Inamorata IC

[Writtensanity]

Spoiler: God dammit rolls

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(1d20+13)[23]

Avarice bit her tongue for a moment, finding herself unable to call upon the forces of diplomacy because a force beyond herself couldn't type properly.

[3SecondCultist]

The accountant frowns. "Of course I brought it to the Queen's attention. The irregularity is clear: somebody involved in this country's arcane research program has been spending a great deal of money. More so than the historical trends. No orders for extra requisitions or additional funding have come across my desk in this time, which begs the question of where this money came from in the first place. I've been running the numbers, and they didn't come from Aundair's coffers."

Loping across the room, the half giant picks up a pair of spectacles from the desk that are almost as wide as either of your faces. It gives his own features a strange sense of regality. "With the presentation of my findings to the court in three days, I have been incredibly busy meeting with my staff. No doubt, the Queen has given you an assignment regarding these files. You likely have a few leads already, knowing her methods." He motions at the papers with a casual wave - but his eyes never leave yours. "Those are a copy, but they are not to be shared with the public. Do you understand?"

To the best of your knowledge, he isn't lying to you, but you can tell that he's leaving something out of all of this.

[GameOfChampions]

Looking at Avarice and rolling his eyes at the accountants lack of co-operation he takes a couple quick steps up into the accountants space and starts speaking to him for the first time in a low threatening growl "Look how many times are we going to go through this. Tell us EVERYTHING you know and we will be perfectly nice but if you keep trying to deceive us or withhold information we need." Pausing for a second he raises his right hand and it starts to glow a dark grey with wisps of fog coming off of it and Tybalt starts smiling, however it doesn't reach his eyes. Then he continues "If you keep trying to get in our way then I will fill you with unbelievable pain, and as an added bonus you will suddenly find out you are sterile or come down with some uncomfortable sicknesses. This option is enjoyable for me but I think you should just tell us everything."

Spoiler

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[/roll]1d20+5[roll]

[GameOfChampions]

Spoiler

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Rolls attempt #2

[roll0]

[Writtensanity]

Avarice clicked her tongue in the ensuing silence. Letting the half giant think over the things that were just said to him. "I would reassure you," Avarice finally chirps up, "but I'm pretty sure he was serious about the sterile thing."

Though she didn't show it, inside she was smirking, it had been a while since Tybalt had gotten to go off on someone, and the darker side of him was at least entertainingly creative. Even if it wasn't the most tatical.

"Honestly, I'm a good character, but he's a good judge of character. I'm going to defer to him on whether we should be trusting you," she shrugs at him, "you know, whole truth and nothing but the truth kinda stuff."

[3SecondCultist]

The half-giant's frown deepens as Tybalt gets into his personal space. Far from flinching from his approach, he stands firm. At this level of proximity, the height disparity is even more pronounced, and you can see his eyes glow with a silver sheen as he prepares his own countermeasures.

"I suggest you back off. Now. I am acting in accordance with the highest authority, and have had enough interference for the time being. Who do you think you are, walking in here and threatening me? Clearly, your elders never taught you any manners." You can see faint traces of a sneer on his features, as though he has already assessed the two of you and found you wanting.

[Writtensanity]

Avarice moved slowly, putting herself between the goliath of a man and Tybalt, staring nearly striaght up at him. She licked her lips, tongue coloured bright green by the acid that she was letting drip in her mouth for effect, "You might be acting with the highest authority, but keeping **** from us isn't in the highest interest of the crown. We are willing to fight for it, and if you're keeping things from us that we need to know, we need to fight you" she ends with a shrug, licking the droplets of acid off her lips as she does, "it's not that we want to, it's that this is too important to waste time bickering about".

Tybalt cut in, "Are you sure you don't want me to make him start rolling on the floor, bleeding from the eyes?"

"I think we're good sweetie," Avarice doesn't take her eyes off the man as she says this, keeping her head craned back to get as close to eye contact as she can, "If we're already fighting people on the inside, I don't think it's a good idea to hurt our friends."

She finally takes a step back, moving Tybalt as she does so that they are an arms length away from the man, "Now," she holds out a hand, "Let's help each other catch a maniac."

Spoiler: BEING DIPLOMATIC

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[roll]1d20+2+13+20[/roll]

[Writtensanity]

Well I am still bad at this, sorry for breaking the narrative everyone!

Spoiler: BEING DIPLOMATIC

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(1d20+35)[52]

[3SecondCultist]

The half-giant's eyes seem to fade, as the latent divine energies in Tybalt's spell, channeled through Avarice's words bend the laws of the universe and he actually manages a smile now. Reaching out, his hand completely envelops those of the sorceress.

"My apologies, I wasn't thinking clearly. I will tell you what I know. Three days ago, I was approached by a messenger. Wouldn't give me his name, but he delivered me a package." Stepping suddenly away for a moment, he pulls out a key from his belt and unlocks one of the drawers at his desk. He places a fairly nondescript wooden box atop the desk surface, unclipping the latches to let you see what's inside.

The entirety of the container is filled with bars of pure platinum.

"A bribe, obviously. I've counted them out - there are fifty in there - each worth over a thousand gold pieces on their own. They haven't been stamped or sealed yet, which tells me that they came directly from the manufacturer. I think the implication was that, due to my position here in Fairhold, I could direct this income wherever I pleased. The messenger told me all I needed to do was wait for further instructions. He also warned me that I was being monitored, so I couldn't flee before I was called on to do... whatever it is they want of me. So far, I haven't been asked to do anything beyond my official duties as Royal Treasurer." Nevertheless, the bespectacled half-giant looks worried. "I'm sure the Queen already knows about this. In fact, I'm half-convinced this is a test of loyalty on her part. I was on my way to tell her this morning, right after this appointment in fact."

He looks at the two of you for a moment, as though appraising you for the first time. In fact, he looks somewhat... sheepish. "I'm sorry, I never actually gave you my name, did I? It's Eranthus."

[GameOfChampions]

Tybalt approaches the box of platinum bars while still casting a slightly wary glance at Eranthus. "Well if it's OK then I'm going to check the bars for magic and see if there are any spells on them." Focusing on the bars his eyes flash a bright red as he looks at the bars and around the room.

After he finishes his inspection he looks at Avarice and the half-giant "Well everything seems to be pointing towards the Queens brother Adal. She said he would be one of the only people in the country that have the political capital to pull off something like this and as Eranthus just said" At this point Tybalt gives a nod to the large accountant "Adal seems to be mysteriously producing huge sums of money for his projects and then shortly before you make your presentation about the suspicious money you get large a box of platinum."

He shrugs "I really think we should look into this guy more."

Spoiler

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He uses detect magic and looks at the box and then scans the rest of the room.

[GameOfChampions]

Caster level Check

Spoiler: CL Check

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(1d20+2)[3]

[GameOfChampions]

Tybalt curses as his spell fizzles and tries again.

Spoiler

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Cast detect magic again. (1d20+2)[18]

[3SecondCultist]

Eranthus stares at the two of you for a moment, as though what you've said has actually put him off balance.

Adal, you say? He would have the reach to pull off something like this. But why send an obvious bribe my way? It only serves to narrow the suspect pool, and ultimately make him look more culpable."

After a few magical scans of the platinum, you discover a hidden magical signature on a few of the bars. It's definitely illusory in nature, although it would require an arcane mind to divine the spell's exact purpose.

[Writtensanity]

"Oh and lo-behold we weren't just given a bunch of bars of free platinum. Shame, I would have loved a new dress."

Avarice held her hand towards the platinum box, it flashed a bright green before a gout of acid-like energy shot from her hand. Wrapping around the bars and breaking the illusions on them, she turns towards the half-giant, "Don't worry, I'm just dispeling the magic, everything I do looks a little acid-y."

Spoiler: OOC

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Casting Dispel Magic on the bars.

[Writtensanity]

Spoiler: Rolls God dammit

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Rolling for Dispel Magic
(1d20+8)[23]

[3SecondCultist]

As the residual magic around the bars begins to fade, you can make out what look like characters on several of the pieces of platinum. The magical lettering glows a faint blue, and persists to the naked eye as both of your magical energies together manage to leave it open to the naked eye. Laying them out, you can see that exactly twenty of the bars - just under half - carry the same magical signature. Tracing them out, you can see the letters 'J', 'E', 'B', 'T', 'N', and 'E' on them.

For his part, the giant just seems confused. "Can somebody tell me what this means? I thought I was getting a bribe, but from the looks of it, somebody was trying to send me a message."

[Writtensanity]

"You know, I've never been on for riddles." Avarice takes a step back from the bars, looking over the message. The gnomes of Zilargo couldn't have figured out the gears that were turning in her head. unfortunatley for Avarice, neither could she, "Monks never really appreciated me for my wisdom."

She turns to Tybalt, looking him over, "The more worrying part here is that they weren't making this message easy for you" she nods at the half giant, "to read, as much as they were making it easy for US to read," she motions to the group, "maybe it's just coincidence, but they definitely knew that you would have someon else to dispel the magic for you."

She sighs, finally taking a breath, "Tybalt, be a dear and solve the message."

[GameOfChampions]

Tybalt just rolls his eyes at Avarice "I guess but don't expect any miracles here, at the end of my stay at the monastery I was a less then diligent disciple. Instead of training my mind at the monastery like a good little monk I was how would you say it... enjoying the delights of worldly pleasures." He raises an eyebrow at Avarice.

He walks over and studies the bars and tries rearranging them in different orders to see if anything pops out at him. "Give a couple minutes and I'll see if anything pops out at me. If not we can come back here tomorrow with a whole new batch of spells to try again."

Spoiler

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(1d20+1)[7]

[Writtensanity]

"Don't go blaming me for your lack of discipline. I'm not the one who made the choice to run away, I just invited you." Avarice mubles to herself, looking over Tybalt's shoudler to get a look at his possible solutions.

Spoiler: Rolling

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(1d20+1)[10]

[Writtensanity]

"Alright, so riddles aren't our speciality. So what? Got anything big guy?"

[3SecondCultist]

Upon further examination of the puzzle, Eranthus' eyes light up with sudden comprehension.

"I may be wrong, but this seems to be a letter-substitution code. Each of the characters represents something else." He pulls out a piece of parchment and a quill, jotting down a few possibilities while consulting one of the bars to make sure his estimates are on point. After a minute or so, he turns to you with a superior smile.

On the parchment is written the word 'WROGAR'.

Spoiler

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Int check: (1d20+6)[16]

[GameOfChampions]

"Wait I know this! The head monk taught me this when i was still in lessons." Tybalt wracks his mind to try and remember What exactly it was that he had heard.

"Wrogar was one of the princes in the war. He supported the rightful heir to Galifer but made himself king of Aundair with the blessing of the Queen. He also died suspiciously i think though I'm not sure on that last bit."

Spoiler: Knowledge. Do I have it?

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Local
(1d20+1)[12]
History
(1d20+1)[2]

[Writtensanity]

"So then," Avarice began, after hearing about Wrogar for the first time through her husband's half-remembered comments, "he's someone important. Royal, he has a house somewhere, probably big, like a whole castle or something. Keep? I don't know if keep would be the word but at the same time I didn't know Wrogar was a word."

She looks down at the floor for a second and then begins to pace, "Well I mean, it's not, it's a name, but my point stands. Anyways, we get to the keep, find the person who was looking for Eranthus, probably fall right into their trap. I burn everything down with acid as Tybalt tries despratley to keep me alive, he probably flays someone with his mind, but that part is neither here nor there."

Avarice moves to the door, "Then we pull whoever threw us into the trap back by their legs, and get them back to the keep so that they can learn what acid does to your eyes," She turns back to Eranthus, "I know I seem obsessed with acid, but it's becuase it's the only kind of spell I can cast at the moment," she grabs the door handle, "so, Tybalt, Eranthus, you coming?"

Before waiting for a response Avarice opens the door and takes her first step out of the room. Right before she exits, her voice takes a serious tone, "and if you're listening Adal, you'd better hope your innocent."

Spoiler: Rolling to seem like a badass

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[roll]1d20+7[/roll]

[3SecondCultist]

After a long pause, Eranthus nods. The half-giant seems to have come to a decision.

"I believe you are right. The evidence is all pointing to Fort Wrogar, which worries me." He glances over at Tybalt once, before continuing. "If this is all some elaborate trap, it was certainly an expensive one. And if this platinum is tagged, then why use it at all? Much more convenient to use an alloy of some kind, using a cheaper metal like tin or even silver. Too many things don't add up here. I will delegate my duties to my assistants until our return to the capital. I will uncover whoever is behind this."

He moves to leave, and pauses. A sly grin spreads across his face.

"And I have a plan that I believe will get us there unnoticed."

---

Although the sun set less than an hour ago, the Aundairian hills are already awash with the inky colors that herald the coming of night. The purple radiant corona that saw the sun's departure is all but gone now, leaving the glimmering band of Eberron's twelve moons and the seemingly infinite stars beyond. Here and there, you can make out the pinpricks of light that represent a wayward village or town in the countryside. Fairhaven is far behind you now. Everything looks so small.

Of course, from six thousand feet up, everything is bound to change in perspective somewhat.

At the airship's bow banister, Eranthus stands tall, surveying the landscape beneath you. The psion's mood has picked up since leaving the sights and smells of the city, his giant heritage no doubt embracing the chance to be outdoors. Not to mention, his plan seems to be working so far. Once you had left his office, the half-giant brought you to the docking tower. He informed you of a privately chartered airship that was regularly used by the Queen's 'diplomatic staff' in a standing agreement with House Lyrandar. A newer model, it uses air instead of fire elementals - not quite as flashy, but less temperamental and a good deal easier to conceal for secret night-time raids on nearby forts. Eranthus explained that the roads around Fort Wrogar are always heavily patrolled, and by dropping into the facility, you will be bypassing most of its outer defenses.

The trip has taken most of the afternoon, and the crew have largely kept to themselves, leaving the two of you alone. They have given the two of you a shared bunk in the passenger's quarters, which isn't quite as nice as the one in Fairhold but given the circumstances is still fairly luxurious. And both of you have recieved a life ring: a minor magical item, it will activate a feather fall effect as a one-time boon to survive your drop. You can see Eranthus clasping his own, as the lights of Fort Wrogar come into view.

"Are you almost ready? We'll be ascending into that cloud bank up there. Jump in two minutes."

[Writtensanity]

"Oh, boy..." Avarice trailed off as she looked over the edge of the airship, wind whipping her hair enough to inspire her to shorten it. She had been on her fiar share of airships back and fourth to the Arcanix, usually when she got bored of the lightning rail, but usually she had planned to stay on top of them.

She had already cast mage armor on both she and Tybalt several minutes ago, preparing for the fight that was almost assuredly waiting below. There were two reasons she was sure about it, the first was that a trap was almost definite when you needed to take a stealth ship somewhere. The second was that she had yet to have an adventure that didn't have an entire fight for the first day, it would be really out of pace to have it be so.

She grasped the charm in her hand tightly, hoping and praying that the caster who had made it wasn't one of the many hacks she had seen walk though the walls of the Arcanix calling themselves 'Artificers'. If she was going to die, it was going to be in a blaze of glory, or acidic pool of glory, knowing her.

She turned to Tybalt and held him close for a moment, before walking over to the railing of the ship and climbing up onto it. One foot firmly on the deck and the other on the railing. She flashed her eyes green for style points, "Let's kick some ass."

[GameOfChampions]

Just before Avarice pulls away from their embrace he pulls her closer "Can't forget this. Your blind as a bat so I prepared this this handy little spell." Tyablt puts pointer finger and his middle finger over her eyes and chants a few words under his breath. As she opens her eyes they glow a cat like green for a second before reverting to their normal color.

As he follows her to the railing he stares down at the massive drop awaiting them and takes several deep breathes as one thought dominates his mind 'pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno'.

Taking one last deep breathe he grabs Avarice, holds her close and jumps off while screaming incoherently and holding onto his wife.

Spoiler: Spell

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Cast Ebon eyes on Avarice for 90 min

[3SecondCultist]

Matching your respective grin and expression of abject terror with a stoic nod, the half-giant psion steps off the bow of the airship after you. His body plummets through the evening air, quickly catching up with your own descent. Without saying a word, he begins to angle his fall, and as the clouds part, you can see Fort Wrogar spread out beneath you like a map.

The outer curtain wall spans for several miles, leaving a large enclosed area within. There are the lights of patrols at regular intervals, and you can make out other, bulkier shapes perching on the turrets in the dark. Whatever they are, they don't need light to see. Each of the three gates through the outer perimeter gives way to a road that winds inward, past the stables and warehouses, farm yards and wells. It is more of a self-sustaining community than a fortress. At least, until you turn your attention to the central compound. Two more layers of walls, each taller than the last, are built in an interlocking five-pointed star shape around a solid stone keep easily over a hundred feet tall. A series of ramps and ditches make up elaborate earthworks around the first of the compound walls, which can no doubt be flooded with men or unsavoury liquids at a moment's notice. The entire area is awash in light and noise - it will be incredibly hard to make it there unseen.

Following Eranthus' trajectory, you can see a clearing not too far from the northern edge of the outermost wall of the Fort. There are less lights in that area, and you can see several trees that will provide cover. However, as you fall you can make out small shapes soaring through the skies directly above the Fort's entire surface area. You will need to land and hide quickly, or else be seen.

[3SecondCultist]

E: (1d100)[72]
A: (1d100)[48]
T: (1d100)[77]

[GameOfChampions]

Tybalt takes a couple deep breaths and tries to calm himself as they fall through the sky. 'Get a grip on yourself man! I secretly travel highly forbidden ethereal planes of a gods mind, I'm an experienced spy now sponsored by the Queen, and I'm married! I will not be afraid of falling through the sky.'

Using his breathing meditations, which are usually reserved for his return from his trips to godly minds where he needs to calm down or murder something, he calms down and watches the castle come closer and closer.

[Writtensanity]

Inches from slapping her husband, Avarice was glad to watch him calm down. After being as nervous as she had been for the fall, it was surprisingly calming to fall when there was such a far seperataton between you are the ground. As some travelling bard had told her in a bar, it's not the fall that kills you, it's the landing.

For that part they had the little charms, one-time use. Anytime something is made to break after a single use it really felt like it was less likely to work the first time. One of the two of them splatters on the ground and Euanthus goes, "Oh ****, I guess I must have used that one last air raid."

A shriek pierces the sky and one of the birds changes it's trajectory, Avarice can't tell whether they have already been seen, of if it was just making a turn for the hell of it, but it didn't really matter, either way it wasn't good.

She attempted to turn herself in mid air for offensive action, but couldn't manage to, so she instead opted to project a bright light on a different path from them, hopefully bright enough to distract the bird so they could hide after landing.

Spoiler: OOC

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Casting Dancing Lights near the birdy,