Artifacts of Shianna II

[Samshiir]

Ryol turns to flee, but is surprised when he turns around to see the flat of Killian's silvered sword connect with his face. The attack left Ryol stunned and stumbling around, barely able to keep himself standing. In a half-lazy spin, he tries to find his balance...

Just to find Alimov's diplomace also connect with his face. The silent elf's attack hit the man with enough force to knock him unconscious.

[RandomWombat]

Arianna was dealing with the Cadeyrn outside, and the one in the prison cell was locked in for now, so Wallel searched Ryol's unconscious body for anything valuable. Or dangerous. Nothing worse than a prisoner with a hidden dagger stabbing you during interrogation.

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Perception: (1d20+11)[28]

[Ionbound]

Caderyn's words bring tears to her eyes, but Ariana delivers another blow. As he slumps into unconsciousness, she says hoarsely "I am so sorry, Caderyn." She then turns to face the one in the cage, the Caderyn she's almost cartain is the fake, and says, with a fiery glare, "You. Will. Burn."

[Samshiir]

"Will I?" Cadeyrn asks smoothly. "Perhaps I will. However, I do believe that Ryol and I have dealt the necessary damage." He has shifted back into his natural doppleganger form. He grins a ghastly grin as paces back and forth within the cage and watches Cadeyrn's bloodied body underneath Ariana.

Alimov:

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You do not find anything of particular value on Ryol, save for a coin pouch. (For future and simplicity's sake, it has 22gp, 34sp, 19cp)

[RandomWombat]

Stowing the pouch of coins in his own pack, Wallel stood up and tossed Killian the keyring he'd found on the floor. The silent elf gestured at the other cells, indicating the tortured prisoners. One of them may have overheard something important being discussed, so the paladin and cleric would need to tend to their wounds and get them in working order.

Meanwhile, Wallel searched the dungeon for some shackles to bind Ryol and the doppelganger.

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Perception: (1d20+11)[17]

[Ionbound]

Ariana looks at him, looks at Caderyn's body beneath her, and then looks back at him. She then says quietly, and on the verge of tears, "I've been through so much...and now I finally have a chance at a new family...and you tried to take that away...You will pay."

[taurosking]

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not sure how hurt Caderyn is, but i will start with my biggest and give 1 from each spell level (so moderate, then light, then minor)(2d8+3)[12]+(1d8+3)[10]+1 for a total of 23

There you go buddy, thats all i can do for you. Velka touches Caderyn twice in succession on the head healing him to the best of his ability.

[Samshiir]

Alimov finds several sets of shackles to bind Ryol and the doppleganger. Neither one put up a fight anymore. The doppleganger has surrendered entirely and Ryol is unconscious.

The doppleganger was also wearing all of Cadeyrn's original clothing and gear. Everything is accounted for, but there are a few things out of place. Inside Cadeyrn's backpack is a large, leather-bound book, a small, perfectly round stone with an engraved symbol of wind on it, and the dagger that attempted to steal Emerald's life.

There are sixteen other prisoners in the dungeon, one of them being the real Headmaster Larin. They are all badly injured and are in no condition to talk right now.

[RandomWombat]

Sifting through the items added to Cadeyrn's belongings, Wallel casts Detect Magic to see if any of them bear magical properties.

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He can't identify them, since he isn't trained in Arcana or Spellcraft, just tell whether they are magical.

[Ionbound]

Ariana tries to open the cells and evacuate the prisoners. If the doors are locked, she asks Alimov for assistance.

[RandomWombat]

Wallel waves dismissively in Killian's direction when pestered about the doors, having given him the keyring. It may not have had all the keys on it, but the rest had to be around somewhere.

[Ionbound]

Ariana then turns to Killian and asks, "Mind helping me get these doors open? These people need help, and the cells would make a nice holding area for these two," At the end of her sentence, Ariana gestures at the two captives.

[AttilaTheGeek]

Ariana then turns to Killian and asks, "Mind helping me get these doors open? These people need help, and the cells would make a nice holding area for these two," At the end of her sentence, Ariana gestures at the two captives.

I raise a single eyebrow and give Ariana an are-you-kidding-me look. "These people have been stuck down here for who knows how long. They might not have seen the sun in years. I would more than 'not mind' leading them out of this hellhole."

With that, I take the key ring and unlock every door. I know the prisoners aren't really up to speaking, but I offer a reassurance to each one, like "don't worry, you're safe now" or "it's all gonna be okay." Once they're all out of their cells, I offer to show them the way out of the college.

[Samshiir]

Most of the prisoners don't speak, but some of them do. "Thank you!", "We owe you our lives!", "Praise you!"

With the help of the others, Killian manages to escort the prisoners outside the College. Headmaster Larin needs to be carried out because he is in such a bad condition. Once outside of the College, the Aundairian Mage-Knights take custody of the prisoners and transport them to House Jorasco care. You notice that the Mage-Knights are also binding all of the prisoners, with the exception of the Headmaster, because they cannot be sure whether or not they can trust the prisoners.

The Mage-Knights also take custody of Ryol and the doppleganger. They inform you that they will question them and Headmaster Larin, once he has recovered, to figure out exactly what had happened at the College.

Ariana finds Joshua in the dungeon while the party is clearing out prisoners. He is found in a seperate room on his own, and he is in a suspended animation enveloped inside a small, purple haze that hovers a few inches in every direction from his body.

Alimov:

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You detect that the dagger, stone, and the book detect as magic. The book, upon closer inspection, is a wizard's spellbook.

[Ionbound]

Ariana examines the haze carefully from a mundane perspective, and then casts Detect Magic to observe it with a magical lens.

Spoiler: OOC

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Casting Detect Magic and making a Knowledge (Arcana) check to ID this stuff (1d20+8)[19]

[RandomWombat]

Stowing the ring and book carefully in his pack, Wallel notes to have Arianna and Cadeyrn examine it once they are in a more private setting. The dagger seemed to have expended its charge, but he took that as well in case someone could still identify it. It did occur to him that perhaps it was coated in another magical poison, rather than being enchanted itself. He cast Detect Poison next to see if there were any traces left on the blade.

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DC20 Wisdom check to determine type of poison if present: (1d20+2)[12]

[Samshiir]

Alimov:

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You detect no poison on the dagger.

Ariana:

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You detect magic from the exterior of the sphere itself, but nothing from the core. With this knowledge, you deduce that the sphere is a personal 'pocket plane' build for Joshua. It would prevent Cadeyrn from detecting Johsua on this plane of existance.

[Ionbound]

Ariana frowns upon her examination of the haze as she realizes it's a pocket dimension, and then tries to hook Joshua with her bow and pull him out of the haze.

Spoiler: OOC

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Please don't kill Joshua, please don't kill Joshua...It's going to kill him, isn't it...

[Samshiir]

Ariana manages to pull Joshua out of the pocket plane that contained him. She cradles catches him and checks the fox over to find that he is unharmed. Joshua immediately jumps out of Ariana's arms and begins searching for Cadeyrn.

Between Velka's healing and the sudden reappearance of Joshua's presence, Cadeyrn regains consciousness.

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn slowly stood up, using Velka's proffered hand to steady himself. He finally felt Joshua's presence, fresh tears coming down his face as that sense returned to him.

"Joshua!!!! Where are you?!!" he cried out.

Hearing his friend's voice, Joshua immediately began running through the dungeon. When the fox saw Cadeyrn, he immediately jumped into the sorcerer's arms. Cadeyrn broke down, fresh tears streaming down his face, quiet sobs racking the young man.

Joshua...my good friend..." Cadeyrn held the fox in his arms closely, the fox whimpering and licking his face before snuggling close. Don't ever leave me alone again...I need you so much..."

It was several minutes before Cadeyrn was able to calm down enough to begin walking towards the stairs, slowly climbing then before following one of the guards helping to lead everyone out. Velka walked alongside Cadeyrn the whole time, keeping the guards from seizing him as well as guiding the young man outside.

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I apologize for taking control of your character, Tauros, but Cadeyrn wouldn't have known which way to go, and it seems likely that Velka would do such a thing. The problem is that I don't know if I could have waited for you to post those things just for Cadeyrn to go outside. I hope this doesn't bother you.

[Ionbound]

Ariana smiles at Caderyn's joy, but wordlessly follows the Mage-Knights with the intent to interrogate the doppelganger.

[RandomWombat]

Seeing as everyone else seemed to have forgotten about her, Wallel began searching for Emerald. He wasn't sure how far she'd have run, so he checked around the Mage's Guild first. If she was not there, he would go back to the inn to look for her.

[Samshiir]

Killian and Ariana go along with the guards to escort the ex-prisoners, the Headmaster, the doppleganger, and Ryol to the Mage-Knight headquarters. The ex-prisoners and the Headmaster are given food and magical healing to help them recover, while the doppleganger and Ryol are locked away.

The Mage-Knight Captain informs you that you may speak with the doppleganger and Ryol as you see fit.



There is no sign of Emerald near the College, so Alimov decides to return to the inn with Velka and Cadeyrn. Once there, the group finds Baranin D'Orien sitting at a table.

"Emerald is safe up in her room." he says, "But she expressed very effectively that she does not wish to be disturbed right now. She was scared and panicked for some reason..."

Then he sees Cadeyrn. "By the Flame, what happened to him?" He immediately stands up and approaches in attempt to give a helping hand.

[RandomWombat]

Wallel makes a motion of handcuffs with his wrists, then gestures in Cadeyrn's direction to indicate he had been captured. He motions for eating food from a bowl - Cadeyrn would need to eat and rest to recover from his physical injuries. The mental injuries would be somewhat more difficult.

Emerald did not want to be disturbed, but Wallel went to stand guard outside the door to her room. The group was scattered and panicked right now, it would be an ideal time for another assassination attempt.

[Ionbound]

Ariana says to Killian, "We should interrogate both prisoners separately, and at the same time. It's a very effective psychological trick to make them think their partner gave something up, even if they didn't."

[AttilaTheGeek]

I shrug, arms wide, and shake my head at Ariana. "Ariana, I'm a paladin of the Goddess of Community and the Hearth. Do I look like I know advanced interrogation techniques? Just tell me what to do and I'll follow your lead."

[taurosking]

Velka tries to explain [to Baranin] what happened to Caderyn, but he doesnt know all of the details. He leaves the part about the doppleganger for Caderyn to explain, if he chooses to. Velka walks to the bar and orders a mug of beer and 2 heaping plates of food for Caderyn, and a glass of tea and a small plate of food for himself.

[Ionbound]

Ariana nods and says to Killian, "Take Ryol into a different cell and, well, ask him questions. Keep him off his balance, and make him feel like he has nothing to lose by talking to us. At the same time, I'll be talking to the doppelganger."

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn finally looked up, having walked to the inn in a daze.

"I was mentally tortured by Ryol O'Mordha. He was a childhood rival of mine, a sorcerer of equal strength to my own...

At his Cadeyrn paused before sighing.

"As much as I wish him to be hurt for what he did to me, that won't solve anything. He hates me because of what I did to his dog when I was a teenager...I killed it. I did so in revenge for him deafening my left ear. Surprisingly my right ear hears very well, but that's beside the point...interrogate him if you must, but don't torture him. Perhaps he will forgive me if we show him mercy..."

Cadeyrn sighed again. "I honestly don't know, he may need punishment, he might not. Right now I don't want to talk to him."

Cadeyrn then sat down at a table, pain in his eyes and his shoulders sagging.

[Samshiir]

Killian enters a room with a Mage-Knight guard to interrogate Ryol. The imprisoned man paces back and forth across the room, causing the Mage-Knight to slowly and constantly shift his eyes back and forth to keep watch of him. To Ryol, it was a game to force the guard to inconveniently move his eyes so much.

Ariana enters a room with a Mage-Knight guard to interrogate the doppleganger. The creature is sitting directly in the center of the room, cross-legged with his arms folded. He is staring at the floor, and is obviously deep in thought.



Alimov: As you sit outside Emerald's room, you realize that she is inside crying.