Shadow of the Crimson Sun

[Frivolous]

Alton nods. "Take off the belt and give it to me."

If and when Lanx hands him the magic belt, Alton hands him the magic boots. "Put these on and do jump around, walk around, stuff like that. Do they feel any different?"

[jedipotter]

Lanx Feysmoke "The boots sure do fit nice. They make my feet feel kinda light. Kinda feel like I can jump"

Lanx jumps up two feet and then lands in the same spot.

[Frivolous]

Still applying the same flatness to his tone of voice and demeanor, Alton says, "Okay. Take them off and give them to me."

He tenses slightly, knowing he'll have to beat Lanx senseless if he does not do as he is told. But that is why he picked a total loser as his test subject; to make sure that, no matter what advantage the magic gave, he'd be able to beat him senseless anyway.

He does not intend to have Lanx test the club. Alton has no desire to be beaten by a potentially useful magic club the night before he fights for his life against undead.

[Frivolous]

Spoiler: OOC

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Gah, I feel so stupid.

Sorry, but I completely misremembered the magic armband as being a magic belt. Would it be all right to retcon all recent references to a magic belt so they are instead referring to a magic armband?

Very sorry for the mixup. I don't know why I was thinking of a belt.

[jedipotter]

Lanx Feysmoke takes off the boots and gives them back "So...um...what exactly are we doing? "

Spoiler: ooc

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Yea, it's an armband...

[Frivolous]

Alton tries to look casual as he accepts the boots back. He says in a flat voice, "You're too innocent to understand, but I like to make other people wear leather for me."

"As I promised, I will do my best to protect you for the next week. Don't make a big deal of it, but if anyone bothers you, tell 'em to talk to the Maggot."

"Now...would you like me to help take care of your injuries now? You'll feel better tomorrow if I start now."

Spoiler: Actions

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If Lanx accepts, give him long-term care as per the Heal skill.

Spoiler: OOC

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Thanks for tolerating my flagrant stupidity. I think I thought 'belt' because I went belt shopping a few weeks ago. Sigh.

[jedipotter]

Lanx Feysmoke "Thanks. Your kinda, different. But your sure the nicest person here I've met. '' He lays down so you can get to his wounds...

Spoiler: ooc

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Ah, yes, I remember going ''belt shopping''...it was a couple years ago...maybe 2005? I remember the old belt broke, I walked into a store, picked up the new belt, paid for it and walked out.....it was a long five minutes.

[Frivolous]

Alton gives Lanx the treatment he needs to get better more quickly and surely. Then he sends him on his way and, in private, puts on the boots, which do not seem to be cursed after all. He jumps around a bit, trying to jump as high as possible.

After a bit of thought, he also puts on the armband, since it does not seem to be cursed, either.

Spoiler: Actions

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Put on the boots. Jump as high as possible.

Spoiler: OOC

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The belt shopping was not a problem. It was the accompanying and preceding pants shopping that I found really tedious. Took forever.

[jedipotter]

The boots seem to have a different effect on Maggot, his jump as no strength put into it, but the jump is very dexterous and he lands on his feet no problem. The armband seems to have no effect.

With the evening matches over, all quite boring green ones, the arena gets very quiet.

[Frivolous]

Alton ponders, then takes his new magical boots off and puts them in his pack and uses them as a pillow, just as he did his ordinary, non-magical boots. It would not do to give anyone the impression these boots were different.

He drinks a lot of well-watered wine so he wakes up early again the next morning, then he goes to sleep.

[jedipotter]

The night passes quiet enough.....

The morning is quiet enough......five dead halflings are carried out in bags. They don't seem to have any wounds but are quite dead.

Lanx Feysmoke "I heard them say they were killed last night, some time. Some one smothered them. very quiet like."

[Frivolous]

As soon as he wakes up before dawn, Alton pees, then prays for his spells for the day. Then he puts on his gear, including the magic armband, the magic boots, and the magic club.

Alton says in a flat voice, "Shocking."] He does not sound shocked, though.

"Maybe someone acted preemptively to kill any locksmiths. Prevent any further escapes."

He watches the bodies to see where they are carried. Out of the arena, perhaps, where he cannot go, or to some room in the arena where he can go?

Spoiler: Actions

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As mentioned before, spells are:

0: Detect Magic x2, Purify Food and Drink.
1: Bless, Magic Weapon, Shield of Faith

Equip Alton with all recently acquired magic items.

[jedipotter]

The bodies are carried out one of the locks out of the arena.

Soon enough a goblin, dressed all in black robed and a small wooden staff, walks over nearby "Human Maggot? Human Maggot! Ah, I be seeing you. " The goblin walks over to you. "you are human called Maggot, yes?" He asks looking up.

"I be Nradet DarkBrain of Nargtakil. I seek you."

[Frivolous]

Alton says to the goblin in black, flatly, "What about, Nradet Darkbrain of Nargtakil?"

The nomenclature seems familiar, like how a cleric would announce himself. Alton looks for a sign that the goblin is a cleric or shaman or other divine caster. He looks for other clues as to the goblin's status or intentions.

He also tries to remember if there is a god called Nargtakil.

Spoiler: Actions

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Following rolls are focused on Nradet and on the possible god Nargtakil.

Spot: (1d20+4)[6]
Sense Motive: (1d20+2)[13]
Knowledge (Religion): (1d20+5)[23]

[jedipotter]

Nradet DarkBrain "You will be fighting a champion skeleton later to day. Big fight, lots of bets, and lots of money to be made. Everyone thinks you and the knight will loose, so they bet that way. That how humans are, boring. But me goblin and think better. How about we make you win? Then my bet for you makes lots of money!"

Spoiler: Knowledge

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You don't spot anything, and you sense the goblin may ''want something''.

Religion: Just about all clerics will introduce themselves as ''of the god/goddess's name'', as they are proud of their faith and want everyone to know.

Nargtakil is the goblin god of magic. It is well known that they are searching for several ancient lost goblin magic items, that if found could save the goblin race and allow them to remake the world so goblins would rule.

[Frivolous]

Alton nods curtly. "And what do you want me to do so you win your bet?"

He suspects this has something to do with betraying the paladin.

[jedipotter]

Nradet DarkBrain "Easy. Win fight. Destroy the skeleton. Everyone that bets against you looses, and I win. And you win too. Win win." He smiles big and shows of his green and yellow crooked teeth,

[Frivolous]

Alton still senses some kind of trick, though on whom he is not certain. Zolis Marualdi had helped him without visible price, but he figured that was a one-time fluke. Could it be this strange goblin was going to make it two times?

"So....how do you propose to help me, Nradet?"

[jedipotter]

Nradet DarkBrain pulls out three small clay jars and holds them up. "Magic oils. Just rub on your skin. This first one gives you the strength of a bear and the second one charges up your life force. The third one makes you invisible to undead, but only undead. Just rub them on your skin before the fight. You win the fight!"

[Frivolous]

Alton accepts the oils from Nradet. He says in a flat voice, "Sure."

He has no intention of rubbing strange and potentially cursed oils on his skin, oils given to him by a strange and eccentric goblin.

"What does charges up my life force mean?" he asks suspiciously.

[jedipotter]

Nradet DarkBrain "It's one of my favorite magicks, I use it all the time. It flares up your life force...like when you blow win on hot coals. Just for a bit though. Then if you get hit, say a skeletons claws your guts out, the wound comes out of your inflated life force first. Then when the magic fades, if your not hurt too bad, you have no wound...not even a scar."

[Frivolous]

Alton says, "Nice. Thank you, Nradet."

Then he says, "Bye." And he walks away.

As he tries to find a private spot to examine the oils, he murmurs to Aluendale, "I guess you can't tell if he really has got a bet on me and Astor?"

[jedipotter]

Nradet DarkBrain nods and walks away.


Aluendale Maendellyn "I can't tell, but you could always ask a bookie. A small bribe can get that information. Assuming you can trust anything they say, of course.

Though betting on the underbug is a good trick. I'm sure most will think the skeleton will make short work of the two of you. So that puts the betting against you. "

[Frivolous]

Alton looks frustrated. "Where do I find a bookie? Won't they be working -outside- the arena?"

"I don't know if a bookie would be all that useful anyway. Nradet might have a bet on me to win, but he might also have a bet on the skeleton to win. And of course there are private bets."

Once alone, he casts Detect Magic and examines all the supposedly magical goods he does not understand yet.

Spoiler: Actions

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single arm band: Spellcraft: (1d20+3)[16]
supposed oil of bear's strength: Spellcraft: (1d20+3)[23]
supposed oil of flaring life force: Spellcraft: (1d20+3)[20]
supposed oil of hide from undead: Spellcraft: (1d20+3)[21]

[jedipotter]

Aluendale Maendellyn "Slaves don't risk betting with the bookies much, so you won't find many down here. Slaves go for black hand bets, and they might be worse. But like I mentioned before, you can pay a guard or worker to ask."

Spoiler: ooc

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Armband glows with transmutation magic
Oil of bears strength glows with transmutation magic
Oil of false life glows with necromancy
Oil of invisibility to undead glows with abjuration

[Frivolous]

Alton tilts his head. "Interesting. The oils do have the properties they might have had if they did as Nradet promised."

He goes to seek out the chatty guard. "Hey, can I ask if you know what are the odds of me and the dung beetle against the champion skeleton?"

[jedipotter]

Llaars Nirum "Oh, they are pretty good. Ah, well you know depends. Last I heard they were all the way at a 20 to 1 long shot. They expect the skeleton to win. Makes me wish I had some coin to bet with, but that is the way the sand blows."

[Frivolous]

Alton says, "Could you do me a favor? I need to know whether if a goblin called Nradet Darkbrain has bet on me to win."

Alton braces himself for the chatty guard to ask something in return.

[jedipotter]

Llaars Nirum "Well, sure, I could ask. But I doubt anyone would tell me anything. You know, unless I had some coins to loosen their tongue. But I don't even have a copper coin. And it would be hard to talk to a bookie about bets, you know, without placing a bet myself. But I don't have the money to do any of that. " He looks over at you with his best sad puppy eyes.

"But if I had some coin, I could make a bet and get the answer to your question...."

[Frivolous]

Alton says, "I don't have any coin, either. Just store credit. Would that count?"