The Secret Alliance

[BlueWizard]

The Secret Alliance: {The Elven Pact}
Eons ago the elves created a great defense against the evil dragons as they tried to dominate the world. The elves formed an organization that became known as the Secret Alliance. Today it still exists mostly to protect the little good and positive magic left in the world as well as the people who harbor it. This expanded to include the gnomes, dwarves, hobbits, and fey, as well as the elves as the evil of the world sought to destroy more and more. Taking with it not just lives, but altering nature to aberrant forms. The rise of humans and orcs on this earth was a bigger threat to world balance than ever that of the Terror of the Dragon.

An elf to most peasant humans was a myth, mostly because the human empire spent an epoch eradicating the 7 ancient kingdoms of the elves. Now nothing remained of the old cities... at least in the known world.
Common humans only believed in the 'dirty' humanoids. These remote humans refused to believe that orcs, goblins, or even ogres could become reformed from evil.

The world is mostly dominated by an evil empress of theOLD EMPIRE {Called the Lemurian Empire by Scholars}. This empress wields such unheard of god-like power that all good is forced to leave or die by evil wild-magic or rain of fire. Good priests and three schools of good wizardries combine to be the fire-power and leadership of the Northern King, and have kept the empress' evil powers away, mostly...

The legend of the Hammer is understood in different ways. Currently held in the Thor-temple at Roethton. Some always knew it was always in danger here. Among the humans here, the god of the hammer was called Thor; he was known by another name in other places, but all were of the same ilk. The land of the North served this god most of all, and every peasant called Thor's name when in this most frightened state. Next in the Northern people's hearts came Odin, a wise and crafty soul. The nobles served the god, Bahamut, the platinum dragon, the elegant prince of gods. All aligned to good, this was the way of the good humans in the North.

For the past 30 years peace had reigned, but now goblin peace treaties have been broken, and now even the hobgoblins and bugbears are grumbling. The human armies have kept them at bay, but only time will tell.

Most of you were told by someone to come here, to the great temple of Thor in the hills. It wasn't supposed to be on fire, and where did all the bodies come from?

The non-humans were still persecuted horribly by Northern peasants. There was a long history with these hearty folk. On display in the village center near the temple was a wall of burning goblins on stakes as far as the eyes could see.

The great wooden temple in the center of the city was in flames. A few young priests were here hopelessly fanning the flames, mostly burning their beards. Others merely splashed it with water. Only a great deluge would quench these flames. Now it would be best to get people to safety... many were running awfully close to the growing blaze.

Amid the chaos a faint cry is heard from inside. There might be people alive inside!

Welcome, Future Alliance Members:
Sabriel: deathslayer7 {Elven druidess}
Bruug: Ipphli {Ogre, companion of Sabriel?}
Shrike:Bushranger {a local mysterious scout?}
Daen- Cespenar {a private man from a faraway place}
Liam: Wiz {A passing young wise man?}


{OOC- Post description, and perhaps entry from where you might've come upon this scene in the distant hills of the North in the village of Roethton.}

[Deathslayer7]

Sabriel

Sabriel is average among her people. Among humans, she is considered to be a little below average, but not by much. She tries to keep her past secret, as well as her features. It's not like many people to openly welcome a half-elf into their arms, let alone an elf. With her piercing green eyes, and dark brown hair swirling behind her as she walked, Sabriel may have passed for a human. May have, if it wasn't for her graceful walk and features that distinguished her from everybody else. The smell on the breeze smelled of fire.

Coming into view of the village, Sabriel did not expect the next few moments to be as she saw it. From afar, she had seen gray smoke in the air. Now, as she neared the village, she saw black smoke rising.

Turning to her companion, Bruug, she says We need to get to the village now. I hope you don't mind if we run. She had only met Bruug for two days, yet she found his companionship pleasent enough.

And with that, she sets off at a quick pace, with Sam keeping up with her, but out of sight.

Nearing the village, she sees the temple on fire, and some priests and civillians were trying to quench the fire. Little hope of that she thought. As she neared the temple, she heard a cry from inside. Turning to the nearest priest she asks

Who is inside!?

ooc:

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it's late here, so i wont be able to post until tomorrow morning. Good night people.

[Ipphli]

Bruug

Bruug, standing at a mere 8 feet, was considering short among his people. Lanky, black hair brushed his shoulders. Shrewd, brown eyes peer about, showing little expression.

At the little elf's urging, Bruug grunted and picked up his pace a bit, although he didn't run; it wouldn't do to leave her behind. His scale mail clinked as his greatclub and axe bang slightly as he moves beside to Sabriel. At the sight and smell of smoke, the ogre frowned.

Seeing the temple on fire, Bruug turns to Sabriel to see what she'll do. Upon hearing the cry, he turns towards the building. He peers at the building, trying to tell what part of the building it seems to be coming from.

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Listen check (1d20+8)[18]
How big is the building? Could I fit inside of it without having to crawl?

[Cespenar]

Daen

Daen can be seen as a bit short in the norms of the North, but his well-built body and lean figure tells a bit more of him than just "short". His middle-long black hair paired with a set of dark brown eyes along with his somewhat exotic features tell the tale of a land far away, but Daen rarely speaks that much of himself.

Returning from work, which consisted simply of cutting down wood, Daen's jaw drops open at the sight of all the smoke and fire in the village he only started to fit in. Muttering a curse in a foreign language, he repeats it many times in Common too, as he runs through the devastated remains of the town. Surprisingly, he finds his tiny cottage unburnt and undamaged.

Heh. It was probably too shabby for anyone to notice.

Darting in the cottage, he gathers what few belongings he has and puts them on. As he darts back outside, he hears a cry just above his hearing threshold. With a determined look on his face, he sprints towards the temple, passing closely by a beautiful woman and a towering figure, both which he was too busy to take notice of, and jumps right into the burning building.

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Spot - (1d20-1)[15]
Listen - (1d20-1)[9] (both for searching in the building)

Oh and also, he starts to hold his breath. He can hold it without danger for 16 rounds (Con score), but he can take only move actions. If he takes standard actions too, the duration is reduced by 1 round.

[The Bushranger]

Shrike

A red-haired young woman bursts out of the woods some distance away, running as hard as she can, then coming to an abrupt stop, eyes wide, as she takes in the sight of the flaming temple...and has the ghosts of her past overwhelm her...

The young lady then known as Dorothy Williams had been a bit of a street urchin, and the subject of much teasing from those who considered those her betters. One day she'd had enough and went to strike back, punching one of the bullies in the face...but before her fist could connect with him, a bolt of lightning flew from it, laying the older boy out cold. She'd run directly home, scared to death...and that night, a mob with torches had surrounded her home, and demanded that the "perverted sorceress" be handed over. Her parents had refused. And the mob had set fire to the house. Somehow, and she still couldn't recall exactly how, she'd escaped, although sometimes in her sleep she still heard the screams...

She'd wandered for a time, until she met a fellow traveler, a dark-skinned elf who was a follower of Eilistraee, who understood her postion and helped her learn how to survive. After awhile she'd struck out on her own, and started to take jobs, hiring out, sometimes as a guide, sometimes as a...well, she liked to think of it as 'troubleshooting'. And always practicing, trying to refine the power she had inside, literally sometimes at her fingertips but just out of reach. And that was what she'd been doing out in the woods, having set up a target and attempting to call the lightning, when she'd caught the first whiff of smoke.

Staring at the burning temple, one thing the dark elf had said to her, late one night as the fire burned low and they were both in melancholy, contemplative moods, rises up in her mind.

All this has happened before, and all this shall happen again.

Hearing a call for help and seeing somebody running into the fire, Shrike snaps out of her deja vu, and hurries forwards.
Is somebody still in there?!

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Spot: (1d20+5)[25]
Listen: (1d20+5)[23]

Now if I can only get rolls like that in combat!

[Deathslayer7]

Liriel

As she sees others go straight into the building, she curses in Elven under her breath.

Turning away from the priest, whether he gave an answer or not, she says to Bruug.

I'm going in, you dont have to come if you dont want too.

And with a running start, she too enters the temple yelling at those before her.
Spread out and search!

[Ipphli]

Bruug

Bruug watches the pretty elf lady run into the building, clearly torn. After a moment he runs after her. He begins searching for the source of the cries, as well as listening for them to repeat.

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Listen (1d20+8)[12]
Spot (1d20+8)[24]

[BlueWizard]

The entrance to the temple is open, and mostly full of flames. There is fallen beams on the inside, and trapped behind the flaming wood are the shapes of a few more young priests. These men wear armor and actually are trying to lift a burning fallen beam from another acolyte. Bruug actually frightens the men inside when he peers in. Though Sabriel nearby comforts them.

The whole town is awed when the ogre and elf pair enter the village square.

You all will see several woman impaling dead goblins on spikes, raising them, and then planting the stakes in the ground as reminders. All this as the men tried to battle the blaze. When the ogre, Bruug, enters everyone just freezes. The scene hear is quite disgusting.

The one called Daen bursts into the square to see what looks to be a marauding ogre, but with the elf near he realizes that the 8 foot tall creature was actually trying to aid someone in the temple. He apparently pays them no heed and bursts into the fire and spots the trapped acolytes. Clearly the beam was too heavy to move off the fallen man himself.

The one called Shrike by the locals of the young urchin heard very familiar voices. Definitely some of the young fellows who offered to buy her dinner and a drink at the pub. {Drinking age 16, in the North for Pub visiting.} She also saw the Yuanese fellow run right under the ogre's legs into the temple.
Did she see ogre? Yep. And it seems like he's the one helping.

The village ladies, once seeming so sweet, now spitted the naked goblins with as little care as if they were splitting open a cow for meat. A gruesome act.
The temple was a loss. Only the old priest could've saved it, and he was no where to be seen.

Sabriel can move in if she wants to risk possible fire damage. {It will involve dexterity... Players can roll}
There are other doors from the main hall, and a stairway up and down. The upstairs looks completely burnt however...

[Wiz]

Liam

Liam returns to the temple, but drops the food he was carrying as he looks in horror at the burning building. He starts forward suddenly, realizing that what he had come here to examine was probably even now being devoured in the flames, but then he pauses, watching the burning blaze...

Knowledge is worth almost anything... but not my life.

Then there is a cry from the building and he realizes there is someone alive in that inferno. He watches four different people charge into the building. He follows behind, and hears the woman up ahead shouting for the others to split up their search. He waits there, watching which direction the others go, and takes whatever direction is left, looking for the ones who made the cry.

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Search: (1d20+6)[13]

[Ipphli]

Bruug

Bruug frowns as he realizes he wouldn't be able to get inside this way. He runs back outside and runs to the right side of the building, looking for a side door, or even a window, anything to indicate a side way in.

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Assuming I find one, go inside the door. Or, if only windows leading to rooms, try to find one not full of flames and make a door.

[Cespenar]

Daen

Daen looks around frantically for the old priest, but had to be satisfied with a trapped acolyte. Without a thought, he runs to their aid and grabs the fallen beam from a free spot. He turns to face the other armored men.

"Okay, on three. One, two...and THREE!"

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Strength - (1d20+3)[12]
Also, if the smoke isn't that concentrated at this time, he doesn't have to hold his breath. I had mentioned it just in case.

Edit: Lame forum roller. Hmm. At least we have the Aid Another action.

[Deathslayer7]

I will risk going in. What roll do i make?

Sabriel
Sabriel jumps through the flaming door, hoping that she wont burn too much of her cloak, or herself for that matter. If she sees anyone, she will go to them immediately. If not spot check/listen, and she will call out to others.

Anyone in here!?

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spot (1d20+8)[15]
listen (1d20+8)[15]

[BlueWizard]

OOC- If I make rolls they will be hidden... as in the case below: The fire roll was a dex-check. I made'em, Sabriel's fine for now...

The Temple of Thor:
Bruug sees that with aid and his immense strength the fiery beam will be no trouble. Daen is licked by the flames {d:1-fire}, but able to help the fallen man. When the handsome fellow {Liam} in the scholarly robes enters to help, you all can easily do the task. This was actually a wooden support arch. In fact it is off, as Liam gets there.

One of the acolytes that was trying to help speaks slowly to the ogre, hoping he understands. "There's a cave-in below! There are more priests down there, but we can't move the fallen wall!!" Bruug has likely never been in a human dwelling, not of this style and architecture, at least. {OOC-Definitely at least seen giant sized homes and residences.} The main hall easily fit Bruug as it was quite spacious, and once housed a painted statue 30 feet tall of Thor. Bruug will fill the hallways, though he thinks he could fight if given elbow room.

The stairs down are stone as are the walls, and it seems the fire has not yet filled the passage downwards. Every other pathway is on fire, and the roof was beginning to come down! Even the main doorway behind you is burning.

The three uninjured acolytes will begin to sprint towards the exit, carrying the wounded man with them. They don't seem to want to dilly-dally. "Unless you can move the boulders, come quickly!", says the injured one, looking over his shoulder.

[Ipphli]

Bruug

Bruug grins as he shakes his head and moves towards the passageway downstairs. He examines the fallen wall, trying to see the best way to move it without bringing the rest of the structure down on his head.

[BlueWizard]

Bruug heads down the narrow stairway, he is sweating from the heat, and can feel a lack of air, but it seems cooler down below.

He gets to the collapsed wall, and moves it with an easy strength check, hoisting it aside as if it was scrap wood. It breaks and crumbles, but he is able to make a crawl-space that he can get through.

Normally, non-acolytes come this far. The main worship chamber above is as far as the common man goes. There are four unconscious men scattered down the stairs unconscious, and it looks like there might be more down farther.

The moment that Bruug moved the wall however, a great gust of air swept past him sucking the fire toward the stairs down! This also causes the door to collapse as the four acolytes just get to safety.

{OOC- This is where my famous retro-ing can come in to play. I still need to think it would have been done.}

[Deathslayer7]

Sabriel

Seeing the four men fleeing, she charges in the direction they came from. She will also cast goodberries. After they flee through the exit, she sees it come crashing down. Great, now she needed to find a new exit.
(2d4)[5]

She will run afterwards, and try to find anyone. Unless of course she heard them shouting. Then she will go downstairs.

[The Bushranger]

Shrike

Shrike hesitates for a long moment; although she will never admit it, she's slightly afraid of fire, although that might well be understandable...although seeing everyone else rushing in to help, she swallows hard, musters her courage, and hurries inside after them to do what she can.

[Ipphli]

Bruug

Bruug bellows out to the others, "More down here!" He waits for the others to come, then moves down the stairs to look for more, and possibly a way out.

[The Bushranger]

Shrike

Hearing Bruug's shout, Shrike turns to hustle in his direction.

[Deathslayer7]

Sabriel

Hearing Bruug shouts too, she is suprised that he came in, but goes toward his voice.

[BlueWizard]

Bruug has dug into the lower chambers of the temple, and has made his way to a large chamber at the foot of the stairs. Another worship chamber, but this one secret, and only for the priests. Something bad happened here and it wasn't the priests of Thor's fault. A great devilish diagram, and blood covered altar stained the silver and gold pedestal that once held the Great Hammer of Thor.

It was gone. The Hammer. In the pedestal on the dais was strapped a man, wheezing. There were other acolytes down here as well, but the man on the altar was the only one moving.

He was a handsome man, and completely naked. Part of the diagram was drawn on him, and it looked as if he was to be split open and sacrificed. There are also dead priests and goblins here. The athletic man opens his eyes and is a little surprised when he first sees Bruug.

Shrike and Sabriel following after are much relief to him, he gasps and points to the shadowy walls of this dark temple. The air had been cut off in here, and it is now beginning to fill up for now. "Exit... only old man... few others know... the wall... a switch..."
Those of you living in the village recognize this man, a non-priest that was good friends with the church. His name was Cathar, and he might've been a rogue, but no priest nor warrior. He normally wore leather armor, but today his endowed bod was on full display. A nasty knife lay next to him, ready to splay him open. The blood of the diagram and drawings seems to be from a now dead woman that is all mashed in one dark corner.

Some of these fallen priests are dead. When Liam sees this he recognizes it to be divinely Hellish magic ritual, and perhaps some form of conjuration.

[Deathslayer7]

spot: (1d20+8)[9]

Sabriel

Sabriel quickly rushes up to the man, and casts cure light wounds. That is if he needs healing.
(1d8+1)[8]

She then looks at the wall for the switch. If successful, she will point it out, if not, she looks back to the man and at his injuries.

[The Bushranger]

Shrike

Shrike's cheeks turn a little red at Cathar's condition - but only a little. Partially because of her total disgust at what had obviously been going on down here...

She nods, saving her breath, and hurries over to the indicated wall, looking for the switch that she takes to mean as a way out, mentally sending a request to Eiliastree for the Dark Maiden's aid.

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Search: (1d20+7)[14]

[Ipphli]

Bruug

Bruug walks over to see whether any of the other cultists are alive. After checking them, he walks over to the old man. He picks him up and carries him over to the wall, waiting for one of the others to open it for them. He glances over at Sabriel. "Save humans on stairs? Or they bad too?"

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Spot (1d20+8)[25]

[Wiz]

Liam

The only thing Liam hears now over the sound of the fire is the shouting of some deep voice below. Since that would be the basement of the temple, hewn out of the native rock it would also be the place most likely to find survivors so he follows the shouting downward.

[BlueWizard]

The man looks completely recovered with the cure from Sabriel. As Sabriel heals him, she finds she must resist his natural charm as he gazes upon her. He seems charmed by her closeness.

The only thing he wears is a blood covered signet ring. It is a very fine ring with black and purple crystals, carved in black is a dragon, faintly visible and set in a platinum band. He doesn't delay once healed, and urges Sabriel to look up. He seems to get better quickly!
"The roof here will collapse soon! There is a passageiway through it... I believe the goblins tunneled up from below. We didn't stand a chance."

Of the people, Shrike remembered from this town, of any skill. All were dead in this room. Three great warriors of Thor were now on their way to Valhalla. Only the athletic Cathar lived of the experienced veterans. A few farmers and the local blacksmith was dead too.

Bruug will see that 6 men still lived down here. Some are coming to. You all are noticing that air is getting low again, as the fire has now cut you off from the surface.

Cathar angrily motions to the wall, "There's a switch in the wall... it will open a secret passage that most of these priests knew nothing about!"

Liam will see that the person who made these Hellish markings was of excellent skill and of moderate power.

[Ipphli]

Bruug

Bruug ignores the men that are waking up and goes to the ones still unconscious. He sets down the Cathar and begins carrying the others over to the wall until they are all laying there. He turns to the wall and begins looking it over himself.

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Search (1d20)[18]

[BlueWizard]

Bruug easily snapped the ropes of Cathar, and went to the downed men.

Cahar is up quickly, kissing Sabriel on the head in thanks as he goes. He makes his way to the secret switch and opens the wall. Not bothering to cover up, he motions into the dark passage. A cool tattoo of a lake scene is on his backside. Very intricate in detail, hard to see in the shadows. There are several torches that light this chamber.

The passage is dusty, with lots of little footprints in the stone. Bruug will have to stoop to enter the secret passage.

Pieces of debris are beginning to fall.

[Wiz]

Liam

Liam pauses to look at the markings here. He frowns, trying to puzzle out their meaning in greater detail.

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Use Decipher Script: (1d20+8)[27], or Knowledge - Arcana: (1d20+10)[24], whichever is more appropriate. If Spellcraft is better, it uses the same kind of roll as Knowledge: Arcana.

[The Bushranger]

Shrike

Shrike angrily clenches and unclenches her fists as she surveys the carnage.
Is that the slightest hint of a spark across her knuckles once?
They'll pay for this. I swear I will make them pay.

When the secret door opens, she turns to the mighty ogre.
Grab those who can't move and get them out of here!
She then turns to head down the tunnel, her red hair streaming behind her from the breeze of her passage.