The Necromancer's Pact VII: Lake of Tears II

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin reaches for her crossbow and loads it, and aims it carefully on the nearer of the two giants.

(OOC: Ready action: shoot at the giant if it is hostile or shows immediate intent to eat or otherwise hurt the people in the bags.)

[Dr._Bob]

Elthan pulls back on the reins, slowing down the cart horse. Callos, sitting beside the half-elf, pulls out his spellbook. Trinark and Fizahn watch from the rear of the cart with Yix perched on the drow's head.

The lizardman hops off the back of the cart. His eyes scan from side to side for any booby-traps, but he finds none.

Thokk and Katrin, on horseback, flank the cart protectively. Achkby, on his pony, rides beside Katrin.

Following Lumpy's lead, Tiriel follows. Sighing, Aeroz follows them as well. The three riders swing wide, approaching the signpost from an oblique direction.

Evendur trots forward, boldy hailing the figures.

...

The "figures" stand, throwing off the ragged tent-sized blanket. For a moment, you are a bit confused by what you see ...

Instead of two figures, you see a single, giant creature that would likely stand more than 15 feet tall if it weren't so hunched over. The creature has thick, rubbery gray skin and two heads that continue to argue with each other even as they peer curiously at your approach. The heads are covered with thick fleshy tendrils instead of hair. Each head features a long, pointy nose and a mouth filled with large, sharp fangs.

One troll-like head monitors the flanking trio of riders, the other watches the main party. The head watching Lumpy and company appears to be wearing a crude pair of spectacles.

"Giants? Where?"

"It means us, imbecile."

The creature does not appear alarmed. One arm reaches back absent-mindedly and slings the three sacks over one shoulder. Muffled cries are audible.

The "child" redoubles its efforts to wriggle free. A head pokes through a tear in its sack. Her face, though upside-down, is surprisingly familiar ...

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix realizes that now is probably the time for action. He hops off the drow's head and races for the Giant (or perhaps Ettin in this case) his tail flitting wildly ready to strike.

[Phasm]

The head poking out of the sack is not, in fact, that of a human child. It's a gnome, with medium-brown skin and a long blonde braid that's currently dangling several inches above the snow. A gnome who looks about ready to kill something.

Can it be? Could Lissa have really cheated death (and undeath) again? Sure looks like it.

"-MAGGOTY PIECE OF GRISTLE, LET ME GO OR BARAVAR HELP ME, I'LL-" The high-volume tirade cuts off abruptly as Lissa notices the party. Her eyes nearly bug out of her head, and it looks like her mouth would have fallen open if gravity weren't currently preventing that. "My prayers have been answered! Thank you, thank you, thank you Baravar Cloakshadow! Would you mind terribly helping me out? These poxy knots are frozen solid, and my fingers aren't much better, else I'd have been out of here the first night this pair of gods-forsaken meatheaded imbeciles caught me." Lissa looks decidedly miffed at having to admit that she got caught by a two-headed giant.


OOC: You thought you'd got rid of me, didn't you?

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

No way! Theres no way that could possibly be....! ...Could there!

It wasn't the smartest thing he could do, he knew it but it was also the quickest way that he could get answers without this thing trying to make a run for it. Clearing his throat and calling out from the wagon.

"Hey Delphiana or Lissa! If thats you then give a shout out!" He called out towards the troll-like two headed creature. This couldn't be good either. If it was one of those two, and he was looking very closely at the peeking female head, then that meant there would be little if any negotiation. Wait if it was Delphiana then that meant Nolan and.... The necromancer gave a disgruntled groan at the thought of the clever nercomanceress who travelled with Nolan but still...she didn't deserve to be eaten! "Mystara, someone either make with the diplomacy! I don't know how much longer we can stay here like this and not fight with them." This time he wasn't calling out loudly. It was muttered to Elthan and Ackby as he glanced at the two of them. Only a moment latter and he began to weave his fingers in a new way, chanting loudly with a sonorous rthymn.

(Cast Shatter, focused verison, on the cloth bag Lissa is in. )

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel recognizes the gnome's voice spewing insults from inside the bag. "It's Lissa, which means that Hajih is probably in one of the other sacks. Do we talk or fight?"
Tiriel's voice is slightly hushed so that it only carries to those closest to her.

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

"If it is Col. Bluehat, he only gets two deaths. Once number three comes, I'm leaving him where he drops" Aeroz mutters as he hears Tiriel's comment and advances towards the multiheaded giant.

Elevating his voice so that the others can hear him now, he states "Yes, because riding up to it and stating 'we do look like we are about to attack you, but we really just want to talk' really would make them take us seriously. Though having no bloodshed would be a nice change of pace."

He then changes the direction of his speech to the giant(s)

"Hello, Misters Giant! Would you mind letting our friends, which you have in those sacks of yours go? I'm sure we can come to some kind of peaceful arrangement!"

As he gets closer to the giant,

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The yellow braid dangling down and the voice that piped up grabbed the lizardman's attention from the surroundings.

He gives a loud bellow of rage. Catching his shield which Trinark tosses from the cot he begins stalking the creature, flanking him in the other direction from Lumpy.

His face was an unpleasant mask that promised the two-headed creature pain. Lots of it.

However he hangs back from attacking.

Probably to safeguard the hostages but also because he knew that this was a wandering beast that would soon be dead if it did not act wisely and that the real enemy were wandering packs of demons and the dead.

He studies the creature carefully identifying vulnerabilities.
OOC: Knowledge(Nature)= 20(Nat) + 6 = 26
great. i crit on a minor skill.

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

What?! Lissa? With a... a two-headed troll-beast? What's going on here?

Achkby very nearly unleashes his spell, but Evendur is in the way. He considers blasting the creature anyways, but then Aeroz interposes himself, too, and Achkby holds back.
Staying silent, he dismounts from Bess and steps a little ways to the side, in the direction that the Druid has moved.

[blackfox]

Katrin

What the-- does that thing have two heads?
Katrin whispers back to Tiriel. "I don't know, but it's looking like a fight as far as I can tell. I just don't want to get Lissa or anyone hurt..."
Katrin tries to adjust her aim so that she could hit the two-headed giant without hitting the sacks.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

Upon seeing Lissa's head poke out, Thokk breaks his previous silence

"The Gnomette!"

"Ach, wee lassie! I be commin for yer!"

Thokk leaves the flanking group and rides foward to present a more intimidating front with the other three

[Dr._Bob]

You converge on the fell troll from several directions.

He/they straightens/straighten up slightly, standing more than twice the height of a tall human. One massive hand grabs Lissa, still restrained from the neck down. She wriggles helplessly as the troll squeezes her torso until she squeaks.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," says the bespectacled head.

"Why not?" asks the other head.

"Not YOU, cretin! THEM!"

The trolls speak in surprisingly clear common tongue.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel sheaths her sword and shouts so that everyone can hear her,
"Everyone stop. Let's try talking before we jump into an action we'll regret later." She holds up her empty hands before addressing the troll.

"I'd like to apologize for our actions...err, sir. You see we'd lost a few of our friends and everyone got a bit excited when we saw that you'd found them.
"I'd like offer you my, no, our gratitude for finding our friends. We've been very worried about them."

Tiriel finds herself slipping into formal phrasing while she tries to accept that, yes it is holding Lissa and yes, it seems to be an intelligent troll, well maybe half of it.

if needed, diplomacy check: 1d20+3=13

[Phasm]

"ACK!" Lissa, determined as ever, tries valiantly to squirm free of the giant's hold. It doesn't take long for her to determine that escape just isn't going to happen while giant fingers are crushing her ribcage. She stops struggling and concentrates on getting air into her rather compressed lungs.

If looks were Disintegration rays, this giant would be a pile of ash.

[Dark_Stalion]

Evendur

Evendur looks wrinkles his nose momentarialy at the sight of the Etin unveiling itself, but removes his hand from his sword and lets it fall to his side. He carries on from where Tiriel left off.

"You see our friends are very dear to us and we'd be very upset if anything unfortunate hapened to them. All we ask is for them to be left unharmed. We don't mean you any harm as long as you don't hurt them."

[Diplomacy check:1d20+4=14. heh, no better, realy than Tiriels. Maybe Evendur should just have kept quiet.]

[Dr._Bob]

"Hmm."

"Hmm."

The fell troll relaxes somewhat, sinking back into a gnarled crouch again. Above him, the enormous signpost points in three directions. One arrow points back the way you came and is labeled "Two Stars". Another arrow points back to the southwest - "Tammar". The third arrow points north - "Kront".

The bespectacled troll gestures with its free hand. "Yes, well, I can understand that of course ... STOP IT!"

The other head, which was just about to start nibbling on Lissa as if she were some sort of candy bar, lowers its hand, closes its mouth and starts sulking.

The bespectacled troll continues. "Actually, you seem like intelligent and civilized folk (unlike some people I know ...). Perhaps you could help me with a challenging riddle that has been plaguing me ever since it was told to me by a passing pilgrim."

The other head brightens up at the mention of the pilgrim. "Juicy!"

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The gutteral clicks and rattles emanating from the lizardman's throat are a good sign that he isn't interested in talking.

However.. He isn't moving to attack.. just yet

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

With a bit of boldness, Elthan strikes out from behind his cart and takes his position besides those who had already struck forward. "I'll help you with your riddle," he says, stepping forward and raising his hand, "Solve it even, but! Only on the condition you give us those two in the sacks and the gnome immediatly afterward."

[Dr._Bob]

The fell troll considers.

"There are three parts to the riddle. For each part you solve, we will surrender a sack (with the person inside), as you requested. Deal?" The troll peers at you over his crude glasses.

"Or no deal?" suggests the other head hopefully, licking his lips.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel looks at Elthan, "I don't think we have much of a choice. I hope you're as good at these things as you said." As an afterthought she whispers, "Make sure that we're allowed to ask questions and guess incorrectly, we're helping him, not passing a test."

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Elthan nods in acknowledgment to the troll. "A fair deal." He takes a seat on the cold ground and awaits for the first riddle.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

"Ach, very well lad. As well, yer seem to have a pretty good grasp o' common. Speak any other tounges?"

"Maybe sharp gob speak?"

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix stops his perilous charge, when he realizes that the group has decided to take the two-headed beast up on its offer.


He sits down with the group and scratches his head waiting for the riddle. However, the more he thinks about it the more he knows that he is really bad at riddles.

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

Achkby slides sideways to stand with the main group, putting his spear point-down in the dirt. He doesn't drop his guarded posture, but he seems willing to give diplomacy a try before blasting the beast to pieces.

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin lowers her crossbow, but keeps it loaded. She sits quietly on her horse and waits for the riddle to be asked, still wondering about how this giant could have two heads.

[Dr._Bob]

The fell troll sits down crosslegged, tucking Lissa in the crook of one elbow. The other two sacks continue wriggling on its back.

Clearing his throat, the bespectacled troll begins to speak:

"According to the pilgrim, once upon a time, the great wizard Thayd led a rebellion of mages against Mulhorand and Unther, capturing their kings and seizing their territories for himself.

"The great wizard Thayd was, as you might expect, subequently the target of many assassination attempts, including many attempts at poisoning.

"In those days, there was a special category of poisons that were undetectable by mundane or magical means. The only way to neutralize one of these poisons would be to ingest an even more potent poison within a short period of time. The stronger poison would neutralize the weaker poison, leaving the drinker of both unharmed.

"The great wizard Thayd naturally wanted the most potent poison possible for himself, so that he could neutralize any future poisoning attempts. The great wizard Thayd was very crafty. He devised a clever plan, calling for the defeated Untherite and Mulhorandi kings to be brought before him.

"'King of Unther and King of Mulhorand, you will each have your greatest alchemists devise the most potent poison they can. At the appointed time, you will drink the other king's poison, then your own. The one with the strongest poison will survive. The one with the weaker poison will die.'

"The great wizard Thayd knew that the kings' alchemists would try their best to save their regents by genuinely creating the most potent poison they could. The wizard also knew that there would be no collaboration between the Untherites and the Mulhorandi, because of the great enmity between their two peoples.

"The Mulhorandi king was secretly pleased by the challenge because he knew that the greatest alchemists of the entire East were Mulhorandi. He was certain that the poison the Mulhorandi alchemists created would be the more potent one.

"The Untherite king was secretly afraid of the challenge because he knew that the greatest alchemists of the entire East were Mulhorandi. He was certain that the poison the Mulhorandi alchemists created would be the more potent one.

"But the Untherite king was also very, very crafty. He devised a clever plan to ensure that he would win the challenge. At the appointed time, when the two kings stood before the great wizard Thayd, the Untherite king downed the Mulhorandi liquid first, then his own with a smile on his face, confident that he would live and that the Mulhorandi king would die."

The fell troll pauses dramatically.

"The first riddle is this: What was the Untherite king's clever plan?"

[Dark_Stalion]

Evendur

Evendur shrugs, looking completely lost already. He looks arround at the others, hoping someone was better at this than he.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The lizardman had not sat down. He instead stood and glared at the troll with suspicion.

However, he couldn't help hearing the story the troll recited. It was similar to the lizardfolktales, his people shared over the fire.

While he had trouble puzzling out certain details, others stood out plainly obviously. And his eyes lose focus on the troll as his mind becomes occupied with the riddle

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Elthan rest his chin on his hand, bowing his head deeply in contemplation. After a minute, he speaks up, solemnly. "I really... Should have studied a broader range of histories." He looks up and smiles, "That shouldn't matter, they're only details to a story anyway."

"Once I was in a riddle contest you know," he yarns, "Back in Amn. Before I developed any talent for magic I had set myself to join the local branch of the military, and often, to pass the time, we would hold a sort of 'Loser's Out' tournament. After I had played for a while I quit the competition, for I simply had not the patience to deal with, for three hours, a seemingly endless number of short rhymes that alluded to simple objects. This riddle, I like. An honest to the gods logical puzzle, rather than some simple poem of association. Oh yes," he broadens into a grin, much similar to that which could be found on a child about to knock over his toys, or a smith about to break into and deconstruct an Apparatus of Kwalash, "I'm going to have fun with this one."

He leans backwards, holding his knees so as not to fall all the way, and continues to ramble on. "So, let's break this down and collect the conditions. We have two Kings who must each create a poison as potent as one could be made. The poisons in question can only be countered by imbibing a greater poison, and the greatest poison of all no doubt lies in the hands of the Mulhorandi. But! The Untherite King is certain that upon drinking his rivals, and then his own (and his rival his and then his rivals own) that he should live and that his rival should perish."

"By this, we could fall to the conclusion that the Untherite King had concocted a deadlier agent, but this contradicts the previous fact that the Mulhorandi are deserved of that honor only. If he cannot have created the greater substance, and the thought that he had simply followed along with the proceedings and created a lesser poison already right out, what then? What if he had failed to create anything at all, and merely substituted his entry with a substance of nill effect? Why, then they would both die. So, how does one counteract the great poison of the Mulhorandi if one cannot hope to best them strait forward? One must then clearly use the Mulhorandi Kings strength against him, by using it to negate a lesser poison, thus canceling the affect of either."

"So I would say this is the Unther Kings plan; Prior to event, just shortly so, he would consume a poison of the weakest caliber, so that upon drinking the Mulhorandi poison, they would negate, and he would be unharmed and free to wash his throat with his own brew. Meanwhile, the Mulhorandi would consume the useless Untherite substance, and then, upon drinking his own, poison himself, and, die."

He leans forward now, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his both fisted hands, beaming clearly his pleasure with his own cleverness and the excitement of a new challenge. He looks back at the others and gives a content sigh.

Deductive reasoning is so much more fun when you have an audience to explain it to.

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix looks confused for a second as it takes him awhile to digest what Elthan just said, but he nods his head in agreement at Elthan's surmising. "Is that against the rules?" Yix asks seeing how easy this answer seemed when it was explained.