The Ultimate Conflict (Of Havens and Empires) IC

Usabhar:

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Home once more to Wesslorne; home once more to Kulomen; home once more to the gates of Sarg'ti.

Flying atop of Nasiri, Usabhar can see his city; his citadel of survival against all who who would bring death; his home among the frozen wastes.

Stretching far into the sky as an artificial mountain, each ring of Sargti is smaller than the last, connected to one another through slippery ledges, weather-blasted ladders, and the holes and dents that its members have worked into nearly every wall with their fingers, picks, and boots as they've climbed. Half of the exterior is a sharp display of your warlike nature, millions of blades pointing downwards and out from each layer, each one waiting to be picked up and wielded once more against assailants.

Surrounding the Iron shell of Sarg'ti rest the camps of the giants, bound to the service of your brethren and kept out of all but the feast hall of Sarg'ti by their size alone. Large huts raise up like foothills around the mountain of your home and blades far larger than any of your kin form the outer barriers of their camp, holding far greater siege weapons within. At the moment, the giants build great bonfires in each of their camps, preparing to make their burnt offerings to Kors'dug'haem, their god of stoic strength and resilience. A few of the giants, seeing your approach, drop the wood they carry to wave and call to you out in the sky, though the biting winds rob their words of all meaning by the time they have reached you.

What is greatest and most telling, however, are the stains upon the surrounding snow. Much as they have claimed, the snow all around Sarg'ti is bathed a deep color of black, stretching out for nearly a mile in every direction. It is a shame that you had missed the battle, though you have no doubt that your people will gladly share the details, especially if they had gained honor in the battle.

"It is good... to be home," speaks Salin at last. Left largely alone after his recovery from madness, it had fallen on you to deliver the general home... just as it had been planned.

Lord Wero:

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OOC: As I'm in preparation for the next wave of mid-terms (yes, already), finding time to have more protracted petitioning sessions would likely prove troublesome for awhile. Instead, let's move to the forums at least for this section.

By the time you have finally returned to your chamber, the new day has already started. So much to do and so little time. In any case, the other petitioners seem to have taken the lack of rest far harder than yourself. The first being to step forward, however, isn't living. An iron golem walks through the door into your chamber. Judging by the symbol emblazoned in its chest (and its fine craftsmanship), it would be one of yours. In its hand is a folded piece of parchment.

Celestica/Rahja:

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OOC: the "item" is an intangible bond. You need not spend time crafting it. Either of you is free to start out with a description of where you are and what you're doing and I'll follow your lead. It's your day off, after all.

CELESTICA

Celestica would like nothing more than to spend the day with Rahja, strengthening their new found bond, but the demands on her time often do not allow her to make the decisions she wants to. The threat to the multi universe has to be dealt with and she also needs to be with Lord Wero when he sees the supplicants. Something might come up there related to the threat, and even if it doesnt, a calmer voice is often needed.
However, she can at least bring Rahja with her, and they can be at least that close.

When helping the high lord in situations like this, you never openly oppose his rulings, you try and influence him to see all sides of the situation. You take what small victories you can get and try to reduce the harshness of his pronouncements.
Oh, and never ever refer to him by his name...never, ever. He has something really bad against that.

Celestica leads Rahja to her appointed seat on Wero's council and they sit there, waiting to hear the first of the supplicants.

Rahja, too, would have loved nothing more than to spend the entire day with Celestica and only her, but as has often been the case in her past, there are things to attend to that cannot wait. She nods subtly. "Like before, I will follow your lead," she whispers, offering a smile. She knows that Celestica can say things to Wero others couldn't, so Rahja focuses on supporting her. The aasimar's presence is undeniable, impossible to ignore and enhances the elven maiden's to unimaginable heights as she, too, works to be a voice of reason.

((Yeah, just lemme know ASAP when you're able to do it. Preferably in advance))

HALL OF JUDGMENT

Yesterday had been a particularly interesting day. Although he does gain pleasure for sentencing criminals guilty of High Treason to participate in his own little experiments to find the just punishment for treason, the one crime they did commit never fails to upset the High Lord at his most fundamental level. The fact of the matter is, and particularly old court records will give credit to this, it takes a tremendous amount of willpower and discipline for him to not eviscerate those that speak his name on the spot. Especially those so bold as to speak his name in his presence! Who are they to think themselves worthy enough to speak his glorious name?!

Regardless, subsequent events turned out far better.

For now though, the new day. And despite not getting as much rest as he would like, the High Lord is more than surprised to find that he is not tired at all. Meeting this automatonous petitioner, Lord Wero thinks to who could have crafted this particular Iron Golem. It's too baroque to have been made by Prince Zurkar, who, while he certainly has craftsmanship, does almost nothing to stylize his constructs except by request. And even then they are uninspired. Most artificers and technomancers have a signature of their work, some things like spikes on pauldrons or subtleties like a limping gait typically denote a particular artificer's works, even if they try to standardize the aesthetics. The High Lord secretly wishes they wouldn't do that, but he figures it's not the biggest issue. Lord Wero grabs the parchment with his hands, and unfolds it to read.

What had once been a simple search-and-rescue mission had turned into a massive, world-saving victory for Usabhar and Nasiri as they left Aegun to return to Sargti. To the paragon however, such an event is something experienced so frequently, for Kulomen is the world to those that live there. Such is so to explain the fierceness of the inhabitants and the mighty showing of weapons and warriors prove it. Nasiri, who carries both the paragon and his general, looks at Sargti once more with awe. Every time she sees the kingdom she wonders whether the place is is a kingdom or a living giant made of blades.

Today the blackened snow that spreads out all over Kulomen shows how well the kingdom had fared when the abominations came down on Sargti. Such a battle here is what Usabhar would have preferred to fight instead on the world of Aegun. However a brave, brimming smile from the paragon showed how proud he is at his kingdom. Such a smile only comes when it's in regards to Sargti and it detailed how much he cared for his people. Nearing the kingdom, Nasiri looks down at the blackened snow with a partial queasy look. "M-my goodness, such display of blood. I don't even think..." She trails off as Usabhar fondly finishes her sentence, "Not even the demons' great crusade against us had feasted the snow with the blood of our foes, and they lost untold numbers in that battle." Such was a time when Salin still rested among the dead; Usabhar hopes the general is still as skilled now as he was back then.

The last couple rings of Sargti, though very small, are inaccessible to land by air as a consequence of anti-aerial protection. Nasiri lands Usabhar and Salin on the highest ring she is able to before looking down at the camps that the giants live among. Curious, she asks the paragon, "Do you wish for me to send you the voices of the giants?" Usabhar looks up the great mountain to where his destination lies before bluntly responding to the couatl. "The senate will have their voices heard already and relayed to me when I arrive." His voice picks up a tone of rare cheerfulness as he continues. "But today is not the time for concerns; today we all feast as an accomplishment of Sargti's glorious victory!" Nasiri obediently nods as she quietly looks out in the distance.

Usabhar meanwhile begins ascending the rest of Sargti up to the ring of the Senate where the paragon is to present Salin as planned. He makes sure the general is able to climb as well before he leaves Nasiri to her own doings for the day.

Wero's Chamber of Judgment:

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After handing the paper to Wero, the iron golem promptly walks up to the smallest governor in the room and proceeds to cave in his skull with a single swing of its fist.

The Paper

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The Boiler Man

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Usabhar:

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Scaling up the mountain that is Sarg'ti, you can catch glimpses inside of the feast hall, already teaming with life and activity. Black-scaled creatures with far too many legs are being cooked upon bonfires. It is not long before Usabhar is spotted from inside, an awareness that spreads through the town like wildfire. By the time you have reached the top, you can hear the deep chants echoing from within even over the roar of the wind.

"Pa! Ra! Gon! Pa! Ra! Gon!"
"Pa! Ra! Gon! Pa! Ra! Gon!"

Within the council, you can see the other six members have been speaking to each other in loud and boisterous voices, likely having drunk their fair share already judging by the flagons at each of their seats. The council sit a the far end of the room from the door, occupying a structure reminiscent of a mountain, complete with seven seats in ascending order of important, seats to which the members climb nearly every day like a true mountain. The highest seat on the mountain, nominally your own, is currently empty.

"Usabhar!" calls Infert, the eldest among the council members, with a drunkenly wide smile upon his wrinkled face, "such a fight you have missed, Paragon. I see you have recovered Salin."

Lord Wero looks up from his attempting to understand what the phrase means to see the dead body of the governor slump over and the golem pull its fist from the corpse. He considers obliterating it right then and there, but then he figures there's a purpose.

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Standard Action: Ready to cast Intensified Untyped Orb of Fire

Knowledge checks to identify what "the boiler man" means

Nobility/Royalty
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Arcana
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History
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Local
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Planes
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CELESTICA

Celestica is on her feet the moment the Iron Golem strikes, but only her deference to the High Lord as the ultimate arbitrator of this assembly keeps her from striking it down.

Immediately, Rahja is on her feet as well, a stream of healing energy flowing into the dead body as soon as the iron golem withdraws it's fist, followed by a wave of positive energy fortifying everyone near the golem, making them entirely too hard to kill quickly. The chancellor's skull reforms itself and the man is returned to life, the rest of his wounds erased entirely by Rahja's spell. Otherwise she stays her hand like Celestica does right now, Rahja's mind calm and in harmony with her's.

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Standard action to cast revivify on the killed governor (range due to Healer class feature). Quicken Spell to cast Mass Cure Light Wounds as a swift action onto the governor and the 28 closest people to the golem within 60ft. of one another. Should give everyone 100 THP and thus a +10 overcharge bonus.

CELESTICA

Still waiting for reaction from the High Lord, Celestica whispers to Rahja

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Now, thats a neat trick

Scaling up the mountain, Usabhar takes note of the black, roasted creature and looks on in curiosity on how such creatures would taste. By his knowledge, they came from a dimension unknown to all so devouring one should be... Interesting at the least. Best to keep Salin away from it however; no need for him to go insane again. He spends not long viewing it before continuing his way up to the senate.

Inside he hears the chants and sees the other members of the council as the dwarf enters in a welcome manner. His voice booms prosperously; "The day holds well for us all as I have seen Infert." He looks over at Salin in stern fashion as he speaks a little more indignantly. "The general here has indeed been returned to us. I pray we never again resort to the arts that our unliving foes rose with." Rather to be pleased this day, he gets a flagon of the finest, and heaviest, ale available and begins gushing it's contents down. "Let me be up to the present with what had occurred while I was gone," he says, pausing his drinking. "The journey home had it's own great war to delay me. What honor was gained here for Sargti and those for the battle?" He goes to sit on his seat, the highest among the council, as he hides his anxiety for a response.

Looking towards Celestica from the corner of her eye, Rahja subtly winks to her and whispers back

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"Thanks, love."

Wero's Chamber

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Acting with the oblivious single-mindedness one would expect of a brainless automaton, the iron golem responds to the revival of the governor by continuing its attack, pounding on the prone man again and again, being far less effective with Rahja's magic but giving no sign of realizing this fact or of letting up in general.

Sargti

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Positively beaming at Usabhar's question, Infert happily responds, "We have fought in remembrance of our old wars, keeping to our traditions and honoring our ancestors on the battlefield. For this we claim honor. Holum!"

Hirmden, a younger member of the council and one of the great traditionalists and strategists among you people continue, "No foe has stepped foot within the gates of Sargti and so we claim honor for protecting what is ours. We have protected the homes where our young and ill are hidden; the feasthall where we prepare our foes; the shrine to Keltahkonkmet just below us. For this we claim honor. Holum!"

Afir, one of the two woman on the council, continues in her own boisterous voice, "We have protected those of "haven", keeping our allies safe from harm in the midst of combat when they couldn't protect themselves. Now they await downstairs in our halls as our guests, just repayment for their timely warnings. For this we claim honor. Holum!"

The final dwarf to speak is Vemi, the youngest on the council by nearly half a century, placed there to replace Salin and expressing mixed emotions at seeing Salin once more in the chamber. When he talks, he does so only distractedly, "We have done the impossible. We have fought the sky and won. For this we claim honor. Holum Von!"

HALL OF JUDGMENT

I've had enough. The High Lord finally says, and lets loose a crackling man-sized burst of indigo energy at the golem, reducing it to little more than pieces of molten scrap metal.

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Cast the spell from before
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as long as I don't roll a one it autohits

Usabhar listens with dutiful glee as the dwarves explain how the battle went. To keep the ancestors and traditions held, to protect the kingdom and all that they own, to keep those guarded who cannot guard and assist indirectly, and to have defied those who attempted the end of their kingdom; that is what it means to be a member of Sargti in the lands of Kulomen. Usabhar stands up as he looks down at the other members of the council with respect. He booms boisterously and triumphantly, "During my way back, the sky had brought down it's own reign on other planets. I gave my aid to those in danger, as alone they would not last. Though they survived, the lands of most were torn and shredded; this was not a sign of the peoples' weakness, but one showing our foes' might. It is of that which show our strength to all. For this we claim honor. Holum Von!"

Very satisfied with the result of the great battle here, Usabhar pauses to finish his flagon of ale before resuming discussion of the events at hand, keeping a dutiful voice. "Has any word been heard from the giants or our trade routes that have followed this great battle?" The paragon walks up to the rest of the council. "I dare not keep our guests waiting much longer. I will go meet them and then pray to Keltahkonkmet for how his ways have been our shield and for our continued success. I ask for any news now before we all plan ahead for the day."

CELESTICA

The moment the iron golem showed its intention to continue the attack, Celestica used her dimension door power to interpose herself between the golem and the governor. She was just about ready to activate her belt of battle to engage the automaton in an attack routine when the arcane energy of the High Lord smashes into it.

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If it is indeed a smoking pile of slag, she will hold her attack. If it somehow is still up, she will attack

As one, Rahja teleports down to the iron golem as well, entering existance just behind Celestica and helping the man up, wordlessly motioning for him to head out of the danger zone. True, no harm would have come to him with her spell protecting him and Wero finally annihilating the golem, but that doesn't mean she would just sit around and watch.

Sargti:

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Finally resuming some measure of decorum, the other elders still their smiles as Infert speaks up eonce more, his voice dry, "You have outdone yourself, Paragon. As for our allies, we are still waiting to see all that has come to pass. We have heard from the giants that Il'Kanaen yet stands, though I doubt that anything could pierce that icy fortress... aside from ourselves. Most other communities, however, have not fared nearly as well and we have yet to hear anything from the human trading posts or our Azer allies to the far south. Who still lives and who has joined the shambling hordes will become clear as time goes onwards. For now, however, we have survived. For now, we have deemed this sufficient."

Wero's Chamber:

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The remaining supplicants within the chamber, even bolstered by Rahja's magic, wisely dive out of the way as Wero launches a spell at the golem. As the iron of golem is reduced to slag, however, one item remains in the molten metal, what appears to be an adamantine egg fortified with transmutation and protected with abjuration. Its surface seems to have been lightly etched with words.

Their timely intervention is quite a fortunate occurrence. The High Lord was not particularly in the mood for his governors dying any more, and he can only command them to shrug it off so many times a day. However the near-black gleam of the adamantium egg catches the High Lord's interest. Not particularly keen on having his subjects bring it to him, the great purple wyrm moves with preternatural speed to collect the egg in his hand, and at least attempt to make out the wording.

Not being blessed with the talent to make unknown magic items respond to her, Celestica doesnt intervene when Wero picks up the egg. However she does remain close, to see if the words are perhaps elven. She also nudges Rahja...You have the artistic skills of a bard, do you share their ability to make unknown magic items respond to you?

Rahja nods. "Though doing so without determining what magic they contain can prove dangerous, especially with something gained like this one. Let's see here..." she says, motioning to the egg, which she also examines, reading it's magical aura, the inscription and trying to remember if she has ever heard about this kind of item.

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Rahja identifies the item via her permanent arcane sight and Spellcraft, as stated in the Pathfinder skill description. Take 10 on the Spellcraft check for a result of 64.

Also, she uses Lore Master to take 20 on a Knowledge (arcana) check for 84, but also takes 10 on knowledge (the planes) and knowledge (religion) checks for results of 74 each.

As for the inscription, Rahja knows all languages written in the Speak Language description in the Pathfinder SRD, has permanent read magic, permanent comprehend languages and (if relevant) permanent tongues, true seeing and see invisibility.

Usabhar pauses to listen to Infert's explanation before nodding stoically and stating, "Then that shall be our present situation. If our allies have indeed become one with the undead, let us not give hesitance in striking them down when they come as foes." Usabhar walks to the entrance of the room, turning around to boisterously say, "But we shall not let the question of their well-being bring us down! Tonight we feast in glory of our victory! Let us not make waste in preparations!" A small smile bore on the paragon's face as he speaks, happy to rally his own kind for the coming meal.

Done with discussing with the senate for now, Usabhar begins making his way down the mountain to the Guest Halls where those who had warned Sargti wait. He wishes to introduce himself to them which he would have done earlier had he been here for the battle. Alas, time is short today even if life may be eternal. He makes no dawdle as he proceeds to Sargti's Guest Hall.

Lord Wero's Chamber:

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As far as Wero and Rahja can tell, the adamantine was simply enchanted (in multiple ways, at that) to survive whatever would end up killing the golem. The language inscribed upon it, for better or worse, is plain old draconic.

The Message:

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This is not a threat. Our chosen messenger lacks the means to harm you. If you are reading this, all is going as it should. For the past 3,143,600,000 seconds, your empire has been marked for destruction in the name of the boiler man. We have watched. We have waited. To continue reading, remove the breastplate of iron golem designation S1430 within your portal chamber.

Sargti:

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Travelling downwards from the hall (where Usabhar's call to celebrate is met with another round of drinks), the guest hall is in the center of the Sargti two floors below the shrine, the safest part of the city by far. As Usabhar travels, however, something catches his eye. A tiny glint of silver shines in the ground, a single silvery scale that others would likely miss. A few inches away, another scale can be seen in the floor. In fact, it would appear that a trail of silvery scales has been embedded into the floor, leading away from the guard hall and down a side hallway.

After making quick eye contact to check, Rahja quietly translates the inscription for Celestica if needed. "Holding a grudge for a hundred years, hmm..." Obviously, this conflict is older than Rahja herself is, but that doesn't change the fact that they need to know more about this boiler man. Staying by Celestica's side, she looks to the High Lord.

Lord Wero takes pause at the message. Not a threat. Clearly a lie. Marking his Empire for destruction? You would not do that. Furthermore there is something to be gained from them making themselves known to the High Lord, which is in and of itself worrisome. To everyone else, what they see is the massive purple dragon arcing forks of pure arcane energy across his body out of pure unconscious rage, the lights within the Hall of Judgment dimming almost emphatically. And how could it not? An enemy powerful enough to have access to the kind of wealth needed to have "sending a message" done through an iron golem and an adamantium egg. Finally, he speaks.

I require all knowledge and context surrounding "The Boiler Man" to be made known immediately to me. By my word, do whatever needs to be done to fulfill my desires. Furthermore, I require the Gatekeeper's draconic construct to join me in the Portal Chamber with all due haste.

Furthermore, have this egg examined more thoroughly. I doubt anyone would send a solid thing of adamantium with so many enchantments for the sole purpose of sending a message. In addition I am forbidding any translations or transcriptions of the aforementioned message.

With that, his mighty wings unfurl and in a blur of preternatural speed, zips down for the portal chamber.

Eventually Korshim will receive the message and join the High Lord in the Portal Chamber, with Prince Zurkar in tow, if only to figure out what's going on.

CELESTICA

Boiler Man. Not Boiling Man.
Celestica knows she is being cheeky, but she is probably the one person who could get away with it with Wero.
Celestica will follow Wero, with Rahja, at a more sedate pace, knowing full well that the inspection of the golem before opening it will give them more than enough time to show up

Rahja calmly walks to the portal chamber along with Celestica. There is no need for her to let emotions flare. Actually, she is oddly serene. "So much for our 'day off' at court, hmm?" she says to her companion, a fleeting smile on her face. No time to rest, the multiverse's troubles always catch up like they always did. But honestly, it isn't so bad this time around, at least to her, for obvious reasons. Well, obvious for Celestica, anyway.

Normally there is little that can distract Usabhar with his schedules of Sargti. However recently he has not lived in normal times. The silver scale catches his eyes instantly. Such an icon is rare, especially in Kulomen. The dwarves of Sargti makes sure that scales or other important items belonging to dragons of golden, silver, bronze, or other metals are to be kept safe and preserved rather than used for weapons or armor. To see such scales lying here is well more than an oddity or coincidence for the paragon.

Pausing for just a moment, Usabhar silently follows the trail of silver scales to whatever end they may lead to. Though this delays his trip to the Guest Hall, it should not be too much of a lengthy detour. The dwarf expects a possibility of a trap but does not make haste in precautions; his belief in his might shadowing that of a cunning mind, for better or worse.

The Portal Chamber:

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Korshim arrives at the portal chamber approximately as the indicated golem is finally located and brought forward and Rahja and Celestica reach the chamber. Since your previous travels, everything seems to have calmed down by far. The golem, rather unimpressive in appearance stands motionless in the center of the room.

Usabhar:

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Following the trail of silvery scales, you are lead though a couple of side passages until you arrive at a door you have never seen before, a door made out of raw silver. Though it seems to be of dwarven design, using that much silver on something as mundane as a door is unorthodox in the extreme

Lord Wero already informed Korshim of the situation. All that is needed is for him to gesture to the golem to give instructions for the clockwork dragon to activate one of his lesser known abilities bestowed upon him accidentally by Prince Zurkar's miraculous technomancy. The sentient construct approaches the golem, which for some reason seems to have awakened it to thought, emotion, reason, and sensation by simply having Korshim's attention.

Hello. I have questions that require your immediate and honest answering.

The High Lord, meanwhile, looks to a nearby Eternal.
Tell me: Where and when did this construct come from?