RPGWW

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue May 10, 2011 7:27 am

Warn them off? Loudly? Flea could do that. But 'loud' was subjective! She better make sure.

Quietly approaching her instructor, she leaned in as close as she could...

And screamed bloody murder as loud as her metal vocal chords would allow.

by **Idran1701** » Tue May 10, 2011 8:46 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Well

As Flea screams, the githyanki cringes, snapping his arm out around and grasping Flea's neck with preternatural speed. Murderous intent flares in his eyes briefly, but he calms himself, releasing her before she even need respond. Still, he's not even trying to look friendly now, shoving her away.

"Go. Now. Before I show you how horrid whelplings are meant to be taught."

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue May 10, 2011 8:54 am

"Well I just need to know, on a scale of 1-10, if that was loud enough! Also when you try to strangle someone you should move your left thumb a little to the left so that you're actively crushing the little neck fruit thingy. I'm pretty sure that's the apendix! You can trust me, I spent the night in one of those books once. It was pretty weird. Anyway that stops them from eating while you're trying to strangle them and I mean everyone hates when you're trying to strangle someone and they just won't stop eating, am I right?

She grins like an idiot and puts her massive tiny massive hand up for a high-five.

by **Nakibe** » Tue May 10, 2011 2:26 pm

"That's actually pretty disturbing to know, really." The odd double vision that seemed to come along with the strange curse didn't really help Trivale's concentration at all. Part of him was consumed with the irrational urge to just fill in the well, but they hardly knew enough about what was going on to expect that to fix anything. "I have to wonder if it was the well that actually is causing the ailment, or perhaps some other vector? Being nearby, perhaps, Or maybe its the dreams, somehow." This whole thing is just crazy. We can't really go back to the Staircase, not like this. And how do we stop this... whatever it is from infecting the guild?

"Maybe trying the dreams again will help, but I don't know. At the very least we should find out what, if anything, could've been sealed in that well."

by **Idran1701** » Tue May 10, 2011 9:59 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Temporary Base

Tonuin'li thinks on Trivale's words, and nods. "Kongunvir, there may have been remains of the capstone fallen into the well. Did you see anything of the sort? Or perhaps even retrieve some, if we are lucky?"

Well

He doesn't say anything back, and he completely leaves her hanging; he just turns to ignore her, moving to the other side of the well and keeping a silent watch on the streets. She can hear him mutter something under his breath, but she doesn't speak their language, she's got no clue what he said.

by **Jak Snide** » Sat May 14, 2011 1:09 pm

The direct question alarmed him, though he did not show it. The gith was putting what he'd said behind her, or at least letting the matter lie until more important issues were resolved. He respected that and did the same.

"I didn't retrieve any. Runes were engraved upon them." He began to trace the outline of one on the ground before realising he only half-remembered its shape. "I took them for magic. Lorraine said she would be able to make sense of them with the proper preparation."

by **Idran1701** » Sun May 15, 2011 6:56 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Temporary Base

"But pieces did survive?" With a nod, she looks back to Trivale. "Then retrieving these pieces might help accomplish that, yes? But...what else is our plan from here?"

Basically trying to lead up to a timeskip here, seeing what people want to try and do to further investigate before the next time they can get to sleep. It's about another 6 hours before people would be tired enough to be able to sleep. Tonuin'li will be guarding the well again about an hour before they'll be able to sleep; there's still a chance of trying to slip inside earlier too, though, especially as sneaking about on the Astral is a bit easier in some ways than it is otherwise. For the most part I assume it would be planning for the dreams and theorizing, but if anyone wants to try other lines of investigation that come to mind, feel free. Sunny and Garick can throw out any ideas they have too, of course; they shouldn't feel left out just because they came in later, and they might have a fresher perspective on things that could help.

And if anyone's doing anything not related to investigating - as I can guess, for example, Sunny and Flea might both be inclined to do in their own ways - go ahead with that too, I'll GM whatever you guys decide to do. :D

by **Besyanteo** » Mon May 16, 2011 4:21 pm

Lorraine puts the vial away as people talk, and stands up from her crouching position. She glances at the goblin, who had asked a question earlier.

"I'm not sure, how dangerous it would be that is. If things get worse we'll find out." She turned to the others. "I'm going to investigate the well more closely. If I understand how this place works, I shouldn't have any trouble. I'll be back before Tonuin'li's shift starts."

She headed for the door, fully intent on sneaking into the well to perform what tests and examinations she knew. With any luck, she could just approach from behind the current guard and she'd never be noticed. If Flea was still there... she'd wait until Flea left, by one route or another. She wasn't certain Flea would give her away, but Lorraine couldn't help but recognize the pattern of her behavior. It wasn't worth making an attempt so long as she was still by the well.

by **Angelica** » Thu May 19, 2011 3:26 pm

Sunny stood up with Lorraine and watched her walk towards the door.

"Lorraine. Do you want me to come with you?"

by **Besyanteo** » Thu May 19, 2011 10:02 pm

Lorraine stopped long enough to look back.

"Oh, sure, if you like. Just be careful not to be seen when we get there. I don't think we can be heard if we're not seen first."

She turned back for the exit, presumably with Sunny in tow.

by **Angelica** » Thu May 19, 2011 10:45 pm

Sunny nodded, "Alright."

She crossed the room to follow after Lorraine, effortlessly closing the distance between them.

by **Idran1701** » Fri May 20, 2011 5:36 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc

Lorraine and Sunny head out, crossing the city swiftly; the last echoes of a scream are bouncing off the devastated buildings as they arrive in sight of the well, just in time to see the guard - Gaath'lir - pulling his arm back from Flea's neck. They can only hear snatches of the conversation from this distance; Gaath'lir moves about the well, putting it between the two of them as he begins watch over the streets, turning to glance down theirs just moments before they duck behind a building. They weren't spotted, but he seems wary - if ill-practiced at this sort of sentry work. They'll need to be a bit tricky to slip up without being seen, but it certainly seems feasible.

The two of them come upon things at this point in their exchange; neither of you can really make out the full exchange of words between the two, but you can hear enough to get the general idea.

by **ChristianC** » Sun May 22, 2011 2:52 pm

Salix sat down to study the runes Kongunvir had drawn. Typical dwarf, not remembering how they'd been written.

"I'm going to take a little stroll around the city, try to figure out if there could be another source of the curse..." he stood up and left, making a shoosh-ing sound that made Eloise, previously rather well hidden, scurry out from behind some bags and join him.

by **Jak Snide** » Sun May 22, 2011 3:43 pm

Kongunvir headed out as well, tailing Lorraine and Sunny. He had some rough idea of how this plane worked and, if he was correct, it'd be possible to stay out of sight but in earshot of them without any risk of detection. He expected trouble from the gith, Tonuin'li's words confirming that they were up to something, and he wasn't about to let fellow guild members wander into danger unprotected. If any of the others wanted to join him then all the better.

by **Besyanteo** » Sun May 22, 2011 11:28 pm

Lorraine will wait for Flea to leave, if that's a thing that can and will happen. She can't be certain it will happen before the shift change of course, but if it doesn't then Lorraine can still go in and look at things later when Tonuin'li arrives.

by **Seethe** » Mon May 23, 2011 3:56 am

Rosalyn decided to tag along with Salix. There would be plenty of time to look at the well again once Tonuin'li was back on guard duty, and she thought the group of planewalkers already heading that way should be able to handle themselves. She didn't know if she would be of much help to Salix in his search, but the short time she had spent in this town so far had already made her too wary of the potential dangers to let him go by himself.

Besides, if it turned out that the well wasn't the source of the curse, that would essentially be the end of her interest in it.

by **Angelica** » Mon May 23, 2011 8:26 am

After finding the well and settling in to wait, Sunny found it difficult to sit still. The longer she spent in the middle of the ruined city, the more nervous it made her. There were supposed to be people and animals and noises, but instead there was nothing. She spent her time looking around, keeping an eye out for any unfriendly faces and examining the ruins around them while absentmindedly running her fingers over the fastenings of her armor and quiver.

Although she had seen how sounds work on this plane, she still spoke in a whisper.
"How long do you think we'll have to wait here?"

by **darkknight61189** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:07 pm

Garick stopped his pacing when Salix talked about leaving. "Yeah, I'm gonna go with you. Maybe I'll be able to figure out what's been goin' on around here. Then we can deal with it and move on." He gestured to the door, waiting for Salix.

by **Idran1701** » Thu May 26, 2011 6:02 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Well

Unfortunately for Sunny, it does take a bit longer than she might like; Flea shows no signs of getting bored, instead just acting vaguely annoying towards Gaath'lir, holding back just enough to keep from being attacked. After close to an hour, though, he seems utterly fed up, and just before he seems ready to draw his sword and strike, he gives Flea one last glare and vanishes in a flash of light. Shortly after, Tonuin'li appears in a similar flash, and it's hard to tell if she's rankled about having to start her next shift early, or pleased to give the others a chance to slip in.

Lorraine and Sunny are able to take that chance quickly, though Tonuin'li warns he might be returning shortly, that the others may not care for him leaving his shift so early. They'd started to get up to a pretty strong argument when she left, though, and those fights usually last at least a good 30 minutes at least.

In the well, Lorraine finds the remnants of the capstone; it looks like it was struck pretty solidly, but there's still some good-sized chunks here; the ones large enough to read clearly would be troublesome to move, but there are a few smaller fragments with lesser portions of the engravings upon them. From what she can gather, it was originally a round stone about 5 inches thick, the top of which was utterly covered with small runic circles, themselves arranged in a concentric circle from center to outer edge. Some of it, from what she's seen of it around the city here and there, looks to be nothing more than Githyanki writing, though she can't tell what it says of course. Interspersed through those, though, are what appear to be some magical runes, the signature regular geometric pattern of channeling lines. Casting a quick detection charm - seemingly at least slightly effective here in the depths of the well, with feet of godstone in most all directions - she gets to work. However, as best she can tell, even the formerly enchanted runes seem dead now, their energies likely dispersed when the stone was shattered. As for what they were...they look to be mostly runes of abjuration, with minor patterns of conjuration and enchantment woven in. They seem to have been designed to hold something in, that's for sure...but she doesn't think it was a person so much as a phenomenon.

While Lorraine investigates below the well, Tonuin'li approaches the others, speaking softly with Sunny. "You seem well-trained in stealth; I'd like to ask of you a favor, if I could. The others refuse to let me overhear their arguments, claiming a simple githwarrior doesn't need to know such matters." She scoffs slightly, as she draws a small, silver amulet from a pouch at her side. "While they busy themselves fighting, do you think perhaps you could listen in? I know you do not know our language, but I retrieved this from...what was once a minor embassy of ours. A weak translation charm; they tend to scramble when exposed to more than one language, but they work quite well on one."

Walking the city

Salix leads the way with Eloise at his side, followed along by Rosalyn, the goblin, Garick, and Trivale. It's the first time they've had a chance to make a good, un-chaperoned expedition of this rock, and by an hour, they've already realized it's not a formless mass of rock. Not in the slightest. And the appearance seems natural at that, with no signs of chisel-marks, chips of carving, or anything else that would make it appear crafted. As if it was entirely natural, the shape it now holds; which it very well might be, from the look of it. By now, they've begun to wander about the feminine face jutting from the end of the stone, and something about the area has Eloise skittish though Salix can't see nor feel anything that might cause that.

While the others might find themselves distracted by the oddity of the ground beneath them, Trivale is the first to spot something that looks as though it might be out of place, though it catches Rosalyn's eye not long after. Near the forehead, a few loose yellowish grains on the ground, not of stone and with no remains anywhere nearby. Of course, now that they have someone's attention, it's more likely another might notice...

Group 1: Lorraine got a 25 on her K:Arcana check.
Group 2: Perception DC 20 or Survival DC 15 check, rolled whichever was best for each. Rosalyn: Survival 22, Garick: Survival 12, Salix: Survival 13, Trivale: Perception 30

Shaun, I assumed Trivale went with the second group since he was having bad effects around the well, but if not, go ahead and post with him in the other.

by **Angelica** » Thu May 26, 2011 2:26 pm

Sunny hesitated for a moment, as if trying to read something from Tonuin'li's face. She reached out and took the amulet, playing with it for a moment before speaking.

"You think they're fighting about the well." It was not quite a question, or a statement, and seemed more like conjecture than anything. "Alright." Sunny looked up at Toniun'li. "You'll have to tell me where to go."

She wasn't exactly happy, but she wasn't really happy with anything that had happened recently. Why should this be any different?

by **ChristianC** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:15 pm

Salix had read about chaos a little, but most of what he knew was hearsay. To see something like this though, could the legends be true?
"...A dead god?" he bent down to inspect the ground, as if he was suddenly going to find that it was skin and not rock.

by **Idran1701** » Mon May 30, 2011 7:36 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Well

She nods, and gestures down one of the streets. "Down this path, and curve left at the end of the road. We're keeping ourselves in a warehouse on the left. Thank you greatly. I know not what they fight over...I'm sure the well is related, but I..." She stammers a bit, before regaining her composure. "I have reason to worry it might be more than that, that they might be growing restless."

Walking the city

Salix kneels, but finds the ground the same warm rock it has been since they arrived.

The goblin approaches, furrowing her brow. "A dead god? What do you mean, Salix?"

Sorry for the delays lately, just the usual summer slowness I guess; I actually forgot I hadn't yet. If I ever take too long to GM for your guys' taste, feel free to harass me in IM or PMs or whatever.

by **Angelica** » Tue May 31, 2011 3:45 pm

"Would any of them have a reason to wander off the road?"

The last thing Sunny wanted was to be surprised by a gith who had wandered off behind one of the buildings. She would need to go over and around the ruins, staying off the road, but it would be more difficult to keep an eye out for any signs of danger if she had to make her way through a mess of broken stone and corpses. At least she had her grappling hook on her.

by **Idran1701** » Tue May 31, 2011 4:09 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Well

She frowns a bit, thinking. "If they wished to take a faster trip to a distant portion of the city, they might leave the gravity and float, yes. But I doubt they would be concerned much about speed."

by **Angelica** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:25 am

That sounded good. She probably wouldn't have any extra trouble getting there... Wait, what?

"You mean you can fly?"

by **Idran1701** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:29 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Well

She blinks, nodding. "Well, yes. The Astral is a plane of the mind, and so gravity upon the Astral only functions so long as one expects it to function. Apologies, I hadn't remembered you were a new guest to the plane."

by **Angelica** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:16 am

Sunny stared blankly for a moment, trying to process what Toniun'li had said.

"Alright, then. I ought to go, then."

Sunny turned to leave. She would need to test out this apparently optional gravity, but first she needed to get to the warehouse before the other gith finished their discussion. Gravity could wait. Maybe if she needed to get over something, she could try going over without her grappling hook, but the idea was somewhat intimidating.

by **Seethe** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:45 pm

Rosalyn stared at those loose grains for a few moments. They seemed out of place, but she wasn't sure if she should make anything of them. They just looked like debris, though it wasn't stone.

"I wonder if we should check that out," she finally asked aloud, gesturing in that direction.

by **Besyanteo** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:21 pm

Lorraine climbed out of the well, and relayed her findings to the others quickly.

"I don't know enough local lore to guess what the original purpose of that containment was, or if it's what you were telling us about earlier Tonuin'li... But guarding the well now isn't serving any purpose I can see. The chest has been looted now, as it were."

by **darkknight61189** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:02 am

"Eh," Garick said with a shrug, "Seems as good as any direction to me."

by **Idran1701** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 8:31 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Well

Tonuin'li shakes her head as Lorraine tells of her findings. "There is no local lore to speak of, Lorraine. As I said, I'd always thought of it as nothing but a piece of statuary, and so far as I am aware so did all others I knew here. But...you are certain it's...'empty'? There was nothing there but the capstone? Do you have any new theories on the dreams, now that you've examined it?"

Gith Warehouse

Sunny slips across the city, and the warehouse is in sight without an encounter with locals. Once it's in sight, she can begin to hear faint snatches of what sounds to be e heated argument coming from within. As she draws near, it becomes more clear, and the trinket seems to be working appropriately; though it still sounds as their language, somehow she knows what the words mean despite. Still, muffled through the walls, it's hard to tell who's speaking at any one time.

"...aggravating! Let her handle it."
"I still think it's an awful idea to trust her."
"As do I. She still holds ill will over Terath."
"It was what had to be done, she will understand that."

She's reached the building now; the three sound to be gathered just inside the door, and were she wanting to risk it, she could take a peek inside through a nearby window.

Walking the city

Rosalyn and Garick head towards the grains, examining them in a bit greater detail. Coarse, rigid, they almost resemble sand, but for their shape; mostly rectangular, but naturally so. Once closer, Garick can see a bit more alongside them. Very light scratches in the stone about the grains, almost like the marks an animal's claw would leave.

Sunny: It's this building here; right now, Sunny is just at the upper-left corner along the "west" side, the west wall being the one that faced her as she approached.

by **Angelica** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 2:16 pm

Sunny waited until one of the gith started to speak, then peeked through the window. Hopefully they would all be paying attention to their friend, and not the window.

by **ChristianC** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:25 pm

Salix frowns and shakes his head, "Something my father told me, I was young then... much younger." he smiles a little and gets up, "There is a place in the planes where gods go to die, when there are no longer anyone who know their names or, if they do, offer them no prayers. I believe at that point, a god can no longer live, if they ever do as we see it."

He brushes his hands and his smile falters, "It... might not have been a fairytale though, I have seen enough of the planes to know that few such stories are."

by **Idran1701** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:41 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Gith Warehouse

Slipping along the wall and crouching at the window, Sunny peeks through as they talk, watching what they say as they speak. Two men and a women, she can see; one of the men is the heavily-armored one that left the well to Tonuin'li. He stands apart from the other two; a man in blue robes, and a woman wearing a chain shirt. The way they hold themselves next to one another, they seem quite close, and definitely standing in opposition to the third. The third, though, seems to lord over them in his stance, as a leader.

The woman's the first to speak back up. "Will she? You know how close the two were. Would you understand so easily, Gaath'lir?"

He scowls, but before he can respond, the other man speaks up. "Her will has always been weak, like Bvin's. She doesn't have the stomach for what often needs to be done." Some sort of look passes over his face. "And...her support of our Queen-"

Gaath'lir glares to him, cutting in sharply. "You do not question another child's devotion to the Queen, Mericass, especially without their knowledge. That way leads paranoia and gossip, which I do not abide for. Unless you know otherwise, you will be silent."

The woman tosses Mericass a a slight scowl of her own, before looking back to Gaath'lir. "And if those outsiders come? Do you think she can hold them off? I saw them in battle, they may be dangerous."

With a pause, Gaath'lir frowns. "...She knows not to fight on her own. If it comes to it, she will return here, and we shall fight them ourselves. We hold our Queen on our side, in our hearts; she will lead us to victory. And I do relish the opportunity to cease the prattling of that..." He scowls, cutting himself off. The way he speaks of her sounds close to worshipful; perhaps he's a knight of some sort, or a paladin?

"...I will ponder this myself. Allow me a walk. When I return, I shall know what next to do." At that, he starts towards the door, pushing past the other two.

Walking the city

"...When a god is forgotten, they die?" The goblin frowns, turning this over in her mind. "What a...sad way to end. It must be lonely in the end for them."

Sunny easily passed her Stealth check. She passed three Sense Motive checks in the conversation, gaining information on Mericass and the woman's relationship, Gaath'lir's perceived position in the group, and his "faith" around his queen.

by **Angelica** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:22 pm

Sunny moved out of the giths' line of sight and looked around for cover. She wanted to stay and find out if the others had more to say, but she had no idea where Gaath'lir wanted to go for his stroll, and she wasn't about to risk getting into a fight if she didn't have to.

by **darkknight61189** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:35 pm

Garick thought about the idea of a god dieing, and it made him fell better. "I'm glad that there's a way to kill a god. Who knows when I might find myself with a pissed off god."

by **Jak Snide** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:06 pm

Kongunvir had waited out of sight, expecting trouble to find Lorraine and the newcomer Sunny. It did not.

He moved out of cover as Sunny departed, walking up to Lorraine and Tonuin'li. The gith's lack of resentment was both welcomed and troubling. If he'd spoke to one of his own in such a manner he'd not have expected the matter to be brushed aside so easily.

"Did you find anything?" he asked Lorraine, glancing at the broken masonry.

by **Idran1701** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:49 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Gith Warehouse

The best cover Sunny can find is the building itself, but it seems to serve well enough; she slips back around the corner with hardly a noise (not that that would even matter if she did), and can hear Gaath'lir walk off without coming anywhere near her. Inside the building, she can hear the two gith heading to another room on the other side, slamming the door shut behind them. The woman's voice spills out shortly after the slam.

"What was that, 'cass? What were you trying to do there?"

"Hmph. I thought if I could plant the seed in his mind, things would go more smoothly. You know how obsessed he is."

"Yes, I know exactly how obsessed he is, which is why that was such a horrible idea!"

Well

Tonuin'li looks over to Kongunvir with a bit of a start, but quickly relaxes. She shakes her head, frowning. "There seems to have been nothing to find, from what Lorraine tells us. Whatever was there is gone now."

Walking the city

The idea causes the goblin to laugh a bit. "Do you plan on making many gods angry, Garick?" Seeing the attention he and Rosalyn are giving the ground, she perks up a bit, approaching the two. "Did you find something?"

Another quick Stealth check passed for Sunny.

by **Besyanteo** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:15 pm

Lorraine nods.

"Just as she said. It definitely contained something, and there were a variety of magics used to get the job done. Nothing especially powerful looking, but still well made. That's all spent now. I can say that whatever it held probably wasn't a living thing, too. The way the runes were arranged and chosen, it's more like some kind of force was being contained. Energy or something maybe, there's no saying. It could be what we came to find, but if that's so then there'd have to have been dozens of these wells all over the planes doing the same thing for the same reason. Something like them, anyway."

She paused to consider that.

"... I guess we should hope that's what it is. It would mean we could put whatever came out back in. I didn't think of that before. It would be nice to just be able to stick the plague back in a series of magic jars and put up some decent warning signs. It would also mean there'd be other items like this to study and get a better understanding of. Too much speculating for just this find, though."

She stretched her arms a bit before asking:

"Should we head back now? Are we expecting one of the others to show up soon? I'm pretty much done for now."

by **Seethe** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:51 pm

"Possibly," Rosalyn answered the goblin. "They seem strange enough, anyway."

A moment later, she remembered the oddities of perception on this plane. Quickly, she gave a gesture directly toward the grains to make sure the goblin would see them.

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