Part 1 - The Witchwood

[BowenSilverclaw]

If somebody gives me the damn thing I'll identify it.  

Goldflower goes the the crab, stroking its shell and telling it what a good job it did.  She then snaps her fingers, dismissing it.  

Turning back towards the rest of the group she casts detect magic and scans the loot.

The 2 scrolls and 2 potions are magical, that's it.

[VennDygrem]

Yamanu lets out a low growl at Harika's comment.

"You hold no rank over us out here. You may hold some fancy title from some time in service to whatever land you hold dear, but that means nothing here. Out here, you must know what to expect, and I expected that a bunch of hobgoblins hiding in the trees were out to ambush us. Hardly sporting of them, so I'd rather have gotten the drop on them before they got the drop on us. If you wait for your enemy to slit your throat, you won't have time to bark out orders to attack, let alone the capacity to."

Once he recomposes himself, he takes a moment to sit and rest, cleaning the blood off his blades.

[Nanshork]

"Now now dears, no roughousing within our little family."  Goldflower walks towards Kalal.  "So have we found anything interesting?  Oh, and I can identify those potions and scrolls in a jiffy."

[PhaedrusXY]

Kalal smiles at the old giantess. "Yeah, I figured you could. Know anything about this funny holy symbol? I know I'm supposed to be the religious one here, but I learned what I know from a bunch of other escaped slaves, and they weren't much for book learnin'. I'd guess this bunch is somehow tied to the Dragon Below, though, from the looks of it..."

Kalal makes a gesture to ward off evil as he says the last.

[Nanshork]

Goldflower takes the holy symbol and examines it.  Once she's done with that she looks at the potions and scrolls in an attempt to identify them

Knowledge Religion:31
It's times like this that I wish critical skill check results actually mattered!

Spellcraft potion 1: 33
Spellcraft potion 2: 23
Spellcraft scroll 1:40
Spellcraft scroll 2:26

Potion 1 is identified, Scroll 1 is identified as long as it's a level 20 spell or below.     Scroll 2 is identified if it is level 6 or below.

I'm AFB so I use the Artificer's Monocle on Potion 2 and tell me if it's a use per day thing or an as long as I'm detecting magic thing please.

[BowenSilverclaw]

Goldflower:

AFB myself as well, but maybe one of the other guys knows of the top of their head.

Scrolls: 1x Scroll of Spiritual Weapon (Divine, CL 3rd), 1x Scroll of Summon Monster III (Divine, CL 5th)(both spells are in the SRD)
Potions: 2x Potion of Cure Light Wounds (CL 1st)


Holy Symbol: Holy Symbol of Tiamat.

DC 31 knowledge:
In Eberron, deities do not walk the earth. This is
true even of the Dragon Gods. The dragons point to
Bahamut’s image in the sky, but the platinum dragon has
never set foot on Eberron, and his existence is a matter
of faith, not fact.
Although misconceptions abound, Tiamat’s existence
on Eberron is no exception for she is not truly a
god. Rather, she is one of the mightiest fi ends of the Age
of Demons, a true daughter of the Dragon Below. Each of
the Overlords has its own mystical dominion; for Tiamat,
that province is dragons. Khyber and Siberys were
siblings, and the taint of Khyber lies hidden in every
dragon. Tiamat has the power to draw that out, corrupting
and commanding the children of Eberron and Siberys.
The chromatic dragons are especially vulnerable to her
wiles, but even metallic dragons are at risk.
During the Age of Demons, Tiamat was the most
feared of the Overlords, as she turned an army of dragons
and her own twisted spawn against their kin. She was
fi nally defeated by the couatls and bound in Argonnessen’s
Pit of Five Sorrows. Her corrupted spawn were
utterly destroyed. Still, so great was the fear she engendered
that the dragons placed her among the pantheon of
dragon deities and traced her symbol in the stars. Perhaps
they hoped that if Tiamat found a place in the heavens,
she might never return to Eberron.

Tiamat remains bound to this day, but her power
is still felt in the world. She has followers among the
Lords of Dust, and she is served by an alliance of
dragons and other creatures—the Talons of Tiamat.
These cultists work to free the Daughter of Khyber,
and they have already succeeded at the fi rst stage of
their plans, arranging for the reemergence of Tiamat’s
dreadful spawn. The Prophecy warns of the terrible
consequences of Tiamat’s return; now her cult works
to fulfill the conditions of the Prophecy, even as the
draconic Light of Siberys fights to keep this apocalypse
at bay.
Even though Tiamat isn’t a true goddess, clerics who
worship the Daughter of Khyber do receive spells, just
as warforged devoted to the Lord of Blades do. Tiamat
herself does not grant this power, but faith and devotion
to her dark ideals empowers the dedicated cleric.
Like all the Overlords of the Age of Demons, Tiamat
is bound in her prison and can infl uence the world only
through her agents. In her true form, she has power
suffi cient to threaten entire nations, and the ability to
corrupt and control dragons. It is possible that her followers
will fi nd a way to grant their dark lady the ability to
manifest, at least partially, in the world. This cataclysmic
event would allow epic-level PCs to combat directly an
aspect of mighty Tiamat.

[Nanshork]

Goldflower hands the scrolls to Kalal.  "Here you are dear, they're useless to me.  Oh, and the potions will cure light wounds if anyone drinks them." 

Holding up the holy symbol her expression darkens.  "This is a symbol of Tiamat, a very very naughty dragon."

[bearsarebrown]

Saru walks up to Kalal and Goldflower, "I'm quite hurt... sorry..." he says, embarrassed.

"So they're followers of some evil dragon? Do you think that has anything to do with them attacking us or is it a coincidence? I wonder if there are more... hey, what do you think is in that house up ahead?" he says, gesturing at the house.

Local, Nature, Arcana, Planes

16, 31, 23, 31

[PhaedrusXY]

Kalal says to Saru "Here, use this belt on yourself, kid." and hands him the belt of healing. "I can't wear two belts. So just hang onto it."

He then uses one charge of his wand on himself. That puts him back up to 52/59.

He'll use the wand on whomever else needs it, also.

[BowenSilverclaw]

Saru walks up to Kalal and Goldflower, "I'm quite hurt... sorry..." he says, embarrassed.

"So they're followers of some evil dragon? Do you think that has anything to do with them attacking us or is it a coincidence? I wonder if there are more... hey, what do you think is in that house up ahead?" he says, gesturing at the house.

Local, Nature, Arcana, Planes

16, 31, 23, 31

Local:
Knowledge (local)
DC 10: Darguun is a goblinoid nation.
DC 15: Activities that would be crimes
elsewhere are legal in Darguun, and
illicit goods are in ready supply in the
rough bazaars.

While this area is close to Darguun, there haven't been reports of goblinoid raids for a long time.


Nature: not applicable


Arcana:
Knowledge (arcana)
DC 10: Though occasionally dismissed as
creatures of legend, dragons are real
and still exist. There are ten kinds
of "true" dragon—black, blue, brass,
bronze, copper, gold, green, red,
silver, and white—as well as numerous
other varieties that are considered
lesser dragons or dragonkind. Most
dragons live on the distant continent
of Argonnessen and are rarely seen
by humanoids.
DC 15: All true dragons and some
related creatures grow increasingly
large and powerful as they age, t h e oretically
without any upper limit.
They are extremely long-lived, and
one that is 500 years old is considerably
more capable than one that is
only a century old.
DC 20: Dragons believe in a mysterious
Prophecy, which they see unfolding in
all sorts of events in the natural world
as well as among the "lesser races" of
humanoids. Everything from stellar
alignments to mysterious runes in
mountain caverns to the dragonmarks
carried by members of Khor¬
vaire's great houses plays a part in this
Prophecy, in their view.
DC 30 : A few dragons believe that the
fulfillment of the Prophecy is close
at hand, and dragons must actively
participate in bringing it to fruition.
These dragons often come to Khorvaire
and might even hide themselves
among humanoids for the purpose of
carrying out their plans.


Planes: see the spoiler block for Goldflower a bit back (here: [ur]http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7067.msg239652#msg239652[/url]) for info on Tiamat.

The hounds you faced were Hellhounds, fire-breathing beasts from beyond this plane of existence. They hail from the same planes as fiends.

[VennDygrem]

Sheathing his blades once more, Yamanu looks over at Saru.

"I'm not sure, but I assume it's best that we take a look. Cautiously, of course."

[PhaedrusXY]

"Best to make sure everyone is healthy before we go asking for more trouble" the dwarf says.

[Agita]

"...You're going to have to go into more detail than 'very very naughty'. That could mean anything." The colonel looks just a bit irritated, but doesn't make any comments. "Anyway, as fun as it is to claim invulnerability, I could use some healing, like I said. None of the stings were serious, but it starts adding up."

[PhaedrusXY]

Kalal tends the wounds of his comrades using his wand, and straps on his new armor and some barding on his mule.

[Nanshork]

Goldflower sighs softly.  "Then I'll tell her story as we continue on.  Tiamat is not truly a god. Rather, she is one of the mightiest fiends of the Age of Demons, a true daughter of the Dragon Below. Each of the Overlords has its own mystical dominion; for Tiamat, that province is dragons. Khyber and Siberys were siblings, and the taint of Khyber lies hidden in every dragon. Tiamat has the power to draw that out, corrupting and commanding the children of Eberron and Siberys. The chromatic dragons are especially vulnerable to her wiles, but even metallic dragons are at risk. During the Age of Demons, Tiamat was the most feared of the Overlords, as she turned an army of dragons and her own twisted spawn against their kin. She was finally defeated by the couatls and bound in Argonnessen’s Pit of Five Sorrows. Her corrupted spawn were utterly destroyed. Still, so great was the fear she engendered that the dragons placed her among the pantheon of dragon deities and traced her symbol in the stars. Perhaps they hoped that if Tiamat found a place in the heavens, she might never return to Eberron.

Tiamat remains bound to this day, but her power is still felt in the world. She has followers among the Lords of Dust, and she is served by an alliance of dragons and other creatures—the Talons of Tiamat. These cultists work to free the Daughter of Khyber, and they have already succeeded at the first stage of their plans, arranging for the reemergence of Tiamat’s dreadful spawn. The Prophecy warns of the terrible consequences of Tiamat’s return; now her cult works to fulfill the conditions of the Prophecy, even as the draconic Light of Siberys fights to keep this apocalypse at bay. Like all the Overlords of the Age of Demons, Tiamat is bound in her prison and can influence the world only through her agents. In her true form, she has power sufficient to threaten entire nations, and the ability to corrupt and control dragons. It is possible that her followers will find a way to grant their dark lady the ability to manifest, at least partially, in the world."

[bearsarebrown]

Saru uses the belt to heal his arrow wounds. As he's listening to Goldflower, he begins to dawn the armor of some of the fallen hobos.

33 Healing. Leaves me at 48/59. don't bother with the wand, this is more then enough.

[PhaedrusXY]

Kalal remarks as he's trying out his new armor for mobility and looking impressed with it "Ah, so she is related to the dragon below, by blood even! Ah well, no surprise there. I remember my teachers telling me some of what you said now. I just couldn't recall it on my own."

[VennDygrem]

Yamanu gets somewhat restless while his comrades continue resting after their relatively exhaustive combat. Attempting to move as cautiously as possible, he moves up toward the house around the corner in order to check it out, approaching so as to maintain stealth.

Hide, MS, Spot, Listen, Search:

1d20+18=19
1d20+18=35
1d20+10=16
1d20+15=17
1d20+3=12

[BowenSilverclaw]

Yamanu:

As you approach the old farmhouse, you do not hear or see anything out of the ordinary, aside from the obvious tracks left by the hobgoblins and hellhounds you and your companions have just defeated.

Part of the walls at a corner near the entrance of the old building have partially come down, leaving a hole in the side of the building, near the roof, but there doesn't seem to be any danger of collapse.

You don't see any creatures through this hole or through the old dirty and cracked windows. The old farmhouse seems to be abandoned.

[PhaedrusXY]

Kalal moves after Yamanu, trying to let the little jackal sneak up before he himself moves in clanking like a toddler banging pots and pans together. He instructs his mount to follow behind him.

Take 10 on Handle Animal, for 11. DC is 10. I guess he'll move to J20, or somewhere around there. He has his tower shield equipped, and waraxe out.

Spot;Listen for Kalal: 1d20+2=11, 1d20+2=11
Spot;Listen for mule: 1d20+6=10, 1d20+6=20