Coming to America and being evil. A modern 3.5 game

[Ralasha]

"I think I'll go hunt a cow..."

[Doomboy911]

"Please this is New York you'd have a better chance of finding a good guy in this town than cows. Although I do have a proposition out there in my park there's some dragon who thinks he can just take over my neck of the woods. He thinks because he's some big hulking dragon that he's got some birthright to all that he sees. This is my territory though I own this speck of dirt on the world and you are all guests in my home which makes it your territory as well. So I have to ask who wants to have a dragon's hoard before nightfall?"

[Ralasha]

"Before any of that... What kind is it?"

[Doomboy911]

He opens his mouth taking in a breath "I have no idea whatsoever I do know that it's taken over the fey community in the park. Hence the pumpkin mess out there they're trying to gauge my defences so it can properly wipe me out. Don't worry though if push comes to shove we can always move. I'd just hate to put that kind of stress on this old girl. " he pats the wall of the mansion, it reacts rubbing against his hand and you can see their are some hairline fractures in some spots.

[Ralasha]

"... Right. I can look into it. There are protocols to follow during such interactions."

[Doomboy911]

"Fantastic my dear lady. I say we rest for a time, I'll detail my plan and as the sunsets we'll move in."

[Ralasha]

"You misunderstand me. I will not help you with your plan. I will settle this as a dispute between two dragons. Through diplomacy. If you attempt to attack during the proceedings, I will assist the offended party."

[Doomboy911]

"Understood ma'm considering that this is my home than I shall accompany you there so we can properly discuss this matter. In a show of good fate I feel only you and I should go if we bring the others it may think we're going for a fight." He turns to the rest of you "No offence but in your own right you are killing machines. Come Miradal the pixies will be back soon with eggplants to bombard my home."

[Ralasha]

"When we get there, you may speak to me, but don't speak to him, if you aren't polite enough, he may decide to try to eat us."

[Doomboy911]

"Well worse comes to worse let me get eaten first I've got a theory to test and a bet to win." You head out along the path toward Harlem Meer, as you do you notice the grass has begun to die, the trees have withered and inside the trees you can see some pixies trying to hide from you. Once you reach the lake you see the water is pitch black. "This is the spot" near the shore you can see five large footprints. Jack picks up a pebble and tosses it in the lake it sinks to the bottom. "Heh just wanted to make sure we weren't walking into a black pudding or something heh heh" he smiles a bit kicking another rock in. "I'll be back in just a second I'm going to grab a big rock" he says remaining in your sight while he grabs a rock the size of a small dog.




At the mansion the captain appears with a wispy look around him as though he's made of smoke. "Right fun fact folks I hate going alone to things and you weren't all gathered together to be separated so head on out and make sure you're not spotted."

Back at the lake Jack lobs another massive rock in just in case "So how do we go about this" he's leaning on his cane and out of breath.

[Eshkigal]

"Okay then. Alie, get as high as you can in the house and try to get a bead on things with scope first, rifle if things turn south. You should be able to hit from here, da? Or too many trees? Niuqu, any magic to help you scan the skies safely?"
Arkadi unsheathes the halberd he got from the bag earlier.
"Tardigarde, if you don't mind me asking, what enchantment is on this blade?"

[Isenvrill]

Smiling, Niuqu says, "Why am I not surprised?" To Arkadi, "Sorry, I am quite specialized, and that is not in my realm of specialty. The best I could do is fly high enough that I wouldn't seem suspicious, but if I did that, it would be unlikely for me to be able to reach a fight in time. I'll simply fly low, and keep trees between us."

[Doomboy911]

"Crud I forgot to ask for my belt back. It's the only thing that can hold up my pants without looking tacky. Now if I'm not mistaken this little beauty is a thundering halberd." He takes it striking it against the ground and thunder roars throughout the mansion.

Love how well Arkadi took command there. +1 bonus on attempting anything he tells you to do.

[Ralasha]

Unfortunately for the DM he moved too far too quickly, since (I have a plan):

Upon seeing the pixies Miradal would smile and wave and come close, speaking first in Sylvan "Hello little ones. My name is Miradal, though I'm guessing you don't know this language? I managed to befriend the Fairy court in my homeland. May I ask where your court is?"

If they do not know that language she will then try Draconic, then Go'Kal, Dwarven, Undercommon, and finally Common.

[Eshkigal]

"Should be useful, eh comrades?"
He smiles, before putting it back on his back.
"What of Niuqu's weapons? Or is there anything in your bag especially useful against dragons?"

[Doomboy911]

One single fairy flies out to Miradal shaking as it does. It's no bigger than your thumb. It points to a large circle of flowers with a large stone in the middle that has been broken in three pieces. In between the pieces is a large footprint.

[Ralasha]

Miradal carefully rubs the tiny fairy's head. "I'll see about getting that fixed, but first I need to talk to the dragon. The one that needs an ass kicking. Would you prefer it dead, or alive?" Miradal pulls out five thousand dollars and carefully places it in the hole in the tree. "Get food and medical attention. Okay?" She rubs the little fairy's head again with a soft smile on her face. "You be nice, like a good pixy. Pranks are one thing, but damaging someone elses property is something else entirely. Also, please leave the house alone, I live there, and would appreciate not being forced to move. I'll be dealing with the dragon now." Miradal walks over to the portal stone, kneels down, and examines it, trying to fit the pieces back into place, for all the good it will do.

[Doomboy911]

Jack begins to help "So how are we going to handle this?"

[Ralasha]

"First, I will attempt to follow the old ways. If that fails... then we kill it."

[Doomboy911]

He turns to you with a childish bit of glee on his face "Wonderful wonderful and what are the old ways. Despite my efforts the draconic world has only taught me so much."

[Ralasha]

"The Old Ways are how dragons conduct diplomacy. So, unless you are a dragon, knowing them will avail you nothing. I can however attempt to explain it since you wish. Let me try to remember how my mother explained this... The dragon wishing an audience, circles an area a way from the owner's den, and lets out a call to alert the other dragon to it's presence. The other dragon will come out. It will then go into the air, now, depending upon age, color, size, strength, and who's territory it is... One of the two dragons will take the high ground. Since I have come with a request of parley, I will purposefully keep to the lower altitude. This will cause me to be at a disadvantage in terms of combat, and is therefor considered polite. Especially since I am most likely the younger and less formidable of the two of us. Were I to attempt to gain the higher ground it would be considered very insulting, and would lead to either a warning, in the way of the dragon breathing at me... or combat. I at least for the time being, wish to avoid that situation, assuming this can be dealt with peacefully. There are other rules involved as well, as I said, it is very complicated. A Human mage once attempted to get my Draconic parent to parley in this manner, it was eaten for the insult. Foolish mortals always acting foolish. The second part of the parley will be the other dragon asking me what I wish to discuss. I will then answer in the form of a polite question. The other dragon has then several options, each entirely different in meaning. First, it can decide to tell me no in a number of ways, although to kill me during peaceful discussion would be against the ancient laws... It is sometimes done by dragons too stupid to realize the consequences. The second option is to tell me to go away, and return to it's cave, though I may request parley again twice more, but only twice more before I must attempt to find an older dragon than the one I speak with to ask for me, which can be very difficult. The third option he has is to ignore my plea for talks, which would be considered extremely insulting. If there is a Priesthood of Ao, Bahamut, or Tiamat, depending upon his color, I can have them penalize him for such an act, it's like spitting on your holy books. The fourth option he has is to tell me that he does not wish to listen now, and give me a reasonable date within one month to return to talk, though it is... frowned upon for him to continue acting normally during this time, since it is intended for preparation. Leaving your lair during this time is taboo, as it might be used to merely kill the individual attempting to speak with you. Any questions? There is more to it... but this is the basics, and a bit of the more advanced information. I will not share everything with you, such as the prices the other dragon may extort from me for requesting audience... They can be rather unpleasant... for someone that is not quite... large enough to carry the other dragon's weight, and your tail sometimes gets broken... Or you pay blood price, or valuables... or coin... or magic... Blood price is a small vial of your blood, so that should you ever violate the peace between you made through an agreement... the other dragon has a direct physical link to you, and can exact vengeance. A mortal, or non Dragon attempting to speak during these deliberations is generally met with outright hostility, if not death. So, when I say I require you to be silent, I mean it to save your life. It may be your house, but it is also my home." Miradal shudders and mumbles something about a 'mating price'.

[Doomboy911]

"Ah so that's what I did wrong, that explains so much. Well I may not be able to speak as a dragon but at least I can make you look like a better dragon if you'd like." he rotates his wrist and two wands fly out of his sleeves into his hands.

[Ralasha]

Miradal rolls her eyes. "Most dragons can see through such illusions, and I would rather not appear to be more attractive than I am, thank you."

[Doomboy911]

"Ah so that's what I did wrong it always bothered me that a transformation spell like polymorph was treated like some kind of illusion. Ah if only there was order to magic." he walks over to the side walk and taps his head with the wand. "simply knock on the stone if you need me" He begins to sink down into the stone path way.

By the way after looking over a map of central park I realized just how massive Harlem Meer is so for scale's sake we're between the skating rink and Harlem Meer.

For maps sake we are at the gold star

[Ralasha]

Miradal will fly up, and begin circling above the trees, in a broad elliptical fashion. Once she has her rhythm firmly grasped, she will let out a roar.

[Doomboy911]

The sky begins to darken as clouds gather, a shade falls over the park and the light from the faeries immediately goes out. The lake that is Harlem Meer begins to shake until their is an explosion of water as a massive dragon goes flying up. It's scales shimmering in the darkness, it flies high above you with the wind of it's wings spinning you about a bit. "Who dares to challenge me. " It roars as it circles around you searching for a weak point. You see that some of the faeries are pulling apart the mass of rocks that once was their faerie court.

From the mansion you all can clearly see the big friggin' dragon. The illusion of Jack looks out the window "I fear I may have crapped my illusory pants."

[Eshkigal]

"And you want us to fight THAT?! We're not equipped for that! We're barely gnats against that!"

(Remember, were level 3)

[Ralasha]

Miradal speaks loudly in Draconic. "I do not come to challenge. I come to discuss issues as according to the old ways. To bring an end to hostilities. Issues which I can and will take before either the Local Council, or to the Priesthood if you fail to abide by the ancient laws."

(What color is it?)

[Doomboy911]

"There's an old saying you're never given a challenge you can't handle. You have to look deep within yourself to find the strength and heart to rise to the situation and if that fails I have ballista on hand and some guillie suits.."

[Eshkigal]

Arkadi pauses for a moment on that.
"...No clue how to use one, but I'm willing to try. Got harpooning rounds, by chance?"