Monstrous Uprising Group Alpha IC

[Kallisti]

Rictus stares for a long moment at the escaped cat. "Fascinating. I wonder..." With a grin, he fades out again.

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Hide (1d20+21)[2](23).
If I succeed in hiding, Stalking Paranoia kicks in and the cat takes a -3 penalty to any Wisdom-based rolls, including Will Saves.
Then I use Maddening Whispers. DC 16 will save with the penalty or take (1d4)[4](4) points of Wisdom damage.

[Averagedog]

The Cat allows Aynestra to approach it then unlock the collar, immediately a green/violet flamey aura covers its body briefly then disappears replaced by a pair of angelic wings made out of the green and violet flames. The cat purrs then rubs its side on Aynestra, the flamey wings not appearing to burn flesh or feel hot at all.

Will Save:
FAIL

The cat starts to lick a paw in a very cute manner, then pauses as Rictus's maddenning whispers kicks in. The cat sits there for a second next to Aynestra, then "Meow" It disappears in a small flash of exploding green and violet fire and reappears floating next to Nerishana, its wings beating soundlessly to keep it afloat.


Meanwhile:

Oliver opens the scroll case, and needs to make an epic (not literally) reflex save as a lightning bolt shoots out at his face. After that is resolved, an envelope written in fancy script, another envelope written in much less eloquent script, and a rolled up map falls out.

[Kallisti]

"So it's not the collar? Most curious; hunger withdrawn, by the way, my apologies," says Rictus, favoring the strange cat with one of his upsettling grins.

[The Antigamer]

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Reflex (d20+12)[16]

[Voice of Reason]

Nerishana straps on the back, but is appalled by what Rictus is saying.

Hunger? You were going to eat it!? Now look here, if you said that you were going to eat him

She gestures at Oliver

I could understand, he does look a little tasty (I wouldn't try anything though until you've figured out where the anvils are coming from though; that looked like it hurt). Or maybe even her

She gestures at Aynestra

(although I'm not sure how edible the bottom half is). I've been on a strict no-humanoid diet for a few years now, but at least then I could see your point. But really, trying to eat one of your own kind? That's just...disgusting.

Of course, that doesn't mean Nerishana has to like the cat. It's not like anything she's ever seen before, and to say that isn't worrisome would be a lie. Still, Rictus didn't know it wasn't an ordinary cat when he attacked it.

There is a flash of light and a peal of thunder.

We leave him alone for one minute...In any case, we should get out of here. I don't know where we are, and if there are any more guards or tentacle-things around, they'll have heard that. I don't want to be here when they show up. We'll figure out what to do with the cat later, if it follows us. It's not like we can tell it to go away and it'll understand.

[feline]or will you?

[sylvan]Probably not.

[GuesssWho]

"Well, now that we've let the cat out of the bag--" she laughs at her little joke "--I suggest the rest of you pick weapons if you want them. Better do something now than just wait to be attacked, right?"

[Averagedog]

Oliver leans back with supernatural speed as a lightning bolt flies right past his face with a thunderous clap singing a few hairs from his head.

The cat, still floating next to Nerishana, starts to lick a paw and clean its face in mid -air as if all is forgiven. When the were cheetah gnoll addressed the cat directly, it turns towards her and winks. It then flies over to Rictus and lands next to him. prodding one of the empty stumps with a paw as if wondering how Rictus gets around.

[Kallisti]

Rictus flops over onto his back in a distinctly feline way, floating roughly a foot off the ground. He bobs up and down slightly, then begins to drift upwards slowly.

[Voice of Reason]

Nerishana thinks to herself

Between Rictus, with his grin, and that cat, with its wink, I'm not getting any sleep tonight.

[GuesssWho]

Cheshire cats and winged cats, it's all the same to her.

"So, what does the map say?"

[The Antigamer]

Oliver contorts his body backwards as a lightning bolt whizzes past his face, his grin remaining as the electricity sears his hairs. Spotting the cat antics from the corner of his eye, he turns his head and scolds,
Seein"Rictus, what have I told you about playing with your food?"
Finally leaning forward and leaving his gymnast's pose, Oliver peers in the case again.
"What a shocking development! It's empty!" he cries, and tosses it to the side.
As he does so, he sees the papers on the ground. He bends down to pick up them up just as Aynestra asks for the map. Holding up a finger motioning for a moment, he turns his back on the drider, and fiddles with his hands. When he turns around, a paper glider is in his hands, and he tosses the folded map gently to Aynestra, opening up the fancy letter to read as the map drifts towards its target.

[GuesssWho]

She laughs and plucks it out of the air, then starts looking it over.

[Averagedog]

The Letter:

To: Guard Captain Victorianus
From: High Mage Thanos

Dear Captain, enclosed in this bag of adventuring gear that I have long since cast aside after my adventuring days is my familiar. Because the King named any and all magical creatures, except for a select few, you know how the elves are these days, a possible threat to the kingdom that must be monitored or turned in, I have been put under considerable pressure to destroy him. I have instead opted for an alternative. You are to transport my familiar to Gant and upon completion I will send you a total of 50 platinum pieces for your efforts. My familiar is quite the smart and adorable magical cat. He is the result of an experiment and displays evidence of a startling sentience. He was never hostile towards me, but I suspect that he possesses powers similar to those of a simple Warlock, but even then, there is more to him than meets the eye. His original name, before the experiment was "cuddles" but I have seen it fit to change his name to "Mittens." Mittens was not happy with the name, he started spitting eldritch fire out of his mouth and rays out of his eyes! My what frightful sight. It was obvious to me that I no longer have control of my little monster *sigh*, but at the same time, I did not want to see him destroyed. He is just too.... cute! Please take good care of him. He should be fine in that bag, it has an enchanted built in air filtration feature that I installed years ago for gods knows why. I will be watching for your entrance into the Prison of Gant.

Sincerely,

High Mage Thanos



The Map

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[Kallisti]

Rictus glances over his shoulder at Oliver. "Food? This lovely young creature has displayed a startling amount of intelligence, not to mention power." He grins, then adds reproachfuly "I'm on a diet, you know. I only eat sentient creatures on alternate Tuesdays, or if they ignore, offend, bore, insult, or otherwise disgruntle me."

[The Antigamer]

Oliver slaps his thigh and cackles happily. He passes the letter to Nerishana, still laughing.
"Looks like you've got a kitten transporter strapped to you, aheeheehee."
He wipes mirthful tears from his eyes as he examines the final piece of paper.

[GuesssWho]

"Interesting. An enhanced familiar, one whose owner was soft-hearted enough not to kill it when the madness started.

"Perhaps the creature will bring us luck."

[Averagedog]

The second letter,

To: Guard Captain Victorianus

From: Pyros

My words are being written by a mere scribe and are being recorded by the method of dictation. I am contacting you because you have the choice to either be an unthinking worm or a survivor. The high king has gone mad. The royal army and their mercenary contractors are losing more men than they can afford in light of the approaching threat to the world in this worthless venture to slay or apprehend so called "monsters." All humans are opportunists no? Let me strike you a deal. If you let all the prisoners from Gant free, I will see fit to spare you when I Lord Pyros of Mount. Pyros end the king's tyrannical reign over the hearts and minds of all beings of this continent. There must be balance in all things, good and evil included. Consider it.

Lord Pyros

---

The Cat stared at Rictus and turned it's head sideways a bit as if considering. It stretched as if shrugging and slowly floated/flew upwards both under and over Rictus as if it was checking for something as comical as invisible legs or perhaps even wires above.

[The Antigamer]

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Actor's Gossip (Bardic Knowledge) on Lord Pyros: (d20+8)[12]
Knowledge (History) on Lord Pyros (d20+7)[18]
Knowledge (Geography) on Mt. Pyros (d20+3)[23]
Also, Actor's Gossip on that monster we slew (d20+7)[21]

[Voice of Reason]

A...kitten carrier?

Nerishana takes the note from Oliver and reads it over quickly as Oliver laughs at her. She comes to the part he refers to, and her mouth curls upwards into a tiny smile; his laughter is infectious.

So they call you "Cuddles" Nerishana mutters as she looks back at the cat, who is apparently more curious than scared of Rictus. It's not terribly surprising, given that Rictus never sucessfully laid a paw on Cuddles.

A soft-hearted master, perhaps...but more likely a squimish one. Rather than kill it, he sent his familair away with the rest of us to...

She searches the paper for the name again

...Gant. Given our treament, that's not a very promising destination. He probably just couldn't stand to do the job himself. That's why they have butchers you know, they're all too squimish to do their own killing.

Nerishana points to the note Oliver is reading.

Anything interesting in that one? Actaully, nevermind, you can talk as you walk. Let's put some space between us and this wagon, at least enough to be off the road, just in case. We can discuss our future together there, but I'm just not comfortable standing out in the open road like this.

[GuesssWho]

"The open road is rather open, yes.

"Opposite direction from Gant would be nice. Are there likely to be any more wagons coming, do you think?"

[Averagedog]

Oliver

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From your Actor's gossip you have heard stories of Lord Pyros King of Flame Dragons. He has persisted in this world for so long that his real body is actually larger than the mountain he resides in and his breathe while in that form is so terrible that it could superheat the sky and cause firey tornadoes of doom to burn through the land. You have heard conflicting rumors on the body he is currently using to command his minions in mount Pyros. Some rumors say he is living within the body of a weaker dragon using for form of body possession, other rumors say that he condensed his body into a human like Draconic form, while other rumors still state that he has transcended the need for a body at all and is in fact so powerful that he could probably destroy the King of Valus himself if he wanted to try.

Knowledge Geography reveals that the Mountain is located in the mountain range north of the Forest of Zaun. Using the map you are confidant you can find it easily.

As for the Thing, you have never seen such a creature before other than aberrations. But most aberrations do not give off the same aura this one did nor do they convert dead mass into its own flesh.

"Cuddles" stopped flying around Rictus to give Nerishana an "angry" and almost malevolent stare with its glowing eyes. Crackling energy is visible as if former familiar was holding back its powers from being unleashed. But all anger was forgotten when it spotted a passing bird in the sky. Twin beams of energy shot forth from its eyes and roasted the bird, a cardinal, in mid flight. It flew over quickly and caught the meal in mid air and gnawed on it, still floating.

[The Antigamer]

Oliver folds up the note and sticks it in his Jacket.
"Tally-ho chaps and chappesses, we're off to pay a visit to the King of Flames."

He slips the abjuration rings onto his fingers, drops the potions and shades in his hat, plops it on his head, and points north.

"To Mount Pyros!" he exclaims, his words punctuated by the cat's magical eye beams. He gives a blank look to the cat for upstaging his words, then shrugs, and starts walking towards the forest.

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I posted here already, but it looks like the forum ate my post, sorry guys

[Kallisti]

Having coalesced once more, Rictus begins to follow Oliver, humming to himself and twitching his tail.

[GuesssWho]

Our Lady of Spiders will join the fun as well.

[Averagedog]

The party parts ways with the enormous and interesting Gelatinous cube, who was more interested in finding a nice shady damp spot to lure food into and heads off the road into the Northern forest of Zaun. After nearly half a day's travel there was no sign of pursuit or signs of a dark evil and unnatural (plane wise) beast. It would take a tenday or two to reach the vicinity of Mount pyros and the road through the woods are filled with interesting oddities, dangers, and "good" settlements. "Mittens" follows the group around, always taking care to watch the back with but always floating around the group.

Night starts falling as the sun sinks under the treeline, making a camp or finding some shelter would be ideal.

[The Antigamer]

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Sorry for the absence, got stuck without internet.

Oliver stops suddenly in his trekking, and looks around.

"Time for camp gentle-beings! Where'd the slimeball roll off to?"

[GuesssWho]

"Apparently he was bored. Or just didn't want to run headlong into madness.

"Some people don't know how to have fun."

[Kallisti]

"Camp? Well, as those following the charming and brilliant cat with the handsome gray fur and the fearsome grin will have noticed, we have by some miracle of excellent navigation found ourselves in a clearing suitable to spend the night. Those of you too large to fit under the roots of the nearby trees might want to put up a lean-to of some description, however--it looks like rain."

[The Antigamer]

Oliver shakes his head morosely.

"What a world we live in."

He eyes the area around them, looking for a suitable camp site.

[GuesssWho]

"What a world indeed.

"What do we have to make a camp with, anyway?"