Reciprocal Tax Evasion

[Human Paragon 3]

A moment ago she said she would never enter the tomb again. Now she's begging to join us. She is hiding something...

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Sense Motive (d20+7)[20]

[Misaat]

" Now we are getting somewhere... "

Maki scratch's his chin as he talks.

" I thought you said you didn't want to enter the Tomb again. Besides if you need our help to defeat him that means he must be more powerfull than you. How are we goingt o beat him then? Do you know if he has a weakness inside of this tomb? "

[Samfool]

Shudu walks across the ceiling over to the woman and stops about ten feet from her. He removes his ring as he does so.

"If you are not here to kill us, and want our help.. what is the price?" Shudu asks

[TheOasysMaster]

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"I am not 'insane'... I am... 'aware'... I have no Master... But there is a true Master... The Dungeon Master... His control extends to the GODS!!!! And I am intrinsically aware and one with him..."
Her face pales, and she holds her head in her hands, muttering to herself, "Oh man, now I sound like one of those preachy people-next, I'll be handing out pamphlets for the new religion of the Dungeon Master!!!! Ugggh!"
Shaking her head, she continues to answer Shudu's questions, being a little more careful of her words, "I have no intention of making anyone like me... I don't know how long I can stave off the hunger... But if it becomes a problem... It won't become a problem! The hunger isn't real. I will never have to feed. Atleast, I hope that's how he rules..."
She laughs, "Oh boy, 'hope'-now, THERE's a joke..."
The Vampire wraps her cloack a little tighter around herself, and nods at Eduardo, "I can see why you'd be suspicious... Maki reminded me that I, though not truly real, might still have wants and needs... I want want, and I need, revenge. On Acererak, and Isam. And Dresden..."
She bites a nail, "And I'm not gonna lie, I think Maki has shifted my stance to 'Friendly', 22 Strength can do that..."
"Maybe, one day I'll show you what 26 Charisma is like under the cloak, eh?", she winks.
"Yes... That is my price... Take me as a 'fourth' member of your party... Lend me spell components and equipment... And I will aid you until the end... We Teleported in however... So I don't know the full extent of the Tomb... But if you take me with you... And guard my secret. I will be loyal unto you!."
Eduardo finds it difficult to tell if she is lying or telling the truth... It may have to do with her point of view... If she doesn't believe in reality, or that he and the others are real... Can she really lie at all? Can one lie if they don't exist? Is it lying to spew nonsense at one whom another believes is nonexistential? Her body language however does conform to one who is telling the truth, but feels uncomfortable or scared.

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THIS IS GONNA BE SOOOOO GOOD.

[Misaat]

Its always the strenght score isnt it ? XD .Shudu i was looking at the sheets and i found out we both had the armor ac wrong XD i had +4 and you had +6 when it should have been +5 so my AC should be 22 and yours 20 ...Sorry :P . Also i put a picture in my sheet since all of you had one. And talkinga bout pictures the one that was supposed to be from Daina isnt there...

Maki smirks at the parts he could understand of her comment.

" Very well then. Group. As i see it. We have 2 choices, we either let her come with us... Or we fight her. Now if we let her follow us and she does betray us then we would have to fight her anyway's but for what i can make out of about how she thinks. If she couldn't take us all on in a fight... She would'nt have appeared before us at all. Even more so when we are not vulnerable or sleeping... So i vote we let her be with us... keep an eye out for some time... and see how it all play's out... What do you say?"

[TheOasysMaster]

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MAJORLY OUT-OF-CHARACTER
This is what The Vampire, currently looks like, sans clothes... Pretty much the face and the hair rings true...
It is also what Daina, a member of the initial PC party looks like, unbeknownst to Maki, Shudu and Eduardo, The Vampire is adopting this woman's form.
Not metagaming!
<-Serious face

[Human Paragon 3]

This creature is on a razor's edge of insanity. Her outbursts and ramblings show that she could at any time unleash her rage on those around her, and not feel the slightest tinge of guilt, even if she weren't a vampire. Can you lie to somebody who doesn't exist? If not, than you certainly can't be loyal to somebody you think isn't real.

A vampire is a dangerous creature, and one that should not be allied with lightly. They lie as naturally as the living breathe; they kill as easily as we eat. And yet, isn't this what Eduardo wanted? To have her share her secrets, to guide them through the tomb?

Fine, then join us. Be our fourth. Share your knowledge with us and bring us before the master of this tomb, and you'll have your help in ending the existence of this Isam. But know this: we are no constructs, we are real, thinking beings. Treat us as such.

[TheOasysMaster]

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"Fine, I'll be your 'fourth'... Do any of you have spell components? Or weapons? I favor light weapons... Allows me to make use of Weapon Finesse you know... Hmmm, guess I had better tone down on wall breaking... Don't want to make my new party members uncomfortable..."
She lifts an eyebrow, "And I'm going to need some actual clothes... As much as you all may enjoy me flaunting myself in the filthy Tomb... I will NOT."

[Human Paragon 3]

We didn't bring spare clothes, and the only weapon I have is Pax. As for components, I only have what I myself need.

How did you come to be naked?

[TheOasysMaster]

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"I promised a cleric I'd leave all my weapons and items in exchange for my life... It was going to burn me out of existence for my affliction..."
She peers a little nervously at his scythe, "Right. Silver. Of course."
She smiles at Maki, "Could I use one of your javelins?"

[Misaat]

"You wont? Well that's a shame... Sure you can use one of my javalins"

Maki pulls one of them out and hands it over to her

"Though its not gonna be of a lot of use in close quarters combat... Do you know of any place in here where you can get what you need to arm yourself?"

And that's it till night folks XD

[TheOasysMaster]

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"Yeah, but I don't know how to reach it... I need to cover my face...
Oh wait, I have an idea! I'll be right back!"
The Vampire begins to trudge down the hill, through the rain...
She takes the javelin with her.

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And that's it till night folks XD

Okay then, I'm online all day tomorrow.
At this point, I'm wondering, will you guys follow her? Or wait until she comes back?

[Human Paragon 3]

I'd just as soon let her go and wait. But if she's not back soon, I would go on without her.

For the record, as a player I don't like this situation at all, but the Master knows no fear and is pretty sure he's getting what he wanted when he commanded the vampire to help him.

characters

[TheOasysMaster]

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The Vampire disappears into the rain, and manages to return before they can become impatient...
She walks with a slight limp, but has managed to find gloves, boots, pants, a tunic and a jacket to go with Eduardo's cloak. Pieces of armor have been added, and other parts of a vest and the shirt...
...strategically left out.
It is apparent that she has made modifications to her found outfit with the javelin Maki gave her; though the modifications don't hide the bloodstains...
Furthermore, she looks different as well...
Long brown tresses frame a noble face with piercing pale eyes...
And her lips, while no longer blood red are a crimson that seems more natural.
"It feels good to be me again!"
She flashes Maki a winning smiles, "Let's go! Have you guys found any arches? They're a way of moving about the Tomb!"
The rain has plastered her hair to her face, and the hood doesn't seem to be of any use...

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[Human Paragon 3]

OOC: Can we spoiler that image? It's stretching out my screen.

Edaurdo considered asking where the vampire got those clothes, but in the end, decided he'd rather not know.

Yes, actually. There's a misty archway at the end of this corridor. Tell us, how is it used?

[TheOasysMaster]

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"The last one I dived through and ended up here... The gemstones flash when you get close enough to it though, and stop when you move away..."

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Can we spoiler that image? It's stretching out my screen.

Sorry, I'll spoiler it, but I think the actual size may be-oh, nevermind, it's fine!
For the sake of convenience, I'll assume the four have reentered the corridor...

[Human Paragon 3]

The gemstones control it?

[TheOasysMaster]

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"I'd assume for some... For others no... Trial and error is the inly way to find ou-"
Eduardo's death watch registers that the gargoyle appears to no longer be dead...
As the creature stirs upon the dungeon floor, The Vampire peers at it curiously...
"Well... THAT can't be good!"

[TheOasysMaster]

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The party has Initiative.

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo sighs, bemused. At least now he knew how long it takes for the corpses to reanimate. He looks to his companions.

Is it worth putting this pathetic beast down again, or should we simply pass through the archway?

[Misaat]

The Gargoyle didn't have any sequels from when Shudu disemboweled it?

Maki grasped his Falchion with both hands.

" It may follow us... Lets put it down cut it to pieces and throw it to the pit so it may not bother us again! "

Initiative:(1d20+8)[22]

[Samfool]

He already rolled initiative for us Maki.

Shudu, being silent as a mouse about the situation finally speaks, "I dont want to waste my arrows on this monster.."
He pulls out his two handed axe and prepares for a charge at the beast when he comes into range.

"Get next to me Maki, we can take him together." He commands, being very blunt and solemn now, "Vampire! Show us your worth and distract the beast while we charge him into the hole.."

[TheOasysMaster]

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The Vampire nods, crouching down on all fours, "You can call me... Pharrisia..."
Her nose elongnates, and her mouth widens, filling with even more teeth. "Pharrisia"'s joints reverse and hernails become claws as her clothes become fur.
Her length goes from a little over five feet, to about twelve.
Shaking herself all over, Pharrisia howls at the moon, fulfilling her transformation into a dire wolf...
The deafening, mournful and primal note rings through the corridor, leaving a tingly feeling in their spines as they watch the gargoyle stagger to its feet once more...

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Taking an alternate form is a Standard Action...
But she'd won Initiative anyways...
Maki, Eduardo and Shudu can take Actions or wait around to see how she does...
Also, we gotta hurry this up...
The others are becoming suspicious!

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo joins the others, the scythe Pax gripped tightly in his hands, prepared to charge and rend the creature. Let us make this fast. We've wasted enough time already.

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Ready action to charge into flanking position and attack with the others.

(d20+11)[19] Add 2 for flanking if possible.
(d20+22)[26]Jump check if needed.

[Human Paragon 3]

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looks like I miss unless I get that +2 flanking bonus. In case of damage:

(2d4+4)[7]

[TheOasysMaster]

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Pax slices through the air ineffectually, and the gargoyle is now alerted to the presence of the four...
It looks down at its chest, and points an accusing claw at Maki...

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Still player moves.

[Misaat]

Maki charges towards the creature prepared to drop it down for good this time.

Attack:(1d20+12)[22]

Damage:(2d4+25)[28]

[Samfool]

Shudu and Maki charge together, falchion coming down from the right, axe up from the left. A terrifying duo, about to cleave this twice-dead monster in two..

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Since Myth-Weavers is down.. I cannot see my stats. So could you slap on the BAB if you please?

And I am attacking on a charge, same as Maki.
We have an AoO coming for us I believe..

Attack
(1d20)[4]
Damage
(1d12+1)[2] <---Not as 'fearsome' of an axe as I thought..

[Human Paragon 3]

Eduardo levels Pax, looking for a point of attack, cautiously circling the creature.

5 foot step into flanking position.

Then, remembering the creature's clumsiness in air and on land, Eduardo hooks the scythe around the creature's knee, attempting to set if off balance.

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Trip attempt with the scythe.

If necessary, jump check: (d20+22)[25]
Touch attack: (d20+11)[14]
Opposed Strength Check: (d20+2)[3]

Wow, terrible!

[TheOasysMaster]

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The trip attempt will take place next round...
I can't believe it-with ALL the information I put in the sig...
I didn't put ANY BABs...