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BelGareth
2012-10-01, 11:12 PM
Chapter 1: Into the Maw

The night was just beginning to be pushed away by the sunset, still a long ways away, but to those on duty, it was a sign of needed relief; no one liked to be on night duty. Walking his circuit, the night duty scuffed his heels as he did, boredom having long set in he had resorted to mocking the drill movements and sang a silent cadence in his head.

He moved past the door for the Praecipua Operationes Team 1, he always peered inside if he could, but that was on the day shift, now he would see nothing, just the darkness of sleep, for which he yearned for so much.

He paused by the fire brazier next to the door and held his hands out, it wasn't too cold out, but it was still chilly, enough to make your fingers stiff with cold.


http://www.afcent.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/web/110128-F-0848C-285.jpg

Sighing and about to take off for the rest of his route, he almost missed the speeding messenger boy, who ran past him and into the barracks. Calling out to the boy "Hey!" had no affect, and he shook his head thinking the boy would get a beating for going where he didn't belong at such an hour as this.


***

Dreams had taken hold, and not even a night of heavy drinking had any of you up past this hour, good thing too as the boy grabbed a metal pan on the wall and ran through the walkway in between the racks smacking it as hard as he could.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

You wake all of a sudden, to the vision of a grinning messenger boy, rushing past you in an attempt to avoid anything thrown at him, as was customary for such a job.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The boy headed for the door at the end of the berthing area, having done his job and seeing the prospects of going unharmed dwindling with every moment. A shoe sails past his head and a bar of soap grazes his leg as he disappears through the hatch the metal pan dropped to the floor making a clang louder than the beating the boy had given it.

Grumbling, you all wake up and quickly checking the light outside you instantly realize that this is no usual reveille, you have been aroused for something more important, something you have been without for weeks:

A mission.

Hastily, you all don your attire, whether it be the simple garments of a monk, or the heavy armor of a destrier riding knight. Although several of you do not subscribe to the standard uniform of the royal armies, and several of you even skirt the shaving requirements, one thing binds you all together signifying your unit among the military, the red stripe lining of your clothes. However you incorporated it into your garb, it signifies one thing; your elite status.

Having dressed, you quickstep towards the briefing room, skipping the chow hall altogether, the braziers outside the hatch were ablaze, more evidence to the fact that something was about.

Entering you are received by two ornate guardians.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lGpPYYQEFlY/UGplV4UoEmI/AAAAAAAABDM/3CDkURB9Dyc/s400/flint___warforged_fighter_by_siegefault_ii-d2h4lcv.jpg

Flanking the interior hatch, you all instantly recognize the famous Warforged brothers, guardians to King Gareth himself and his constant shadows. This could only mean one thing, that the King was present for the briefing.

Things just got strange.


***

Entering through the hatch, between the silent stares of the Grim brothers, you move into the briefing room silently, filling around the sand table that had already been shaped into a mountainous area you seem to recognize but are unable to pin point. You see Grand Marshall Edwin and next to him, his Grace King Gareth, from the shadows opposite the door comes Marshall Francis, who coughs to gain the attention of the whole room.

"Good Morning, at 02 hundred hours the hourly report from the Lost Tower Outpost did not come in, as you are all aware..." he pauses for moment and looks towards the King nervously "...this happens quite frequently, and is nothing we are not able to handle. Where this gets strange, gentlemen" he nods towards the women in the room "and ladies, is when our Nightwatch cleric failed to scry on the tower." He waits for the hushes to fade and then continues "The scry attempt was done at 03 hundred hours, at which point in time there was still no answer." Looking at Grand Marshall he moves on again "It has been established that something has befallen the Lost Tower, your mission is to recon the area and locate and gather any and all Intel you can. At this point in time, we are blind, and we would rather not be. You will leave directly after any questions have been fielded." he points to the sand table, for which you now understand to be the Lost Tower "You will be inserted here by a Terrellian Corvette, who will remain in a circling pattern for approximately 2 hours to provide an emergency extraction, if, you stay longer than 2 hours, you are expected to find your own way back to HQ within 2 days."

He stops talking and stands a little straighter, putting his hands behind his back and looks at you all, "At this moment in time, we are unsure what is going on, you all, will be our eyes and ears. What questions do you have?"

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-02, 01:18 AM
Derek enters first, though new to the unit he's accustomed to addressing higher ups, and immediately offers a respectful bow to the king, and steps to the side.

As he listens to Marshall Francis talk he studies the table and formulates himself a plan to dealing with the terrain it presents. When the Marshall finishes his briefing he turns toward him. "Sir, has the tower recently sent up any reports of hostile forces in the area, or of any suspicious individuals seen? Within the last month or so, just to be safe."

bindin garoth
2012-10-02, 04:48 AM
Nexus enters in lazily, still waking up from that loud banging the messenger boy made. He had better hope he doesn't see him.........

Oh, its the king. 'Guess I'll make an exception for the boy this time' he thinks to himself. He takes a nearby seat and listens to the message. 'So things are finally starting, eh? Well, it's about time something happened, any longer and my sword skills would of become rusty!'

Not that this is anytime to be worrying about his skills. But he simply remains silent as the briefing is finished, not having any questions at this time. If it had been anyone else, he might of been a bit difficult and made a comment or two, but since it was the king, he figures it'd be best to keep his trap shut.

Chambers
2012-10-02, 07:29 AM
Reya

Reya and Kae walked through the city streets, hand in hand as they glanced around at the food in the vendors stalls. The tastes and smells of the food in Kae's homeland were still new to her and it delighted him in finding new delicacies for her to try.

"Here, taste this one." Kae said and bought a cream filled pasty with sugared strawberry on top. "My mother used to make them on temple days."

Reya bit into the pasty and smiled at Kae. Somewhere in the city church bells were toiling. "It's sweet! Thank you love." She gave him a strawberry kiss on the cheek and turned to keep walking but Kae stood still, holding her hand tight. "What's wrong love?" She asked, raising her voice to be heard over the clanging of the church bells. "Why are they so loud!?"

Kae kissed her hand. "They are ringing for you." He said and tears of blood began to fall from his eyes.

Reya woke up.

Just a dream. A bad dream. That's all. She rubber the sleep from her eyes and conjured a small mist that gave her some privacy while she dressed. Nodding to her teammates she placed the only military insignia she wore - a silver sash with a red stripe on the top - over her shoulder and followed them into the brief room. She coughed and tried to smile. "So, what do you think is the prob-" She cuts herself off as she sees the King in the room.

She hurries a few steps into the room and offers a deep curtsie to him. "Your majesty." She says and listens to Marshall Francis speak of the troubles, her hands held together within the loose sleeves of her cloak so that the King couldn't see how tightly she held them. Don't mess up Reya! Don't say something stupid now. Need to impress him, may be your only hope. Reya looks over at the sandtable and tries to imagine what the Outpost would look like while flying above it.

Lostbutseeking
2012-10-02, 11:51 AM
A chirp from Mitch, her hummingbird familiar and general nuisance, wakes Amelia before the messenger can even bang the alarm. The darkness reveals the hour of day. "Looks like something is up Mitch. Guess we will find what soon, gods what a racket."

Dressing hastily in riding clothes and a light mail shirt and then checks the barely palpable force of her abjuration from the day past and finds it still in effect. Pulling on a pair of boots and then quickly tieing her back into a rough ponytail she heads to the briefing room.

The guards outside tell her instantly who one of the members of this briefing will be which makes her quirk an eyebrow and murmur "Must be serious" to Mitch.

A curtesy and a "Your majesty" to the King, a nod to the rest and then she is listening to the briefing provided by Marshal Francis.


"I do have a question Marshal, you said the the cleric failed to scry on the tower. Was the scrying attempt blocked? Or did they fail to find the anchor stone and if so has anyone tried to scry the general area of the tower yet?

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-06, 05:19 PM
Rand snapped awake at the first sound of clanging pans; after many years camping in the field on missions and many years of upset soldiers trying to repay him for pranks, he's become a light sleeper. He gets up, stretches, and begins dressing. As he does so, he concentrates and calls every detail of the messenger's appearance that he caught to mind, then mentally recites to himself: Target #27: inconsiderate messenger boy woke me up half an hour early. Ideas: buzzing bees? extra caffeine? Another moment of concentration, and the image and message are permanently fixed in his mind until he chooses to forget it. Rand isn't the petty type, to prank people for minor slights, but he tries to ensure that when he does pull something it's appropriate to whatever his targets did to provoke him, since karmic justice always makes better stories after the fact...like when he overheard one private call him Colonel Elephant because he never forgot anything. Sculpting that elephant had taken him a good half-hour, but it was worth it in the end.

Suitably dressed, he ignores his mussed-up hair and the stubble on his chin--he only cleans up for inspection days, and it's not like the King is going to drop in or anything--and joins the others on their way to the briefing. At the sight of the guardians signifying that the King did, indeed, drop in, Rand sighs and drops back a few paces. He furrows his brow for a moment and a fancy wooden comb appears in one hand, and in the other hand appears a glossy wooden rectangle that should serve well enough as a mirror. He does his best to straighten up his hair and wishes he had time to shave, but that will have to do for now. He keeps the comb and ersatz mirror in his hands behind his back as he enters the room and bows to the King, hiding the implements until they pop out of existence.

He listens quietly through the briefing until Amelia asks her question. Nodding in agreement with her, he says, "If Derek is right and there are hostile forces of some sort in the area, it would be a lot easier for any invaders to just destroy the stone when they take the tower. If the tower was destroyed or the invaders have had time to set up anti-scrying wards, that makes the situation a lot more dangerous." Rand taps his chin in thought and adds, "Assuming the Tower was taken over, how subtle should we be with our recon? In the short term it would probably be better if they didn't know we knew about it, but it might be better in the long term if we could capture someone for questioning, kill some scouts, that sort of thing."

JKTrickster
2012-10-07, 04:07 AM
Ziggs groaned and squeezed his pillow over his head as the messenger dashed around their beds. The sudden loud noise was like a hammer to his head and Ziggs grabbed the nearest thing he could get his little hands on and flung it straight at the boy. The bar of soap collided with the pan instead, creating a huge cacophony of noise.


The nerve of that messenger boy! If he is going to try and wake me up, he should be doing it right! One pan? ONE pan? DOES IT LOOK LIKE I ONLY DESERVE ONE PAN!?!?!

Something must be wrong. Really wrong. Terribly-rust-monster-in-the-armory wrong. There is no way they would wake me up this early if they could help it. Something is wrong. So wrong. Maybe the kitchen caught on fire, and all my oranges exploded. Or maybe the Queen got pregnant, and the King isn't the father! Or maybe some faraway fort, manned by a bunch of belligerent drunks, got attacked and we have no idea what happened.

Nah......

You know, I don't think everyone is awake yet. I think we should do something to wake them up! Let's throw Derek's bar of soap...I'm so glad I swiped it from his this morning!



Getting up last, Ziggs begrudgingly started to get dressed. Like many of the others, Ziggs basically threw on what was the most convenient at the time. Except for Ziggs, that was always included his trademark coat. It was black and slightly heavy, with red stripes going down both sides. He dressed quickly and efficiently, like he was in a hurry. Taking out a small basin, he managed to wash his face with some water before the others rushed him. Just before he turned around, Ziggs kicked the table and knocked over an orange. Bending quickly, he caught it before it fell onto the floor.


Stupid messenger boy. Stole my pan and now I have to wash my face out of this basin? Can you believe that? THIS basin. THIS one. I cannot even comprehend what that messenger boy is thinking. He must really be off his marbles. Or on his marbles, tripped on them, and collided with my pan. Otherwise, I just don't see how he would have taken it. I can't eve-

Actually.......whoa. Whoa. Whooooaa. I kind of like this.

I should use this basin more often!

Hmm Mmm Hmm Hmm Hmm Mmm Hmm Mmm Hmm Hmm~~~~ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU)

Gotta wash up gotta wash up gotta wash up. I bet the pregnant Queen is there and the King ain't happy. Either that or the whole congregation and the husband and the wives and all of their cats. Either way, gotta look presentable, and nice, and all flashy with my little red stripes.

Ooooh I just love those red stripes! I can't wait to go out and see what's happening! I bet its a mission. I super secret, ultra dangerous, mighty fun mission!

Better grab an orange. I'll get hungry on the way there. And that would be baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

Oops. Hehe.


Walking out, he already had his trademark grin. It was like every morning he only needed that one small ritual to start his day. Juggling the orange in his hand, his joyful demeanor didn't lessen at all when he saw the King's guards.

As he walked in, he stepped forward and bowed to the King. "Your majesty," he said with a polite smile. Stepping back, he seemed only interested in the piece of fruit in his hand, content to let the others ask questions all they wanted.

I was RIGHT! But where are the cats?

I was RIGHT! I JUST CANT WAA-

I love it when I'm right!

BelGareth
2012-10-08, 11:44 AM
King Gareth silently nods at each of you when you bow to him, he seems passive and nonplussed during the whole briefing and you find it almost impossible to read him at all.

Marshall Francis looks to those asking the questions and seems to be pleased with them, as if he wasn't expecting any and he was going to have an awkward conversation with the Grand Marshal as to why his elite team didn't care about the mission when it was obviously important. But that wasn't an issue.

Turning to Derek he answers him first "No, no hostiles have been seen or heard of from anyone, the burning wastes to the east of the tower have been as quiet as they have been for years, no enemies in sight."

The Marshal smiles swanly at Nexus's comment but says nothing about it, looking, instead to the next questioner;Amelia.

Smiling genuinely at the insightful question, he responds in kind "No, the attempt failed, we are not sure if it was blocked or something else is affecting it. The general area around the tower was also attempted, with the same affect."

When Rand starts talking about engagement, he can't but help to let out a chuckle, holding up a hand to stay the rest of the comment he answers the man "Yes, your rules of engagement are 'do not engage unless engaged'. Now I know you don't like that, but there's a reason why we have, them, a reason why we follow orders and a reason why this all works. Look, I understand, but this is strictly a recon mission, get in, get out."

He looks to the rest of you, those who stayed quiet, and gives you a knowing smile, as if 'this isn't exactly what it seems' and he seems to find comfort in something, perhaps in knowing they are sending you? Who knows...

Continuing he speaks one more time "Very well then, I will have to ask that any more questions be fielded to my Adjutant, Captain Gregoire will be leading you to your bird, who is warming up her engines as we speak. Good day, and good luck!"

With that, the small but stout Captain emerges from the shadows behind the Marshal and gestures the team to leave through the same way they entered. Once outside, he looks at you all, hands behind his back as if he is better than every last one of you. "Well, what questions do you have left? We have only a few moments to gather your weapons and gear before the Andromus is ready to leave." he says curtly, he was an interesting office, he thought he was better than everyone else, regardless of rank due to his billet of Marshal's Adjutant. Your team had always given him flak, and he...hated you all. A fact you can see in his stance and tone now.

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-08, 04:17 PM
"Smiley! Good to see you again! I haven't seen you since the last time!" Rand smiles broadly at the sight of Gregoire. He's been hated by better man than the Captain, and his reaction to being disapproved-of by self-important dunderheads who have a higher-than-warranted opinion of themselves has always been to just keep smiling and stay cheerful even if it antagonizes them--no, especially if it antagonizes them--in the hopes of getting them to loosen up. He hasn't been court-martialed or had anything result in violence yet, so he must be doing something right.

In response to Gregoire's statement, Rand pats his backpack. "No more questions, and everything I need is right here. I'm five by five and ready to embark."

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-08, 06:35 PM
Derek walked back out, grabbing his gear from his sleeping quarters and returning to the Captain. As he preps his gear he turns to the captain, "Hey, Cap', I don't suppose doing a flyover, and airdrop is allowed?"

Lostbutseeking
2012-10-08, 07:20 PM
Amelia packs her pack and dons her air cavalry overalls swiftly, finally slinging the five foot length of her sword across her shoulder before she heads back to the marshals aid.

All the While her features are marred by a pensive look as she considers the potential magical force at the target, to hide a person from detection is all well and good, but to block area viewing of a significant area?

Her mood is banished soon enough when she reaches the aid to find him being needled and politely mocked by Rand whose efforts soon have her fighting a losing battle against a wide grin. Mitch decides to help matters along by relieving himself on the taciturn captains arm before settling into a padded pocket in her pack.
"Well I'm ready to board. And so is Mitch." Adding the second comment in a determindly cheerful voice.

Chambers
2012-10-08, 09:54 PM
Reya

The precision and bearing of her teammates always impressed Reya...and left her a little intimidated. Flying in the sky, weathering a storm, that was where she was confident and sure of herself. At least I'll get to fly tonight. Reya followed the others and held her simple staff in both hands. "I'm ready Captain, no other gear to...er, requisition?" The statement turned into awkward question and she quickly looked away.

"Once we arrive I can fly around, see if anyone is still there. Maybe they're performing a ritual to prevent the scrying."

Here's a brief rundown of what spells Reya can cast to buff the party.

Mass Conviction / +4 morale bonus saving throws (110 minutes)
Mass Resist Energy / Resist [Element] 30 (110 minutes)
Mass Resurgence / All allies gain a second saving throw versus an ongoing spell, spell-like ability or supernatural ability (Instantaneous)

Bless / All allies gain +1 morale bonus to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws vs Fear (11 minutes)
Recitation / All allies gain +2 luck bonus to Armor Class, Attacks Rolls, Saving Throws (11 rounds)
Spell Resistance / One target gains Spell Resistance 23 (11 minutes)

Imbue With Spell Ability / Reya can grant someone the ability to cast Cure Moderate Wounds, Lesser Vigor, and Remove Fear, once each. Is there anyone that would like to receive this? I'm thinking that it would probably be the same person each time, someone designated as a back-up emergency healer for the team.

Also - Summon Monster VI - to summon a Large Air Elemental. There's an asterisk next to the spell in the Storm domain list but it never explains what the asterisk is for. I'm assuming that it's to limit the type of creature summoned to something appropriate to Storms, thus Air Elementals. Unless it means Celestial Orca Whale, of course. :smallwink:

bindin garoth
2012-10-09, 06:44 AM
Nexus casually walks up with the rest of the group, his yawning indicating he still wants more sleep. Rand's comment, however, does provoke a small grin out of him, although he decides not to provoke Gregoire further.

"Ready." Is all that comes out of Nexus's mouth.

JKTrickster
2012-10-11, 12:06 AM
Ziggs only laughed as he raced the others back to his room. Gathering all of his stuff, he haphazardly started throwing everything into a big bag before tying it to his back. It almost looked comical; the bag bulged out and was almost as big and wide as the halfling. Still Ziggs didn't slow down at all, and suddenly a small ball rolled out from his bag.

Everyone held their breath as it casually rolled underneath Rand's feet and right in front of Marshall. Everyone held their breath, looking at the small ball and wondering i-

"BOOM!" he yelled with laughter as he quickly scooped the harmless object back up. "Ahh sorry those things are always so loose! I really need to keep a better eye on them! Can't just let everything get out!"

Quickly bowing to the King, he stepped back behind the other teammates, still with his trademark grin on his face.

BelGareth
2012-10-11, 01:15 PM
Captain Gregoire kept on a stoic face the whole time talking to you all, it was obvious he could barely stand it.

He deigned not to reply to most retorts, merely curling his lips and sneering at the jests. Until he was urinated on, at which moment he attempted to swat the bird as it zoomed off, flying as it was in zips and zooms, he only managed to make himself look more the fool. To everyone's amusement.

Stopping himself, he stood and straightened his jacket, "We are leaving" he said, as if he had had enough of you all.


http://wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82108.jpg
Without the fiery ring


Taking off he marched directly for the Air wing, the portion of the Camp where the Airships were located. It was a brief fast paced walk/jog and you were on the small, unlit runway, where you could hear, but no see the whir of the Terrellian Corvette. Gregoire spoke into his collar and a hatch popped open with a hiss and steam billowed out like a small cloud taking flight. Red light spilled onto the runway, outlining the small frame of the ship and its spartan shape. Inside you could see the cramped quarters bathed in the red light tactical light. As one you all lined up and boarded the ship, sitting uncomfortably in the little fabric fold up seats that were extremely close to each other.

Gregoire looked to you all, and suddenly turned somber. He said something, but below the immense whir of the engines you could barely make out what he said from reading his lips: "Good luck". The most earnest thing you have seen the man say. Ever.

The hatch comes up from the ground slowly, pinching in the red light of the cabin and shutting with a loud 'Shhoooooosh'. The red light blinked, flashing slowly and then stopped, dumping the room into blackness.

Moments later you feel the weightlessness of take off, and then the forward momentum of your stomach fighting the abuse of elevation and g forces. You quickly get used to it and settle in for the ride.

Roughly 2 hours later, the light suddenly starts to flash signaling the drop zone was near. Lanyards drop from the ceiling above everyone, allowing you to attach it to your gear. Holding onto the lanyard, you patiently wait for the crew member to come down from the cockpit.

A few moments later the light stopped flashing, which took way longer than it should have (or at least it felt that way)and someone came down and gave the signal for everyone to stand, raising his hand, palm upward, then with both arms he signaled to the door. It was time.

The Door slowly opened with the same ponderously slow movement as before, the red light filling the area, wind whipped into the room with a savage abandon. With the door finally lowered the whole way, you all stand and shuffle to the opening, the door had, instead of dropping to the floor like a ramp, had instead folded all the way to the belly of the craft, leaving the jump space free of obstacles.

Another Light shone with life, amber like the color of honey, you knew as soon as it flashed it was your turn to jump. Holding onto the lanyard, you wait your turn, and then jump into the darkness of the night, the lanyard popping it's lock and activating the enchantment therein, allowing you to safely drop to the ground below.

You land in a shallow field, a few trees here and there, on a shelf of the mountain. In the distance you can see the tower, its outline stark in contrast with the half moon behind it.

It is about 3 miles off. You can see no light sources or movement from here. Only the swaying of the trees in the mountain breeze.


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-utkzhA-PBI0/UHcO91diz1I/AAAAAAAABEU/HZurPnaQEfs/s640/sunlit%2520medow.JPG

Chambers
2012-10-11, 02:19 PM
Reya

Reya glanced at the lanyard with a smile and pushed it away. She tapped her staff on the floor in some off-rhythm pattern, clearly more at ease than she had been earlier. She shuffled along the path and nodded to the crew as she approached the door. "Stay safe!" She shouted against the wind and then jumped out into the wind. Her robe fluttered wildly against her as she dropped like a stone out of the aircraft but moments later the robe turned into a pair of hawks wings that beat strong and carried her aloft in the air.

The hawk continued to dive down fast and then pulled up, spiraling up above the clearing. It paused and settled into a smooth flight towards the Tower and then turned and fled back down to the ground, the hawk turning back into Reya as her feet touched the ground. Her face was flushed and there was a wild look in her eyes that matched her tousled hair. "It's there, over the trees. Bountiful lady, please protect us." She says as she picks up a few fallen leaves and blows on them, the wind currents taking them away further into the sky.

Casting Mass Conviction and Bless.

Mass Conviction / +4 morale bonus saving throws (110 minutes)
Bless / All allies gain +1 morale bonus to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws vs Fear (11 minutes)

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-11, 02:56 PM
Feeling the rush of wind Derek smiles, he feels only comfort and peace from the wind, knowing it's truthful thoughts, and feeling it's ever encompassing presence. He knows it holds itself his ally, his weapon, and another form of himself. As the light flashes and it becomes his turn to jump he steps out of the cabin, feeling the rush of wind he calms, spinning himself so he faces the sky and for a second ponders the beauty of it all, but then he shifts, becoming a whispering mass of air, held by magic and will and fires himself toward the ground, stopping just above it, and changing back to his human form before being noticed. Despite the abilities accepted in the unit, he's still not sure they would accept him for what he fully is.

After he returns to human form he rushes to the group, quietly meeting them and readying to explore the tower.

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-11, 03:29 PM
Rand took the opportunity to enjoy the trip, making smalltalk and cracking jokes to put everyone at ease. He doubted they needed it, being veterans of many such missions, but he was used to pep-talking his subordinates and he wanted to get to know the other operatives better before the mission, and in any case it'd gotten to be a ritual by now.

When the kalashtar lands, his ever-present grin gives way to a serious expression as he puts on his "officer in charge" face. "Thank you for the blessing, Reya. Remember, everyone, from this point on it's silent running except for verbal components, and keep light to a minimum. Gather 'round, I'm connecting us now." He nods his head sharply and a moment later everyone hears his voice in their heads: <If you can hear me, nod once. The link will last for a while, and it works at any distance so don't worry about getting out of range. Remember to give us a warning if you're about to put up wards against mental effects, since that can cut you out of the link.>

Rand's gaze sweeps the surrounding area as he takes a moment to plan things out. <All right, Ziggs, Nexus, you're the sneaky ones, why don't you two take point. Keep a good space between you, try to make sure you can outflank any scouts we might run into. Keep an eye out for any traps or obstacles and be ready to take out any scouts--but do not, I repeat do not, attack anyone or anything without warning us first and getting permission. Like the Marshal said, no engagement unless engaged. Ziggs, that goes triple for you.> He gives the insane demolisher a look of warning and motions them both ahead, turning to his remaining three compatriots.

<Reya, Derek, you're our eyes in the sky. Keep your heads down, stay back near me under the tree cover, and be ready to move up and support our scouts if they run into any trouble. Reya, I believe you mentioned on the way here something about imbuing one of us with healing power? I'll handle that, if you don't mind. Amelia, you're on scanning and stealth. Ward us with anything you think will help conceal our approach or speed us up, please, and keep an eye out for any wards or traps.> He looks around at everyone, making eye contact with each in sequence, and finally smiles again. <Remember, people, we're the best of the best, and I trust you all to know what you're doing even if we haven't really worked together before. I'm not a stick-in-the-mud kind of guy, all "orders" are negotiable, and don't you dare call me "sir"! Unless you have any questions or quibbles, let's move out.>

Rand manifests one use of his mindlink psi-like ability. We're linked at unlimited range for just under two hours.

Chambers
2012-10-11, 04:04 PM
Reya

Reya nods to Rand. << I hear you, though normally I am the only voice in my head. >> She smiles and pulls a small brown feather from within her cloak. << Wear this next to your heart and the Mistress of Enchantment will share her blessings with you. >> She looks at Derek and half-closes her eyes, trying to see the elemental, not the human. << Such a marvelous blessing, to truly be the wind. Isis does not teach envy...but I often wonder what it would be like to fly as the air, instead of along it. >> She shakes her head as if clearing her thoughts.

<< Perhaps later we could discuss it further? >> She thinks and wraps her cloak tight around her as it transforms into a hawk, hovering at eye level. << Your power is useful, Captain Rand. It's hard enough to pray while flying, much less talk. >>

Cast Imbue with Spell Ability on Rand then Form of Hawk!
Imbue with Spell Ability: Cure Moderate Wounds, Lesser Vigor, and Remove Fear.

Hawk Stats: AC 34, Fort +13, Reflex +14, Will +15.
Spot +17, Darkvision 60ft
Speed: 60ft (good)

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-11, 04:37 PM
Derek chuckles as the man inside his head speaks, recalling the first time such things had happened, though not exactly a pleasant memory, it was the bringer of the times he had afterwords, both pleasant and harsh.

Derek springs upward, disappearing in apparent smoke which clears itself out almost immediately. "I'll go unseen but keep us safe Cap, as for you Reya we can speak later, we should have a slight down time after this, at least enough for a meal." Dereks 'voice' sounds quite different, though easily understood, and heard, it sounds as though whispered, and hidden. He floats forty feet above Rand, just to the left and behind.

bindin garoth
2012-10-11, 06:07 PM
Nexus enjoys the smalltalk with Rand on the way over. It was too often that soldiers stayed quite on trips like this, and it was nice to break the silence. He wasn't too sure of what to make of the others yet. Oh well, he'll get chances to learn about the others later. But he does think highly of Rand currently, just for taking a stand up and trying to relax the other.

Nexus simply jumps out with the others, although their abilities do surprise him a little. 'This should be interesting.' The man thinks to himself. He simply uses the lanyard and jumps out gracefully.

After the bond is established, which Nexus greatly appreciates, he listens at first. It sounds like a good plan, but one thing he's unsure about. <<It might be a good idea for me and Ziggs to stay closer together. We can cover each other should either of us get into trouble. Furthermore, I'm quite skilled at illusions, and can use them to hinder the enemy while we escape, should we encounter any. Plus I can create darkness at will, and it travels with me. Permission to use my illusions should we encounter the enemies?>>

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-11, 07:07 PM
<Thank you for the feather, and you're welcome for the bond. Pleasure doing business with you,> Rand sends to Reya. To Nexus, he clarifies, <Oh, I didn't mean go off in two different directions. Just keep, say, five or six paces between you, enough so that you're not blocking each others' lines of sight and so if anyone comes across you suddenly you won't both be within easy reach.> The hint of a rueful grin enters his mental "voice." <I'll try to be clearer next time. Not quite used to the new crew yet.>

<As for illusions,> he continues, <permission granted, but try to make them as unobtrusive as possible. If you have a choice between making a false deer to distract someone or making a false tree to hide in, go with the tree. And keep in mind that they might have people at the tower who can see through magical darkness, or at least can notice a clump of darkness moving in the distance, so be careful with that. Otherwise, you're the illusions expert, do what you think best.>

JKTrickster
2012-10-12, 12:28 AM
Throughout the whole trip, Ziggs rocked back and forth, completely undisturbed by the early morning hours or the slightly uncomfortable ride. Instead he began to take out small spherical balls and he would giggle each time he saw them. More than once he would hover obsessively over them, using and etching an arcane design here and there, or completely wiping one off and remaking it anew. Despite the strong g-force, Ziggs' hands seem impossibly calm and steady, and he didn't drop a single ball at all. Each time he was finished with one he would carefully place it back in and take another one out. That, or he would occasionally juggle two of them, much to the fright of the pilots who were only a couple of feet away from him.

When they had finally arrived, the pilots hurriedly, but politely, asked Ziggs to go first. Only smiling, he dropped like an anchor, snapping the lanyard and dropping safely below. To his disappointment, he was not the first one there. Smiling as even more voices entered his head, he started passing out oranges to everyone.

<<Look oranges! They're so fun, and orange-y and healthy! It's so cooooold out here and it would be bad if everyone was caught unprepared, wouldn't it?">>

<<Now aside from being healthy, I've found oranges are great for getting me out of a pinch! Whenever you need to, just call my name and I promise you won't regret it!>>

Turning to their almighty commander, Ziggs only grinned and did a full salute. <<Aahhhh yep you called it Cap! Let's go Nexus! We have towers to go, scouts to meet, and things to blow up!!!!>>

Almost on the verge of laughing, he started to move as fast as his little legs could move him. Surprisingly, even with the big bag, he was already blending into the shadows around him. You would wonder how he doesn't trip in the complete darkness, with that eye-patch and all.




So on the trip, I decided to use those 2 hours of downtime to make some nice runes.

I'll fill in the details later.

bindin garoth
2012-10-12, 11:49 AM
Nexus was caught completely off guard by Zigg's personality. <<Yes sir.>> He simply replies, trying to make sure he keeps up with Ziggs. He's moreso distracted by the sphere passed out by Ziggs. Is it an explosive? A smoke screen? He wasn't quite sure he trusted the man's......... thing, for a lack of a better word. He'd wait and see someone else use it first. Instead, he simply rolls it around in his hand while they run, a tactic he often uses to keep his mind from over-analyzing.

<<Ziggs, what can you do should we be found? Aside from blowing things up, which I'm not so sure is a good idea.>> But then with a grin on his face. <<Then again, explosions are fun, aren't they Ziggs?>>

JKTrickster
2012-10-12, 06:28 PM
<<Why I can do everything!>> he said, full of laughter in his mind-voice. He was practically skipping right now, but he still kept about even with Nexus, staying about 30 ft to the right of him. It was odd how quickly Ziggs could move through the darkness - it literally seemed to warp around him, obscuring him from sight. As they got closer, Ziggs only seemed to get more and more excited.

Hearing Nexus mention explosives, Ziggs stared at him dead serious. <<Explosives are serious business,>> he said calmly, without any more laughter in his voice. <<No play with explosives you hear that? Serious, serious business.>> The little halfling just kept on walking though, and it wasn't obvious if he was mad or anything.

Suddenly, he started laughing again and the tensions were gone. <<Oh don't worry, none of you will blow up. I promise!>>

Lostbutseeking
2012-10-12, 07:51 PM
Taking the jump with every sign of enjoyment Amelia lands gracefully and immediately summons up the trademark phantom steed of her order and mounts up.

Listening to the Colonel's orders Amelia nods, <<I understand Colonel>> pulls her goggles down over her eyes and murmurs softly until the goggles start glowing blue.

A few seconds, a second spell, a moment to take and very carefully pocket Ziggs latest toy and she rides off scanning for any active magic or concealed targets.

Phantom steed CL: 14 from class feature. so it can fly.
Sacraficing Ray of Exhaustion to cast Arcane sight - 11 minute duration.
Sacraficing Mirror image to cast See invisbility 110 minute duration.

bindin garoth
2012-10-13, 07:19 PM
Nexus grins, finding the uniqueness of Ziggs personality refreshing. He was caught off guard by his explosions comment, but he realizes It was probably an art to him, or at least work he took very seriously. It, in combination with his personality, tells him this is a guy he can probably trust.

<<Permission to enter should there be an opening or no guards? Also, how far back are you guys going to stay?>>

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-13, 08:22 PM
<If you don't see anyone around, go right ahead. As to positioning, well, we'll want to stay close together to support each other but not so close that two or three of us could get caught by a trap or ambush...or an explosion> he adds sardonically with a glance at Ziggs.

<I'll probably be staying a good 50 feet back or so from the thick of things. I'm not very good at hand-to-hand combat, so I usually have a friend of mine handle my fisticuffs for me.>

bindin garoth
2012-10-15, 12:16 PM
Nexus continues to run forth with Ziggs, staying ahead of the rest of the group. But of course, he keeps his eyes out for the enemy, who knows how far they had spread from the outpost? He does seem lost in his thoughts, however, as they continue forth.

This has the unfortunate consequence of him almost running into a tree. At the last second, he shuffles off to the side, tripping over a rather large, old tree root sticking above the ground.

"Great, first job in a while and I'm already making a mistake." He mutters to noone in particular, before picking himself back up and continuing their run.

As they get closer, into viewing range of the outpost, he starts to slow down, silencing his foot steps. He also darts from spot to spot, trying to always keep cover should there be anyone up there.


Spot: [roll0]
Hide: [roll1]
Move Silently: [roll2]

Chambers
2012-10-15, 12:25 PM
Reya

<<Thank you Ziggs, but I have no hands to hold it.>> She thinks to Ziggs as she flaps her wings and flies higher into the night sky. Keeping track of Rand beneath the canopy was no problem at all; he moved like a human in the woods at dark, after all. Staying just above the tree line, skimming the tops and keeping an eye out for any careless mice Reya matched their pace below.

Spot check [roll0]

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-15, 03:15 PM
Rand takes his time moving through the forest, trusting that someone with better vision will warn him if he's about to bump into anything deadly and wincing sympathetically at the sound of Nexus falling over...whatever it was. As the group gets close enough to the tower that being able to see enemies and move quickly might soon be important, Rand pauses for a moment and closes his eyes.

He concentrates and presses his senses outwards until he can feel the trees surrounding him and sense his compatriots around and above him, a technique he developed after many years of working with soldiers possessing better-than-human vision and being annoyed at his inability to see everything they saw. Much better, he thinks to himself (not sending it through the link) as he starts moving again, his movements much more confident now that he can "see" where he's going.

Rand spends 11 PP to manifest touchsight (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/touchsight.htm) with a 90-foot radius. It will last for an hour and 50 minutes.

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-15, 04:37 PM
Due to Reyas inability to carry Ziggs 'orange' Derek offers to take it for her, being able to carry his gear despite his appearance.

During his flight he watches for anything deadly on the ground, and any suspicious movement at the tower.

He dives close to the ground every now and then, listening to, and watching the sides and rear of the squad to see if anyone might be trying to creep up on them.


Spot from the air.
[roll0]
Spot for rear/flank
[roll1]
Listen to rear/flank
[roll2]

BelGareth
2012-10-16, 02:00 PM
You all manage to group up with little ease after the drop, forming up seamlessly and move out through the cover of the morning twilight, all warriors knew, twilight was the optimum hour to strike, as guards were the sleepiest and the sun is blinding to those facing the dawn.

Suddenly, out of the morning mist a Soul splitting howl erupts from the canopy before you, it sounds like an immense wolf, but strangely enough is not followed up by any others. You know wolves hunt in packs, but lone wolves were not unknown off.


****

Reya soars out towards the sky, and you quickly notice something strange, it catches your eyes and you can't put your thumb as to why:

A black bird is soaring the skies, wheeling large lazy circles around the tower, whether or not it is staying around it on purpose or it has hit a nice thermal, you can't tell. One things for certain, it is not normal.


****

Derek you fly as the wind, barely discernible to the clouds in the sky. Your sharp senses easily pick out several creatures. You see a large dominating figure leaning on a gigantic sword, the figure seems to be a gestalt human Tiger hybrid, wearing armor its black and white fur ripples in the wind and you can easily see how immense he is as he stands, and dwarfs, the main entrance to the tower.

Knowledge Nature

DC 22
The Man is a Weretiger in Hybrid form

DC 27
They are resistant to most damage but silver manages to hurt them normally.

DC 32
Their natural attacks can infect you with lycanthropy.



****

Nexus, you easily move the forested area with ease, although your noise discipline leaves something to be desired.

A shewolf suddenly appears from nowhere 40 or so feet from Nexus, sniffs at him, trying to find your sent, it is obvious she cannot see you, but is able to easily hear and smell you. Apparently content on that she bounds off, towards the tower.


http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32300000/Fantasy-wolves-wolves-32369013-520-358.jpg

****

Ziggs, your movement through the shadows, is something akin to a ethereal Keen butter knife through hot butter, you seem to blend and blur with the moving shadows of the forest and then appear some where else. Your attention is not on the shewolf, but something flying around the tower, it seems a humanoid, is flying lazily around the base of the tower, seemingly watching for something. Intuitively, you realize the being is on post, searching for intruders to the newly acquired tower.

Knowledge Arcana

DC 22
The humanoid is flying faster than the affects of a fly spell

DC 27
Much faster

DC 32
You have heard of such an item that allows you to fly as fast as an angel



****

Amelia and Rand, you both manage to move along quietly enough, but fail to see anything of importance, except the looming tower above you as you close in. You are about 500 ft from the tower. All lights from the tower are out, you don't see any form of light.


Lostbutseeking I didn't get a whole lot from you other than being on your phantom steed and seeing invisibility, so you stayed with Rand in the rear.

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-16, 09:22 PM
Upon seeing the Man-Tiger Derek stops moving.
<<Everyone halt.>>

He studies it for a second then focuses on it's gear.

<<I've got a weird looking tiger man thing up hear guarding the door. Recommend you guys head back a bit, report in to the Marshall that we have unknown members at the tower, and I'll scout ahead.>>

JKTrickster
2012-10-16, 11:02 PM
Ziggs, your movement through the shadows, is something akin to a ethereal Keen butter knife through hot butter, you seem to blend and blur with the moving shadows of the forest and then appear some where else. Your attention is not on the shewolf, but something flying around the tower, it seems a humanoid, is flying lazily around the base of the tower, seemingly watching for something. Intuitively, you realize the being is on post, searching for intruders to the newly acquired tower.

Knowledge Arcana

DC 22
The humanoid is flying faster than the affects of a fly spell

DC 27
Much faster

DC 32
You have heard of such an item that allows you to fly as fast as an angel





Unlike Nexus, Ziggs was much more comfortable moving silently. But that wasn't the point. While Nexus seemed to attract some attention from a certain furry femme fatale, Ziggs decided to aim his prospects much higher. Higher than the trees or the tower, looking straight towards the heavens.

Or at least close enough to it.

Squinting his eyes, Ziggs focused on the aerial figure above. It seemed vaguely humanoid...but it was flying way too fast. Ziggs' eyes widened when he realized that it was flying much, much faster - it was like a angel from heaven, circling over the fort. The light came from behind him, only making it look more heavenly.

<<Guys,>> he thought as he tried to move closer to get a better view. <<Is....is that an angel? I think there's an angel around the fort! Maybe it's here to collect the souls of the guards! They must have died. Ahh how beautiful it must be, to see an angel circling over the fort. He's watching guard so diligently, making sure no one can approach it without being seen by him.>>

Ziggs sighed, admiring the beautiful view in the silver twilight. He only regretted that the "angel" was much too high up for his bombs. It was such a sad, sad opportunity.

<<It's sad I can't even touch the angel from here. Not even if I threw one of my bombs as haaaard as I could! It must really want to make sure to see everything from that high up point. Doesn't look like it saw us yet.>>

<<Although,>> he thought as he suddenly turned around. <<It's probably just some hostile running around with a magical item that emulates an angel's flight. Much faster and more maneuverable than the normal fly spell, and definitely indicative of strength too.>>


<<But I like my angel idea better!>>

Hearing about the were-tiger, Ziggs suddenly couldn't resist. <<Ooooh a tiger? I really wanna go check it out. Besides if I stay far away enough, they can't smell me anyway right?>>

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-17, 02:06 AM
Rand suddenly regrets adding the insane pyromaniac to the telepathic link; not only was he talking to himself, Rand could swear that some of the voices were different. Oy. This is shaping up to be a long mission.

The tone of Rand's mental voice shifts from "pre-mission briefing and pep talk" to "serious combat coordinator" and he starts sending rapid-fire messages. <Ziggs, cut the chatter, looks like we've hit a combat situation. Derek, good work, check it out and let me know what's what. Nexus, Reya, let me know if you run into anything or if you think you might have been spotted. If anyone can get anything on whatever sent up that howl a minute ago, do that--I'm guessing it's either a scout or the heavy artillery, and either way we need to know what it is.>

Fleetingly, Rand wishes he could have included the Marshal in the mindlink to keep him up to date, but the trip here was too long for the mindlike to have lasted the whole time, and he wouldn't want the Marshal subjected to Ziggs's mental voice in any case. <Actually, Derek, negative on the report back to the Marshal right now, contacting him would take ten minutes and we might not have that kind of time. A flyer and a tiger-thing probably means they've got several scouts with good senses. You and Ziggs should wait to move in until we hear from Nexus and Reya; if they haven't been spotted we can take time to update the Marshal and get some battle enchantments, otherwise we'll need to move quickly and take out whatever discovered them.>

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-17, 02:28 AM
On approval Derek shoots skyward, clearing the tree line and eyes the skies around the tower, picking out the airborne enemies. After spotting them he fires himself above the trees searching the ground and skies for any other hostiles.

Spot
[roll0]

During his flight he purposely keeps himself a safe distance from the other flyers. After nearing the tower, he fires himself up well above the others and observes the tower and it's area.

<<If I can find a way in unnoticed, want me to take it?>>

bindin garoth
2012-10-17, 10:12 AM
Nexus wasn't nearly as silent as he should of been. First, he stepped on a twig, which made a loud snap as he stepped down onto it. And then he managed to keep on stepping on piles of leaves. He cursed himself mentally for the actions. 'Perhaps I should of stayed back........' He thinks to himself.

But he stops cold in his tracks when he runs into the she-wolf. They can't afford to be found out already. They weren't even to the castle yet! Quickly gathering his wits, he yells, if yelling was somehow possible with their connection, <<WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT! A SHE-WOLF HAS SNIFFED ME OUT!>> He announces to the group. <<Permission to engage before she regroups with the rest? We have our orders, but they'll be on high alert if we don't take her out now!>> His fingers twitch while he peruses the wolf. He hated to have wait for a response, but there were a team after all. Well that, and he actually liked his team mates so far, which was more than he could say for anyone else he had worked with. Otherwise, he would of just gone ahead and attacked!

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-17, 12:00 PM
Rand pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation. Less than an hour in and this mission is possibly FUBARed already. I think that's a new personal best. He considers the options rapidly and decides that a quick, quiet takedown is their best option for survival and success with the mission. <Not your fault, Nexus. Permission to engage granted. Keep it as stealthy as possible. Ziggs, if you can see whatever that thing is, go help him; if you have anything that's not loud or flashy but very lethal, now's the time to use it. Derek, permission to infiltrate the tower granted, but make sure you stay out of sight of the flyers.> Well, the kalashtar muses, at least Nexus' discovery might serve as a distraction to get some of us into the tower.

<Amelia, we might be needed there. I can't ride your mount, so I'll transport us.> Rand furrows his brow as he gives the order, and as soon as he's close enough to Amelia he grabs her hand and they both seem to twist inside-out and disappear, reappearing the same way much closer to their colleagues. He takes a few moments to look around and assess the situation, hoping to see Nexus nearby.

Rand manifests psionic dimension door, going for a 400 foot straight-line shot aiming as close to Nexus' last known position as he can manage.

Chambers
2012-10-17, 02:13 PM
Reya

<< There's a bird in flight high above the tower. Normally I wouldn't be concerned, but with a man-tiger and wolf-woman about I think it might be another shapeshifter. I'll fly down to help Nexus deal with the wolf. I'm afraid I'm not very subtle though. >> With a quiet squawk Reya turns in the air and down towards Nexus, casting a ward over herself on the way.

Casting Spell Resistance and moving 60ft towards Nexus and the wolf, staying in the tree tops.


Hawk Stats: AC 34, Fort +13, Reflex +14, Will +15.
Spot +17, Darkvision 60ft
Speed: 60ft (good)

Current Effects: Wild Shape, Mass Conviction (X/110 minutes), Bless (X/11 minutes), Spell Resistance 23 (0/11 minutes)

Lostbutseeking
2012-10-18, 01:48 PM
Shaking her head side to side to attempt to clear the brief bout of dizziness Colonel Rand's dimension door induced while trying to understand Zigg's voices Amelia finally replies <<I can probably outfly that 'angel' of Ziggs, colonel if we need to. This one is first though!>>

Her steed is already cantering towards Nexus and the retreating wolf by the time she is done with the second thought. One hand reaching for the sword hilt as the other frames a a sigil that glows before being vanishing. A moment more and the wolf is briefly outlined by a weak grey light.

Mount moves up towards Nexus' target (240' base speed), Casting slow (DC 20) on the shewolf and drawing my sword.

bindin garoth
2012-10-19, 10:25 AM
Nexus lets go a sigh of relief as permission is granted! Their first battle! Well, of course it was important too, but he can help but feel a rush in anticipation of the battle. But first, he has to stop that creature!

Nexus seemingly punches through the material plan, into another dimension, and gives a great yank! Whatever the item was, however, clearly did not want to be pulled out, and it takes another yank from Nexus to free the item. What he pulls out is…….. Nothing! Or so it seems. A closer look at his shadow reveals as humongous sword of sorts. Shadows start to gather around him, swirling around where the blade should be.

"Heed my call, Myth of the Shadow King." Nexus whispers, as he draws suddenly surges forward towards the she-wolf. After getting closer, he seemingly swings at thin air, but those close can hear the sound of something flying through the sir, straight at the she-wolf.

Afterwards, the shadows seem to collapse upon themselves disappearing. But in their place remains a a heavy metallic shield, made up of black steel, and bearing a single spike in it’s center. Nexus whispers yet again "Mother-Protector"

Drawing my greatsword with the Burst, Invisible, and Shockwave.
Activating my Boots of Speed.


Move 60ft closer to the she-wolf (I know you said she was within 40ft, but then she ran off, so I don’t know how far away she is. I have a 20ft range with my melee weapon, if this isn’t enough let me know and I’ll change my actions to using a longbow).

Attack 1:[roll0] Opponent is Flat-Footed versus this attack.
Damage1:[roll1] + [roll2]SA damage + [roll3] Burst damage = 56

The she-wolf must make a Fort save (DC = damage dealt = 56) or be staggered for a round.

Afterwards, the weapon disappears (due to the burst ability, can no longer use my greatsword in this encounter). I draw out my shield with the: Friendly shield, Forceful Blows, Spell-Bound Weapon.

BelGareth
2012-10-22, 10:47 AM
As you all move with military precision, Nexus sees the wolf take off, and seemingly with more speed than that of a normal wolf.

Suddenly, Rand and Amelia appear somewhere behind Nexus, under the canopy of a tree, startling the birds who were still lounging among it's limbs.

It's not hard for most of you to see the wolf now, and she seems to blur with motion, something is not right about the creature.

Derek and Reya see something odd, the Man-Tiger seemed to stir into motion, lifting his head up as if listening to something, and so to did the flying man, there eyes start scanning the tree lines.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qgASumtCTtE/UIVpFxMDijI/AAAAAAAACCE/hOb3oqUuFfM/s800/Red%2520Tide%25201st%2520encounter.jpg
L = Wolf
T = Tiger-Man
W = Flying Angel


You may take a standard action and then roll initiative with the groups highest bonus.

If you had an action that was not taken into consideration, it's cause you didn't have enough time to do so.

Chambers
2012-10-22, 09:24 PM
Reya

<< I will delay the weretiger. Deal with the wolf quickly. >> Reya flaps her wings slowly to hover in place and squawks once. Sheets of lightning erupt over the weretiger, falling down like rain all around him and engulfing the area in a blinding display of electricity.

Casting Flame Strike, subbing Electricity for Fire damage.

Damage [roll0] electricity damage, 5 Sonic damage (via Stormcaster Thunderbolt ability)
Reflex save for half damage DC 21
If it takes damage it must make a DC 21 Fortitude save or be Stunned for 1 round (Stormcaster Thunderbolt)
Spell Resistance (if applicable) [roll1]

Hawk Stats: HP 128/128, AC 34, Fort +13, Reflex +14, Will +15
Spot +17, Darkvision 60ft
Speed: 60ft (good)

Current Effects: Wild Shape, Mass Conviction (X/110 minutes), Bless (X/11 minutes), Spell Resistance 23 (0/11 minutes)

Initiative [roll2]

Not sure what you mean by groups highest bonus. Amelia has a +16; are we each using her modifier or will there simply be one roll with that modifier?

JKTrickster
2012-10-23, 12:42 AM
Ziggs smiled with glee as he cracked his knuckles. Looking around, he swiftly took out an small spherical object and starting inscribing runes onto it. His small, deft hands quickly turned the ball over and over in his hands. Each revolution increased the complexity of the rune, tightening the arcane bonds and strengthening its power. Near the end he added some special edits, to make sure any collateral damage was minimized.

Throwing his new toy up in the air, he caught it and rolled it across his shoulder. <<I'm ready,>> he thought with a smile.

With my standard action, I make a Special Rune Of Confusion with an exception to everyone in the group. It has a martial trigger.

Initiative
[roll0]

bindin garoth
2012-10-23, 06:08 AM
<<I'll take out her ligaments. Shouldn't be able to get far without those, huh?>> Nexus says with a grin. Sure, the she-wolf was running fast. But she couldn't outrun an arrow could she?

Nexus punches through the dimensions, reaching into his own little storage of weapons. With a great yank he tries to pull something out, but it's as if it doesn't want to come out. Finally, with a second yank, he pulls out.......... Seemingly nothing, almost stumbling in the process. But looking at his shadow, you can tell he is holding a bow of sorts, although it appears to be warped to a degree.


Still, he draws back an invisible arrow, and with but a second's pause he lets the arrow launch, aiming for the she-wolf's leg.


Free action: Draw my longbow with the Invisible, Mystic Ammo, Entangling Shot

Attack: [roll0] The she-wolf is flat-footed vs this attack
Damage:[roll1] + [roll2] = 18

She must make a reflex save vs DC 20 or become entangled for [roll3] rounds
She must make a Fortitude DC = Damage Dealt (18) or be Staggered for 1 round.

Edit:Well......... Was hoping for a better damage roll....

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-23, 08:29 AM
Dereks listens to the others, <<Guess I'll take the angel>> with that he flies closer to the angel, always remaining in his hidden state. When he get's close enough he tries to draw the air from it's lungs, choking it to death.


Using Suffocate if I can get close enough to do so in one round.
The fort save is 21 DC=10 +1/2 HD +My Con Mod

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-23, 01:23 PM
Rand sees that Reya and Derek have the angel well in hand, and besides he doesn't have anything that could take out a flying creature with any subtlety. He focuses his attention on the she-wolf and concentrates, breaching the barriers between the Material and the Astral. Silvery sheets of ectoplasm spill out from a point above the she-wolf's head and race to the ground, forming a slightly-shimmering opaque dome around her. <The wolf is contained, though I don't know how long that will hold it,> Rand sends. <Focus on the others for now. Derek and Reya, stay on the flyer. Ziggs and Amelia, you have the tiger. Nexus, good shot on the wolf; move up and help out the others, but stay near the dome and be ready to attack if it escapes. Remember, our first priority is making sure they can't communicate and that no one notices us. Reya's thunderstorm might have attracted attention, so keep an eye out for any new threats and keep us updated.>

Rand manifests wall of ectoplasm in dome form around the she-wolf, no save allowed. He automatically succeeds on the Concentration check to suppress the display.

Assuming we're each making an individual initiative roll: [roll0] plus the relevant modifier.

Lostbutseeking
2012-10-23, 05:44 PM
Holding up the unhinged engineer's 'orange' Amelia mutters "Ziggs!" to it. The 'orange' pulses for a moment before disintegrating into a cloud which reforms into seven copies of her, all of the images drawing their swords in perfect unison with her as she gazes at the large tiger like creature. <<I see him colonel, we'll be there in a flash>>

Ziggs toy creates [roll0] images.
Drawing my sword is a free action thanks to eager.
My twitchy initiative mod and roll is [roll1]

Looks like I really am twitcy.

BelGareth
2012-10-26, 12:03 PM
Map
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-alM7fA24oew/UIrDCHdcn3I/AAAAAAAACDk/5YMdwf6dNio/s800/Red%2520Tide%25201st%2520encounter%2520TOR1.jpg
L = Wolf
T = Tiger-Man
W = Flying Angel


Reya -
You summon the divine lighting upon the tiger with the ease of a simple gesture, a shaft of divine wroth and electricity entangles the being, arcing and spitting bolts all over him and sending waves of energy crawling up the tower and his armor.
The Were-Tiger leaps into the air and tucks into a somersault with ease, managing to avoid the worst of the damage, he lands with a solid thump against the dirt with his large Bastard sword out and ready, he seems to scanning the sky for something, he is obviously looking in your direction, as if he knows of your location but cannot see you.

Ziggs -
You manage to write your arcane writings upon your sphere enacting the power arcane within.

Nexus -
Your shot is true and you manage to hit your target, although she neither shouts out or is entangled by the shot. You cannot tell if she is dazed as a wall of ectoplasmic goo surrounds her turning solid as it does.

Derek -
You fly 60ft towards the flying being.

Explanation of Suffocation please, I cannot find it.


Rand -
After you issue your mental commands your summon forth the ectoplasm from the Aether and shape it to your will, something that no longer taxes you after years of practice. It shapes and molds as you desire and within seconds the she wolf is surrounded in a thick solid wall.

Amelia -
The orange Ziggs gives falls to dust and 7 duplicate images spring forth from nothing, each an exact copy of yourself. All 8 of you draw your sword and speak unanimously.

Initiative
{table=head]Team|Order
You guys|1
Bad guys|2[/table]

Full round action from you guys.

KingOfLaughter
2012-10-26, 12:58 PM
Creeping ever closer, Derek does his best to remain hidden, wishing to silence the flying target as fast as possible.

Suffocate (Su): At 9th Level, the elemental can draw the very air from the a creatures lungs. As a full-round action the elemental can attempt to suffocate an adjacent creature. The creature must succeed on a fortitude save (DC = 10 + 1/2 Air elementals HD + the Elementals constitution modifier) or have the oxygen pulled from its body, immediately dropping to 0 hp. On the following round, the elemental can spend another full-round action to continue this treatment. If it does do, the target drops to -1 hp and is dying. On the third round, if the elemental spends another full-round action to continue suffocating the target, the creature gets one final fortitude save. If the creature fails, it suffocates and dies. Using this ability does not wake a sleeping target and can be an effective means of assassination, especially to make it appear as if the target had died of natural causes.

It's 4th from the bottom of my class skills.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8927531&postcount=952

bindin garoth
2012-10-26, 03:04 PM
Nexus decides it's time to get serious. Concentrating on his home plane for but a moment, he brings forth a portion of it to this world, ensuring none close to him could see. The darkness completely encircles him, but of course doesn't affect his vision. He is native to the place after all, why would it hamper his vision.

<<Moving in. It'll take me a little bit to catch up to the Tiger-thing.>> Nexus reports in.


Swift action activate Boots of Speed.

Move action move 60ft to the east.

Standard action activate Tenebrous's Deeper Darkness supernatural ability.

Chambers
2012-10-26, 06:43 PM
Reya

"By the thousand eyes..." Reya thinks to herself, forgetting the mindlink. "Damned tigers." Folding her wings beneath her she dived down beneath the canopy and flew closer to the tower. Flying under branches and around limbs she opened her beak and squawked a bolt of lightning that hummed in three different pitches as it flew unerringly towards the tiger. "Dodge this..." She thought as the vibrant bolt struck the weretiger.

Flyby Attack - Move 10ft Southeast, Cast Sound Lance, Move 50ft Northeast, staying in the large green circle.

Sound Lance with Energy Substitution: Electricity (+Stormcaster Thunderbolt)
[roll0] Electricity damage and 4 Sonic damage, Fortitude save DC 20 for half damage.

If it takes damage it must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or be Stunned for 1 round.


Hawk Stats: HP 128/128, AC 34, Fort +13, Reflex +14, Will +15
Spot +17, Darkvision 60ft
Speed: 60ft (good)

Current Effects: Wild Shape, Mass Conviction (X.2/110 minutes), Bless (X.2/11 minutes), Spell Resistance 23 (0.2/11 minutes)

JKTrickster
2012-10-27, 12:07 AM
Ziggs realized how far away he was from the action and started running towards the others. Hearing that the wolf had been contained already only made Ziggs run even faster. He was eager to get in on the action and he didn't want to get there right when everything was done and over.

As he ran, he started to giggle a little. Soon the giggle erupted into laughter as Ziggs ran harder and harder. The maniacal sound echoed outward, although it probably wasn't loud enough to reach the others just yet. It might just give away his own position, but Ziggs didn't care. After all they obviously knew that they were here. There wasn't any real reason to be discrete anyway!

<<Here I come!>>


So Ziggs moves for a Full Round Action to move as close as possible to the Big Bad Wolf. While laughing.

Cause why not?

Lostbutseeking
2012-10-27, 03:51 PM
Sword aloft, ponytail flying, Amelia leads her images on a fully fledged cavarly charge against the tiger beast. Her phantom steed tramples the grass as she storms past the dome of ectoplasm the colonel had bound the wolf in and onto the towering tiger as she strikes down with her sword.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-10-27, 05:13 PM
<Acknowledged, Nexus,> Rand sends to him, <I'll help Derek out with the flyer, then.> The kalashtar jogs forward, concentrating as he goes. Normally it takes him more concentration to create ectoplasmic beings, but he's created this particular one so often he can manifest it with merely a thought. When he gets close to the dome of ectoplasm, a small sphere of silvery material materializes in the air and quickly expands to form humanoid figure, a hulking creature with four arms and bulging muscles.

Muscles, you stand guard over that dome, he sends to it, giving it a mental impression of the she-wolf. "Muscles" sends back a mental acknowledgment and drops into a ready stance facing the dome. Rand turns his attention to the flying creature and focuses his attention on it. More silvery ectoplasm appears, this time in strands that encircle the creature in the hopes of immobilizing it.

As a swift action (thanks to his Personal Construct feature), Rand expends his psionic focus and spends 7 PP to manifest a 4th-level astral construct with the Improved Grab, Extra Attack, and Pounce menu abilities in the square directly north of the dome. It readies an action to five foot step (if necessary) and attack the she-wolf if she breaks through the dome on her turn.

Rand moves 30 feet directly east, then spends 7 more PP to manifest ectoplasmic cocoon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/ectoplasmicCocoon.htm) on the flyer. It needs to make a DC 23 Reflex save or be rendered helpless. Again, I'm assuming it's Medium from the map; if it's actually Large, he'll spend 9 PP instead to be able to affect a Large creature.

BelGareth
2012-11-01, 04:10 PM
Rand summons his Construct swiftly ordering it to guard over the grey dome covering the she wolf, you all move on and watch as the Tiger-man is smashed to the ground with a lance of pure sound, almost knocking him from his stance.

The winged angel-man suddenly grasps his throat, seemingly suffocating, and then suddenly falls limp, falling to the ground like a comet through the sky. Moments before he hits the ground his body flashes in a bright light, stealing your triumph over the kill.

So to does the Tiger-man, who was recovering from his attack, his form turning pure purple and then white, and then flickering in between as he fades out from reality.

All of a sudden the area is deathly quiet.

The Tower looms over you, awaiting you to enter.

JKTrickster
2012-11-01, 06:08 PM
Ziggs was laughing as he ran towards the fight. In each hand was a small silver orb and he was juggling them as he moved. His eyes were wide as ran through the thick forest. Even though he was making too much noise, he didn't care.

But even from a distance he could tell something was wrong. The closer he got, the slower he ran until he was simply walking. Ziggs was no longer laughing, completely quiet for once. As all of the enemies evaporated into light, his lower lip trembled. His arms fell by his side and his head slumped low. As he dragged his feet across the ground, he even almost let one of his bombs slip from his fingers.

Walking up to Rand, Ziggs poked him in the elbow. "Where....where did they go?" he said dejectedly, like a child who lost his Christmas presents. Looking at the tower, he only sighed. "Now I can't sneak up on whoever's inside!"

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-11-01, 06:39 PM
Well that's not a good sign, Rand sighs to himself. To his teammates, he sends <All right, team, look sharp. Those disappearances could mean bodies teleporting back to their masters, contingent spells destroying evidence, or a bunch of other things...most of them bad for us. Even if no one noticed the attack before, we should expect that the tower invaders now know about us and act accordingly.>

Rand turns to consider Muscles and orders the construct not to use lethal force with its attacks, then continues, <I'm assuming for now that even if that flash was teleportation these creatures can't just do that whenever they want. If that's the case, we might be able to catch the wolf and interrogate it. Amelia, Reya, you're the spellcasters, why don't you start scanning around to see if you can figure out what just happened and if there are any other strange things around here. Derek, Nexus, Ziggs, I'd like at least one of you to join me over here to try to take out the wolf. When you're ready I'll remove the dome and we'll target the wolf--and strike to disable only, we don't want it to disappear like the others.> A pause as the shaper regards the tower. <The two of you can either help with that or prepare to enter the tower. Don't worry, Ziggs, sneaking isn't off the table--we should assume they know about us, but that doesn't mean they do, so stealth is still the plan.>

Chambers
2012-11-01, 08:42 PM
Reya


<< Huh. Not really what I expected. >> Reya thinks and flys back to join the others, perched in a tree above the silver dome. << I'm sure that the weretiger wasn't killed by that spell. It had to be some contingency that took them away. Which means they're somewhere else and know we're here. >>

Spellcraft to identify the spell effect. [roll0]

Hawk Stats:
HP 128/128
AC 34, Fort +13, Reflex +14, Will +15
Spot +17, Darkvision 60ft
Speed: 60ft (good)

Current Effects: Wild Shape, Mass Conviction (X.3/110 minutes), Bless (X.3/11 minutes), Spell Resistance 23 (0.3/11 minutes)

KingOfLaughter
2012-11-01, 10:07 PM
Derek looks at the spot the angel disappeared from, <<That was kind of cool. Anyone want to start from the top of the tower and work down? I can get you up here.>>

bindin garoth
2012-11-02, 06:30 AM
....... And there they go...... Great. Nexus thinks to himself. He wasn't quite sure what to make of what just happened. He deactivates his boots, slowing down a noticeable amount, and walks over to the dome. Casually reaching through the dimensions again, he pulls out a net made up of pure shadows, shifting in and out of view, ready to toss it onto the wolf.

<Ready to capture the wolf.> Is all he says.


Net has the Invisible, Forced Shot, and Poisoned (Dex)
Ready an action to toss the net on the wolf.

Attack roll:[roll0]

If hit, the wolf is entangled (-4 dex, -2 Att, move 1/2 speed) and must make a DC 24 fortitude save or take 1d6 temporary Dex damage. Heals at a rate of 1 per round.

Lostbutseeking
2012-11-04, 01:12 PM
Amelia lets loose a snort of disgust as the creature she had been charging flickers and vanishes before she even reaches it. Recieving the colonels order to exam the targets and area she brings her mount to heel next to where the tiger-thing was, she dismounts to begin her inspection of it and the empty cocoon that had bound the angel.

<<So it's either gone, or wasn't there to begin with, though im not aware of any illusion spells that would act in such a way.>>

Spot [roll0]
Search [roll1]
Spellcraft [roll2]

JKTrickster
2012-11-04, 03:57 PM
Ziggs nodded at Rand's request as the others joined up with him. Juggling a couple of bombs, he walked up to inspect the dome. He was naturally interested in the strange substance and he wondered if he could ever incorporate it into his bombs. Laughing, he stepped back and readied a bomb in hand. It held several special arcane marks and he made sure it would disable the she-wolf before anything could happen.

<<I'm ready>> he said with glee.

BelGareth
2012-11-04, 10:32 PM
With those around the dome of semi-real AEther stuff ready, and those others searching the area of the Tower. You move into action, Rand dismisses the Ectoplasm that held the she wold at bay, Ziggs' arm swung into motion even as he saw that the she-wolf was gone.


Those with see invisibility or something else, can see nothing under the dome.


Muscles's stands inert next to the area where the she-wolf was covered, retaining his last order to the T.

Those of you who are searching/looking for things at the Tower can see nothing amiss, but can hear something instead.

A low humming pitch seems to be reverberating from the inside of the tower, and on second look and a more detailed scan of the tower, reveals a luminescent glow, barely perceptible at the edges of the doorway.

Something was humming and glowing from within the tower.

bindin garoth
2012-11-05, 11:26 AM
<Well, that's not good. Shall we continue?> Nexus says, looking at the now empty area where the she-wolf was. He was curious about what happened. Did those in the tower know of them? Should they risk going ahead?

He figures that going ahead is best, however, as they need more answers.

JKTrickster
2012-11-07, 02:46 AM
Ziggs' head dropped again when the she-wolf was missing. Dejectedly, he picked up his bomb again and placed it in his bag. For the first time in his life, it seemed like he had contributed absolutely nothing to the effort. Zero. Zip. Nada.

Sighing, he just sat down where the dome used to be. Rolling a couple of bombs between his legs, he just looked off far ahead. His mind was already ticking and whirling, figuring out the magic that had been used. He knew it was not something that he could accomplish himself - this wasn't arcane magic for sure.

Finally, he jumped up and smiled for once. "I don't think they'll be in there," he said as he pointed at the tower. "After all, that spell was a Word of Recall spell, a highly powerful divine spell. Those guys are somewhere safe and familiar...and unless they got all friendly in that tower, I don't think we will see them inside. But obviously whoever casted that spell on them knows now!"

BelGareth
2012-11-08, 01:11 PM
With the she-wolf having disappeared also, the surge of excitement slowly faded, and everyone started to feel slightly light headed from the adrenaline fading from their systems.

But you are all professional warriors, and easily capable of moving through it, grimacing through the undergrowth you move closer to the Tower, as you do you start to hear the thrumming sound getting louder and louder.

The edges of the entrance open up easily, and with your tactical expertise, you manage to clear the first floor within seconds, finding nothing, except the strange glow and the ever loud thrumming noise.

It is obvious it is coming from below, from where the Scrying Stone would have been located.

Sending out your scouts, and following quickly behind them, they quickly report something is amiss even before entering the chamber, cords of sinuous chitin come from within the chamber, seemingly burrowing into the stone, and pulsing with power, in tune with the now almost deafening thrumming.

Moving closer, they peek inside the chamber and see dozens of cords along the wall, floor and ceiling, all converging at the center, where something hovering in place, attached to the cords like nothing you have ever seen.

The being hovers in place, it's skin a sickly dark green, which seeps and oozes as the cords come from within it's flesh. It has a pair of wings, but they are a sad image, most of the feathers having fallen out and fallen to the floor, where they sit in a pool of ooze. The beings hair seems to have fallen out, and it's eyes have been sewn shut. It seems to be alive, barely, possibly fueling the cords that are coming out of its body. It makes no move as you step into the chamber, and appears not to notice you in any fashion.

K. the Planes

25 or <
What you see before is some kind of Angel, or used to be at least.

35 or <
The Angel is Planetar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/angel.htm#angelPlanetar)


You quickly manage to clear the room, finding no other threats present. You see the Scrying stone beneath the mass of cords that run up from the floor and into the creatures feet, legs and waist.


No knowledge check is going to help with figuring out what is going on, it's all up to intuition, common sense and good ole figuring it out.

Chambers
2012-11-08, 09:24 PM
Reya

Hovering in the entryway just beyond Rand, Reya is hesitant to enter the room. << Sweet tears of Isis...what have they done to it? >> Her compassion overcomes her fear and she flies in, dropping to the floor and walking as her wings turn into legs in a flurry of feathers and white cloak. She steps carefully around the fibrous threads holding the prisoner in place and reaches up to place a hand on the creature's chest, hesitating for a moment. "I don't know if you can hear me...but we're here to help." She says and closes her eyes as she says a silent prayer, again forgetting the mindlink, though she speaks in her native tongue, the words unfamiliar.

Casting Cure Critical Wounds [roll0]

Knowledge: The Planes [roll1]

Current Effects: Mass Conviction (X.3/110 minutes), Bless (X.3/11 minutes), Spell Resistance 23 (X.3/11 minutes)

How long has it been since we first arrived and Reya cast Mass Conviction and Bless? How long since the end of the battle? It matters for the spell duration's listed above.

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-11-08, 11:38 PM
Rand orders Muscles to come along with him; no sense dismissing the construct if he might be useful later. Muscles does help clear out the tower, but he stays behind the group as everyone comes across the captive creature.

<Reya, wait, don't touch the--> Rand thinks hard at Reya as she swoops in to place a hand on the creature. <...half-dead thing hanging there,> he finishes with a mental sigh. <Gods below, people, we just saw some creatures disappear thanks to a contingent spell. This creature could be trapped or alarmed, it could be bait, it could be an enemy in disguise, it could be any number of things!> The colonel's mental voice carries an edge of frustration, his usual cheerful demeanor nowhere to be found, though he seems frustrated at the situation rather than his teammates.

<Just...don't touch the wires. I doubt whatever sick bastards were willing to do this to an angel are using it to power spells of sunshine and rainbows, and I don't want any of you to be affected by whatever left it looking like that.> He steps forward gingerly, careful not to touch anything, and tilts his head to inspect the scrying stone. Looking between the stone and the trapped creature, Rand calls Muscles forward. Come on up here, buddy. Sorry about this, but you're not alive and your body's disposable. He warily directs Muscles to carefully inspect the cords.

Knowledge: Planes [roll0]

Rand directs Muscles to tap one of the cords and see what happens. If nothing happens, he'll have Muscles tug gently on it to see what the tension is like in them. If nothing happens then, Muscles will just hold onto the cord for a few seconds, then let go.

If Muscles feels/senses anything, he is to relay it to Rand. If the creature or the stone seem to react at all, Muscles is to stop immediately and take a step away. If Muscles is changed/taken over/etc. in any way, Rand is readying an action to dismiss Muscles before anything bad can happen.

bindin garoth
2012-11-09, 07:39 AM
Nexus was in shock of what laid before him. It was obviously an angel of sorts, but what had been done to it? It looked way too sick, were they draining its power!? For what though? That was the real question....


"I'm sorry...... But do you know what is going on?" Nexus asks the angel. He felt bad for the thing, he really did. But they should try to figure out things as quickly as they can, especially not knowing if the enemies would return.

JKTrickster
2012-11-11, 02:56 AM
When Ziggs entered the room, his jaw dropped. He couldn't quite understand what was happening - he knew it was an angel of sorts, and it was obviously in a great deal of pain and suffering. Part of his mind reached out for it, crying in sympathy, and yet Ziggs flinched at the sight of the angel's eyes. As his eyes traced the tubes, he tried to even figure out what was happening.

How...how can something so beautiful be so....

I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it! The sky is falling down and this angel fell down with it! I knew it I knew it I knew it!

Look how sad it looks....it's eyes are shewn shut....

This is a nasty abuse. I can't imagine someone being used like this. Like they're nothing but a battery. We shouldn't have been and neither should THIS guy.

They have huge and huge stockpiles of these! There's no way this is the only one! All and all of the angels stuck here! After all, how else can they capture an angel without taking its friends? Huh? HUH?

It...it can't even cry.....

It's fueling something, something much and much bigger! If it's in the scrying room...that means the invaders have took the whole fortress for just this room. This is all about arcane magic. Think, goddamn think!

I know how it feels.....

All that pain....almost unnecessarily...who can survive off of pain...that's who...need to think of who...


<<It.....it's being used to fuel....or maybe even torture. Or both.>> Ziggs thought, his mind still struggling to do anything more than that. Walking around the room, he inspected the scrying stone, wondering if he could find any more hints or clues to what was happening. <<They needed this room, this stone, for a reason>> Ziggs thought.

Lostbutseeking
2012-11-11, 07:11 PM
Staring levelly at the bound creature and speaking outloud Amelia murmurs "You know, i'm glad we didn't eat breakfast, for that is certainly pretty unsightly." After a few moments she walks forward slowly and kneels nearby to inspect the stone and it's cabling with her glowing.

<< Fuel seems about right, I would guess the torture part was done already, but I doubt the ongoing part is fun >>

BelGareth
2012-11-15, 05:15 AM
Reya -

The Angel stirs as if in a deep sleep as Reya touches it, the skin of the outsider seems to flicker alive, for but just a moment as the positive energy radiates through her body. It last's a moment or two before it is visibly sucked away through the cables and away from the angel.


34 minutes from landing to walking into the chamber.


Rand -

Muscles touches the cable, nothing happens.

He tugs gently on the cable and is unable to move it at all, it is seemingly locked in place by a larger force.

Holding onto the cord for a few moments he feels a 'current' moving through the cable, away from the angel.

You can see the scrying stone is not physically affected at all, it is merely being covered by the cables. It's usual hum is not present however, and it seems to not be active.


Your extraction transpo has 26 mikes left.

Chambers
2012-11-15, 07:23 PM
Reya

Reya watches in frustration as the angels wounds are healed, only to be reopened as whatever process is behind the cables drains away its life. She turns and glares at Rand, her eyes narrowed to slits. "It could be a creature being tortured and in pain!" She says, louder than necessary as her anger mounts. She blushes and then shakes her head. "Sorry. I'm not angry at you, but at whoever did...did this."

"They know we're here, no point in maintaining stealth. Cover your ears, this might hurt." She says and takes a few steps back so as to see all the cords at once. She opens her mouth and three hawk cries burst forth, a hunting cry loud enough to startle prey - loud enough for a small hawk. With a humans voice and magical projection to carry it, the cries are sharp enough to shatter steel.

Casting Shatter (electricity subbed, thunderbolt ability) three times, targeting a different cord each time. Using this part of the spell: "Alternatively, you can target shatter against a single solid object, regardless of composition, weighing up to 10 pounds per caster level." Her caster level is 14 for the spell so she can target 140lbs per casting. Will save negates, DC 18.

She'll target the three cords that are most likely to be load-bearing.

Current Effects: Mass Conviction (34/110 minutes), Spell Resistance 23 ? (X.3/11 minutes)

bindin garoth
2012-11-15, 09:53 PM
Nexus watches passively while Reya continues to attempt to free the creature. But what he's really concerned about is the fact that the healing spell she casted on the angel was absorbed by those wires...... They're collecting large amounts of positive energy.

But what for? Indeed, that was the fact troubling Nexus the most. Who would need that much positive energy? Where they trying to revive something big? Or what else could it be used for?

<I'm going to keep watch above. Who knows if or when we'll be assaulted again.> He says, walking back up the stairs.

He opens the door at the top of the stairs and takes a look outside. If he see's noone, he creates an illusion of a closed door (while it is actually open) and keeps watch.

Note: If there is no door outside of the stairway, he will instead create an illusion of rubble, as if the entrance had collapsed on itself.


Using silent image

Spot:[roll0]
Listen:[roll1]

BelGareth
2012-11-18, 02:26 AM
As you Nexus goes out to keep watch over everyone, the Angel suddenly speaks.

"PHASE SHIFT INITIATED, SIGNAL BEACON PRIMED."

The cords that are attached to her seem to glow slightly, as if the energy pulsing through them was excited by something.

"BATTALION ONE, LANDING SITE LOCKED. BATTALION TWO, LANDING SITE LOCKED..."

As she speaks the cords grow brighter and in only a few moments the whole room is awash in the bright light, so bright it's almost blinding.

"...BATTALION SIXTEEN, LANDING SITE LOCKED. REGIMENT COMMAND, LANDING SITE LOCKED. PHASE SHIFT IMPLEMENTING IN T-MINUS 200."

The light is so bright now it forces you out of the room, you can still hear her as loudly as if you were standing next to her. Some form of magical amplification processing her voice to all over the surrounding area.

"199.198.197.196.195.194..."

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-11-18, 03:25 AM
Holding up his hands to shield his eyes from the light, Rand growls a few angry phrases that would probably get him disciplined for Conduct Unbecoming an Officer if he were to say them back at base. Over the mental link, he grimly sends <Celestial or not, that sucker has to die. We can't let that phase shift--whatever that is--happen. I'm going to see if I can buy us some time; whether I succeed or not, throw everything you have at those cables and the scrying stone. We have to assume that destroying those will stop this thing, because if they don't we're completely fu--screwed anyway.>

Closing his eyes against the glare, Rand reaches into his pack and pulls out a wire-frame lantern, concentrates for a moment, and opens his eyes as the light drops to manageable levels. Stepping into the room again, he glares at the angel and thinks Give us some time, won't you? in its general direction, then orders Muscles to start attacking the cables.

Rand pulls out his darklightSecrets of Sarlona 140 as a move action, adjusts the light level within 80 feet to Bright Light (torchlight) as a free action, and manifests time hop (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHop.htm) on the angel as a standard action in the hopes that the angel hops forward while the cables stay put. Rand spends 2 PP to make it affect Large creatures; the angel has to make a DC 22 Will save or be sent 11 rounds into the future.

Muscles charges into the room and attacks the nearest cables. His attacks, if you need them:
Slam: [roll0]; Damage: [roll1]
Slam: [roll2]; Damage: [roll3]

Chambers
2012-11-18, 09:21 AM
Reya

Her mouth hangs slightly open as the cables resist her shout. She narrows her eyes at them and mutters a curse in her native tongue. "Colonel, remove your construct. I can shut this abominable machine down." She says and steps forward, waiting a moment for the astral construct to step back. She lifts up her hands towards the cieling and half-closes her eyes. "As the Bountiful Lady gives life and grants power, so it is hers to take away. Mistress, strip away these foul chains and free this creature from its grasp." As she finishes intoning the words of her prayer the world around her seems to snap and vibrate slightly as the magic is stripped away.

Casting Antimagic Field (after Rand Time Hops the angel, hopefully), standing right next to the scrying stone and angel.

Dice - not trying to godmod your construct, just didn't want it to pop when she cast AMF. :smallwink:

bindin garoth
2012-11-19, 08:18 PM
Almost as soon as he puts up the illusion, he hears the voice.

PHASE SHIFT IMPLEMENTING IN T-MIN....

The voice nearly destroys his illusion as he almost losses concentration! Oh s***! They can't have that happen! If the others can't do anything, he'll just have to kill it! We can't have whatever they have going on here escape, and besides, it'd probably be putting the thing out of it's misery anyways.

He quickly drops the illusion and runs back downstairs, already reaching into his dimensional pocket of weapons. Unlike before, he draws it effortlessly, almost as if the pocket understands the severity of the situation! Two daggers are in his hands at a moments notice, covered in shadows, as he reaches the room......

...... Only to find the others are already trying to take care of it! He keeps his daggers drawn for now, in the instance their powers don't work. Can't be too careful, after all.

He does, however, take a moment to look over the room, and see the flows of magic. Perhaps they'll provide insight as to what they did here.


Looks like Dice and Chambers are handling the angel. Might as well look around.....

Using my Magic Insight and See the Unseen invocations.

See invisible creatures/items, detecting magic.

JKTrickster
2012-11-22, 12:32 AM
Compared to the others, Ziggs didn't even jump up at the loud noise. As the others raced around him, Ziggs merely walked towards the door. His pace was even and measured, unlike how he usually ran. He was even unusually silent, like a ghost walking past them. He stood outside the door, looking up at it and around to see where he could work best.

He worked his way around the frame, his fingers slowly tracing ancient runes into the stonework. His fingers were meticulous and careful, never hurried or even disturbed by Nexus' frantic running. He worked like the craftsman he was, obsessed in his runes and lost to the surroundings. Yet in the back of his head, all his voices were counting. Counting to that tone, to make sure he still had time left.


Ziggs uses the next 5 rounds (just about half a minute) - to inscribe 5 runes around the door of the room. 1 of them is completely normal force rune with a Command Word Trigger - the other 4 are special runes with the Chain Reaction trigger.

Basically with one word he can activate all 5 runes to collapse the door/hopefully collapse the room on the angel/sever the chords.

Lostbutseeking
2012-11-24, 11:33 AM
Whipping round as the angels voice booms out "Not Good, Really not good" seeing that Reya and the Colonel are attacking the link between the angel and the stone she starts to make preperations for an emergency extraction.

Quickly directing her mount to near Reya and allow her to mount she then summons a second and directs it to Derek.

<<If we can't stop this Reya and Derek take the mounts, dont forget to drop the antimagic field first. They will get you to the Corvette. Everyone else link up on me for teleportation back to HQ>>

If the covette is 3 miles away it's an 11 minute flying ride away by the mounts.

BelGareth
2012-11-30, 04:17 AM
Rand drops the light in the room to a somewhat comfortable level, move in he attempts to wrest the corrupted angel to another time stream. The angel flickers, as if it was in two spaces at once and could not decide between the two.

It disappears for a longer period, you feel like your plan worked, and then she reappears.

"186.185.184..."

Muscles moves in and starts to pound on the cables, he makes little progress, but does manage to dent the massive things. They resist his physical assault with the strength of adamantium.


Thats just a colorful reference.


Reya moves in and dismisses Muscles to outside the room, he nods as Rand acquiesces the situation and room to her. You cast your powerful spell and bathe the room in its power. The Angel suddenly opens her eyes and stares right at you, her black soulless eyes boring down deep into your very soul.

She screams. An ear splitting, bloody scream that rattles you to the bone, and it..whats that...it sounds like she is saying something?

LEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAVVVVVE!

And she stops, her eyes close just as suddenly as they opened and she continues to speak.

"ERROR, WARNING, LANDING SITE COMPROMISED, UNKNOWN INTERFERENCE, QRF ALERTED. QRF IN ROUTE."

Nexus drops in and scans the room, you see an overwhelming bright light, bright blue energy almost drips from the angel and through the cables, pulsing as if it were a liquid, the angels brightness seems to lessen with every pulse.

Ziggs manages to scribe his runes on the arch with ease, ready to blow the whole place if need, or not, whatever works.

Amelia summons another steed and sends them both to their respective targets, they move willingly, and stand next to Reya and Derek looking slightly awkward in the small hallway of the tower.

bindin garoth
2012-11-30, 07:25 AM
"You know, I hate to suggest this, but perhaps we should kill her? End her suffering?" Nexus suggests to the group. He didn't like the idea, but they had to do what they had to do, didn't they?

Nexus circles around the room, walking closer to the cables and the angel."I could try destroying those cables if you drop the spell. Of course, that means he's open to continue the plane shift. I don't know how successful I'd be, but I could give it a shot. But what do you all want to do if it doesn't work?" He asks

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-11-30, 02:13 PM
Rand continues using the mental link even though everyone's together with no known eavesdroppers; he just finds it more comfortable than talking aloud. <If momentarily interrupting the connection didn't work, then it'll probably start the countdown again once Reya's disruption field collapses,> Rand says grimly. <I see no other choice than to destroy the angel, the cables, and the scrying stone to be thorough.> He looks around the room for a second, thinking. <I'd say we should target the angel first, in case it's under their control and will try to escape and continue the invasion if freed from the cables--not very likely, after that scream, but we can't take chances. After that, the scrying stone, their most likely point of connection. Once those are both down we shouldn't need to destroy the cables, which is good since they look like they'll be a real pain to even damage.>

Taking a few steps to the side and pivoting so he can look at both the angel and his teammates, he continues: <Reya, you'll need to keep that field up as long as you can. Anyone who can attack the angel in that field should do so, and if and when you kill it go for the scrying stone. Everyone else, head outside and prepare for the arrival of whatever this "QRF" is; at the bare minimum we want to stop it from interfering with those of us killing the angel, so delaying tactics are as good as direct offense. If the time comes for Ziggs to blow this place to Elysium, I'll outline that plan then.> He moves as if to leave--he's not very effective in a fight without his mental powers, after all--but stops and asks Reya, <How many more fields can you create after that one dissipates? We don't know when the "QRF" will get here, and we might need to attack the angel without it for a bit if we don't make any headway.>

Chambers
2012-11-30, 07:39 PM
Reya

"As many as needed." Reya mumbles to Rand, her eyes downcast as she stands next to the angel. "If we have to kill her, be quick about it, please." She says and holds her arms around her, hugging herself. She looks up to the angel. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you."

bindin garoth
2012-11-30, 10:22 PM
And Nexus walks out of the anti-magic field for a moment, his face stone. He didn't like having to kill such a creature, but what could they do? He didn't see any other way. And so his hands would run red with blood tonight, and the shadows shall have their sacrifice. He lifts both of his hands, and slowly, two daggers seeminly rise out of his shadow, leaving his shadow rippling as if it were liquid. He waits on another before moving in.

"........ Goodbye, angel." The words seemed to roll off of his lips too easily; his face still stone, yielding nothing to onlookers. And he strikes with the first blade, his other hand ready to slip the next blade in the creatures back.


Drawing two daggers out of my gloves of storing.

Move and attack after someone gets into flanking position.

Attack (Including the +2 from flanking): [roll0]
Damage:[roll1] + [roll2] SA damage = 26

DC = 26 fort save, or staggered for 1 round.

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-12-01, 02:20 PM
Rand walks over to Reya and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, twitching slightly as he walks into the antimagic field and feels his telepathy become suppressed. "I know this isn't easy, and I don't particularly like killing celestials--it sucked the last four times, too," he says with a cheeky grin; he's trying to lighten the mood, and though it's probably not the best idea to joke about killing angels with a priestess, his sense of humor dial only really has settings for stun, kill, irreverent, and non sequitur. "But whoever is responsible for doing this is the one at fault, and releasing the angel from this...contraption...is the best mercy we can provide."

He gives her another smile and a nod and leaves the antimagic field, relaxing as the mindlink reforms. <All right, Nexus, while you stay down here and put the angel out of its misery--> He glances at Reya and corrects himself, <--I mean, out of her misery, the rest of you come with me; let's get ready to give the three-letter assault force a warm welcome.> Suiting words to actions, he walks out of the room and up to Nexus's illusion, tries to open the door, discovers it's an illusion, and walks through to keep watch while he waits for the others to get up there and make their preparations.

Bel, correct me if the angel isn't actually helpless, but since it looks to be practically the textbook definition of helpless right now, Nexus doesn't need a flanking buddy to get sneak attack, and in fact he can coup de grace it for the quick mercy kill Reya wants.

JKTrickster
2012-12-02, 04:57 PM
Ziggs nodded as he already started juggling a few of his treasured bombs. While he didn't feel the same amount of attachment to the angel, he understood the pain it felt. Turning away while Nexus did his work, Ziggs followed Rand up the stairs.

For once, he was silent. He wasn't a stranger to death, but the image of the angel left its imprint on him.

Lostbutseeking
2012-12-06, 05:50 PM
Amelia Follows the Colonel outside with considerable alacrity while redirecting Dereks steed to Garoth.

<<As a rough guess, under the circumstances QRF would be a Quick Response Force.... So let us be a little quicker than they are >>

Grinning and muttering as she casts Haste on all those gathered outside.

<<I do hope I actually get to hit something this time... the others were so... boring!>>

BelGareth
2012-12-11, 03:41 AM
Nexus attempts to take the Angels life, but for some reason your weapons fail to penetrate the angels skin, in fact you are not even able to make a scratch.

Outside-

"QRF Departed."

Those of you outside see several shapes appear in the middle of the air, 2 huge dragons appear, wings flapping jaws open, nostrils flaring and eyes scanning the area.

One has hide that shines as bright as any mithral armor and the others golden scales flash in the sun with the same brightness.

4 humanoids accompany them, which instantly span out, setting up a cordon.

Interestingly enough, they look nothing like the others you met before, and you can easily see the uniform of the humanoids, black with red lining, several of them even carry quivers with arrows fletched with red.

"QRF Arrived. Stand By for SITREP"

bindin garoth
2012-12-11, 08:59 PM
Nexus's jaw drops as his weapon doesn't even land a mark! But he had aimed at the weakest point of the angel he could find! How could it of suffered no damage!?

Frustrated, Nexus returns the weapons to his shadows, and dashes upstairs to his companions.

"Folks, we have a problem. Might I suggest having Zig blow this place up, and then we get out of here?" He says to the others. It's only then he notices the dragons and humanoids rapidly approaching them.

"So much for not engaging, huh? I guess this is what we get........ Well, would you guys like to fight or run?" He says to the others.

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-12-13, 04:06 PM
<Keep it mental, remember, Nexus> Rand sends urgently, <dragons have very good hearing. Oh, yes, for the folks inside: we have dragons. Two big ones, one silver, one gold. There are four humanoids with them, looks like with varying capabilities, but it's not clear right now whether they or the dragons are the more dangerous ones.>

He pauses to take a good long look at the new arrivals. <In any other circumstances, I'd say an ambush could work very well, but if they can ward their captive angel well enough that it survives a death blow in an antimagic field, there's no telling what these others might be capable of.> A mental shrug, then: <All right, time for a vote. I think the best option is to try to capture one of the humanoids for questioning without alerting the others and then get the Hells out of here. Other options are run away now, try an ambush, try confronting them, try deceiving them, or something else that doesn't immediately come to mind because I'm staring at very large dragon fangs. Thoughts, everyone?>

Chambers
2012-12-13, 06:23 PM
Reya

Not strong enough. Reya thinks to herself before slumping down and dropping the field. As she feels the mental link restablish itself she listens to Rands report. << It doesn't matter what color they are, their breath shall not pass through Isis's divine wind. >> Clutching her staff she stands up tall and lightning flashes within her eyes. << If these dragons are allies of those who imprisoned this angel, then Isis will watch as their life is taken from them. >>

She takes one last look at the angel. "I won't forget you." She narrows her eyes and marches up the stairs to join the rest of them standing near the illusory door. << Dragons breath fire, right? >> She raises her hands and a warm glow settles over everyone. << If we stay together I can call upon the winds to protect us from their arrows and the dragonsbreath, but we'll have to stay next to each other and keep the wind close to us. >>

Casting Mass Resist Energy (fire). Everyone has Fire Resistance 30 for 110 minutes.

She's talking about casting Wind Wall and shaping it to make a cylinder with the PC's in the middle. We'd be stuck standing in that spot but it would negate the arrows and any gaseous breath weapons if they have them.


Current Effects: Mass Conviction (40/110 minutes), Spell Resistance 23 (4/11 minutes), Mass Resist Energy Fire 30 (0/110 minutes)

Lostbutseeking
2012-12-14, 06:06 PM
Amelias eyes go wide as the QRF arrives. Quick response force it is then she half snarks to herself then her thoughts quickly turn to Telasil'xelkriss as she gets a good luck at the scales of one of the dragons. What in the world is going on...

<<Not sure how you plan to ambush that pack but im game to hear a plan for it if you have one. I dont have a great deal that will help against them Solid fog followed by Cloudkill, perhaps, but nothing else. As for running - the mounts can outpace them and then I can teleport the other 4 of us out, longer we wait to run the more likely it is the dragons will catch up before the ship can get away though if they follow. >>

JKTrickster
2012-12-14, 07:53 PM
Ziggs looked up at the dragons, contemplating how he could best help the situation. Twiddling his thumbs by the corner, he sighed. He kind of hated fighting creatures who can fly - after all he wasn't a marksman or anything and he counted on the collateral damage from the bombs to reliably hurt people. But then he smiled. After all he wouldn't be here if he didn't like the challenge.

<<If we want to, we can lure them into the temple with the explosion. That might split up the humanoids from the dragons since the dragons probably wouldn't fir anyway.>>

PairO'Dice Lost
2012-12-16, 08:23 PM
<That's if they'll be lured in by explosions,> Rand responds. <With the tactics they've displayed so far, it's possible they'd just stay out there and call for reinforcements. Trying to split them up is a good idea, though. We need to first lure some of the humanoids in here and then capture them, while handling the dragons--and possibly the archer, since he'll probably want to stay back....>

Rand's mental voice trails off as he tries to come up with a plan. <All right, how's this: Nexus can set up some illusions to conceal us and make the inside of the tower look normal. Derek can take Ziggs out, around, and up the tower so he can throw some bombs around and generally cause some chaos that will hopefully make the enemy think we're all still outside and convince them to take shelter in the tower. If they take the bait, Amelia can keep the humanoids trapped and separated while Reya protects us from the dragons and the archer, and I'll do what I can to knock them out and capture them. If they don't take the bait, Amelia can lock the humanoids down while Reya and I keep the dragons occupied, and depending on how the battle goes we can either retreat, continue the assault, or still try to capture someone. Objections, additions, or comments?>

JKTrickster
2012-12-21, 05:07 AM
Ziggs smiled and stretched, as he started jumping from side to side. Warming his body up, he assessed the situation. He would first need to set up wards against the dragons, and possibly against the archers as well. Ziggs also wanted to trap the battlefield, but he couldn't make sure that they would be caught.

Grinning, he nudged Nexus in the ribs. <<So I bet you can't bring me around the big meadow to lay some nice traps without us getting caught. If we get caught, I win and we die. If we don't get caught, drinks are on me when we get back!>>

Turning to Rand, Ziggs suddenly looked scared and frightened. <<I-I can't handle the height! Especially with three whole dragons just waiting to get me! You definitely definitely definitely have to make sure I am ready first!>> The odd thing was that Ziggs actually look concerned....kind of. Maybe. It's kind of hard to tell honestly.

BelGareth
2012-12-28, 03:40 AM
As you are mentally planning out your assault/ambush, you see the new arrivals start to move, the humanoids seem to remain in the cordon around the tower, high up in the air, bows and hands ready with whatever eldritch power that lays behind within them. The pair of dragons seem to hover in place looking down, scanning the area, it is obvious they are going about in a thorough pattern, which means they have military training, or military tenancies, but the obvious here is too much so.

They suddenly move, point in the your direction, change shape into humanoids and fly towards you all.

As they come, you see that they are two very comely humans, if they were really that.

"Halt! Declare your intentions or be summarily subject to the consequences of interrupting a military exercise! By his name."

Ziggs, you are fairly certain that you have successfully evaded their sense for the time being.

Lostbutseeking
2013-01-01, 06:50 PM
Guess they know where we are then. Not overly friendly either. Amelia muses as the two dragons shift shape and head down towards them.

<< So do we continue with plan, or try to talk to them? Gold dragons can be mighty chatty, usually the hard part is making them stop talking. Though how this, whatever it is, counts as an excercise is beyond me.>>

PairO'Dice Lost
2013-01-10, 04:15 PM
<Gold dragons in general are worth chatting with. Gold dragons apparently in the service of a foreign army that assaulted our nation? Not so much.> Rand grumbles to himself about the dragons finding them before they had a chance to withdraw: Damn draconic senses. Far too keen. Well, I guess I can't complain too much, with my touchsight, but still. All right, time for Plan B.

<Okay, new plan. We have to assume they've spotted all of us, so doing anything suspicious is off the table. We pick one of us who's good in close-range combat and send them forward as our "leader" to talk to them; I'm all about leading from the front, but I wouldn't be very useful in a dragon's claws. We figure out what they're doing here and what they plan to do with us, and then either trick them, assault them, or escape based on how things go. Any questions, or any volunteers to be the temporary Colonel?>

BelGareth
2013-01-11, 01:42 AM
As you are all telepathically communicating your plans, you can easily notice the eyes of the dragon who just spoke; his eyes glaze over for just a moment and his focus seems somewhere else. And as quickly as he stopped paying attention he snapped back, his arms moving up as if strings were cut from his marionette.

"Intel indicates you could be Recon from possible retaliatory forces, tell me, are you aligned with the Velvet Shields?"

It is quite obvious from the way he asked the question, that it is probably the most weighted question ever asked of you.

K. Planes

30 or >
The Velvet Shields are a Planar mercenary group spanning several planes.

40 or <
They take on special assignments to those who can pay, if they are involved, you know something serious is going down.

bindin garoth
2013-01-15, 10:52 AM
K. Planes:

[roll0]


<I'll step forth. With my illusions, I can at least avoid having to take on both the dragons and the archers.> Nexus communicates to the others with their telepathic messaging. It was clear that he wasn't too keen on the idea, but knew he was probably the best one to do so.

"I am know as Nexus. And no, we are not aligned with Velvet Shields. What do they have to do with this? I'm afraid I'm familiar with them by name only. And 'By his name?' If you don't mind me asking, who do you fight for?" Nexus asks as he steps ahead of the group.

Lostbutseeking
2013-01-23, 07:03 PM
As Garoth heads forward to treat with the shapeshifted dragons Amelia starts to tapher foot rapidly against the stone as she hides .. a visible sign that her nerves are starting to get the better of her. Keeping one eye on the cordon of archers above them and the other on the dragons in front of Garoth.

As she watches she is acutely aware that the mounts probably out fly the dragons afterall - gold dragons being the swiftest of dragonkind, then realising that her foot is tapping her gaze tracks down to glare at the offending appendage, willing it to be still.

Her body back under control she resolves to try and do something actually useful for once, feeling that she has been pretty thoroughly useless so far on this mission, and focuses on the dragons trying to analyse the the energies around them

Assuming they are within (or come within 120') of where we are hiding i'm going to try and analyse what spells & effects they have active. With a spellcraft mod of 24 I should automatically pass the check to identify the school for all spells and any non spell effects of CL20 or under. Then i'd like to use the standard action to see what spellcasting abilities the gold dragon has.

KingOfLaughter
2013-01-24, 09:49 AM
Having stayed quiet, Derek simply watches the going ons,

Sorry bout disappearing, still wanna play.

BelGareth
2013-01-25, 04:44 AM
The one with Golden orbs for eyes, the speaker smiles as Nexus steps forward and answers his question.

"Ah, that is none of your concern, if you are not with the Velvet Shields, who are you with? And no more evasion, answer the question or suffer the consequences."

The other with Silver orbs for eyes quickly turns his head towards Amelia narrowing his eyes as he looked right at you.


On the Gold -
Shield of Faith
Protection from Good
Resist Energy [Fire]
CL 7

On the Silver-
Shield of Faith
Protection From Good
Cats Grace

Not sure what ability you are using...


You all suddenly receive a mental message

<<Just received word from Command, you are needed at HQ ASAP, get your butts out of there!>>

KingOfLaughter
2013-01-25, 10:28 AM
Derek perks up slightly with the call from HQ.

<<Time to bail guys, anyone got a foolproof escape plan?>>

Lostbutseeking
2013-01-28, 06:15 PM
Recieving the abort from HQ Amelia tenses swiftly, her fingers ready to frame the sigils to move the team through the aether and back the city.

<<Form on and I can get us out of here and back to HQ, Garoth can you bail on them and back to us?>>

PairO'Dice Lost
2013-01-28, 06:34 PM
Rand rolls his eyes to himself. Just when we're getting somewhere, we get the evac signal. Wonderful. Making a split-second decision, he sends <We still know nothing about who these people are or what happened to the outpost. Everyone but Nexus, get to Amelia's position as quickly as possible and be ready to leave. Nexus, keep them talking. Say you're part of some mercenary company, the...I don't know, Crimson Gauntlet, something impressive-sounding, and ask them who they are allied with. We need to be able to bring some name back to HQ.>

Rand holds position, waiting for the others to comply, not wanting to alert the dragons to his movement until everyone else is ready given that he's one of the closest to them.

BelGareth
2013-02-05, 11:04 PM
Nexus continues to talk to the dragons as the rest of the team moves into position. It didn't take long, those few of you hidden had no issue and the others saw that Nexus had managed to distract the dragons rather well, winding a tale as elaborate and grand as the supposed dragons before him.

Nexus bows low "Why, we are the Crimson Gauntlet, a new company recently formed. I am not familiar with your own company, what is your mission here today?" he purrs.

The dragon raises his eyebrow and listens to him "The Crimson Gauntlet? I am not familiar with that company, you say you are a new company? Interesting."

He turns to the other and there is an obvious flash of thought that travels back and thought between the two, turning back to Nexus he beckons to him closer "Come closer mortal, we must ascertain your truth."

And then with a blur and burst of shadowy energy Nexus blooms into a shadowy blur of action disappearing from view.

You hear a mental plea as you move into action, knowing what your team mate is doing for you.

<<Go! go now! I will hold them off!>>

Amelia swiftly speaks the arcane words enacting the power within her mind and touches those present, she stiffly comes up short when she should be touching Nexus' shoulder.

<<GO!>>

he screams again.

Looking back, you see the cloud of shadow streaming exponentially larger, streams of shadowstuff roiling forth from what seems to be a planar breach, dozens of shadow shapes, humanoid in appearance flying around Nexus and the dragons as they roil in battle, arcane energy crackling and flashing as spells are unleashed midst fiery breath attacks.

Pausing again Amelia sees what must be Nexus' end.

With a gentle mental nudge from Rand she finished the spell and you all begin to fade. Rand sends the last mental signal to the Pilot.

<<Team Evac complete, retrace to last known, report one MIA, unconfirmed loss>>

His mental report fading as the magic slowly took hold and whipped the team straight to HQ.

<<Roger...that...>>


1


You all appear in the HQ rally point, in the designated teleportation spot reserved for your unit. No one is present, but gems on the ceiling and walls start to pulse upon your arrival, you know they are relaying the metrics of who arrived to HQ Command. Moments later several Privates come rushing in with basins of water and towels, placing them down on the benches along the wall.

You notice something strange about them, they are all garbed for war. Some even dirty with grime and singed from what can only be fire.

Strange.

You knew of no wargames scheduled for any time this month.

Captain Gregoire comes in just seconds afterwards, a grim look upon his face.

"You're just in time" he says curtly "come with me, the Andromus has already debriefed us. Walk with me, You're needed in the strategy room." he looks to Reya and Ziggs, "You two are needed on a mission as we speak, go see Master Zandrix, he'll brief you."

He walks with the rest of your team to the Strategy room, Amelia, Rand and Derek. You walk in silence, thoughts and questions streaming through your mind as to what in the nine hells is going on?

He stops at the entrance to the Strategy room and opens the door beckoning you all in.

Entering the room, you are almost taken aback, it has never looked like this before, all the windows have been shuttered up, covered with stone, privates and adjutants rush about everywhere, Clerics stand next to Generals, eyes looking else where whispering to far off places.

It was instantly obvious as you passed the sandtable.

You are at war.



Everyone gain one level (except the new folks) and then journey on over to the new chapter.

Chapter 2: Choices, Choices, Choices (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14659003)