Under the School IC

[Man on Fire]

Stinky takes the monocle and examines those objects. He also tries to think logically. They are new in this, so they won't give them the most expensive items. Whatever magic is in them should be easy accesable and helpful. Thinks like wand of curing light wounds, small, not very expensive and useful. It's probably also something more deffensive than offensive - when it comes to weapons, school faculity would preffer them used to save student lives, as opposed to killing the enemy.

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So, knowledge Arcana, yes? (1d20+4)[7]. If one for each of 3 items: (1d20+4)[12] and (1d20+4)[22]

[Sampi]

Ako comes back from between the myriad shelves, with a Floating Disk in tow. The disk is laden with the following:

• A short wand made of some dark wood, carved with abstract spiral marks. It’s capped at either end by a golden tuning fork. The wand has the silver aura of illusion magic.
• A longsword in a scabbard of red leather, with a crossguard sculpted to look like rose boughs. The grip is twisted silver wire and the pommel is a smooth, highly reflective metal ball. When drawn, cool flames dance around the blade, highlighting the wood-like grain in the metal of the blade. A residue of evocation magic may be detected by a careful inspection.
• A rigid leather pouch with a belt clip, containing five clear vials. The vials contain a faintly yellow thin liquid. All the vials have an aura shifting from blue to red and back again, indicating transmutation magic.
• Eight cylindrical rice paper packets, each the size of a small marble, all packed together in a glass tube. They have no magic aura.
• An empty, worn black leather backpack with heavy iron buckles to hold the lid closed. A scintillating green aura indicates moderate conjuration magic.
• A bamboo tube, capped at both ends by blue sealing wax. Tiny hieroglyphic writing circles the entire tube in red ink. The aura is again shifting red and blue, but rather faint. The tube is bundled together with a dark metal test tube, closed with a cork and wax. An engraved dog’s canine tooth is embedded in the wax. The tube gives off the static blue aura of abjuration.

”Okay then, folks. This is your stuff now, take good care of it.”
He begins to hand out the items. The wand is handed to Niko, the sword to Chappe. Gurlin gets the pouch of vials, Judit the tube of paper packets and Ceraphina the backpack. The bamboo and metal tubes are handed to Chaff. Finally, he hands a list detailing all the items to Chappe.

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• Niko - A wand of Ghost Sound, usable twice a day
• Chappe – A masterwork longsword with Continual Flame
• Gurlin – five Oils of Animate Rope
• Judit – eight Summoning incense balls; they increase the duration of any summoning spell by 4 rounds when used. (Nonmagical improved material component.)
• Ceraphina – Handy Haversack
• Chaff – Dust of Tracelessness and Potion of Hide From Animals

A bored glance at Stinky reveals some irritation at the indecisiveness.
”Have you made up your mind yet, lizard?”

[freebiewitz]

Taking the scroll Chappe nods his head in thanks.
"Everything seems in order, thank you for your help."

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

When Ako returns the crafty librarian quickly casts a spell. She is curious to see what objects the others get.

As the objects are laid out she looks at them with interest. When she collects her bag she looks at the other items carefully. She does her best trying to hide curiosity with a veil of dispassion. It was the Cylinder that worried her. It had no magical aura.

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cast detect magic

Short Wand
(1d20+9)[18] spellcraft check

Long Sword
(1d20+9)[17] spellcraft check

Belt with Vials
(1d20+9)[16] spellcraft check

Cylinder
(1d20+4)[11] KS Dungeoneering check
(1d20+7)[9] KS Arcana check

Bamboo Tube
(1d20+9)[19] spellcraft check

[Man on Fire]

"Gimme something to not get hurt so easily, I know I doesn't look like it, but I'm quite fragile." Stinky says, then goes to inspect the items, applying logic he dictated earlier.

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Knowledge Arcana for:
Wand (1d20+4)[17]
Sword (1d20+4)[9]
Pouch (1d20+4)[16]
Packets (1d20+4)[16]
Backpact (1d20+4)[20]
Tube (1d20+4)[8]

[Prince Zahn]

While inspecting the items, nothing really indicates just yet of an obvious item to Gurlin, He lifts the packets, noticing the tube is unsealed, and opens it on the floor to take a quiet whiff. after all, he figures, if it would've gone off by opening, it probably would have been properly sealed. he takes a monocle with a secure grasp. he doesn't know how long they have to inspect the items, he may as well ask someone already:
"Serifineh? If yer nut usin' the lensis," he unravels his fist to show her the detection monocles. "mind help'n e men the lensis wer but disend fer?just to hold it neir me ei es I go?"

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If Ceraphina won't agree to help Gurlin, he will ask the next person who finishes, or 'order' a passing student to hold it for him near his eye if all else fails.

Once he can see through the monocle, Gurlin reexamines the packets, to find no magical aura, which puzzles him at first since it is defined as a "Magic Thitakes tarts thinking at the tip of his tongue What kind of magic thing is not magical, or not magical per se?". Having possibilities at the tip of his tongue, he carries on, gesturing the holder to follow him, he takes a closer look at the symbolism etched on the bamboo, then examines the sword from hilt to edge, checks whether the belt and it's vials are magical, and examines them thouroughly, keeping an eye for anything from the liquid texture as he gently shakes the belt and it's contents (despite not knowing much on the matter) to the scent and magic aura given by them.
As for the supposedly Modest backpack that betrays a magical aura, Gurlin holds it in the air, looks inside, checks the opening(s?), and carrying on to think it more when he's done.
Finally, he examines the most peculiar of them, the wand. He assumed at first glance it was a fancy fork of some sort, but figured it's more likely a magic wand upon closer inspection, he has a few thoughts on it, but ultimately he is not completely sure.

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Rolling the knowledge(arcana) checks now, though I may as well call it an "Intelligence check" having no ranks in the skill. Marker Mage/Sampi:do I need to roll Spellcraft first or are the aura types obvious if you look at them through the monocles? Because I can roll spellcraft after this if deemed necessary, then disqualify the knowledge rolls with failed spellcraft, but in that case it should fair if everyone does that, I think.
Intelligence Checks(modifiers may be added at your judgment, Sampi):
Packets: (1d20+1)[19]
Tube: (1d20+1)[4]
Sword: (1d20+1)[12]
Belt+Vials: (1d20+1)[5]
Backpack: (1d20+1)[6]
Wand: (1d20+1)[14]

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

A little surprised that the large deformed man would ask her for help. She turns to him and says in a calm informative tone, "Hold the monocle up to your eye and look at the objects. Don't stare, just let your mind relax, like when you look at clouds. You'll see colors, they should tell you something about the properties of the object. Also notice the particular shade, hue, and intensity of the colors. Those subtleties are the key do actually determining what the object can do."

[AugustusGloop]

IJudit

Realizing the nature of Gurlin request, Judit took the monocle and held it before the deformed man's eye, trying not to get too close to him in the process. The combination of an intimate gesture of aid, with his obvious discomfort at being so close to a man prone to outbursts, would be comical if his eagerness to be of help wasn't so obvious. Instead of inspiring laughter, it requested sympathy for both of them. "Can... can you see them alright sir?"

When Gurlin was done inspecting the items, Judit claimed the glass tube for himself, unwrapping a cord from the opening of a small leather pouch. When opened flat it proved to be nothing more than many small pockets sewn to a flat piece of leather. He tucked the vial into one of the pockets, and closed the pouch, hanging it from his belt behind his cloak. He bowed his head to Ako, and thanked the man. "This should be of great help sir, thank you very much!"

[Marker Mage]

Niko looks over at Judith and Gurlin while the former holds the lens for the later, and smiles. He begins thinking about what he's going to say once he collects everyone's answers. His words then would be the thing that will make Chappe think this game was a good idea, and the thing most likely to prevent the beating that he was expected to get from Gurlin. It seemed that he was only waiting on Chappe, Chaff, and Lyta, but he might be willing to go on ahead if Lyta doesn't get there before everyone else finishes.

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Prince Zahn: If we go by the "monocles work just like detect magic spell" idea, then the spellcraft check should be needed to identify the school of magic. I was thinking that just using the monocles would add maybe a +1 bonus while succeeding on the spellcraft check with them would add an extra +2.

[Prince Zahn]

"I cen see fehn, Judit. This won't tek long." Gurlin reassured him, having already thanked the young man for earlier, it did not occur to him to thank Judit again, "If it dun't trub'l ye, I need someone to wreht me ens'rs, pr'eps when yer dun with yer's?'

EDIT:

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Marker Mage: fair enough, I'll make the checks, though I think I used the monocle on everything, but I'll keep just +1 on the packets - what with them having no magical aura to decipher:

Spellcraft checks:
*rolls aren't working, I'll do them in the OOC thread.

[AugustusGloop]

IJudit

The young man smiled shyly, happy to be of help. "I'll write for you," and gestured to the far corner of the antechamber, "do you want to step away so we won't be overheard? I don't plan to compete myself, it wouldn't be fair with my knowing your guesses." When the big man was done, Judit held the monocle to his own eye, curious, then handed it to the next person.

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What do you want for an aid another roll? Spellcraft? Judit tries to aid Gurlin with his rolls.
[roll]1d20+7[/roll]
[roll]1d20+7[/roll]
[roll]1d20+7[/roll]
[roll]1d20+7[/roll]
[roll]1d20+7[/roll]

Well, none of these worked. See the OOC thread.

[Grytorm]

"I might as well make as guess. Although I never did so amazingly well with magic." As soon as he can he gets a hold of one of the monocle to take a quick look. Pausing a moment on his two items before passing it on. "Interesting, they appear to be, things."

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Wand (1d20+1)[7]
Sword (1d20+1)[19]
Vials (1d20+1)[20]
Marbles (1d20+1)[13]
Backpack (1d20+1)[18]
Tube (1d20+1)[15]

[Prince Zahn]

"If ye think it wes" Gurlin took Judit to the corner and whispered his answers.

When the young man tried to share his expertise, Gurlin whispered and interrupted with a stern look "I dun need yer help, kid, just... wret down me answers and dun't cheet fer me, if I tek thit Niko up, it'll hev to be fehr 'n' sqwehr!"

[AugustusGloop]

IJudit

Meekly, Judit did as he was told, quickly committing to paper the twisted man's words, minus the flavorful language and cultural argot. When he was finished, he blotted the paper with his sleeve, and handed it to Gurlin. His script was small and neat, the hand of someone who's life might depend on being able to read his own writing later, despite rushing to transcribe every word of a long lecture.

[Sampi]

Ako comes back from the storage again with two new items on the Disk. He tosses the larger bundle to Stinky.

“Here ya go. Hope it’ll do you more good than the last person who wore it.”

Opening the bundle, you find it’s a silvery chain shirt made of a very light metal. A skullcap of the same material falls out of the bundle with a clatter, and you’re surprised to see it even has holes for a kobold’s horns in it.

He hands the smaller package to Chappe. Inside are two bundles of crossbow bolts, tipped with unusual metals.

”Here’s something for that missing half-human. If she doesn’t show up, just use it yourself.”

Taking everybody’s notes on the items, Ako compares the lists everyone has made.

“You seem to have your answers written out. Let me see who wins silver and who wins punchings.”

He looks up from the papers at Niko.

“Where are your answers, Niko? Can’t really rule this without them. Though I can tell you you've already won a punch, because Gurlin was spot on with Judit's tube of incense..”

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• Stinky – A masterwork mithral chain shirt
• Lyta – Masterwork crossbow bolts; 10 tipped with cold iron, ten with alchemical silver.

[freebiewitz]

Sighing Chappe tried to come up with a solution, one that didn't involve Niko getting punched by an obviously stronger man.
Wracking his brains for an answer he found one, it wasn't perfect but if it worked then things might turn out for the better.

"If you must punch someone then as leader I shall volunteer to take the hit!"

Hopefully the request would be accepted, this had two benefits.
One, one of the people he was leading would go un-punched.
Two, perhaps seeing their leader willingly take an attack on behalf of another would lead to respect.

Hopefully it would work.

[Marker Mage]

Niko shows the back of his piece of paper. "Before that though, I have something to say." Niko then turns towards everyone who had been willing to try out this little game.

"I told you guys at the beginning that this was going to test your wits and intelligence. Surprisingly, Gurlin seems to have been the only one among all of you to have done the smartest thing any of you could have done, asking for help from the other members of the team, even if it was just to hold the monocle for him and write out his answers. The rules that I gave had said nothing about working together to figure out the answers before writing them down, and I had been wanting to see if any of you were clever enough to pick up on that. Whether you guys like it or not, we're going to need to be a team once we go into those caves, and we might as well get some practice with it now. So would anyone like to stick with the answers that you have now, or would you like to try again, but work together to come up with your answers? It'll increase your chances of that prize, and even allow Gurlin to get some extra punches on me. You would just have to be willing to split the silver pieces. You can even compare the answers you came up with on your own later if you care about showing off. But if you guys can't find it in yourselves to work together, I can just show my answers now, we can get this over with, and Chappe will know who to keep an eye on."

Niko looks at the faces of everyone that he will eventually depend on. He had made this challenge with the idea of using it as a chance to get everyone to try working together before they went into the caves. He had said they could use the monocles in the hopes that it would get it into everyone's head that these monocles can be passed between members of the team as the situation requires it. He had offered Gurlin permission to punch him in order to get Gurlin to try to participate and perhaps in the hope that it would make a good enough apology for his earlier actions. Niko had also always wanted to emulate those wise mentor figures that appeared in some of the stories he's read, and thought that this kind of secret test would be a good way to do so.

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If you accept the teamwork option, then you only need to have at least one person get an item right for everyone to get it right. If no one got it right, then the lowest rolls for the item will behave as aid another attempts to boost the highest roll for it. If all six magic things are correctly identified, then it won't matter how many Niko can identify, and the three silver pieces and six copper pieces will be split between Chappe, Judith, Ceraphina, Gurlin, Chaff, and Stinky, which will leave them each six copper pieces richer.

"If you must punch someone then as leader I shall volunteer to take the hit!"

"I made him the offer, and I'm going to stand by it. If he's still upset with me, he can give me those punches. If he's going to get back at me for any insults that I have made towards him, I'd prefer it to be on my terms, which in this case is going to be violence while I'm in a place where I am more likely to receive magical healing in a timely manner."

[Prince Zahn]

Gurlin harkened carefully to Chappe's good intentions, as well as to Niko's words, seeing that he may have come to terms with the inevitable. Normally that would be enough of an apology for Gurlin, but Gurlin believes there's still one more question left unanswered.
Gurlin had an adamant look in his eyes:
"Mr.Klirigo, if ther wes e rees'n to punch ye, let me issure ye I wood hevve dun so elreidee. If ye need to heel 'im efterwirds, it'll hevve been Niko's rispunsibil'tee. Now let's kwit evoid'n feht, ell of ye!"
Gurlin slammed his fist in a nearby wooden wall, it intentionally did not break the wall, but it drew ye attention to him. He then pointed at a nearby wall, and shouted.
"NIKO! NO SEC'ND REHND! OV'R THIR, NOW!"

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

She was just glad to get what she asked for. She knew everything she was going to carry was heavy for her. She only half heard Niko's words as she decided to head to the commissary to get the rest of her equipment. She meekly informs the others, "I'm going to get get some provisions and pack."

Although she didn't know where to meet up with them she thought the group would be easy enough to find.

[Marker Mage]

Niko looked a bit dejected. There went his brilliant plan to get everyone else to try working together as a team. This was why he couldn't hope to have the role of leader. When he tried to use clever ways of helping people, whether it be trying to convince them that there are probably ways to get around their problems or trying to get a group to work together, it tended to just fall apart. Even the people he tutored tended to end up hating him. He walked towards the wall.

"So I guess you are fulfilling that 'still upset' condition for this punch." Perhaps he would think back to this moment the next time he got one of these clever ideas. That would probably keep him from trying them.

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As for Niko's answers...
Wand [roll]1d20+9[/roll]
Sword [roll]1d20+9[/roll]
Vials [roll]1d20+9[/roll]
Marbles [roll]1d20+9[/roll]
Backpack [roll]1d20+9[/roll]
Tube [roll]1d20+9[/roll]
OK, I guess I shouldn't preview the post when there's some rolls to be made.

[Prince Zahn]

"Now, If innee of the delinquints these fists met ehr to be trust'd, it'll hert ye less if ye close yer eis..." Gurlin took two steps towards Niko.
(if Niko's eyes are still open, he will bark "Close yer eis ilreidee!!")
At this point, whether or not Niko shuts his eyes, Gurlin approaches Niko, takes a deep breath, then inhales and let's out a cry that sounds almost like an Orc's shout, albeit with a slightly higher pitch.
Finally he thrusts his fist towards Niko's face, only to freeze his charging fist about two inches short of impact with Niko's right eye.
A disturbing smirk then betrays Gurlin's face as he savors the immediate reaction for a couple of seconds.

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Marker Mage: Gurlin now wants to see what Niko plans to do at the last moment. so you're up to decide.

[Marker Mage]

Niko tried his best to stay in place. He felt that the coming pain would disuade him from any more foolish ideas that he may get. He closed his eyes like he was told, not in the hopes that it would hurt less, but that it would slow his reaction time. He couldn't help but jump a bit at the shout, but managed to get himself under some control in time. After a few seconds, he speaks up with his eyes still closed, but his voice is cracks quite a bit. "Is that a delay or a miss?" He waits a moment before asking in a voice closer to his usual level of confidence "Or could it be that you decided you didn't fit that pesky 'still upset' condition?" Niko's eyes remain tightly shut.

[Man on Fire]

"Now that's what I was talking about. You have an eye, brother." Stinky says, dressing in the chain shirt and helmet. "Out of sheer curiosity, who was it's previous owner?"

"If it's a competition, I want to test my skills, not soebody else's. But, if you really insist on this teamwork stuff." Stinky grumps to himself as he tries to help others in second attempt at identifing the items. He tries to assure himself that while six pieces of copper aren't as good as one piece of silver, they're much better than nothing. It doesn't work.

[Prince Zahn]

"Open yer eis, and open yer eis, kid!"Gurlin repeated himself whispering while withdrawing his fist, assuming he's being clever. I'm still upsit, but I know I med us eev'n."
He took a step back and continued as he pointed his twisted index finger not angrily, but judgmentally: "now it's Yer turn to Mek sure it stehs eev'n."
He then grabbed Niko, taking him to the center between everyone, and announced with more seriousness than most ever seen Gurlin:
"Mr.Klirigo, I proved Mr. Tizzeh here e men of 'is werd, lik I sed I wud. So reth'r then lett'n kehndniss blur yer judgment, Ye shud be thenk'n me."
Gurlin then lets go of Niko, sits down, opens his backpack, and rips a small piece of bread from his food prepared for the caverns, eating it with a deformed, yet rare and sincere smile on his face.

[Marker Mage]

Niko opens his eyes. "It probably isn't going to stay even. I don't tend to have much luck in getting people to like me. There are plenty of students in this school that could tell you about how irritating I can be to be around. I would like to see if I can find some way for you to hold a quill though."

Niko replies to Stinky with "Forget about it. The moment was ruined. We'll just go with the individual efforts."

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It looks like Chaff and Stinky are the winners for matching Niko. It seems that Judith forgot to write down his answers and Gurlin only got one right, Ceraphina and Chappe seem to have not participated, and of course Lyta didn't show up.

Niko gives Chaff and Stinky their winnings. He was really hoping to see his prize split between everyone in the group.

Niko thinks for a moment. "Shouldn't we try to find that half-elf?"

[AugustusGloop]

IJudit

From where he'd been crouching in the corner, cringing at the prospect of violence among the Explorers, Judit slowly let out a relieved sigh. He could feel tense muscles slowly unbind, and he rubbed a few cramps out of his thighs as he straightened to his feet again.

He no longer felt much like competing, even in something as simple as identifying items. The conflict had shaken him. It wasn't just the powerful taboo against hurting people in your Familia. He knew personally how little it took for real violence to erupt, the kind of heartbreak that could be a consequence, and knew he'd never be able to take it for granted.

He skirted Gurlin and Niko, avoiding their eyes as he made his way over to where Ako stood. He felt a sharp resentment that they would allow their hubris to shatter the growing confidence, the sense of belonging that he'd been tentatively exploring since they'd been gathered in the classroom and told about their new mission. Part of him wished the Stock-master had interceded, but he knew that staff protection was for students. None of them were students anymore.

"Pardon me sir, but where are we to go from here?" Judit stood diffidently near the door, anxious to be gone.

[Sampi]

"Oh, just in down as far as you can go, then ask for Markalk. He's in charge of the excavations."

"But don't go yet. I kind of want to see if you get them all right. Tell you what: if you do, I'll get you those antivenoms you wanted. Maybe a bonus if you're quick. It's been a slow day an' I like this enrertainment."

He turns to look at Stinky.

"It belonged to a fellow named Fluke. Was a doppleganger posing as a lizard. Don't know why. Anyway, I hear the Conclave finished him."

[Man on Fire]

"Good, I haven't knew him then. It would be heartbreaking if one of kobolds I do know died." Stinky says, rather to finish conversation than to express his concern. Probably.

[Marker Mage]

Niko's ears perk up at the thought of some additional supplies. "Perhaps my idea is going to turn out better than I thought. Since it's to identify them all, I assume that it would be alright for me to work with them, possibly without the limitations that were to give them a chance against me."

If Niko is allowed to, he'll take a look at the answers that were collected, keeping in mind the number that everyone got right. He may be able to figure out which ones were guessed correctly through eliminating the ones that he knows are incorrect. Maybe he'll even have one of those "Why didn't I think of that, it's so obvious now" moments while looking at them. He'll also use one of the monocles, taking care to try to see where the magic seems to focus in the items. He will of course listen to any ideas from the rest of the team on why they gave their answers.

The wand with its tuning forks had to have something to do with sound. The low amount of magic it had could possibly be due to it being used to cast a cantrip.

The flames in the sword gave away its flame magic, but there was the issue of whether the sword was just going to burn as it cut, or if the flames would instead leap out of the sword as part of some spell that its wielder could command the sword to perform.

He remembered Gurlin asking for something about Animate Rope. Maybe the vials might have been for that.

He thinks of the contents of the glass tube and its lack of magic. He feels that he can safely guess it's a special spell component. He had thought about keeping an eye out for some while he was exploring.

The backpack could possibly be the handy haversack that he had thought about when he had first heard he was coming here to get something. He even recalled Ceraphina asking for one.

And as for the tubes... If Chaff was getting something to help him survive or to hide... The animal tooth in the wax... hide from animals?

He felt he could identify every one of them now.

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

The mousy girl headed to the commissary. There she smiled at the women helping her. "ah, yes... I'm going on the expedition to caves they found under the school.

"Oh really that kobald here? He really isn't as bad as people make hime out to be...

"Right, what I might need... A light source, a blanket, food... oh, I don't know, maybe a few pitons and some rope... I'm sure some of the others will be carrying rope. OH, yes, a hammer for the pitons. No, I don't know how to use them but I'm sure one of the men I'm traveling with might know.

"Is there anything else you can think of?

"Oh no I don't think a tent will fit but a bedroll might be nice."