[IC] The Red Desert of Sapa Shara Shanta

[MrUberGr]

Erevan follows Logan to the merchant dragging his horse behind him. We'll need an amount of that. Is there any chance you got anything else besides this dried salty meat? I also need a length of rope, some sticks of chalk, flint and steel and a bedroll. My friends and I will bug plenty of stuff as you have ntoiced. Is there any chance of getting a better price?

As the dwarf starts pulling stuff out and setting them on the counter he realizes he doesn't have a backpack to put everything. "I'll be back in a sec. Logan, could you hold the horse for me for a bit, till I get back? Not that it's going to go anywhere at it's condition" he says being worried about the trusted horse that managed to get him here.

Spoiler

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Diplomacy roll: 14 (if you can have -1 to a skil, then it's 13. Not sure about that)

[Felhammer]

The merchant gathers everything Erevan said he wanted, "Murat haz what uz iz looking for. Murat zell at ten perzent dizcount, no? Uz like, yez?"

[MrUberGr]

"Yes I think the discount is satisfying, what do you say Logan?

As the dwarf starts pulling stuff out and setting them on the counter Erevan realizes he doesn't have a backpack to put everything in. '"I'll be back in a sec. Logan, could you hold the horse for me for a bit, till I get back? Not that it's going to go anywhere at it's condition" he says being worried about the trusted horse that managed to get him here.

[Hat-Trick]

Miyu followed the others into the market place, intent on taking a look at Erevan's sickly horse. It didn't take that long of a look to realize the poor thing was on its last leg. As the swordmage stepped away to get a pack, Miyu went with him muttering, "I'm not quite sure how much longer that horse has. It's lucky to still be standing let alone moving around. It may be dead by morning, if not sooner." She gives it another glace over her shoulder before they get too far away from the creature. "It may be a bit uncouth, but it could possibly be of some use as extra rations or feed for the igsaur Adran's renting. That is, barring some miraculous recovery some time before tomorrow."

[MrUberGr]

Erevan's mood changed immediately. He felt terrible. The image of his dying master came to mind. " Very well... I will do what has to be done. I will take the horse outside of the city later. As for the igsaurs, I'd much rather pay." he said, stopping every other word to swallow, which made his throat even more dry than before. He hurried on wanting to finish with these menial tasks, thinking of what was to come for the stallion, who had given his life so he could be saved.

[tigerusthegreat]

"I am a machine, and I can tell this backpack is hideous." Dewey said. "I question what kind of merchant would carry such an item. I would relieve you of it for one rachma, five obols."

Spoiler

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diplomacy if needed: (1d20)[14]

[Felhammer]

He squints as he eyes Dewey, "You are a swindler and a thief! But I like you! One drachma and six obol it is."

[MrUberGr]

Erevan sees in the distance Dewey, at a stand with backpacks. He turns towards that direction. As soon as the he gets there he says: "One backpack." when the merchant tells him the price he tosses the coins, takes the backpack and heads towards the dwarf. "Add a shovel". Then he leaves his backpack, and gives a handfull of drachma to his new fellows to pay for his expenses.

He takes his horse, fills a waterskin and heads to the exit of the of the city. He then continues an hour in the desert. He starts digging a hole.

A couple of hours later he returns to the city. His sword bloodied, the waterskin empty as tribute, and heads to the fountain to see whether the rest are still there.

[tigerusthegreat]

"I will agree to your price." Dewey hands the merchant his money, taking the red backpack. "Do you know where I could locate a belt pouch?"

[LeftHandofGod]

Logan drools a little more before wiping it "Alright, I'll take the meat and a pouch full of the Jerky" He says handing the dwarf the money for the meat that was making him drool so much.

Logan holds the horse till Erevan returns for it, feeling a little guilty about purchasing meat when the mans horse is dying. But he couldn't resist it, it just looked so good. "I'm sorry about your horse Everan" Logan says bowing his head a little in respect.

[masteraleph]

Adran has followed the others out, to talk with the igsaur renter.

My good sir, I'd like to rent one of your finest female igsaurs- they're steadier than the males, and I don't much think the males would take to being gelded like horses. Also a particularly comfortable saddle. And if you've got those extra waterskins merchants sometimes mount on them, I'll take those, as well.

[Felhammer]

CORRAL

Karpos Misthotis puts his hand on Adran's shoulder, "We have plenty of females. I think Claw would serve you best. She's tame, calm and loves to have a strapping adventurer on her back! Yeah, Claw will do well by you. As for saddles, well we only have one kind - used. Each comes with two canteens of water though, so you should be set for a few days' worth of travel. Are you expecting to travel with anyone else? Just need to know how many of my boys to send with you. Don't want to lose my mares, after all.

[Hat-Trick]

Miyu blinked in confusion as Erevan started choking up and talking about 'doing what has to be done.' "Huh- What- I didn't mea-..." She sputtered as the man moved with determination, left bewildered where she stood and scratched her head. She let out a sigh and shrugged before moving to accompany Dewey while he shopped, smirking slightly as she catches the metal paladin haggling. "Who know a machine could drive such a hard bargain?" She mused aloud. In retrospect, it was a bit odd that everyone else seemed a bit under prepared. Erevan not having supplies made sense, he had to leave hastily. Dewey, however, seemed far too systematic to be lacking such essential gear.

[masteraleph]

There are six of us, I believe. I cannot claim to be any sort of leader- it's possible someone might wish to buy their igsaur, but I can't speak to that. Myself, I'd like to rent, at least for the moment.

[Felhammer]

The party gathers its supplies and rents six igsaurs. Karpos Misthotis decides to send two men with you, to guarantee his mares are not harmed, lost or stolen. Both men are tall, well built and equally well armed. Most folk would be very intimidated by such guards but adventurers like yourselves are made of sterner stuff.

As the two suns set, the third lingers in the sky. The heat plummets from well over too hot to just below hot. After you get half a league from town, the dirt path evaporates like a mirage. Your way is clear however as you had been given fairly detailed instructions by your halfling patron (at least as far as vague directions go). Most of the hilltops are narrow and lead down sheer cliffs. One false move and you will find yourselves in Hades' embrace faster than an igsaur devours a fat nathi. The two guards seem to casually guide their beasts like experienced riders however, such beasts are not the easiest to ride, especially if you do not have a bond with your mount. Dewey's mount lags behind the rest, the igsaur clearly winded by the sheer bulk it has been asked to carry. Regardless, it trudges on like a champ.

As you near a sturdily built stone bridge that crosses a thirty foot ravine, you spy a man on the other side. He does not appear to be made of flesh, or even metal. His body looks more like a mass of blackened rocks and boulders glued together in the shape of a man. He, or rather it, bears a very large fashion that rests casually against his shoulder. A single, raggedy piece of tan colored cloth drapes around the being, in a crude approximation of clothing. Its voice is deep, gravely and inhuman, "You have come to Lithos' Bidge. There is a fee to cross this bridge - ten drachma a piece."

Your eyes race up and down the landscape, there does not appear to be another way across (at least from what you can see).

"Trust me, my new friends, the next bridge is not for ten leagues... So unless you wish to scale the cliffs down, then back up, I suggest you pay."

As he says this, a goatskin sack slowly meanders in mid-air across the bridge until it comes to rest in Miyu's hand.

"Fill it up."

Spoiler: OOC

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The terrain looks like this:

Spoiler

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It is a mass of seemingly random collection of crags, gorges, ravines and sharply pointed hilltops chiseled into the landscape.

The being on the other side of the bridge looks like this:

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The bridge looks like this (ignore the surrounding terrain)

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The Doc (link in my signature) has been updated to include a map!

[MrUberGr]

Erevan looks around trying to asses the situation. He tries to recall information he may have read about the being and looks for hidden allies. Could he be so arrogant as to try to stop 8 people alone?

Spoiler

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Arcana check: Detect magic 20
Arcana Check: Monster Knowledge 21 (correct check?)
Insight check: the guards' reaction 13
Perception check: hidden beings 12

[shamgar001]

Nephili too recalls reading about these creatures in his studies.

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I'm assuming this creature is a shardmind. Shardminds are immortal creatures, so that makes this a religion check.

(1d20+10)[19]

[LeftHandofGod]

Logan tries to figure out what creature it is and if it has any weaknesses with his arcana knowledge as he assess the area for any type of advantages his group might have. There is no way he was going to pay 10 drachma just to cross a bridge just because someone he has never met says so.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Arcana knowledge = (1d20+11)[17]
Perception for terrain advantages = (1d20+6)[13]

[Hat-Trick]

Miyu looks the bag over curiously, checking for any insignias, judging weight and contents as the others think. Finding nothing interesting on or in the bag, she takes another look at the creature across the bridge. "By who's orders do you collect a toll?" She asks sternly, setting the sack down on the front of her saddle. It was a bit of a longshot, but if she could convince the stone man to stand down, it was worth a shot. Worst case scenario, they had a fight on their hands, but she was confident in her companions. Best case scenario, she could keep them from paying some stupid bandit's fine. "This Satrap doesn't take kindly to bandits and highway robbery. If you don't want to be arrested and sent to the Colosseum of Blood, I suggest you stand down." She flashed Ushushner's badge, which didn't give her any legal rights other than being able to walk freely, that didn't mean a bandit out in the Western Badlands was going to know that.

Spoiler: rolls

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(1d20+5)[21] For Bluff and a Prayer

[tigerusthegreat]

Dewey unmounts his poor dinosaur, the beast clearly relieved from the reduced weight. He attempts to discern the being honesty and real purpose, as well as recall if he has met a being like this before. "How do you expect to collect your toll from the other side of the bridge? We would have crossed it before we reach you."

Spoiler

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What would the required check/action be to push him into the ravine without a bull rush? Obviously once he's positioned on the edge.

Well, arcana sucks but (1d20)[14]
insight: (1d20+7)[19]
religion: (1d20+5)[6]

Action: move to U20 and enter full defense.

[Felhammer]

The rock man taps into his vast reservoir of psionic power and speaks inside your minds, "I have no blood, I am useless to your Sperpentfolk masters. I, unlike you slaves, owe allegiance to no man - living or tin! I am Blackboulder the Bandit Baron of the Badlands!"

Blackboulder raises his left hand and shoots streams of cackling black lightning across the battlefield, striking four heaps of unassuming rubble. The heaps begin to shake, rattle and slowly cobble themselves together into a vaguely humanoid shape! Once fully assembled, the new rock-men let out a terrifying mental screech.

"My children are born! PAY NOW OR DIE!"

[tigerusthegreat]

"I am a divine servant of Grey-Eyed Athena, we are not known for backing down from a fight." In an instant, Dewey's sword is in his hand. "I will claim this bridge if I have to slay every last one of your kind to do it." Dewey slashed out at the creature beside him, staring him down. "I dare you to fight me, little pebble, I will grind you to dust." The blow from the warforged crumbled the rockman to powder, just like his threat. "Your servants are weak, shardmind. How many will I have to kill before you surrender?"

Spoiler

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Actions:
Divine Challenge on S1
Ardent Strike on S1 Str vs AC (1d20+9)[24] damage: (1d8+5)[10]

[shamgar001]

Nephili has a eureka moment. Shardminds, creatures from the Astral Plane.

He had been hoping to find a peaceful solution, but upon hearing the shardmind announce his criminality, Nephili felt less conflicted. Fortunately, the Warforged had opened the combat.

The muscles in Nephili's face tense up as he speaks words in the dark language taught to him by his masters. The shardminds are taken aback for a moment, not commonly hearing others speaking in their native language. At the end of his incantation, the Deva pulls the rod from his belt and holds it forward. A dark purple blade of energy extends from the rod, making a crackling humming noise which sets everyone's teeth on edge. Fully armed, Nephili engages.

He charges onto the bridge, bearing down his blade on the first shardmind he sees. The creature shatters apart, and a flash of deadly right from the impact seers the one next to it.

Spoiler: Actions

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Free Action: Use Vulnerability

If I succeeded against the hard DC for the knowledge check, I gain a +4 power bonus to defenses until the end of my next turn and +4 bonus to damage.

Minor action: Draw Blade
Standard action: Charge to V19, use Resplendent Blade against S2

Attack vs. AC: (1d20+9)[23]
Hit: (1d10+5)[6] radiant damage, and S3 takes 4 radiant damage.
*EDIT* I also gain a +1 bonus to attacks until the end of my next turn, via Dire Fate.

[LeftHandofGod]

Logan's face turns to rage in a single second. The Shardmind calling him a slave reminding him for the years past brings him into an anger he had not felt in years as he shouts at him "I AM NO ONES SLAVE!". As he runs up behind Nephili and covers his hand in a purple frigid energy which goes hurling towards the final shard.

He looks up as after his attack and smiles seeing it broken "Welp that was fun" before turning the the final foe.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Movement from V24 to V20
Chill Strike attack on S4 vs. REF: (2d8+4)[19]

[MrUberGr]

"Heh, killing bandits. The first normal thing that has happened in weeks now" Erevan thinks to himself, as he moves up past his allies to face his enemies.

He summons his blade, which with a flash appears straight into his hand, and stand's infront of his last enemy. "How do you feel now that your friends are gravel?" he asks sarcastically. The next instant Blackboulder's eyes light up by an eldritch light, his mind bogled and consumed by King Elidyr's spirit. Erevan then mutters something and curses Blackboulder. He feels a chill run up hiss spine, and a dread starts taking him over. Erevan looks him in the eye letting him know his existance will soon end.

Spoiler: Actions

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Move action: Move to U17
Minor action: Swordbond
Standard action: Eyes of the Vestige 17vsWill

[Hat-Trick]

Her bluff refuted, Miyu shrugs casually and picks the bandit's sack back up before flipping over her Igsaur's head to land in front of it. She watched in amusement as the others made quick work of Blackboulder's children and moved to join them. "Good job, Boys," she praised, pulling one of her woefully underused hand axes from her belt and hurling it at the shardmind over Erevan's shoulder.

Spoiler: Attack!

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(1d20+6)[12] To attack
(2d6+4)[11] For Damage If Hit, Because Quarry

[Felhammer]

Blackboulder screeches angrily, "YOU BUTCHERED MY CHILDREN LIKE ANIMALS! Well then... I will simply have to make more!" He raises his hand up once more and jets of red lighting shoot out, this time striking the bridge. Just as with the heaps of rocks before, the bridge begins to shake and rattle. Large chunks break off and form smaller, vaguely humanoid shapes. These new rock-creatures are much smaller than the others, standing no more than four feet tall. The creatures mentally yell and screech like new born babies.

"Ha! You will not defeat this batch so easily!"

[tigerusthegreat]

"It is advisable to let me in front next time." Dewey said, raising the sword in his massive fist. "It is likely my armor and metal body are more resilient than your flesh ones." He slams his sword down hard against the stone being in front of him. He misses wide, striking the non-living parts of the bridge. "Don't think that means you are safe, stoney." He growls, setting his divine will upon the target he just missed.

Spoiler

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Standard: Ardent Strike on S5 (str vs AC) (1d20+9)[10] damage: (1d8+5)[8]
Minor: Divine Challenge on S5

[Hat-Trick]

"I wasn't really expecting more baby boulders," Miyu replies, giving her staff a graceful flourish before grasping it in both hands and bringing it down with a harsh battle cry at the monster in front of her, only to miss as it weaves aside. She clicks her tongue in frustration and whirls her staff around for a second blow, eager to prove herself after two unconnected attacks in such a short time. The third attack strikes true, slamming into the stone body in front of her with a crack, pleasantly of rock and not the wood of her staff as she brings it back with another flourish, falling into a practiced guard.

Spoiler: Damage!

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(1d8+4)[10] and (1d6)[1] for Quarry

Also +2 to AC from Shield of Blades for a total AC of 18

[shamgar001]

Nephili frowns with displeasure as more constructs form around him.

"To kill the ant colony, you might first kill the queen."

He momentarily exposes himself to danger as he moves to the close side of the bridge, and fires off two bolts of black lightning from his conjured blade at the "Baron." The bolts make contact and begin to tear his stony body apart.

Spoiler: Actions

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Move action: Move to V21
Standard action: Eldritch Blast against SM

Attack vs. Reflex: (1d20+5)[17]
Hit: (1d10+12)[15] damage.

Action Point:
Standard action: Eldritch Blast against SM

Attack vs. Reflex: (1d20+5)[23]
Hit: (1d10+12)[21] damage.