, just now. If you'll allow me I'll do that, now.'
The baby had fallen into an uneasy sleep during the encounter. Devanar parted the covers a little more, and began casting his spell. With his usual gestures and a short incantation he cast Know Opponent. His eyes began glowing when he was done for a short moment.

And then he gasped and stumbled backwards, sitting down roughly in the dust with a shocked expression.
'It's just the baby...' he stammered. 'There never WAS a fiend. It's the baby.'
He stared into the air, then shifted his gaze to Maglu'glath, composing himself a little.
'Ye have been drained of life-force, I assume. Are you familiar with a spell called Enervation? This baby here can create an effect like it, only even stronger. If it were to drain all your life-force you would die, instantly. That is probably what happened to the parents of the child, and its hapless uncle, here. And the fool that I was suspected a fiend within it, for I couldn't fathom that a mere babe should be able to create such a powerful magical effect.'
He suddenly got up, his shocked expression returning.
'There are MORE like it, too. There are many children in Lundeth, and some families that went to Ladydove. I had assumed they were all posessed. But if they aren't... WHY are they like this, oh Lathander?' He threw up his arms in frustration...

[Surreal]

"This child stole some of my life-force?" growled Maglu'glath. He was not fond of anything stealing from him, particularly his life energies*, regardless if it was a child or not. "Then how do I reclaim it?" Mag took a few steps somewhat menacingly towards the child. The guards shifted uneasily, unsure whether to try and stop him or not. The child was of Lundeth, but one that could seemingly kill those around it. The cleric's revelation also sparked renewed worry about their families back home. Confused, the guardmen turned to Devanar for direction.

*yes, I am aware of the irony there

[Brainpiercing]

Devanar was brought back from his religious frustration by Maglu'glath's advance, and raised a hand with palm outwards in a calming move.
'It didn't steal your life force, strictly speaking, although it may have gained a little temporary strength from doing so. In any case there is nothing to recover. If ye be strong enough ye will feel jest fine by tomorrow morn. If ye be too weak, ye will lose some strength. I could cast some restoration magic on you, but that requires diamond dust worth one hundred gold pieces. In preparation I gathered some, but I am a poor priest. I can't afford to throw it about. If ye don't have any gold on ye, you could also work it off. Help me to get help for these here children, who seem to be innocent apart from their strange abilities, and I will gladly help you now, and in the future, too.'
He looked squarely at the strange creature. His proposition was to serve a two-fold purpose. Firstly he felt he really needed help - of the kind the Lundeth guards couldn't give him, or so he thought. Secondly he wanted to keep the creature around him, where it could be least harmful to any other passers by. He didn't completely trust it, and if it indeed bore harmful thoughts then let it be him to become the first victim.
The guards didn't look too happy about the proposition, but they were in no position to disagree.

Devanar's Diplomacy: 29, damn I get lucky rolls with this guy;

In case you are wondering how he gets all these high skills: He's a human cloistered cleric with Able Learner. I haven't fully built him, but I don't think I'm too far off with the numbers at present.

On another note, could you PM me your final HD progression? I was stupid enough not to save a copy of what I sent you the last time.

[Surreal]

Maglu'glath eyed the cleric; the offer seemed reasonable. Though he disliked the connotation of working for another man, Devanar clearly only wanted to help his community, and that was a motivation Mag could respect.

"Very well priest, as a favour I will help you and the children of your town. What would you like me to do?"

[Brainpiercing]

Devanar shrugged, a little helplessly.
'Accompany me to Ladydove, for now. We're going to get this man under consecrated soil, there's nothing else we can do for him right now. Then we'll have to have the baby examined by people who know more than me. I'm going to send the Lundeth guards back with instructions for the people the Lundeth. Hopefully that will keep them safe until we find out why the children are like this.'
He called the guards around him and talked to them for a short while. The instructions ran along the lines of having all children stay at home, at best alone, and to make sure not to provoke them in any way. Secondly to avoid skin contact with them. Young mothers with babies should get older women to feed their children, since younger people were in much greater danger of having all their life-force drained, not having had enough time to accumulate more. Finally, everyone was to wait for his return, hopefully with good news.

Then he went over to Maglu'glath. 'I can give ye your restoration, now.'
From a pouch at his belt he took out a handfull of diamond dust which he sprinkled over Maglu'glath while chanting and praying. Finally he finished with his habitual '... by the might of Lathander.' Warm energies washed over Maglu'glath, and immediately all afflictions were taken from him.

Then Devanar carefully picked up the bundle with the baby, and took the reigns of the horse with the dead man. With an apologetic look he got on his own horse. He was too old and fat to walk the entire way.

'Let's go', he said. 'We should hurry, only the gods know what might happen.'

ooc

Mag gets Restoration, his negative levels go away.

Now we have timeline-trouble, because a lot of things are happening at the same time in places about three days' travel apart. Thanks to SMS being available (sending) small packets of information are being sent backwards and forwards, but it takes actual people a while, unless they can teleport. Noone here can, unfortunately. Also, I wasn't smart enough to make a written timeline, yet. (Definitely should do, soon.)

I set this timeline to be day 12, too, but I think we're just going to have to move it backward to day 11, so that we can arrive in Ladydove on the same day the action is happening there. Let's say we're about half-way in between, and manage to hustle there by afternoon of day 12. You can lesser-restore any fatigue or exhaustion away, anway, as often as you like.
If nothing holds you back you can transition to the gates of Ladydove after your next post.

[Surreal]

ooc

Nothing we've written so far has cemented us to any particular time. I think we can safely adjust the time frame to fit with the main thread.

edit: ugh, the writing mojo is not with me today; this post felt way too forced

Maglu'glath rides upon the horse of the dead man, the deceased rolled in a blanket and tied behind him. Devanar rides atop his own horse, with the child safely wrapped in its blankets and tucked beside the rear saddlebag. There is an uncomfortable silence as the two ride; neither having too much in common to talk about. Mag is the first to break the silence, inquiring about the dead man.

"I understand that you humans have rites for burying your deceased" said Maglu'glath, "but what has this man done to earn burial under consecrated ground?"

"It is more a matter of what will happen if we do not" replied Devanar. "The manner in which this man died... when his life energies were drained by the child, it was a vile corruption of nature. Sometimes, that corruption taints the body, even in death... and the body may rise from the grave, but there will be no life behind it."

This statement makes Maglu'glath skirt forward in his seat uneasily. On a few rare occasions had he encountered such undead abominations deep in the underground of his former home, and they were experiences he would rather not repeat. But those were twisted remnants of long dead monsters, stitched together from bone and unholy magics. This man was hardly dead an hour, and Devanar was in a hurry to put him into consecrated soil. Something was foul indeed to make the cleric worried so.

After pushing the horses hard for just a little longer, the walls of Ladydove finally came into view.

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

We should be on the road the longer, as I said above. The encounter was moved to day 11, we arrive on day 12, so we had one night on the road. Assuming Mag doesn't do anything evil...

The two rode well into the night, but the dead man was worrying Devanar. He might awake any time during the night, so they had to stop and rest until the next sunrise. Devanar sprinkled silver dust and holy water around their camp area and chanted prayers for a short moment. Then a wash of positive energy flowed around them, and the deceased could rest at peace for a while. Devanar decided that if Maglu'glath really wanted to harm him he could have done so on numerous occasions, and immediately fell asleep as he lay down.

He prayed for spells at sunrise, and after being bathed in Lathander's warm light he got up and was ready to move on.

As the unusual pair approached the usual happened at a Ladydove gate: The guards came to take down their name and business. They threw a look at the deceased, but since they knew about Devanar they had no objections to bringing him into the town for burial. They also had messages for Devanar waiting: He should visit councilman Gorm Ironer as soon as possible. He should come to the temple as soon as possible. He should visit the Ladydove Militia headquarters as soon as possible. Quite flustered at his sudden popularity, Devanar thanked the guard.

Maglu'glath was asked for his name and business like any other traveller. Even though one of the guards wore strange looking goggles with which he constantly scanned the surroundings they paid him no greater attention.

[ooc]

You can make a spot check upon entering the gate.

When you're ready we transition to "Town of Ladydove", but feel free to add anything you like here.

[Surreal]

The spell the priest had cast upon the ground made Maglu'glath feel somewhat uncomfortable. While it was not exactly an unpleasant sensation, rather tingly in fact, it carried an almost sweet texture to it (if such a description were apt) that made him lose his appetite. Excusing himself for the night, Maglu'glath moved out of range of the spell. Finding a comfortable spot amoungst some rocks, he sat down for his usual nightly meditation.

Sleep was a concept that had always eluded him. Along with his enhanced strength, his gods must have granted him eternal vigilance, for though he could tire (though only after long exertion), he did not require the quarter day of rest like most of his kin. Such a terrifying and weakened state to be in; to lose control of one's body and mental state so utterly. Maglu'glath was glad that he did not have to endure such daily horror.

The next day as they approached the gates, a sense of apprehension came to Mag. His experience with human colonies was sparse, and this was easily the largest that he had seen. Devanar seemed a reasonable man, but humans were such unpredictable creatures, and any society in large numbers was prone to greater fits of chaos.

Their arrival at the gate was entirely without incidence however. Devanar seemed to be an important man, with several urgent sounding messages awaiting his arrival. When the guards asked for Maglu'glath's name, they stumbled over their utter lack of the goblin tongue and wrote down "Mogg" instead. When asked his business, Devanar simply said "he's with me" and they allowed him through without further question.

ooc

spot = 25
listen = 21
sense motive = 24

ready to move over to the main thread when you are

[raith0]

after a long day of travel Doyle sees that the city Lundel is only a short distance away.  gritting his teeth he pushes on to make the trip over as quickly as possible [con check 14].  feeling the fatigue from the self impossed forced travel Doyle grimaces as he pushes on even more[con check 19]. 

   Looking ahead at the city and breathing heavily Doyle mutters to himself "The ale better be worth it tonite", still pushing forward with the goal of a nights rest not on the road he continues excerting himself to continue[con check 22].   Struggling to stay aloft he now pushes to cross the last few miles of space between him and the city gates [con check 20].   

  Landing a few feet from the gates sweat dripping off of his forhead and panting for his breath Doyle greets the gaurds as best he can before passing through and looking for a bed and a meal for the night.

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

Ok, we can move to the Lundeth thread. What are you looking for, specifically?

[raith0]

[OOC]

more or less just going to for some rumors or some other reason to be heading to the oasis

[mthor]

He was really starting to hit the desert now. The dry air gave it away. It was as his great-great-great-great grandfather had said it would be. It emanated wrongness, it permeated the air and swept over him with each wave of hot, dry air which gusted his way. off in the distance he could see huge dunes of sand which had settled and, even farther on, huge waves of sand which had been caught in the air and formed barriers of their own. Barriers of air and earth that could choke a man on the very air that he tried to breath and strip his bones of flesh in a matter of days after it had done its gruesome work.  He was ill prepared to face such a marvel of nature, having ridden off a matter of minutes after his patron and family had contacted him via powerful magic. At least he had his steed, a fine beast which had been bred using both mundane and magical techniques back in the glory days of the dragons. It had been a gift from his GGGG-father. One of the few he had gotten and, as with the others, it had come with strings attached. He knew that the horse had been only given to him only so he could reach destination for his ancestor faster. Never the less it pleased him to be astride such a fine animal. He was here on another one of the old man's wild displacer hunts again. Even so he would endeavor to do his best. He turned his scenes outward to find a visual or magical clue to why he was here.
diplomancy vs. 15/20 (1d20+18=37, 1d20+18=37)
Bound Malphas/ Andromalius
Standard Action: Birds eye view  (command bird to fly up to 30 feet)
Take 10 on spot and listen using the birds modifiers
Listen 13 (10+3)
Spot 17 (10+3+ 2 (alertness))

OOC: I added a rapier to my loot and I will stat it if I have to use it however after I get a definitive idea where I'm going I'll rebind Otaix

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

The bird should probably fly higher to see more. Well...

The bird could see a little further than Thor, and alerted its master to a strange happening just over the next minor ridge. There was a demon patrol, as had been seen in other places - although they were rather far into civilised lands. However, about half of them had a problem - they had grown a few extra heads, and apparently the rest of the band didn't like that too much. Fighting broke out among them, and after a short while the "normal" demons were defeated, the survivors teleporting away, while the dead began dissolving in the desert sun.

The remaining mutated demons were then left discussing what to do now... there was five-headed Vrock, and a five-headed babau, each with two dragon heads, and two goat heads next to their normal heads. Both were wounded, dripping greenish blood onto the dry, red rubble that made up the desert floor in that place.

[mthor]

Thor quickly pulled his horse behind a sand dune amazed at the quick decent in barbaric and action that this desert seemed to encourage. 
move at 1/2 speed hide as part of motion
hide/move silently (1d20+11=30, 1d20+11=17)
He commands his bird to fly closer and with the sun at its back to discourage being spotted
hide/ move silently untrained (1d20+2=21, 1d20+2=19)
listen/ spot via bird
listen/spot (1d20+5=22, 1d20+3=23)
OOC: sorry not much time today

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

Please describe your actions in prose, but put the mechanics into spoilers or brackets.

What languages do you speak?

The demons were discussing their plight in the tongue of the abyss, but occasionally the dragon heads would throw something in in Draconic, while the goat heads just blared, as goats tended to do.
They also began moving away from the scene rather hurriedly, but had obviously not yet decided to teleport.

[mthor]

Thor lay low on his horse's back trying to blend into the shadows caused by dune he hid behind, a minor task due to the lack of proximity of the demons behind the next ridge. He could understand only bits and pieces of the conversations of these creatures. The draconian speech of his ancestors flowed into his ear quite readily but the harsher less melodically demon tongue escaped him. He suddenly wished he had paid more attention during the time with the old man who would become known as his grandfather. The old man had been quite the linguist, but all that Thor had picked up from him was a few evil sounding curse words. He had never regretted it until now. It was times like this that he did come to appreciate the power of pact magic, the power he had learned from the crotchety old dragon. Laughing softly to himself he reached into the back corners of his mind to find the bird he had summoned via a entity tied to his soul. He bent his will to the task of controlling the world around him. The bird, half a mile away, banked down to fly once again over the mutant demons. Thor's laugh was quickly banished as he beheld the freaks through the eyes of the bird. "Demons are a fundamental representation of evil. To warp them like that requires great power." Thor muttered to himself.

Thor flies his bird about 30 feet above the demons and once they are a mile away he follows on his horse trying to keep low.
hide/ move silently (1d20+11=15, 1d20+11=23)
He should have no trouble keeping up with the demons unless they decide to teleport.  Sorry about yesterday.

[Brainpiercing]

One strange thing of note was that indeed the multi-headed demons that had died did not dissolve after death. Their bodies remained lying in the dust.

The demons ran a strange zig-zagging course northward, further into the desert, turning eastward after a while to avoid the near town of Lundeth. Strangely enough they did not take flight - apparently they believed that the ground was safer.

They hid under rocks when some Griffon-riders passed overhead. When nightfall came they still went on, northward, although, strangely enough, they seemed to slow down a bit. Normal demons would never tire, and walk 24 hours, but these seemed adversely affected by their mutation.
They moved on until midnight, at which point they gave up and actually went to sleep.