Here, where the world is quiet [IC]

[Ataraxian]

Combat round 1:

Seeing that the hippogriff is beside the human fighter, Aldrich rises and fires at the woman, taking her by surprise. She looks badly hurt, but still on her feet. She shouts to the others in the strange twittering tongue of the Many.

Behind the fighter, the hippogriff pops into being. At least, it looks something like a hippogriff... the winged, clawed creature has stringy hair instead of feathers, and behind its snarling beak, its eyes look disturbingly human.

It reaches for the fighter with greedy, vicious hands that tear through his armor and drop him to the floor in a spray of blood. He looks unlikely to get up... or indeed, to survive at all.

[Gammell's turn, then NPCs--- if any are left]

[Eonas]

Gammell observes with satisfaction as his summon tears the fighter to pieces. It's an incredible experience, calling something into existence from the unknown. It's even more incredible seeing that Thing rip somebody into shreds - to think that his mind is that powerful to be able to do this to somebody. He hadn't even lifted a weapon.

Something which he now takes the time to do, whipping out his loaded crossbow, pointing it at the Dwarf, and firing the trigger all in one fluid motion.

Spoiler

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Attack: (1d20+4)[17]
Damage: (1d8)[4]

[Ataraxian]

[Combat round 1: continued]

The dwarf raises his hand and casually flicks Gammell's crossbow bolt aside, before flinging himself at the scholar with outstretched arms. Although Gammell nearly sidesteps the clumsy rush, the dwarf catches him by the belt and pulls him in by main force, bringing up the other hand to deliver a vicious punch to the gut.

[You are being grappled. Grapple check vs 24 or take 5 damage.]

The woman's eyes glow solid white, and Aldrich can see her appearance changing rapidly. Her costume and stance flicker: first plate armor and a mace, then a pike, then the armor and weapon are both gone in favor of a robe and staff, then... it's almost too quick for the eye to follow.

[The confusing nature of the changes grants her +4 AC]

[End of round 1, beginning of round 2. Your turn.]

[Eonas]

Aldrich spins around to see Gammell double up under the Dwarf's blow. He prepares to shoot the Dwarf, but the two are already locked and struggling with each other. Hence, he turns back towards the woman, and sends another searing and nauseous-smelling energy blast flying towards her.

Spoiler

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Sickening Blast (sickens if it hits)
Attack: (1d20+4)[14]
Damage: (2d6)[2]

I just realized that it's not up to me to say what the Hippogriff does, because it can't understand my instructions with an Int of 2. So I guess that's up to you to designate the Hippogriff's actions.

[Ataraxian]

Combat round 2

Gammell attempts to resist the dwarf , but lacks either the strength or technique to escape. He does throw his assailant a bit off balance, and the dwarf's next attack is easier to resist.

[Did Gammell take a turn? Gammell should act for this round. If he's still grappled after he acts, grapple check vs 10 or take 4.]

Gammell manages to wriggle free. The dwarf grabs for him again, but this time he's forewarned and manages to fend off the attack.

Aldrich hurls a bolt of energy at the woman--- and barely misses her, thrown off by the flickering changes she is undergoing.

The hippogriff-beast launches itself off the ground and leaps at the woman, claws outstretched. With one savage blow, it fells her to the ground. It gurgles triumphantly.

You notice that she appears to be differently equipped than before--- she's wearing a chain shirt, and holding a net in one hand and a mace in the other.

[With the damage she took last round, that's enough to put her in negatives.]

[End of round 2, beginning of round 3. Your turn.]

[Eonas]

Gammell manages to disentangle hiimself from the Dwarf's grasp, and spins around towards his opponent, morningstar at the ready and crossbow held in his other hand.

Spoiler

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Standard action is ungrapple, Move action is draw weapon.

[Eonas]

Now that Gammell and the Dwarf are disentangled, Aldrich focuses another blast of energy, this time at the Dwarf.

Spoiler

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I just remembered that Aldrich has Point blank shot and Precise shot. Which means he can shoot into melee, with a +1 bonus because he's within 30' range. Neat.

Attack: (1d20+5)[6]
Damage: (2d6)[5] (Sickens if it hits)

[Eonas]

Aldrich's blast misses the Dwarf widely, dangerously ricocheting off the floor and extinguishing itself in a spontaneous puff of energy. The Hippogriff also runs at the Dwarf, but its claws fail to hit him either.

Now Gammell also swings his morningstar at his opponent.

Spoiler

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Simple morningstar attack.

(1d20+3)[5]
(1d8+1)[3]

[Ataraxian]

The dwarf's eyes flick from Gammell to Aldrich to the hippogriff, sizing up chances. Apparently they don't look very good--- the dwarf promptly takes flight, fleeing through the door to the room.

[As far as you can tell, the dwarf has the standard racial speed of 20ft; on a double move, this is enough to get 10 feet beyond the door.]

[End of round 3, beginning of round 4.]

[Eonas]

Aldrich sees the Dwarf escaping and aims what he hopes will be the last blast necessary:

Spoiler

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Aldrich's Sickening Eldrich Blast
(1d20+6)[16]
(2d6)[6] Sickens if it hits.

[Ataraxian]

The dwarf looks back at Aldrich and tries to evade, but doesn't manage to. The bolt strikes true. The dwarf retches, badly hurt, but doesn't fall.

The hippogriff seems disinclined to pursue in the narrow hallway. It turns back to the woman and makes to rend her unconscious body.

[You can use Handle Animal or some other distraction to try to prevent it from doing so if you like.]

[Gammell's action]

[Eonas]

Without paying attention to his summon's actions, Gammell charges while swinging his morningstar again at the Dwarf.

Spoiler

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Charge attack: (1d20+6)[13]
Damage: (1d8+1)[6]

[Ataraxian]

Gammell charges into the hallway, morningstar raised. The dwarf ducks beneath the heavy weapon and reaches out a hand, using the swing's momentum to carry it harmlessly into the doorframe.

[Missed.]

Inside the room, the shaggy-haired hippogriff-beast lowers a claw to the unconscious body of your former guide and tears open her throat. As it lowers its oddly human face to lick the blood, the spell expires and it vanishes in a puff of greasy smoke.

The dwarf withdraws another 40 feet down the corridor you came by. Just ahead is a staircase, then a turn, then another corridor. After that is the sarcophagus room.

[End of round 4, beginning of round 5.]

[Eonas]

"Don't let him get away!" Gammell hisses. "I wasn't planning to." Aldrich answers, as he runs past Gammell and fires another energy blast at the Dwarf.

Spoiler

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Sickening blast:
(1d20+6)[17]
(2d6)[10]

[Ataraxian]

The dwarf runs awkwardly, short arms and legs pumping desperately. But the stairway is too far away. Aldrich's blast of energy hits the dwarf in the back, and the dwarf collapses forward to lie face-down in the corridor.

[End of rounds.]

Along this corridor are some closed doors--- leading, you think, to more rooms; you don't think there is anyone inside them. Behind you is the room you just left, containing two corpses, a magic circle and a hippogriff-beast. Ahead, the stairway leads up to the sarcophagus room; from that room, one door leads back to the square, and another leads somewhere you haven't explored yet.

[Eonas]

Aldrich runs up to the Dwarf and bends down to search his body.
Gammell does the same for the other two bodies, dismissing the Hippogriff as he does so.

Spoiler

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What sort of effects does drinking/eating the blood/flesh of the Many have on you? Especially: is it safe?
Knowledge: Something (1d20+11)[26]
Subtract 8 if that Something is Local knowledge, and ignore altogether if it's not Local, Arcana, Planes, Religion, Dungeoneering, or History.

Aldrich's Dwarf search roll: (1d20+1)[8]
Gammell's Woman search roll: (1d20+3)[12]
Gammell's Fighter search roll: (1d20+3)[7]

[Ataraxian]

The dwarf is clad in a loose-fitting martial artist's robe; despite a slight scorch mark, it should still be wearable.

Although the woman was also wearing a robe when you met her, her split-second transformation has reclothed her in a chain shirt, helm and greaves and armed her with a mace and a weighted net. She is also wearing a symbol of some sort--- a brooch formed into a swirling knotwork pattern that might be a focus for clerical magic. She carries a potion.

[excuse the edit, I had the woman's equipment wrong]

Spellcraft 25:

Spoiler

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Shield of faith, cleric level 2

The fighter's shredded body carries a longsword and a shield and is clad in half-plate.

All the equipment, though serviceable, has the gray lack of detail you have come to recognize as a mark of mundaneness.

Eating parts of the Many is harmless enough, according to the halfling girl's borrowed memories as well as the Mayor's lackey. The lackey suggested that the results wouldn't be particularly powerful or impressive, but it probably does something.

[You may remember equipment worth another 1000 gold.]

[Eonas]

Spoiler: OOC

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Whoops, I thought I'd already replied to this. Sowwy!

Also, do I gain XP from the encounter?

It couldn't hurt to try a bit of blood, Gammell thinks. Ignoring his feelings of revulsion, he bites into the human corpse before him, doing his best to suck some of the blood out of it. His companion, observing him with disgust for a moment, decides to bite the bullet and do the same with his corpse. Then, Gammell picks up the potion on the woman's body.

"We'd better go." whispers Aldrich. Gammell nods and joins in his friend down the corridor, walking with him into the sarcophagus room. Aldrich immediately begins walking towards the door outside, but Gammell stops to examine the sarcophagus closer.

Spoiler

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Spot: (1d20+1)[5]
Search: (1d20+3)[9]
Knowledge: Arcana, planes, or religion to identify the sarcophagus: (1d20+11)[18]

[Ataraxian]

[Glad to have you back after the holiday craziness. Yes, you are closer to leveling.]

Gammell tastes the blood, but there isn't the same vertiginous switch in perspectives he had with the halfling girl... the thoughts, the feelings, the sense of self are mostly missing, as if the body had merely been a container for a larger power. In the back of his mind, Gammell feels briefly aware of a vast intelligence, thinking thoughts far beyond the capacity of a single human. Drinking more blood, he feels, might allow him to learn some of its secrets... and vice versa.

Aldrich, having never tasted flesh or blood in this strange place, notices no difference.

You do both feel one piece of knowledge begin to unpack itself in your minds: the language of the Many.

[You gain the ability to understand this language, although you speak it with an accent; you'd need to drink more blood to speak better.]

Gammell can see nothing special about the sarcophagus. Many religious groups use such containers as tombs for venerated saints or leaders, although you aren't sure that death works that way here; such tombs might contain precious relics--- or just dusty bones. Some undead creatures also use them as daytime resting places, or to store their fleshly remains while their spirits roam the outside world. Again, you aren't sure that such creatures can exist in the afterlife. Sarcophagi have no particular significance to extraplanar creatures.

[Eonas]

Spoiler: OOC

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Oh, in the light of new information (i.e. the body's actually imparting knowledge to him), I think Gammell's going to delay going to the Sarcophagus for the moment. If that's all right with you. If it's not, of course, I'll just edit this post and have them do something else.

Knowledge! Beautiful, beautiful knowledge. Gammell ravenously drains the body as dry as he possibly can, while Aldrich stands by, nervously observing the Archivist while trying to keep watch. "Gammell... please, we have to leave..." he urges after a while, but recieves no answer, for Gammell is now trying to eat some of the flesh as well.

Spoiler: Rollz

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Aldrich Spot: (1d20+1)[6]
Listen: (1d20+1)[12] (I think that's what the modifiers are... Myth-weavers is down right now, so I can't really tell for sure)

[Ataraxian]

Gammell: as you bite into the body, you reach out towards the shadowy thoughts you can sense somewhere in the back of your mind. At first there are only flickers... the sound of a conversation, a quick glimpse of a crowded street... but as you concentrate, the images grow clearer and more numerous, threatening to choke out your awareness of your own body.

Manytown floods into your mind, streets and buildings crowded with people, walking, chatting, working, and the One mind whose thoughts you have intruded on walks and chats and works with them, seeing what they see, hearing what they hear. If you could just focus, you think, you could explore any part of Manytown through the eyes of its residents, or pull out the answer to a question.

And then, suddenly, you feel the One notice your presence. Even a tiny fraction of its attention is terrifying, like a bright light picking you out of the dark. And outside, in the square, a few of the Many look up from their idle chatter, suddenly inspired with new purpose...

[Gammell: you may act in the real world without trouble for one round. After that, you're going to have trouble staying conscious as you immerse yourself in the vision. To try to steer the vision towards some particular place or question, make a will save.]

[Eonas]

Sudden panic spreads throughout Gammell as he sees the Many's attention shift to him. He spits out whatever flesh he still hasn't swallowed and gasps "Aldrich, Aldrich, they're coming! We have to get away now!"
With Aldrich, he runs down into the corridor. Using his Manyvision, he tries to see if there's anything behind the nearest door in the corridor.

Spoiler: Roll

Show

Will save: (1d20+5)[15]

[Ataraxian]

Gammell: you focus your will on the building you are in, and the vision narrows, rushing in vertiginously towards it. Outside in the square, a few of the Many are forming up into search parties, eyes glowing white as they assimilate the skills and powers they'll need to hunt you down. There are one or two in each advance party.

In a room down the corridor, several Many are standing around a bound prisoner and chanting. There isn't anyone else in the building.

The door you are looking at leads to a storage room containing a few old books and scrolls, plus some soul-snakes in glass terrariums.

The vision flickers and trembles as the One turns a tiny bit of its presence towards you. You feel as if you can see something moving out of the corner of your eye... a black shadow drawing up from behind you. Or perhaps you imagined it?

[Gammell: roll initiative. From now on, you can concentrate on either the vision or the real world each round. You take your actions in one realm and count as flat-footed in the other. You can also make a will save to shift the vision to another part of Manytown, or try to reveal what the Many know about some question or issue; you can do this once per round as a free action.]

[Ataraxian]

Gammell: you refocus your attention. The mental effort required is slightly greater this time, as the One turns more of its attention towards you. But although your effort of will is haphazard, you manage to succeed.

Once again, your perspective zooms away from the room you are physically standing in front of, widening and then narrowing again. You find your mental self standing in the basement, and you walk into the room containing the chanting people and the prisoner. Since you are present only in spirit, none of them look up.

The room holds four Many, three chanting and the fourth resting near the door. At the center of a familiar-looking chalked circle is a tall shaven-headed elf. He looks exhausted and seems to have undergone some rough handling, though he isn't seriously injured. He looks defiantly at the Many, refusing to chant, but their steady recitation seems to be wearing him down.

By refocusing the vision, you have momentarily evaded the One's spirit avatar, but the growing darkness at your back suggests it is only a matter of moments before the thing reappears.

[You can end the vision entirely by making a will save, if you like.]

[Eonas]

Gammell tries to turn his vision away from the scene in the room, and towards finding out the Many's purpose in attacking the Shambles.

For a moment, Aldrich waits for Gammell to move. Upon realizing that his companion's in a sort of stupor or trance, however, he opens the nearest door (leading into the snake-terrarium-and-bookshelf room) and drags his companion into it.

[Ataraxian]

Gammell: Once again, you focus your attention and your attention soars up above Manytown before diving down towards a specific point. This time, as you concentrate on your question, you find yourself drawn to a point near the edge of the Gray City. You find yourself standing in a wide street leading towards a gate like the one through which you and Aldrich entered the city. At your gate, a thick mist began about a hundred feet away from the city's gray stone walls. Here, however, the mist encroaches on the street itself. The gate is half-hidden within it, and its outer fringes reach as far as the first row of houses inside.

As before, the change of scene allows you to escape the One's attention--- for a second or two.

[You can wander around this scene or make checks to try to find out more.]

Aldrich: You enter the room, dragging Gammell's body behind you. As he'd led you to believe, the walls are lined with bookshelves and four mid-sized glass terrariums. Glancing over the shelves, you see that the books and scrolls seem to be about magic and extraplanar lore. Each terrarium seems to contain a single soul-snake, although their camouflaged scales and the dim light in the room make it difficult to be sure. The creatures aren't moving, but you think one or two of them are following you with their slitted eyes as you move. Each terrarium has a neatly-lettered label, although it would take a few seconds to read them.

[Eonas]

Listening intently for sounds of Many approaching the room, Aldrich glances over the terrariums' labels.

Meanwhile, Gammell, still in the vision, attempts to discern when exactly (or approximately) the attack on the city will take place.

Spoiler

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Spot, if necessary: (1d20+1)[10]
Listen: (1d20+1)[19]

Gammell will save if necessary: (1d20+5)[13]

[Ataraxian]

Aldrich: You look carefully over the labels on the four terrariums. They read: Termagant, Martiale, Talons, and D'Esperance. Three of the names mean nothing to you. The fourth belongs to the woman Hazard was looking for--- the one he called a "scholar-soldier".

You can definitely hear movement from the floor above you; there are a few Many up above, and they're making no effort to be subtle as they search the building room by room. They are still not right on top of you, but they are moving closer. You probably have three or four rounds before they reach the top of the stairs.

Gammell: You look at the gate. What's odd about it isn't so much any feature or detail. It's more the complete lack of detail obscuring an object that's only a few yards away.

Rather than spend more time inspecting the gate, however, you bend your will toward a different question. This time, it's definitely more of an effort to shift the vision, but you find yourself zooming in towards the smoke-belching factory building you walked past on your tour. Your spirit body lands on the workshop floor, which has been divided into seven scaffolded bays. In each of them, workers are busily assembling huge structures that are probably siege engines of some kind. One is almost complete, the others less so.

Again, the shadow of the One begins slowly to take shape in front of you, a vaguely humanoid form of rippling darkness.

[Again, you can make skill checks, use spells and knowledges to try to judge what these engines are and how long they will take to finish.]

[Eonas]

Aldrich thinks quickly. Perhaps the snake was sent to kill D'Esperance, but perhaps it WAS D'Esperance. If he knew more about those snakes, perhaps he could decide what to do. But he didn't, and the only person who might know this was Gammell. What in the nine hells was going on?
EDIT: For the first time, he spies Gammell's Wand of Lesser Vigor. Reasoning that his friend wouldn't need it anytime soon, he decides to snitch it for the time being. He had some skill with using wands himself.

Gammell, meanwhile, wonders what the siege engines are designed to do, as he quickly estimates the number of workers there (and checks them to determine their general species).

Spoiler: OOC

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Wow, that was a long delay. Again. Partly because I've been backed up IRL (and on GiantITP), and partly because this is easily the most tactically demanding game I'm in right now, so it takes me a while to think things through.

Aldrich:
Listen: (1d20+1)[21]
Spot: (1d20+1)[6]

Gammell spot: (1d20+1)[17]
Listen, just for kicks: (1d20+1)[3]
And I don't know what knowledge checks here are necessary, so I'll just roll them all. Pick and choose which ones (if any) are applicable.
Knowledge (planes) (1d20+11)[23]
Knowledge (religion) (1d20+11)[30]
Knowledge (arcana) (1d20+11)[14]
Knowledge (history) (1d20+11)[29]
Knowledge (dungeoneering) (1d20+11)[15]
Knowledge (local) (1d20+3)[20]

[Ataraxian]

Aldrich: Gammell might know more about the snakes, but you don't... and he's unconscious. Meanwhile, you hear the Many upstairs moving steadily towards you, room by room.

Gammell: There are about ten workers for each engine, a multiracial gang of elves, orcs, halflings, humans and a variety of other species. The engines themselves are giant devices with a vaguely humanoid shape; they seem to meld biological parts with rigid mechanical scaffolding.

As you watch, the gang nearest you lifts an unresisting half-orc into place on the engine's right leg and begins binding him into place with metal rivets. More specialized workers begin cutting into his limbs and organs, integrating them into the inner workings of the gigantic machine. As you watch, you see his eyelids flicker briefly, and you suddenly realize he's conscious.

Whatever else you can say about this procedure, it's not very fast. The first engine will be ready to step off the production line in a day or two, but the seventh won't likely be good for another two weeks. As for what the engines might do--- you suspect they will be used as siege towers and heavy assault forces, smashing through buildings and defensive troops alike.

[The siege engines are going to be Huge-sized, autonomous combatants, and probably not susceptible to the kind of mind-altering magic that works well against single creatures. You think most other damage types will work against them.]

As you watch more victims walk up, waiting to be stitched into the engine, the shadow presence of the One materializes more fully. It reaches out and slashes at you with a limb of seething darkness, and you feel its malevolence sear into your mind.

[Take 1 wisdom damage]