FR: Quest for the Forgotten Key IC (Sequoia)

[knewsom]

Ulryn chuckled as Ark yammered continuously. He began rummaging through a nearby trunk, tossing junky looking items over his shoulder as he went (some of which you'll have to duck to avoid getting hit by), muttering under his breath.

"Now where did I put that... I know it's in here somewhere... Ah yes, rusty gauntlets, circlet of fools, thumb gloves, aaaannnddd...."

Ulryn stood up, a large piece of what appeared to be black silk in his hands, and a big smile on his face.

"Voila!"

Blinking in confusion at the many blank faces in the room, he sighed.

"What, none of you have ever seen a portable hole before?"

Ulryn tossed the fabric against one of the walls where it stuck and became a three-foot hole. Ulryn promptly climbed in and began rummanging through an even larger amount of possesions, still calling out to the group from inside as he looked, even larger items flying out of the hole this time, and landing on the ground.

"Now, many have called me a fool for bieng such a packrat - I've never thown ANYTHING away you see, but I KNEW this stuff would come in handy sooner or later."

A mithral breastplate obviously made for a woman clanged into the pile, followed by what looked like a couple magic wands, a belt, a circlet, a stack of cloaks, and a strange box-like device which landed with a resounding thud.

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb
Watching curiously as the wizard fiddles about with the hole, Teb's eyes widen as he steps through to the other side.
Whoa! Powerful magic!
As the items land upon the floor, Teb creeps forward as he inspects the pile. His eye is drawn to the belt.

[GryffonDurime]

Chanda

Chanda smiles and approaches the hole, placing her hand through an edge gently.

"My mother had one of these in Calimshar. She kept an entire alchemical laboratory in it. Sir...did you know that extradimensional space is...uhm..." she blushes, "more than a little bit flammable? At least when alchemy is involved."

[mauslin]

Fatha

Blinking in surprise at hearing her native language, Fatha is first annoyed, and then charmed by Ark's teasing outburst. It was reassuring hearing Rashemi, even spoken badly. She responds in kind.

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"I am afraid that I am not yet accomplished enough to claim the honour of wearing the wychlaran mask.
It is my hope that, through my dajemma in foreign lands, I may gain the experience and wisdom nessessary to earn the honour of joining the hathran sisterhood.
Only upon entering the witches does one begin to wear the mask."

Fatha then turns to examine the pile of objects thrown upon the floor by Ulryn.

[knewsom]

The air inside the extradimensional space felt eerie, like a charge of static electricity. Ulryn poked his head out from the top of the hole and looked over at you from his sideways position.

"An alchemical laboratory in extradimensional space?" He frowned for a moment. "Shouldn't be too big a problem as long as you're extremely careful about what you make. If one were to say make or place a bag of holding in a portable hole, you'd be in for one heckuva mess, and were you to do so the other way around, it would be even worse!"

He swung out of the hole, nimbly for such an aged elf, and landed somewhat uneasily astride the pile of goods he pulled out of the strange apparation.

"Now now, what have we here... OK, the cloaks are for each of you to help avoid unseen eyes and move more stealthily when required. The mithral breastplate is for our paladin of the north, whose leather looks fine, but I believe she could be better protected... for our Rashemi witch I have a wand of magic missiles, for Ark I have a wand of cure light wounds, for the lovely Chanda I have this silver circlet which, if I'm guessing correctly should help you manifest your abilities more often."

Ulryn picked up a small bag from the pile, which he emptied into his hands with a gleeful smile. It was full of rings and amulets.

"A ring of protection for you each! Teb, a pair of gauntlets for you, that I think will make you even STRONGER. Ark, a belt for you, that er, must be worn underneath your clothing. Well, that's that, I suppose, unless any of you has a more specific request - I think I have a cache of basic weapons and armor here somewhere as well... But in any case, here is 20 gold apiece for miscellaneous expenditures, and here is a map that will lead you to Forest Gate."


The map he hands to Fatha.

"Oh yes! I nearly forgot." He picked up the small boxlike device that had landed with such a thud. "This is a portable fortress if you REALLY end up in a bind, you'll find a way to contact me inside. Please only use it if you MUST - this thing attracts so much attention."

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb Hokk
Blinking at the Wizard's description, Teb reaches eagerly for the gauntlets, turning them over in his hands.
"Whoa. Stronger?" Slipping his fingers into the oiled leather and shining metal, Teb clenches and unclenches his fist, seemingly entranced by the play of the light on the metal. With a sudden snapping motion, Teb clenches his fists and flexes his arms, the muscles now bulging like a sack full of canteloupes.
"Hrrooooo!" He trumpets, shifting from pose to pose. Standing once more, he punches his open fist with a loud clack of metal on metal. A broad grin covers his face, punctuated by the tusks projecting from his lower jaw. "Ha-hah! Great!" He accepts the cloak, ring and gold with somewhat lesser excitement, wrapping up the cloak and putting it away, and carefully adding the coins to his pouch. He'd have to count those later.

[Ozzy_G]

After listening intently to Fatha's explanation (you get the impression that he doesn't really understand what she's saying), he listens to Ulryn. Ark grins. Excellent! He puts the cloak on over the top of his robe, dons the ring, and puts the money in his purse. What does this belt do? He picks up the wand. Uh, thanks for the wand, but I don't think I can use it. I've never been able to cast any cure spells.

[dgray]

Svanna puts on the mithril breastplate and to her suprise it fits her perfectly. "Thank you so very much for this." she says to Ulryn. She places her leather armour in her backpack, then dons the cloak, puts on hte ring of protection and places the 20 gold also in her pack.

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb
As if fearful of accidentally breaking bones, the hulking gauntleted half-orc gingerly taps Ark on the shoulder. "Hey, Ark; what''s the wood thingy for? Writin'? Hittin' stuff?"

[Ozzy_G]

Huh? Ark looks confused. Which wooden thing?

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb
"The wooden thingy," Teb says, insistently. "The stick. The one you got in yer hand." He points at the wand.

[Ozzy_G]

Ark sighs. It's a magic stick, Teb. It does magic. But the magic only works for priests, and I'm not a priest. Although...
He turns to Svana. You're a paladin, correct? You could use this wand.

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb
Wrinkling his brow, Teb digests this piece of info. "Huhn. Wonder why it only works for priests? What do I got to be t'use these magic hands?" he indicates his gauntlets.

[Ozzy_G]

Wearing them. And not wearing a magic belt of strength.

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb
"Guh?" Clearly Ark has not carried his audience with him. Teb's expression is like a that of a boar confronted with a calculus textbook.
"Okay, wearing 'em, sure. But...Wha?"

[Ozzy_G]

Ark speaks slowly. Are - You - Wearing - A - Magic - Belt?

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb Hokk
Teb scratches his sideburns and scowls. "No, but..."

[Ozzy_G]

Then the magic gloves will work for you. All you have to do, is wear them.

[The Great Skenardo]

Teb
The hulking Teb Hokk looks down at his hands, and then lets out a booming sigh. Nothing to do but file that away in the bulging cabinet marked "Stuff that doesn't make sense."

[dgray]

"Yes i can carry that wand" Svanna Says as she takes the wand from Ark

[GryffonDurime]

Chanda

Chanda smiles and gestures thankfully before she lays the cloak across her shoulders, feeling the material thankfully. She slips the ring onto her finger, feeling protected. Finally, with a bit of suspicion, she raises the circlet to eye level, inspecting it.

"Will this really help me to...to do whatever it is I do? Do you know what it is?"

[knewsom]

Ulryn smiled at Chanda's seemingly innocent question.

"I'm afraid there's no easy answer to that question, my dear. What you do has to do with an innate understanding of the universe, on an unconscious level. You can bend reality to your wishes, but only by using the power of your mind, and you can only do so much at any given time. This circlet will allow you to hold in reserve a certain amount of power for later use. It may not have much immediate use, but eventually, I suspect it will come in handy. I confess I have practically no use for it whatsoever, for even though I have some knowledge of your powers, and even a small amount myself, I have focused my studies on the arcane."

[mauslin]

Fatha

Fatha gratefully takes the offered items, putting on the ring and cloak, and placing the wand in her skirt pocket. The map she unfurls, and looks for a place where she can put it down for everyone to look at. If she can't find one, she simply holds it out so that everyone can see it easily.
She did this all quietly, not wanting to interrupt the others' conversations.

[Ozzy_G]

So anyway, asks Ark in his high tenor voice, what does this belt do?

[knewsom]

"Well, Mister Nobele," replied Ulryn with a twinkle in his eye, "I believe you'll have to try it on and see. But I think you'll be pleased with the results."

[Ozzy_G]

Noble, not Nobele, he says patiently. Alright, do you have a room where I could put it on? It would be rude to undress in front of the ladies.

[knewsom]

Ulryn gestured to a side room which, as Ark noticed as he walked through the door, was stacked high will various newsletters, correspondance, recipes, unbound books, etc. With the door closed, the only light in the room came from a small cloudy window above head height.

[Ozzy_G]

After making sure the door is firmly closed, bolted if it can be, Ark takes off his hooded robe, his chain shirt, and his under-shirt, and dons the belt over his trousers.

[Ozzy_G]

After a few minutes, you hear a man scream. A couple of moments later, Ark sticks his head out of the door. He seems to have changed a bit, his face looks older, with a harder brow and more prominent chin. He has proper stubble now, and he speaks in a deeper voice.
Well, thankyou, I can see that this belt will be extremely useful, but how do I take it off when I don't need it?

[mauslin]

Fatha looked at Ark quizzically, trying to figure out what just happened.

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Knowlege:Arcana - (1d20+8)[15]
To see if Fatha can identify the belt.