The Vystera Jewels

[Hefty Lefty]

Unitus – Town Square

It’s a beautiful morning in the city of Unitus, fitting for the day's affairs. Today is the 18th birthday of the young princess Azurella. This means, as everyone knows, potential suitors may officially declare their intentions to both Azurella and her father King Julian Linder. To say King Linder is well-loved would be doing him a dishonor. It has been generations since Vaylindal's last war and the economy has been blossoming wonderfully.

The whole city is lined up along the pure white cobblestone extending from the castle’s entrance eager to see the royal family. The castle is perched ato pa long windy hill which oversees Lake Supreme, one of the many views which make the city of Unitus so picturesque. The air has a comfortable breeze flowing through it. The sun shines brightly and warm soaks through to the bones of the people of Unitus. Most stores and stalls have closed down for the afternoon festivities, although many vendors have lined up food stands of all kinds and expect to make a killing. The most popular stall fills the air around you with the scent of roasted chicken. Town guards, sporting their navy blue and indigo-robed armor, have formed a walled path along the cobblestone for the family to proceed through. They sport heavy armor, metal shields, and longswords, but wield none of them at the moment.

The family is expected to proceed shortly. People are pushing their way to the front of the pack to be the first to see.

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[Sennex]

Nolan Saarbruck - Human Fighter

Nolan hung back on the edge of the gathered crowd along the white-cobbled street, gnawing contentedly on a roast chicken drumstick. He'd been in the area already, and came into town today to see the spectacle. He couldn't shake the vague feeling that something horribly inconvenient was going to happen, but then, he never could.

[Cavelcade]

Kurt Loderr, Dwarf Barbarian

Kurt stands at the front of the crowd so he'll have a chance to see at all. Though people push against and around him, the current of the crowd can do no more to dislodge him than it would a boulder. He watches curiously, his caravan just having gotten into town before this started he was quite excited to get to see royalty even from behind a line of guards.

The joy of the festival is infecting him a little, he finds himself humming along atonally to the musicians nearby, even tapping his foot in time with it as he waits to see what happens.

[Admiral]

Shiny Lightfoot, Gnome Beguiler

Shiny skips his way into the amassed crowd, grinning as he hears the delightful music. One of the problems of living in human society these last few years is that they are so dreadfully serious: they rarely celebrate anything. On the other hand, this extravagant parade would put to shame any of the celebrations in his home town of Burrowton.

"Though that's not worth a thing if I can't see anything," thinks Shiny. As a relatively tall gnome, he's too short to get a view of the procession over the heads of the people in front of him, and too tall to slip his way between them. Spotting a tall human near the front lines, he has an idea. As is usual for him, his idea involves his natural charm first, and, if that fails, 'charm person'.

He reaches up and taps the tall human. "Excuse me, sir?" he asks. "Shiny Chainhold, dragon trainer and barkeep! Is there any chance I could sit on your shoulders?"

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Diplomacy check: 1d20+7=13

[Irony]

Zeke Lyons, Human Wizard

A short, scrawny teenager in wizard's garb is shoved around in the crowd. A rather dispassionate and glazed over look creeps across his face; as if he were trying to do complex arithmetic in his head. What a day to end up here... thinks Zeke. Too many people. Too many livestock.

[Hefty Lefty]

Unitus - Town Square

The tall man looks down at Shiny with an arched brow. "Do I know you?" He quickly turns away, if not because he does not wish it fulfill the gnome's request, but because the traditional fanfare has begun, signaling the departure of the royalty. The large wooden doors of the castle open and from the castle comes a fantastically-decorated carriage carried by two white horses with large, dark brown spots. The carriage is draped in Vaylindal's navy and indigo. From the front of the carriage, the king, queen, and princess can barely be made out. They are all dressed in their finest, which is saying quite a lot for royalty. The queen and princess are engage in a conversation, although the carriage is much too far away to make out any words. Azurella does not appear to be very happy with whatever is being said.

After much anticipation, the slow-moving cart approaches the line of citizens. By this time, the family has stopped whatever conversations they had been occupied with. They all smile: the king calm and composed, the queen rapidly waving her hand and making exaggerated faces of joy, and the young princess nervously sitting in the middle with her hands on her lap. She plays with the lace on the end of her pure white gloves as she grants a thin smile to the crowd. The source of her name is clear, as her small yet powerfully blue eyes match the hue of Lake Supreme behind her.

The roar of the crowd around you is immense, as each person eagerly tries to say their piece with the family. Town guards show a strong presence in holding citizens back. The carriage's procession is not far from its destination - the fountain at the town square's center where a small podium has been set up with Vaylindal's emblem emblazoned upon it.

[Admiral]

Shiny Lightfoot, Gnome Beguiler

"You don't know me," thinks Shiny. "But you're about to!" He licks his lips, rubs his hands together, and, trusting the coming procession to distract the crowd, casts 'charm person' on his new acquaintance.

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Will save, DC 1415 (Forgot my Spell Focus feat)

[Cavelcade]

Kurt Loderr, Dwarf Barbarian

Even the stout dwarf is being buffeted by the crowd now, having to struggle to hold his place against the masses surging behind him, grinning at the guardsman in front of him as he tries to help him in holding the crowd back, while still trying to peer at the carriage. He's surprised to hear his own voice crying out with the others, cheering at such well loved royals more than anything else.

[Sennex]

Nolan Saarbruck - Human Fighter

Nolan remained at the back of the crowd, finding it hard to get caught up in the excitement as he observed the carriage. The princess didn't look too happy to be there, from his perspective- maybe this meet and greet stuff got old after a while, though the crowd seemed to love it.

[Hefty Lefty]

Unitus - Town Square

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Will Save - (1d20)[17]

"I think you need to get out of here my friend." The tall man pats the gnome's head condescendingly. "Go scurry off now." He turns around to face the procession. The carriage has made its way to the large, flowing fountain. King Linder steps out first from the carriage. He wears his finest jewels and robes, the priceless crown, and a shimmering silver scepter. The queen and princess each leave the carriage as well, wearing flowing majestic dresses. Azurella wears a massive pink jewel on a necklace around her neck. The stone reflects light off in all directions and shines in the sun. Few have seen something more beautiful. The two women stand at the king's side as he takes the podium to address the crowd. He attempts to silence them but first revels in the overwhelming cheers.

King Linder stands in front of the podium proudly. He is a picture of strength. He grabs the podium with both hands firmly. Just as he is about to address his people when seven men burst from the crowd. They seem to appear out of nowhere. They are dressed in black and red garb over leather armor. Four of them dual-wield curved scimitars. The other three carry large axes in two hands. They emerge from the crowd into the middle of the road with ease.

Growling, the men begin to charge the podium. Several guardsmen fall out of line to protect the royal family, while the others stiffen their hold against the crowd. The crowd, which instantly erupted into an out-roar of cries and panic, begins to flee back into the city. One attacker points at Azurella and snarls to his group. "Get the girl!"

OOC: Roll for Initiative!

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As you'll notice, each dot represents a person. Black dots are random commoners, purple dots are town guards, red and black dots are attackers, indigo dots are the royal family, and the four dots are the party. For important people, I applied dots to their squares to identify them further to help in describing exactly who goes where and for tracking individual enemy hit points. When we get to encounters with smaller amounts of people, the battle maps will be much simpler.

Odd-numbered attackers wield greataxes, the even-numbered attackers dual-wield scimitars.

Indigo 1 is the King, Indigo 2 is the Queen, and Indigo 3 is the Princess.

[Admiral]

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Initiative: (1d20+2)[14]

[Cavelcade]

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Initiative: (1d20+2)[16]

[Sennex]

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Initiative: (1d20)[19]

[Admiral]

"Just like that brawl in Celio Kay," thinks Shiny, as he readies his enchantment. He casts sleep, targeting the front few instigators.

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Aiming at the spot 4 up and 3 to the right of me. 4 HD of creatures get a Will save DC 15.

[Hefty Lefty]

OOC: The map has been edited to show people who are asleep. A white dot inside their figure represents that they are sleeping.

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[Cavelcade]

Kurt Loderr, Dwarf Barbarian

Gripping his waraxe in both hands, he hesitates, circling around to come at them from behind, trying to signal to one of the guards that he's on their side. "Damn fools! Leave these royals be!"

[Sennex]

Nolan Saarbruck, Human Fighter

Oh, see, there we go.

Nolan's half-eaten chicken leg was tossed aside as he grabbed hold of his trusty flail, waving it high above his head to avoid hitting anyone who didn't deserve it. That did not include the fellow in red and black nearest him- he looked like he'd be a better citizen if he was a little less menacing. Nolan cast the heavy ball and chain around the man's legs, trying to trip him.

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Making a trip attack with the heavy flail on the guy 2 down and 1 to the left of the magenta dot on the last map.
roll for touch attack: (1d20+4)[22]
IF THAT SUCCEEDS, strength check to actually trip (opposed by strength or dexterity check from target): (1d20+3)[12]

[Hefty Lefty]

Unitus - Town Square

Townspeople scramble to evacuate the area. The air is filled with shrieks and panic. The royal family quickly ducks into the caravan it arrived in. A short human leaps atop a horse and looks for direction from a guard to drive the cart away.

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Foe 1 attempt to resist trip - (1d20+2)[6]

The attacker in black and red garb is completely distracted by the events on the cobblestone and is easily tripped. A guard behind Kurt slashes at another red and black warrior and brings him quickly to the ground. One attacker prone, one unconscious and bleeding, and three sleeping. The guards quickly surround the lone two men standing. "Lay your weapons down!" One guard yells from across the road. One attacker slashes at a guard with his greataxe, but the weapon simply bounces off the strong metal armor. The attacker quickly drops his weapon and gasps, "We surrender!"

"What!?" The last attacker looks to his left, exasperated. "How can you surren-" He begins to argue with his comrade as he looks behind him and finds five of his party grounded. He drops to his knees.

OOC:

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Wow. I expected you guys to win, but that was... impressive.

"Don't kill us!" The tripped man cries, face down, "Please don't kill me!"

"Who do you work for, prisoners?" The lone attacker still standing shudders at his new name. His partner on his knees feels the cold metal of shackles across his wrists.

"We don't know his name! We met him in the College!" The man's voice quivers. "Please don't kill us!"

"What'd this man look like?" The guard places a blade to the man's throat.

"A cloak!" He screams and spits out whatever first comes to his mind. His friends are woken up by guards and quickly put in shackles as well. "He was wearing a cloak! I, I could barely see his face. But he had a large gemstone around his neck. Just like her's!" He points to the princess, who had just emerged from the caravan with her parents. "Except it was white!"

The guards begin to conference together, and so does the family. The attackers-turned-prisoners, shackled together, nervously await their fate. Crowds of people slowly begin to come back to investigate the area.

[Admiral]

Shiny watches guards arrest the sleeping attackers and delights in the surprised, disoriented expressions each exhibits upon waking. As many times as he's seen his enchantments cause chaos, the sight has never grown dull.

Shiny then turns his attention to the human fighter who had proven so resourceful with a flail. Tripping an opponent is just the kind of tactic Shiny appreciates.

Shiny skips up to the human and reaches out his hand. "Hello there! Shiny Lightfoot, interpretive dancer and ogre therapist! I was quite impressed with your handiwork!"

[achinca]

Miriam was standing far from the procession, just getting glimpse of the royal family. "I am a farm girl at best and an ex-future widow at worst. I should not be dreaming about royalty." she thinks to herself.

Suddenly a group of men tries to attack the royal and before she can do anything a group of men intervene and stop them.

She rushes to the scene, thinking "That was impressive. There is still a lot of good in the realm. I should not forget Calric's teaching."

When she arrives at the scene of the fight, she raises her wooden holy symbol high and announces "I am Miriam Sunflower, Cleric of St. Cuthbert! Does anyone need healing?"

[Cavelcade]

Kurt Loderr, Dwarf Barbarian

With a relieved sigh, Kurt's hands return to his sides from the haft of his greataxe as he goes to the nearest guardsmen, peering up at him curiously. "Well it seems you didn't need any help with these fools, after all."

[Hefty Lefty]

OOC: Sorry bout the delay, guys. I've been busy/waiting for Sennex/thinking you guys would mingle. I'll push things along a bit.

Unitus - Town Square

After some deliberation, the King approaches the guards and the party of four assorted citizens. He is a startling height for a human. His presence is friendly yet intimidating. He thanks the guard, then looks to the four-person party and shakes each of your hands earnestly. "I must thank you for your bravery," he says with a deep, raspy voice. His eyes are a very light crystal blue shining in the light. His long white beard reminds the citizens of Unitus of snow, and dwarves of their home in the mountains. He reaches into his pocket and gives each of you a small red velvet sack with a fine golden drawstring containing twenty platinum pieces. "Citizens like you are the lifeblood of this city. Captain Rooney," he looks over to a guard with a special dark blue crest on his helmet and shoulder, "Send these men to the prisons. We'll need to do further some further interrogating of these men." He turns back to the four. "If I may, I would request the further service of you four. You've proven your strong blood to me. As you heard, they were hired by a man out of the College of Vystera. I do not know what they would want of my daughter. By the time I send men from my unit, those at the College will already been notified of my direction. I am asking the four of you to go now and investigate the claims of the prisoner's cloaked employer. I know it's not much to go off, but if you were to return from the College with information on the man, I will pay you handsomely. No sum of money is worth more than the knowledge of my daughter's safety."

[Admiral]

Shiny claps his hands and bows deeply. "Your majesty!" he exclaims. "I assure you you have asked the right party. In the many years I have known these men and women, I have never known a more trustworthy group." He gestures to the three people he has barely even met. "You have here a pair of tough and hardy warriors, one dwarf and one human, a faithful and righteous cleric, and me: Shiny Greensleuth, detective and halfling-rights lawyer!"

He turns and beckons to the group to join him in accepting.

[achinca]

Miriam looks at Shiny and shakes her head. She kneels in front of the king. "Your grace, I cannot accept the coins as the fight was already over when I arrived."

She points toward Shiny "You Grace, I also need to let you know that I do not know these 3 men who saved your life, contrary to the Halfling's affirmation. However, I would honored to do anything I can do to ensure that no evil or no harm is done to your daughter."

She stayed knelled with her head down.

[Hefty Lefty]

Unitus - Town Square

"Honorable lady," the King smiles at Miriam, "Honesty is a long forgotten trait in this world. Please accept the coin as an advance on the payment for helping my family."

[Admiral]

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While it might not matter now that the good cleric has blown my cover , bluff check:

(1d20+7)[26]

[Admiral]

"Ah, how silly of me," said Shiny, turning to Miriam. I must have mistaken you for Millicent, a cleric of Heironeous I once knew! Though by way of an excuse, your obvious generosity and faith already makes me feel like I've known you forever."

[achinca]

Miriam raises her head to get the platinum pieces but makes sure that her eyes do not come in contact with the King's. "You are too generous Your Grace. I will make sure that this money is spent for Good.

She looks at Shinny. I am a priestess of St. Cuthbert, not Heironeous. And what do you mean by Hafling-lawyer?"

[Admiral]

"Like I said, I was confusing you for someone else," Shiny utters good-naturedly. "And as important as the plight of the little people is (as I need not tell a cleric of St Cuthbert, considering all the wonderful things the church has done in this arena), we have no time for discourse, for the the safety of His Majesty's daughter is at stake!"

He spins towards the human and dwarf warriors. "Fellow travelers, let us make haste for the College!"

[Cavelcade]

Kurt has remained silent after accepting the bag of coins with a stuttered thanks, overawed to be in the presence of a royal of such noble nature, to the point he doesn't even protest at the strange statement by the Gnome that they're well seasoned companions.

At the King's kind words to Miriam he feels heartened, sensing much honour in undertaking such a quest. Your majesty, I would be proud to find out why these scholars wanted your daughter. These brave guys will make fine companions.