The Planewalkers' Journies

[ChristianC]

Magpie took a few steps towards the dragon in a non-threatening gesture, making a point of sheathing her sword and smiling as gently as the metallic face could.

"It was not, do not worry. Thirteen is capable of many things, I do not understand them all myself. Her creator must have been quite capable, although she does not wish to speak of it." she sits down in front of the dragon, wondering if it would like to be tickled behind the ridge, or if that would upset it.

"I have faith that she will return shortly."

[Kelne]

"You know, it is a pretty neat..." some shred of common sense censored the word 'trick', "Ability. I have got to figure out how she does it." So saying, Asp enacted a detect magic charm to see if he could spot how Thirteen was doing it upon her return.

[Jak Snide]

That thing was smaller than he expected. More petulant, too. He'd expected a gargantuan creature, fearsome and regal. This one looked like a nasty piece of work, sure enough, but he was hardly shaking in his boots.

He kept his mouth shut and let Magpie do the talking, instead trying to recall anything else he might have learned about dragons. He was pretty sure they were meant to be bigger than this after all. If that was indeed the case then it meant a few things about the one before them.

(Any chance K: Dungeoneering will help him out with dragon lore?)

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

Calmed by Magpie's assurances as best as it could be, the dragon settles down once more, flapping its wings impatiently. "Why are you all in my home anyway? I didn't say you could be here." It seems especially wary of Kongunvir now, unable to help glancing in his direction every so often; almost nervously, he might think, if it wasn't a dragon doing it.

[Jak Snide]

The dwarf fixed the dragon in his gaze. Those glances were unsettling, especially since he doubted the creature was nervous. Then again who was he to say? If the thing was as young as it was it might be afraid of them. That notion seemed ludicrous to him, but why else would it be holding back?

"We killed several of those metal creatures and followed their tracks here to find the rest. Did you kill the rest of them?" He kept his tone inquisitive if slightly sceptical.

(Sense Motive to check its response. Kongunvir is, I believe, unaware of its initial response to how it came upon this place.)

[Kelne]

"Well, you didn't say we couldn't be here, either," Asp pointed out. Not that he would've paid much attention to the dragon if it had said such a thing. "Besides, home's a pretty dull place if you never get visitors. How else will you keep up with all the latest news?"

[ChristianC]

Magpie nodded in agreement with Kongunvir and Asp, not saying anything more for now.

[Besyanteo]

By this point Phelan was little more than a wolf head poking around the corner of a wall, keeping an eye on the room. He made no attempt to re-enter or move anywhere that would prevent him from keeping an eye on the dragon.

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

The dragon seems to be growing more uncomfortable as Kongunvir stares at it, shifting about on its perch almost like a cat. It seems to have forgotten about Phelan entirely at this point, luckily for the wolf. "...They were dead when I came. The walls exploded, and I came in, and they were all dead. And I don't care about news! If I need to know it then I will know it, and I don't need to know anything else!" It snorts at Asp, obviously unimpressed by his arguments.

---

Kongunvir:

Spoiler:

The dragon indeed does seem unnerved by Kongunvir's presence, for one reason or another. He gets the feeling it's trying to put on a show of bravado, but it's honestly worried about having been surprised by the presence of so many outsiders in its "lair". It even almost seems embarrassed at admitting that it didn't kill the constructs itself.

[Kelne]

"Really? That's kind of a narrow outlook on life. Say, does that mean that if I step out of sight, you don't need to know where I am?" Asp asked in the spirit of enquiry.

[Jak Snide]

Kongunvir was beginning to think that this dragon wasn't very smart. "Would it mean that also mean that any looters pilfering your horde behind your back wouldn't be something you'd need to concern yourself with?" he asked mockingly. "Though come to think of it," he continued, altering his tone as if he'd just been struck by a realisation, "how do you know there aren't some looters stealing all your wealth while you're here threatening us? This is a big place and if we both missed each other then there could be others here as well."

[ChristianC]

Magpie didn't much care for the tone the other adventurers were taking with the potenti-dragon, so she knelt stepped up to it and held out her hand, like she had done with some of the animals at the camp, letting the dra, sorry, potenti-dragon sniff it if he wanted, before she scratched him.

"Do not mind them, I am sure they are jealous of your hoard and your cave. I am sorry if we are making you nervous, if you want you can sleep with us and we promise we won't hurt you. And we will leave tomorrow."

She added as an afterthought, "I would like to inspect the throne and the mechanisms of the constructs we have met, of course..."

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

"...I..." Asp's question seems to leave it confused, as it thinks on what he's said. Before it can reply on its thoughts, though, Kongunvir speaks, and the dragon's ire grows. It shouts at the dwarf, sending out small puffs of frost with its words. "...That's not...they aren't! There aren't any!" It growls, glaring at him. Magpie's attempt at calming it seems to do little, as it clambers back and away from her when she reaches out towards it. "What are you doing?" Flapping its wings, it moves its gaze between the three of them, one after another. "Stop confusing me! What throne? What looters? You're all...trying to trick me! It won't work! I'll breathe again!"

[Jak Snide]

Kongunvir shook his head. "And what good would that do you? If we start fighting then that just leaves your horde vulnerable. We're not after it, just some answers about the walking machines. Others might be here though, men who care less about learning and more about stealing what isn't theirs. They might be there now, shovelling your riches into sacks and laughing at you behind your back." Kongunvir spoke emphatically, acting as if this was a heinous deed and not the sort of thing any red blooded dwarf dreamed about. "Standing around arguing doesn't do you any good, nor any of us." He stressed the last few words but refrained looking directly at his comrades.

[ChristianC]

Magpie spoke without any malice in her voice, but she gave Asp and Kongunvir a slight glance, reprimanding perhaps:

"We are not here to fight and we are not here to steal anything" she paused for a little while, gathering her thoughts.

"In the room we were in, there is a chair. It is something you can sit in, although it is probably difficult for you. This place is very old, and we think it can fly to other places, but we do not know. That is why I would like to inspect things. No one is going to hurt anyone else here... and if you breathe again, and hurt me or my friends again, I am going to have to hurt you. I do not want to, but I will."


[Magpie is using intimidate]

[Kelne]

"Absolutely not. Wouldn't dream of it," Asp said, "And I'm sure there's nobody lurking around trying to steal your hoard. Besides, it's a big ship and I'm sure any visitors would come to the bridge first. We did, after all."

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

Still backing up, the dragon retreats to the corner of the room. Watching them all, it flattens along the ground, resting its head on its arms and folding its wings at its side. It keeps a good amount of distance, speaking quietly, with a slight tremor to its tone. "...no stealing. And no tricks." It doesn't seem to be making any aggressive moves, keeping itself still as it watches them; it obviously still doesn't trust them, but it doesn't seem willing to get in their way anymore.

---

Intimidate check fails, but the dragon seems to have relented anyway.

[Jak Snide]

"No stealing, no tricks." Kongunvir repeated. "We go about our business, you go about watching your horde." He wondered exactly what the dragon classified as its horde. The thought of it having seen the platinum construct made his stomach knot until he convinced himself that the thing was probably too stupid to understand the value of such a thing. Besides, if it hadn't known about the chair then it probably didn't know about the central chamber. They'd need to busy themselves with the fallen adventurers soon, either stripping them of gear or preparing their bodies for transport. He knew which he was in favour of, as distasteful as it was.

[ChristianC]

Magpie smiled a little and nodded to the dragon.

"We promise to leave you alone. If you want to. We are all members of a group of travelers who explore the planes and seek adventures. It is quite fun, so I would like to invite you to this guild as well, if you are interested."

She didn't imagine the dragon would like to, but she felt a bit bad for it. It must be lonely.

[Shinigori V2]

Where Thirteen was standing, a pinpoint beam of light appears, before widening. A moment later, there's a "FOOM", as Thirteen appears within the beam, kneeling. A moment later, she begins floating as normal, and holds up...A small, silver platter, covered by a silver dome. "Your dinner." She says ceremoniously, placing it near the front of the dragon. She uncovers it, stepping away, revealing it to be..A large hunk of frozen beef.

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

The dragon makes no reply to Magpie's offer, but it glances up as Thirteen returns. Its mood improves a bit as Thirteen reveals the platter, and with little hesitation it begins to eat, wrapping one limb protectively around the chunk of meat and keeping a close eye on the others; Kongunvir especially.

[Shinigori V2]

Thirteen smiles, floating away slowly. "Is everything to your liking?"

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

The dragon nods as it tears into the meat, not sparing a moment to speak.

[ChristianC]

Magpie smiled at Thirteen. Seemed she'd alleviated the situation somewhat and, relaxing, she sheathed her sword and sat down on the ground, not entirely sure what would happen next.

[Kelne]

"Well then, crisis averted," Asp said blithely, "Visitors bearing food are okay in future, right? Because we'll probably be popping by from time to time. We're looking at getting the ship to fly again, you know."

[Jak Snide]

Kongunvir let the others offer their friendship, continuing his study of the dragon instead. It appeared that they'd obtained a truce with the creature, but he wasn't sure how long that would last. It was as Asp said; if they intended to investigate the magics and mechanisms of this place then they'd need to interact with the oversized lizard again. How long would it take for the creature to increase its demands or roam into the areas of the complex that they'd claimed themselves? He didn't like the idea of bowing and scraping to anyone to begin with, let alone a simple minded youngling.

(Sense Motive, trying to figure out as much about the dragon's thought processes as possible.)

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

The dragon nods, still gnawing on the chunk of meat as it does. After a moment to swallow, it speaks up, the slightest waver in its voice. "That was true? You want to make this cave...fly?" It furrows its brow, clueless as to what that even means, or how it would be achieved. "But...it is a cave."

---

Kongunvir:

Spoiler:

No luck on this check, unfortunately.

[ChristianC]

"The throne we spoke of before. It seems that if someone with magical power sits on it, it will power the cave, and it will try to fly."

Magpie was sitting down, watching the dragon eat with a slight smile on her face. She knew the poor thing was probably scared out of its wits.

[Besyanteo]

Phelan, while still not entirely convinced that things had worked as well as everyone else seemed to think, allowed himself to relax. The others seemed to have the Dragon well in hand, which meant he didn't need to get eaten by the much larger predator. He sat by the doorway to the hall, and watched just a bit more calmly.

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

"...But...caves don't fly." It ignores the meat entirely for now, its entire mind devoted to processing this idea. "Caves are in the ground...they are not like dragons. They do not even have wings."

Its distraction can't last long, of course, and it soon returns to the meat. Though it obviously hasn't stopped thinking about this strangeness.

[Kelne]

"Not ordinarily, no," Asp said, "It takes some pretty powerful magic to get something the size of a mountain to fly, caves and all. I don't really understand how it all works myself, but I'm sure I can work it out given time."

[ChristianC]

(A Wild Post has appeared!)

Magpie wasn't really sure if she was the authority on flying caves, so she wisely let Asp handle that aspect. She could imagine some manner of flying, surely, but making a place as big as this fly, it would require quite complicated magic to do.

"Indeed, this cave doesn't have wings, but I don't have any blood in my body, but still I can talk, think and move. Some times, there are strange things in the world that we do not understand, but they exist whether we believe in them or not."

[Idran1701]

? - Abandoned Complex

The dragon harumphs once more, but seems to be satisfied enough with Magpie's explanation. It makes no further attempts at interfering with their work, keeping a cautious distance from the lot of them; though still unhappy, it seems to have no real wish to strike against them at this point.

Soon enough, Asp has gathered all the information he can here. With only his own spells at his disposal, there's little further progress he can make on his research. Indeed, there seems to be little else that can be achieved without a trip back. While some might choose to stay merely to keep watch over the site, for the most part their original goals seem to have been achieved - there is definitely no further threat from the clockwork creatures here.

Another hike across the arctic plain by any that would choose to make it additionally shows that despite the change in imagery of the mechanical paintings within the complex, the rift is still present just where it had been; they don't appear to have any actual connection to the portal after all, merely artificial windows to view the surroundings. Nothing else seems to be present to impede their return trip, a trip some may be eager to make, others less so.

---

Essentially the end of the adventure here, all. Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to make sure it wouldn't end too much before the other thread like last time; figured better a week and a half off now and a week and a half after than what we had last time.

Final experience bonuses: 480 XP apiece for "defeating" the dragon, and 2000 XP apiece for concluding the adventure. Asp, Kongunvir, Magpie, and Phelan all get a level for this; go ahead and get in contact with me with your level information when you can.

Before the final close-out of this mission, everyone should make one last post summarizing what they're doing over the next few days to a week after this, since I know everyone's got plans for the immediate future. Remember that it's a day and a half's walk from the village to the balloon outpost that leads back to Tiera Minuut. Tiera Minuut itself is a relatively good-sized trading post if people's actions require extra resources or anything, and there's always the Guild itself, which is just a half-hour down from the door to Tiera Minuut.

There'll probably be chat stuff afterwards too for the stuff you'll be doing immediately after this adventure for anyone that'd want it, so keep that in mind too.

[Jak Snide]

Kongunvir, in the times that he was sure that nobody besides his guildmates were listening, asked them what they thought should be done with the facility and the treasures within it. The dwarf reasoned that the Planeswealkers Guild probably possessed more arcane knowledge than they had and, with work, could restore the facility to its former glory. At the very least there were resources to be claimed, all of which could go a great way towards improving the guild. The platinum construct alone would provide them with significant wealth if salvaged. He also, somewhat grudgingly, acknowledged that Phelan and his people had a stake in the facility as well due to the efforts of the wolf and the damage the machines had inflicted on the community. Secrecy was stressed above all else; if word got out of what they'd discovered then looters would descend upon the place.

[ChristianC]

Magpie proved to be somewhat less enthusiastic about the riches, arguing that the dragon had claim on them, as it had said so, but wasn't opposed to some kind of deal being formed. It seemed to be a youthful, slightly spoiled creature, and not very intelligent (Magpie obviously put this in kinder words), but it wasn't fair to just spirit whatever they found away.

Still, she likewise expressed some interest in finding out more about the facility, and certainly much more about the constructs they had found! Other than that, she would gladly help out anyone with whatever they wanted doing, since although she had begun to experience the downside of having a more sensitive body (carving away a good amount of your protective natural armor can do that!), she had no problem with walking long distances through rain or snow.

[Kelne]

Asp spent his time sketching the runes on the throne and conducting other magical investigations, with a sideline in checking to see if the dead adventurers had any neat stuff they wouldn't begrudge to a good cause. He also suggested finding an empty chamber to serve as a crypt rather than having their restless spirits disturbed by an endless parade of visitors to the bridge. Although he'd failed to figure out how to get the platinum construct to move on its own, he was happy to help take it apart for ease of transport.

[Shinigori V2]

After making some mild arrangements with Florence, Shawn does something that's probably unexpected:

She disappears into one of Thirteen's portals, as the construct-type-thing leaves.

[Idran1701]

Planewalkers' Guild

Two weeks have passed since the completion of the adventures to Ice and Air, and the tales of each have well made their rounds.

On the side of Ice, Phelan's companion was beyond all hope recovered from his captors, a strange race of clockwork beings advanced beyond even Mechanus, who had taken him hostage and experimented upon him, forming some sort of twisted organic/clockwork hybrid being. After their defeat, the influence of the clockwork components was removed, and though physically and mentally he still has much to recover from, he's proceeding along. The source of the invading force, however - a massive complex in the arctic region of a Prime world on the far side of an elemental vortex - only left its own questions; abandoned, cleared out by a party that lost their lives in the attempt, and claimed by a very youthful dragon, it showed no signs of its origin beyond the fact that it almost certainly did not originate on that world, the only conclusion that could be reasonably drawn from the spelljammer helm found worked into the mechanisms of its functioning. There is still much to discover with it, despite Asp's best efforts. The Guild itself has received a massive windfall in the profits collected from the raw materials of the platinum construct remains recovered from the complex; even after the share given to the travelers to Ice, Hav'run still has much profit to invest into expanding the Guild's resources and provisions. And of course, Shawn herself has departed to parts unknown with Thirteen, the mysterious construct girl that was herself investigating these creatures; though many will be sad to see her go, she assured that this was only a temporary leave.

On the side of Air, Theller's people were freed from the slavery of the efreet Smoke farmers, who had pressed the citizens of Homespire into service collecting valuable fumes and gasses from that plane, channeling them back their own realm in the plane of Fire. It was a vicious battle to free Theller's family, his friends, those he'd grown up with, and some were injured by their service - even killed by the horrid conditions they were forced into. The experience was certainly striking to all. But in body, if nothing else, most all came away with naught but soot-covered wings and a nasty, but passing, cough. The azer themselves - the fiery dwarves also forced into service by the efreet - were happy to help the raptorans rebuild and recover, donating their time, their labor, and their resources to restore the damage caused by the efreet assault. With not just the thanks of the raptorans but also the rewards of the azer, Theller and his companions had no lack of gratitude expressed to them, with the lot of them invited to stay in the days ahead for an upcoming celebration of more than merely their rescue; after all, the elders of his people said, such an act is certainly the perfect capstone for his Walk of the Four Winds.

Outside the Guild, matters have of course been continuing outside the planes. Amongst the biggest nest is still the Modron March; while the Planewalkers were leaving for the Inner Planes, the March was just arriving at Fortitude, gate town to Arcadia, and leaving something of a political mess in their wake - it seems normally the major council elections are keyed to the March's Great Cycle timing, and this new March has left something of a constitutional crisis that even two weeks later still hasn't been resolved. The March itself still winds its way through the Peaceable Kingdoms on its way to Celestia, and is due to arrive at the Mount in a matter of days. On the other side of the ring, tensions between the Olympians and the Aesir recently came to outright blows, as an assault by followers of Athena against a Loki cult resulted in a counter attack against some Hephaesteans, spiraling into a broad skirmish in that stretched on for a good week before mediated by the Seldarine. Another skirmish, this one of the Blood War, hit the Grey Waste, as devil and demon mercenary forces ten thousand strong clashed. At the end of the bloody massacre, thought by some to be mystically encouraged by yugoloth manipulators, it's said not a single survivor on either side was left standing. And more cheerfully, recent tensions between archon and eladrin petitions to the Ennead over a patch of spellreed along the River Ma'at have been settled by guardinal mediators, and should resolve peacefully quite soon.

---

Setting things up for CI before we get to new plothooks. Lorraine, Magpie, and Kongunvir: this is technically at least 12 days after the chat stuff, but since we haven't finished playing that out yet, I won't go into the details of the aftereffects here. There will be some, though, so keep that in mind if you're doing anything, though I'd sort of prefer you hold off until we can get that wrapped up.

Since Spleen is still swamped with stuff for the foreseeable future, for now I'm benching Theller, but hopefully in the future he'll be able to come back in. Rosalyn, Garick, and Trivale, I just did a quick write-up of the conclusion of things there, but you still have a chance to go back and fill in your end-of-game stuff if you had something else in mind.

There are also a couple people bringing in new characters now, so feel free to set things up with that, go ahead and do whatever you'd like here, CI, whatever.

Also, MVP votes! Everyone, send in your MVP votes for your thread, and the highest-voted character will get the 5% XP reward, same as last time. And plot cards for the end of last quest will be drawn and posted shortly.

[Shinigori V2]

Walking through the stair is a new person- Short, maybe another dwarf or something, who knows? They wear a heavy brown cloak, and make a loud clanking noise as they walk. They seem to approach random peoples, but is quickly turned away.

[Idran1701]

Planewalkers' Journies

This new guest wanders about the Guild for a time, having no luck in her inquiries, and getting a good deal of brusqueness in exchange; not entirely purposefully, but today the Staircase happens to be receiving the only bit of weather it ever gets, a thankfully rare occurrence - somewhat heat and humidity. Though not as awful as some of the jungles out there, it still feels like walking about in a rainstorm; with luck, it should pass by tomorrow.

Still, even here, there's one person always happy to greet new appearances with a friendly manner. As this guest wanders the platform, skimming the edge of the commons, she happens to bump into a 9-foot minotaur with chocolate-brown fur and wide horns, accompanied by a slim fellow covered in golden-brown feathers and bearing eagle talons for feet.

Though initially imposing, he offers a gentle smile as he nods to the guest. "Ah, greetings. You seem to be a new arrival, and you seem to be looking for something at that. Would there be any way we could be of assistance?"

---

Just realized I completely forgot to give XP for the Other Journies thread. Since there wasn't a ton of combat, I'll say 4000 XP apiece. And as for treasure - specifically, the gifts that the azer would offer the lot of you - I'll post that in the OOC thread once I get it put together.