Old Ways IC

[Nevaera]

ASHALA

Ash will lead the group out of the caves for now, including the workmen. She'll encourage everyone to stay alert and get their wounds checked.
It's clear that Artanis and Alanna not waking is bothering her more now that the crossbowmen have woken and they have not.
"So," to Talsarios, "what was it you said about worrying after more than an hour passes and they stay the same?" She comes across as concerned, though trying to be casual.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Talsarios looks at the paralysed adventurers with concern. "I would expect them to be free of the effect by now, you see. Paralysis is a relatively low power effect, and those tend to last for minutes, not hours."
He shrugs and shakes his head. "Although, of course, I may be mistaken. It's not a spell I have in my repertoire, so I can't be sure. On a more cheerful note, I've never heard of a spell that permanently paralyses people."

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While he waits for the paralysis to wear off, Talsarios will make a study of the wand to see if he can get any clues to its function.
He will start by looking for clues regarding the spell effects Hold Person and Magic Missile.

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

When Brandon took off his helmet it actually distracted Artanis from his murderous thoughts.

What in the ancient forest's name is he doing! He shouldn't be playing around!

As Artanis was carried off by his companions his previous rage was replaced by outrage.

THEY CAN'T DO THIS! I MUST GO AFTER THE NECROMANCER!

But as the spell still held him he could make no protest against their actions and he began to sink into a sullen mood, dark thoughts swirling about.

I shall find him again. Then he dies. I'll search for him for eternity. Even if I must tear the very planes' existence apart with. MY. BARE. HANDS. TO DO SO!!!

[MeanMrsMustard]

Alanna grows more and more tired of her situation. I hope I don't have to sleep like this…

[Nevaera]

ASHALA

Ash will bandage Brandon and Nathros. She'll also assure them that, if her job is inadequate, they still have those potions. ;)

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Brandon - Heal DC 10: (1d20)[20]
Nathros - Heal DC 10: (1d20)[3]

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Hahah, sorry Brandon. Don't worry. If you happen to go down to 0, I'll potion you.

[Nevaera]

ASHALA

"I'm sorry. I've never tried to treat a magically inflicted injury before." She'll apologize for the pain she causes Brandon.

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Do I roll 1d3 for the damage that was caused?
Ugh, I don't want to and then roll a 3. >.<
But, here's a roll if one is needed:
(1d3)[1]

[Matthew]

Nathros accepts the ministrations of Ashala, "That is a nice shade of black and blue," he jokes.

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor

Brandon yells, "Ow! Hey, that hurt again!"

He glares at Ashala. That was the second time in less than two days. Bran was was far from brilliant, but even he was starting to sense a conspiracy.

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Down to 1 HP.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"I say, while we're waiting here, variously injured, paralysed and so on, would it be prudent for someone to swiftly visit the Church in Threshold and get some holy water?" Talsarios asks, looking up from his study of the wand.
"Where I come from, the Church is happy to sell flasks, as it can only be used in a good cause."

[Nevaera]

ASHALA

Her expression is pursed while Brandon legitimately complains.
Though when he glares at her, she'll roll her eyes back at him and smile as she walks off to disguss things that should be done.

To Talsarios, "So... holy water would help against the skeletons then? Sounds good to me."

She'll call to the camp guard guy (forgot name atm). She'll ask if he or anyone else here could go back and buy some holy water from the church/temple with the gold she'll give them from the 212g that she's holding onto.

"Whatever money you all have found down there, we may as well put together while we wait. Perhaps it'll lift some of your spirits to see."

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Well, I know it's said to be effective against vampires, and zombies and skeletons are less powerful than those, so it seems to me that it stands to reason that it'll be useful against them," Talsarios explains, with his usual air of someone thinking as they talk. "Perhaps Alanna will correct me when she is able to speak again," he shrugs.
"Besides," the scholar adds hesitantly - looking anywhere but at Brandon - "it has to be safer for us than throwing flaming oil around..."

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Bran grimaces. "Holy water is safer than flaming oil, yes, but it's so dear. We'd run out of gold if we tried to buy as many vials of holy water as I have flasks of oil."

"Are we sure that our friends are enspelled? Could they be poisoned instead?"

[MeanMrsMustard]

Alanna's stomach lurches at the word "poisoned." For the first time, she actually hopes she's under a spell.

[Roland St. Jude]

The workers at the camp gather round to see the wounded adventurers and their treasures. They eavesdrop on the conversation to gather gossip.

Talsarios observes that the wand is sleek, black, and smaller than the wands his master owned. It lacks any sigils he would have expected to indicate necromancy or any hint of a command word. He could certainly just will it to work, though that may or may not be effective.

Sometime after the first aid was completed and while the gold was being gathered, the paralyzed party members shook free of the spell. To Alanna and Artanis, it was like finally letting it go after holding your breath - freeing and a relief.

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

Artanis, who had heard Ash's idea of piling up the treasure did so, with the exception of what he had already claimed for himself. However, he seemed distracted, looking at a gold piece for a long time as if expecting it to jump around.

I must find a way to defeat him, with or without this group of adventurers.

He began to make inquiries as to the contents of the mine and what dangers it contained.

[MeanMrsMustard]

"Woooo!" cheers Alanna as she runs around in circles, just happy to move again. She profusely and repeatedly thanks every member of the party for taking care of her and Artanis when they were paralyzed.

[Matthew]

"Right, then, perhaps now we can get back to the business at hand; I have a blow or two to visit by way of return on that black hearted necromancer!" Nathros gathers his gear and prepares for another foray into the mine.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Ah - is that a good idea? Brandon is on his last legs, here, don't you know?" Talsarios pipes up.

[Matthew]

"Looks strong as the proverbial ox to me," Nathros observes.

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor

"Looks strong as the proverbial ox to me," Nathros observes.

Bran looks pained. "Only if the ox is ready to be roasted. I'm nearly dead on my feet."

He tells Alanna, "I need healing, please. And this time please don't hurt me."

He tells everyone, "Now is the time not to go back into the caves but to interrogate our prisoner! Talsarios, you can put a charm on him, right? Get him to talk. And get him to tell us how the wicked-looking wand works, too."

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Ha - that would be useful, wouldn't it?" Talsarios smiles ironically at his choice of spells. "No, today my magic could only put him to sleep again - but I can, of course, use my own natural persuasive abilities. I learned the art of manipulating people in the courts of Thyatis!"
"Now, then, regarding your other suggestion..." Talsarios gets to his feet and brandishes the wand, looking around for a suitable target. "Let's see..."

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Talsarios will look for a crow or other middle-sized bird within a couple of hundred feet, and will the wand to work, targeting the bird.

[Koren n'Rhys]

Mycah helps keep an eye on the prisoners if need be, but since he can't contribute much to the healing or wand analysis he doesn't feel very useful at the moment.
"I don't see anything in that pile of loot that's very useful to me, so I guess the rest of you can pick it over. Since we don't know what else that necromancer has to throw at us, I think someone should be keeping watch. It's seems like there must be another entrance we haven't found yet. I'm going to climb one of these big trees and get a better view. I'll call if I see anything suspicious."

Unless anyone tells him otherwise, Mycah will scamper up a big old tree and settle in to watch the hillside.

[Nevaera]

ASHALA

To Alanna, "I'm just glad we all got out alive, for now. But you're welcome. And thanks for packing light, by the way." She winks.

Her helmet has been off since they returned to camp. Her gauntlets are back on now, after the healing. If Alanna is looking for permission to use her healing on Brandon, Ash will give the nod, since they now have two healing potions in case of an emergency. Also, since they both ended up doing more harm than good when they tried the more natural approach.

"We'll see how everyone feels after Alanna helps Brandon. Then we'll head back down.
I still wonder what his grand scheme must be - why this seems worth it to him somehow. I'll bet it's just his skeletons and him down there now, though he may be looking for more corpses to befoul. Though I'll bet the skeletons he had will be more than enough to protect him if they're twitching again.
Which reminds me. Alanna, how long do you suppose that - uh, thing you did to the skeletons would have lasted?"

"Oh yes. And, please do feel free to interrogate. I'd love to know more about what to expect."

[Roland St. Jude]

The wand glows briefly and dimly, but it has no obvious effect on the bird or anything else.

[MeanMrsMustard]

"I'm not sure, Ash. It depends. But I can do it as much as I want! Now hold still, Bran… I promise this'll help."

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Cure Light Wounds: (1d6+1)[7]

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

Artanis stopped his inquiries for a small moment and sighed at how things were going. He called over to Ash and Talsarios.

If you have trouble convincing them of giving you the information by gentle means, I'll volunteer to help you along later. First, I must find out more about our surroundings as it might prove useful.

Secretly, he hoped to interrogate them soon as he was not too fond of their master.

Oh, and if you still need to figure out what that wand does, just use a... more complicated guinea pig that doesn't mind 'volunteering'.

He then turned back to his previous task.

[Matthew]

"If they are anything like the other prisoners we have taken, then we will be wasting our time questioning them. Either way, I am perfectly willing to while away a few hours in the sunlight, though the longer we enjoy a repose on the surface, the more time our enemies have to refortify their defences."

[Nevaera]

ASHALA

Ash will congratulate Alanna and Brandon on the successful heal. While the healing took place, she watched with an expression of awe showing through.

Then she will ask Alanna how much holy water from the temple/church would cost.

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(Will have to follow up on the holy water and possible torturing later.)

[Nevaera]

ASHALA

After Alanna confirms the price of holy water to be 25g, Ash will send the guardsman to buy 4 flasks immediately.

While that is happening, a talk with the prisoners can be arranged.

[Roland St. Jude]

The sun passes midday into the afternoon while the party regroups.

The guard, who originally accompanied Alanna out here, returns to town with a small sack of gold.

The prisoners' mouths are full of curses and general threats, echoing those of the past prisoners, just as Nathros predicted. They promise the Fangs will free them and seek revenge if they are mistreated.

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I've sort of given you the basic result before anyone even said "I interrogate the prisoners," just to save time.

But, if you want to try to get more out of the prisoners, you'll have to be specific, through narrating your actions and/or rolling. Note: much can be accomplished through narrative, even if you don't have anything specific on your sheet to roll. (You can always pick an attribute that seems relevant and try to roll under it.) I'm not saying there's more to be had or that this group has the means to get it, but that's how pursuing that goal would work.

By the way, this is a good example of how generic actions get generic results. There's nothing wrong with that. It saves a lot of time and moves the game along, but it gets you kind of the average result. Like the difference between, "I enter the room" and "I carefully listen for sounds and spy around the corner..."