Three Goddesses (IC) Thread #3

[Debbie_D]

I defy anyone to list a game on this board that has 3 IC threads.

[Snowbluff]

Seraciel

"Considering what has happened, Drisae, what you are suggesting might be the only plausible and humane approach."

She looks at the ground glumly.

[Morcleon]

Furude Setsuna

Setsuna wriggles closer to Sera, then smiles at Drisae. "Wonderful. Then, once Carlita-san is brought here, please do so."

She pauses, then quirks an eyebrow over at her friend. "Eh... Sera-senpai? What's wrong?"

[lostsole31]

Drisae says, "It is an Amazon Nocticulan priestess ritual that will keep her inactive and in a deathlike state, make her mind and body all but impossible to find from outside sources, and even ease the pain from which her mind might suffer.

"This ritual I have learned courtesy of the Nocticulan Amazons of my birth, and absolute secrecy on its form and exact measure is required; the only one who may witness this ritual is Taleira. Demon servitors do not count ... they are not necessarily Nocticulan nor Amazon. Melinda even cannot witness this ritual - she is not amazon, despite being the first priestess of the unity.

"Until such time as the Unity has passed, then these secrets must be honored. Ask what you will, this is all I will tell you. If the sense of what I offer is fair to you all, as I am the only one in this group that has that level of divine power, then I will sequester myself into a room .... with Taleira or without, as she desires. I recommend she come with, if only because she may never see the like again."

[Dudu]

"Well, so Carlita problem is not a problem anymore, I belive."

"So, is everyone ready to our next step, then?"

[Snowbluff]

Seraciel

"I just wish there was something more we could do for her... This whole thing rubs me the wrong way. We can talk about in private, later, if you are so inclined..."
She wears a tired, mile-long stare.

[PSinger]

Atareth eyes Drisae suspiciously, but she chides herself internally. There was a major verbal and telepathic exchange about things she only knew about somewhat. She didn't know how Melinda's priestly power worked, but even then the First Priestess didn't quite have Drisae's raw divine power, even if Melinda had more of the divine "trust."

"I'm willing to accept Drisae's proposal. There are secrets I am sworn to keep and protect - Tishtinian and otherwise - so I understand this."

[Debbie_D]

Those going to visit the temple of Kasia draw close together, and moments later, a woman pops into the room, those of the faith of Sabrina know her to be Desiria Tynalon, right hand woman to Zanthia Bindar. She teleports again, and you find yourself just outside the Golden Rose.
With an almost apologetic look, she holds up several blindfolds
Im sorry, but its policy, I hope you understand.
The blindfolds are applied, and then you are lead through a long journey, filled with so many twists and turns that your sense of direction is completely disoriented. Further, you feel the lurch of a teleport effect several times, making it completely impossible to tell where you are. You feel like you are being lead into a room, and finally the blindfolds are removed.
You find yourself in a small room, while the room appears to be empty of anyone else (except for one other figure), you still get the feeling you are being watched by many eyes (and associated weapons). However, for now, your attention is on the man(?) in the room.
First of all, he is sitting in shadows, they shift enough to let you see that he is there, but not enough to get a good look at him. He seems to be of average height and build, and really, there is nothing distinguishing about him. Which is probably just the way he wants it.
You question him about the Tomb of Dantilus, and he basically tells you that while the guild long knew of it, they have never made an effort to explore it. There are almost no religions in Daystor that believe in the practice of burying riches with the deceased in a tomb (it might have been practice in the Ishharrah Empire during the reign of the Elder Gods but that is no more) and with no riches as the target, the thieves guild has no interest in it. As well, the tomb was not dedicated to any one person, and so any potential bounty in there would be of little value. Normally, undead have no interest in hoarding and collecting wealth and thus the risk/reward of the tomb just doesnt justify itself. You are more than welcome to undertake any sort of looting mission, the faith of Kasia has no interest in it, and cannot provide you with any intel about it, they just havent ever been interested.
With this conversation finished, Desiria gathers you together once again, and teleports you back to Paramibo, just to make sure that you dont attempt to figure out your path to this spot again.

[Dudu]

Selena is still a bit disoriented with recent events.

"Got to respect the Kasian's, they are very efficient in hiding their place.
Anyway, it's just relieving that we are in good therms with them. One more enemy is the last thing we need.

But personally, I find their total disregard to this tomb confusing. Maybe they aren't really interested, maybe they are bluffing. Maybe they are interested in gems and gold, while scrolls and some artifacts might be found in this tomb*.
He is a lich, afterall. Hoarding gold and other possessions high value by mortals might not be his thing, but by no means he doesn't have any kind of resources."

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Sense Motive check to see the man in the shadows second intentions towards the tomb, if he has any.
(1d20+21)[26]

[The Great Skenardo]

Coquika
Coquika is formally welcoming when the others teleport back, and she listens to their report, nodding carefully. There wasn't much that had led her to hope the Robbers would be forthcoming with help, and this seems like verification.
She stands and claps her hands, like the ringing of marbles.
"Then I suggest those of you that rest take this chance to prepare. Once we have our everyday helpers in place... then I think we can begin this rescue in earnest!"
She looks around, smiling anxiously.
"Peridot, have we forgotten anything?"

[Morcleon]

Furude Setsuna

Setsuna has a rather annoyed look on her face as she shakes off the slight confusion of recent events. "So... what did we learn? The mountain fortress doesn't actually have any riches worth stealing. Or, they don't think it does."

"Ah well," she mutters, shrugging. "It's not as if we're worse off than before."

With a smile towards Coquika, Setsuna bows slightly. "I believe I shall take this opportunity to prepare myself. It will be the first time I leave this place for any significant time since I came."

She glances at Sera and smiles faintly. Waving, she calls out, "I have some things I need to get from my room, senpai! I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

With a nod towards Hakkera, Setsuna steps into her enveloping pit, and the shadowy archon whisks it away.

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She's just going to go to her room, pick up her hat, umbrella-bow, lightstones, flashlights, and miscellaneous trinkets.

A few minutes later, Hakkera returns, and Setsuna glides out of the hole in the ground. She looks relatively the same, save for a new boater hat with a red ribbon and a curved-handle black umbrella which she carries with practiced ease. She winks and laughs, spinning around. "So. How do I look?"

[Snowbluff]

Seraciel

Seraciel gives Furude a cursory glance but makes no comment on her appearance. She's going over her spellbook, reading the various entries on spells she rarely uses, but that familiar look on is still on her face. This day has given her a lot to think about, indeed.

"To be honest, if anyone else were to do this, they would ask a king's ransom." She snaps her spellbook shut with one hand. An impressive feat, considering the book's considerable girth. She stows it away in a trusty extra-dimensional space.

[Toliudar]

Coquika
"Peridot, have we forgotten anything?"

Dot has put away her books and stood to receive the others. She listens carefully to their report, and nods regretfully that there is no detailed information about the caves. She repeats the image of the few areas that she caught a clear glimpse of during her initial scrying.

"Coquika, as long as you've maintained the enchantments to block this area from outside divinations, we should be about as prepared as we can be. The ancient and static nature of this tomb of theirs may be our greatest strength. If they've been unopposed and secure for this long, they may be slower to respond to our arrival."

She hesitates for a moment, then continues.

"In preparing ourselves, we should think about how we will deal with different kinds of undead. Clearly, Drisae and Melinda have the possibility of being able to take control over the weakest. But how will we deal with ghosts and others that might come at us out of the floors? How will you deal with a mass of flying undead? There's no need for us to have a unified strategy for these - in fact, having a variety of tactics at our disposal serves us better, I would say."

She falters, and her voice becomes a little less brisk and professional.

"I, um, appreciate all of you agreeing to help with this. Even if you're only doing it because of the quest, it still means a great deal. Um, I, um. Thank you."

She smiles faintly, then returns to a scowl of contemplation.

"I should go rest, in order to be ready for the morning."

[Dudu]

"Our best bet against incorporeals are force attacks. Don't know if we have an evoker between us, but that would be really cool. I have Shadow Evocation spells, that might help a little, depending on how much incorporeals we will face. My shortbow is able to infuse force into my arrows, so we can still *slowly* kill them."

[Snowbluff]

Seraciel

"Hmm... I haven't done this in practice, but a Blink spell connects you to the Ethereal plane. Perhaps a Greater Blink would allow me to strike the incorporeal creatures more easily."

[Dudu]

"I guess a normal blink would determinate how you affect incorporeal creatures the same way you affect corporeal ones, ie, ramdonly. But if you have the greater one, than it's fantastic! You can simply control which plane you want to be. This though didn't occur to me, but sounds great!"

She then gives a further though.

"However...
However, do delving in the Ethereal plan briefly necessarily mean you can interact with it?"

[Snowbluff]

Seraciel

"Another incorporeal creature, in reality any creature in the Ethereal Plane, should be able to interact with another in the same way creatures on the Material Plane do. A ghost would be just as vulnerable to my morning star as it would be to another ghost."

[lostsole31]

Drisae says to Dot, "I, too, will take some rest before prayers. It seems that the simple, temporary solution of a succubus gaoler will do Carlita well. Having been told a measure of what the rest of you can do, I will set my spells to some sense for the threat."

[Telasi]

Taleira Ulharvyth

Given that we seem to have skipped to the group re-convening after the diplomatic trip, I guess Tali is back to be hearing this conversation.

"Well, Atareth and I can both fly, so that takes care of fliers. I can be ethereal whenever I want, so I can fight ghosts and the like, too."

[The Great Skenardo]

Coquika
Coquika nods, agreeing to ward her sanctuary. When the topic of the incorporeal arises, she says,
"I can harm the incorporeal, to some extent, but few of them can harm me."
She shrugs, and then moves off to continue her meditations and studies.

[Morcleon]

Furude Setsuna

Setsuna plops down next to Sera, placing her umbrella and hat on the floor in front of her. With a shrug, she says, "I can fly, and I can deal with incorporeals and ethereals with my shadow force spells."

"...actually, I can deal with a lot of random stuff with my shadow spells."

[lostsole31]

"I believe I might be able to harm the undead," says Drisae, "but it's not anything I've ever done before."

[Kalirren]

At the conclusion of the meeting with Kasia's representatives, Melinda has little to be ecstatic about. Her disappointment is mitigated by the lack of any real expectation going in. They did, after all, get -some- intelligence. The construction of a large complex dedicated to no one in particular suggested that the tomb's defenses lay in depth and in numbers, not in strength.

"I, um, appreciate all of you agreeing to help with this. Even if you're only doing it because of the quest, it still means a great deal. Um, I, um. Thank you."

"Anything for family, Dot." The usually verbose bardess has no more to say, with the whole truth having been so simply acknowledged. Melinda's abashed glance darts left and right, then returns to her mentor's face. The bardess is a bit tongue-tied with her own appreciation for Dot's earlier support.

Melinda will call upon Syndra Keldith to divine a possible course of action regarding Thorbald Volkskraag. He and Telgar don't seem to be natural allies, which prompts her to ask the Goddess of Intrigue for advice.

Can a block of incense of meditation be bought in Paramibo?

[Toliudar]

Dot nods silently to Melinda's simple comment, and heard some of the nuances behind that. Family. Huh. It had been a long while since she'd had family.

Dot glanced around the group. There was more homicidal frenzy in her family than she remembered. But she supposed that, tomorrow, that's exactly what she'd need.

--

As the group gathered again after a decent rest - or perhaps an indecent rest, in the case of some present - Dot nodded and clambered up onto Clyde's shoulder.

"Once we appear at the doors, we've got to keep moving quickly, to keep them from having an opportunity to do something with prisoners."

She pauses, and pulls out a copper three-sided statuette, working in the faces of the three goddesses as best she could represent them.

"Ladies, I've done right by you these last few weeks. If you'd care to return the favour now, I'd really appreciate it."

Tucking the figuring away, she turns to the others.

"Very well then. Breakfast, a mess of preparatory magics, and then let's go storm the castle.

Nodding to the group, she begins weaving a set of preparatory spells.

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Timeline wise, I'm assuming that someone's probably got Heroes' Feast on hand, which would be a GREAT thing to have when we're about to face a bunch of undead. Mechanically, all of our short-term buffing will probably happen after that, but for the sake of style, Dot's starting now.

We probably have enough people in the group with True Seeing, Arcane Sight and the like floating around that I'm just going to post my buffs here. It would be lovely if others could do the same, but that's your call.

Buffs on offer to the group (write em down if you want em):
Resist Energy, Acid (CL 27)
Resist Energy, Sonic (CL 27)
Fly (CL 15)
and, at the last moment, Haste (CL 27) and Cloak of Chaos (CL 15)

Spells active on Dot at the end of this spree:
Arcane Sight
Greater Arcane Sight (yes, duplicated. Long story)
Anticipate Teleport, Greater
Cloak of Chaos
Dragonsight
Ectoplasmic Armour
Elemental Body (Air)
Energy Immunity (Electricity)
Energy Immunity (Cold)
False Life
Heart of Air, Earth, Fire and Water
Mind Blank
Moment of Prescience
Reduce Person
Shield
Superior Resistance
True Seeing

And on the menagerie:
Cloak of Chaos, Mage Armour, Mind Blank, Fly, Resist Energy (Acid), Resist Energy (Sonic) and Superior Resistance, plus whatever other group buffs they're eligible for.

[Snowbluff]

Seraciel

Sera barely eats anything for breakfast. She has been quiet lately, and even her normal amount of fidgeting has died down. She quietly retrieves Larry from Melinda.

She does her fair share of casting as well.

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Assuming our short term buffs at last second as well.
She start by using her Prayer Beads' Karma Bead fist.
On Selena:
Mindblank, Extended (CL23)
Superior Resistance, Extended (CL23)

On the Party:
Mass Conviction, Extended (CL23, +5 Morale to Saves)
Shield of Faith, Mass Extended (CL23, +9 Deflection to AC Total)
Resist Energy, Mass Extended (CL23, Electricity)
Resist Energy, Mass Extended (CL23, Cold)

On herself (Superior Resistance and Mindblank are still active):
Elemental Body, Air (CL21)
Unicorn Heart (CL21)
True Seeing (CL21)
Armor of Darkness, Extended (CL23)
Mage Armor, Greater (CL21)
Shield (CL23)
Arcane Sight (CL21)
Superior Invisibility (CL21)
Energy Absorption, Extended (CL23)
Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability (CL 21) (Dimensional Anchor, Dispel Magic, Resist Energy)
Familiar Pocket (CL21)
Absorption (CL23)
Greater Magic Weapon (CL21)

I am not done yet, gotta go RQ. I have Shield for +8 AC if anyone wants it, and an unused Iron Guard.

[Debbie_D]

Using the co-ordinates gained from Dot's scrying, the group manages to teleport themselves to a rocky ledge in the Komath mountains, a barren, windswept and snowy ledge at that. The amazons of the party are not best impressed by this spot, hot and steamy jungles are more their thing.
The ledge is right at the mouth of a cave, and as the group cautiously explores their way in, they find no occupants and are also now out of the wind, which is far more in keeping with their manner of dress. Its still cold however.
The cave is not all that big, and after about 15 minutes of searching, the party is able to find a passageway leading deeper into the mountain. Unlike the cave, this passage is clearly not of natural erosion, its been dug out of the mountain. The passage is about 10 feet wide (marching order can be 2 abreast) and varies between 10 to 12 feet high (flying is nearly impossible and if you are winged instead of spelled, it is impossible). The corrider goes 50 feet straight east, and then ends in a door.

OOC: Marching order needed, and then actions.

[Dudu]

Selena and Oscar eat to their heart content, ononoming everything in their sight.

"So, the fates of these undeads are sealed, eh? This lich shouldn't mess with Nena friends!"

Says Oscar, barely able to speak and occasionally spitting part of his breakfast when trying to do so. He never dismiss an opportunity to look manly.


Readied Spells:

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Lvl1: Inhibit/Silent Image/Neverskitter x2/Enlarge Person/Benign Transpositionx2/Grease

Lvl2: Ray of Stupidity/Mirror Image/Glitterdust x2/Fog Cloud x2/Web x2

Lvl3: Suggestion/Invisibility Sphere/Unluck x2/Haste x2/Halt x2

Lvl4: Greater Rebuke/Greater Mirror Image x2/Heart of Earth/Celerity x2/Solid Fog

Lvl5: Hold Monster/Shadow Evocation x2/Overland Flight/Teleport/Prying Eyes/SMA V

Lvl6: Greater Heroism/Permanent Image/Freezing Fog x2/SMA VI

Lvl7: Heightned Greater Heroism/Project Image/Energy Immunity/Glass Strike/Elemental Body/Reverse Gravity

Lvl8: Binding/Superior Invisibility/Heightned Reverse Gravity/SMA VIII x2

Spells in effect

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Elemental Body (fire) 16hours
Overland Flight 16hours
Energy Immunity (acid) 16hours
Heart of Earth 16hours

Mindblank, Extended (CL19) Sera casting
Superior Resistance, Extended (CL19) Sera casting

[Morcleon]

Furude Setsuna

Setsuna barely eats anything, only a few pieces of bread, some various drinks, and a peach. Afterwards, she casts her spells with a flurry of bright motes, Hakkera also going around to send a spark of light into each of the party.

Mountain Fortress, Komath Mts.

With a raised eyebrow, Setsuna's face breaks into a determined grin. "So... here at last. I will be flying above, to provide mobile support."

She glides up, hovering just under the ceiling, outside of the door.

Spells in Effect:

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(short-term buffs that are cast at the last second)

Arcane Sight: Permanent
Blur: 18 hrs
Energy Immunity (fire, cold): 24 hrs
Freedom of Movement: 3 hrs
Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability (dimensional anchor, dispel magic, glitterdust, solid fog): 18 hrs
Mage Armor: 18 hrs
Mind Blank: 24 hrs
(Mirror Image, Greater): 18 min
Moment of Prescience: 18 hrs
See Invisibility: Permanent
Superior Resistance: 24 hrs

Cast on the party by Hakkera:
Aid: 21 min

Conditions:

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HP: 129/129
Spells per day: 12 (17) 14 (15) 13 (14) 14 (12) 8 (0)

Condition and Effects (not including spells):
+5 to saves against death effects, negative energy, energy drain; 1/day reroll failed save.
+5 to saves against poison and disease; 1/day reroll failed save.
+2 bonus to overcome SR.
50% chance of deflecting a ranged attack if move 10 or more ft.
Fast Healing 1.
Resistance to fire 5, cold 5, electricity 5.
Doubled carrying capacity.
Ignore all hostile planar effects.
Breathe in any environment, ignore harmful vapours/gases.
Suppress all confusion, fear and stunning conditions in allies in 20 ft radius.
No need to eat or drink.
Sleep 2 hours to gain effects of 8.

Immune: blinded, confusion, dazzled, exhaustion, fatigue, fear, grappling, mind-affecting, movement penalties, stunning.

[The Great Skenardo]

Coquika
The statuesque Coquika abstains from breakfast altogether, and she invokes only a few enchantments before joining the group in teleportation.

She wears more gear abroad than in her sanctuary: items obviously chosen for their magical effects rather than the effects of fashion.
She moves with surprising quiet though, as she walks at the fore of the party, her green featureless eyes scanning the darkness. She does not approach the door, but glances at Seraciel inquiringly.

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Active spells (In descending spell level)
Mind Blank
Energy Immunity: Sonic
See Invisibility
Shield
Mage Armor

Additional effects:
Ring of Counterspells: Disintigrate

[Snowbluff]

Seraciel

Sera feels the battle is imminent. She puts up a Duelward for doing anything else.

My spell provides perfect movement in air, so I'll be able to get around freely. So. Who's going to open the door or should I blink through it?

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OOC Spellnotes:

Duelward Extended (CL19 3.8 minutes/38 rounds)

Ring of Greater Counterspells: Greater Dispel
Keep in mind she has Conviction (+5 Morale to saves) and Shield of Faith (+9 Deflection AC) and that Dot up the Cloak of Chaos (Most Notably the 25 SR versus Lawful).

Mikela, I am using the Absorption spell. It kind of works like spell turning, so roll 1d4+6 and don't tell me the result. If it captures spell levels ,give me a heads up as I can use the spell levels to cast my own spells.