Forgotten Fate - IC

[Xhosant]

The organization names seem vaguely familiar to Crafter, so he receives the letters with a reassuring "That task should be easy to take care of."

[boristhemaniac]

Oreston follows the man hopefully to the well.

[ilinares]

Valeris spends a second mulling over pushing the group's luck, by asking if they would be paid for the delivery service they were providing. Deciding against it - largely because courier wages wouldn't make a great difference - he too makes his way to the Well.

[thegoldenfedora]

Owen tries to stifle a laugh as the serene group begins to bicker, they must be really close . Once he pulls himself together and is able to put on a more serious face he steps forward again, offering to take one of the letters from Crafter.

"Uhm, I am a member of the Order of the Griffon and uh I would be happy to deliver that letter to Kyren."

As the group heads to the well he follows quickly, an excited spring in his step.

[warper]

The halfling jumps up and down in excitement. "Oh thank you! You don't know how much trouble you've saved me. That trip is quite long without flight you know... I suppose you would haha."

The group walks to the tree's maw stretching down. The light funneling in gives you a view of a stone well, pretty basic in appearance. Just like a farmers in design except for the thorny rose design on the side, like wine long rose wrapped all the way around it. As you close in on it you realize the well is completely dry and has no bucket system to use even if it wasn't.

"The well hasn't been used in... well, decades I believe. Eluna would remember." The man says, glancing at the scowling elf. "But the rest of us haven't been around long enough. To be honest, I wish I could tell you more but that's all I know."

Eluna continues to keep her scowl and her arms crossed. "The well was supposedly built by Lathander himself but I don't believe that. The price to pay is too high for a God who claims to be so good. Though perhaps it is ironic.

[thegoldenfedora]

Each word that the druids speak add more questions for Owen, but at the mention of price, his body stiffens.

"Uhm, what do you mean a uh, a price? What makes it ironic?"

Images of men losing their arm, or women their child flood into Owen's mind, each price to pay becoming worse than the last, his imagination unable to stop producing terrifying tolls.

[warper]

Eluna unfolds her arms her scowl slowly turns into a sickening smile before she speaks. "Blood. More than most are willing to pay." Even the other Druids look surprised and you can see a visible shiver run through the halfling.

[ilinares]

"A price in blood?" Valeris echoes. "If that is Lathander's doing, it confirms all my suspicions about gods and their ilk. But perhaps it is justified as an element of personal sacrifice? Does the petitioner shed his own blood, or that of another? One suspects it would be more in keeping with Lathander's public image to choose the former.

"And, just as pertinent: what quantity of blood do you refer to? Specifics, if you would be so kind."

[warper]

Eluna shrugs her shoulders. "Two went in, one came out. I was not inside for the details... it was a private matter."

She raises an eyebrow at Valeris and looks at all of you except Crafter. She sounds as if she's chiding a child.""As far as Lathander and his ilk, Lathander is supposedly a newer God. Many say he was not always a good God as they say. Perhaps human you should look at your own actions instead of blaming gods, especially ones you choose to worship. Your kind has started many Holy Wars but it is not the gods that wage them is it?" By the end of it her voice sounds like daggers. There is no mistaking the hate in her tone or her eyes.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Didn't think about this until after I'd posted. So it's been a while, as a reminder there have been 3 different crusades by humans against the other races. The last one was 50 years ago and as a result Gnomes are extinct.

[Xhosant]

Crafter figures, he can't be harmed by the well. So, he heads in!

[boristhemaniac]

"Is it possible that someone could have gotten to the well without you knowing about it?"
Oreston is unfazed by the druids tone, or lack of knowledge on the situation, and he asks his question in a neutral tone, waiting to see their reactions (the druids).

[warper]

As Crafter heads in, the halfling runs to catch up and bobs along side him. "So your a Warforged right? I've never seen one before. Does that mean you knew the Gnomes? What were they like?" The halfling peppers Crafter with these questions, not even pausing between them.

The man snorts, Eluna refrains from the behavior but responds to Oreston in a magniloquent manner. "Absolutely not. We know everything that goes on in this valley. People like you only come in because we allow it." The others remain silent.

[Xhosant]

"What are 'gnomes'?", asks Crafter, curious.

[boristhemaniac]

"Really. I guess the necromancer was mistaken then."
Oreston's makes his reply as he enters after his comrades.

[ilinares]

The moment for a scathing retort seeming to have passed, Valeris - quietly seething - follows into the Well.

[warper]

The halfling just stares at Crafter for a second, dumbfounded. "Well who created you? I thought Gnomes were the only ones who had the knowledge of infusing a soul into a construct."

Eluna gasps at Oreston's audacity but he's already inside before she can respond.

Inside the place is just as big as you'd expect. The walls and ceiling are mostly dirt with thick roots the size of thick oaks sticking out everywhere. The floor however is smooth stone. Like someone placed a slab underneath the tree. Nothing in the room seems to stand out apart from the well. The well itself looks tarnished, or stained, it's hard to tell. If you peer inside the well you cannot see the bottom, but unlike the outside the inside walls are clean.

As the group walks in the Druids join you, except for Eluna who stays fuming at the entrance. The man catches up to Oreston. "What's this about a necromancer?"

[Xhosant]

"My master and his customers were short, but mostly taller than you, but they were a bit like your elven friend otherwise, and many had beards too. Is that a 'gnome'?", Crafter inquires curiously.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I have no idea how to formally tell apart a halfling from a gnome, so blame the wiki. Says your average gnome is slightly bigger than your average halfling, with elven features and dwarven beards and dwellings, so...

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Gnome#Description

He peers into the well. "How does this function?", he asks.

[Daygone]

After some time of remaining silent and taking in the details of everything that has been happening and seeing what thees druids are like John cant help a shaking his head in disappointment and irritation as he fallows after his companions, "knows all in that happens in the valley... seems useless when your oblivious to the rest of the world." he mutters as he passes Eluna

[boristhemaniac]

"We killed a necromancer a little bit ago. He seemed to think that the well of thorns was corrupted. A priest named Zin wanted us to check it out."
Oreston Replies to the druids query, not bothering to explain the unimportant details or describe people that they probably had never met.
Oreston takes a quick look around before focusing on the well. He takes a particular interest in the stains.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's been a while, but if I recal we are using perception and stealth right?
Perception: (1d20+7)[15]

[thegoldenfedora]

Owen steps up to Eluna before she can reply to John "Uhm, I'm sorry that we are intruding so much in a place that you have worked so hard to protect. But uhm I wanted to say that I kind of like the idea of Lathander not having always been a good god." He blushes a little realizing what he had said probably sounded ridiculous.

"Uhm what I mean is that uh, well we have all done bad things, as a person or as a race, and in it is kinda nice knowing that despite having done bad before, it is still possible to change and become better. I uh I really like the idea that Lathander did such a thing to show us that it is possible to become better than what we are." He speaks slowly, trying to pick each word before saying it. He pauses a second not knowing if he had said too much. "Uhm, especially with the right help." His eyes immediately find the ground and he can feel his anxiety building as he worries that he hadn't said the right thing.

Amidst his inner turmoil he struggles to keep up with everything that is being said about the well. The thought of to people going into the well and only one coming out immediately made him think of Zin and his brother, wondering if maybe Zin's brother was one of those who didn't come out.

[ilinares]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Seems I never repaired Valeris's character sheet after the crash. So no idea if he has Detect Magic still available to cast.

Assuming he does...

Valeris casts detect magic, focusing to identify the nature and number of auras. He hopes that, if the Well has been corrupted, there will be some arcane evidence of it.

[warper]

The halfling is fascinated by Crafter. "Well... I've never met a gnome myself but that sounds like a gnome! The well?" He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know... Eluna's the only one of us whose been around long enough to know."

"Corrupted?!? That sounds bad!" The man says to Oreston. As Oreston checks the stains he keeps talking at you. "We have seen no recent sign that anyone has intruded on this place. The magic in this place is very old, so if what this necromancer said is true..." A look of realization dawns on the man and he gasps. "Then it probably happened at least a century ago... before the last two used it."

Eluna looks down at Owen. "Individuals change... yes. But humans have such short lives as to forget anything useful. Humans use ignorance as fuel for whatever immediate goals they can achieve." Her face gets slightly softer though. "But there are those who learn early... now if only they would lead instead of hiding..." She let's her words hang and shoos Owen down to the well.

Valeris casts detect magic and colors swarm his vision. Bright colors of all variety swim in and out and he hears a thud before his vision goes black. Everyone else sees him go unconscious.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I have no internet to look it up but I believe strong enough auras will blind you or even leave you unconscious temporarily. Also please forgive mistakes in this post since I couldn't preview. Only posted with like 2 seconds of internet :p.

[thegoldenfedora]

Owen's face crunches in consternation as he tries to unravel Eluna's words, her point about hiding was not lost on him however and he blushes sheepishly. At the sound of Valeris falling, he spins and rushes to his fellow wizard.

"Valeris! Are you alright?" he looks to the druids, "What happened to him?"

[ilinares]

After what seems like hours, Valeris struggles back to consciousness. As he does, he is assailed by a flood of pain and riotous colour, much like a migraine - but one that makes his whole body ache.

"...Ow."

Struggling to sit up, he rubs his eyes and waits for the nausea and the aching to ease. Once it subsides enough, he looks around at his companions and the druids. Seeming to feel he needs to elaborate on the earlier comment, he adds:

"Ow."

Over the course of the next couple of minutes, he gradually staggers to his feet. Looking uneasily at the Well, he manages to articulate a few more words.

"Bad idea. Very strong magic."

Swaying slightly, he stumbles over to the side of the room and leans against the wall, shutting his eyes and waiting for everything to stop spinning.

[Daygone]

concerned John walks over to Valeris ofering a hand to steady him, what was a bad idea?

[ilinares]

"Detect magic spell," Valeris replies. "Wanted to know what we're dealing with. But it was like... like trying to taste the cooking, and instead burning your tongue. If the food were on fire. And being served on a dish of fire. And instead of a spoon: fire."

His voice is growing increasingly shrill, and he shuts his eyes tightly. At length, he seems to regain control. His breathing slows, and he stops the near-delirious rambling.

"I would... venture to hypothesise that the ill effects I suffered derive from the gulf between my powers and those of the Well's creator. If, indeed, Lathander constructed and empowered this device, that may account for it."

Stepping forward, showing every sign of putting on a brave front in the presence of something that terrifies him, he says as nonchalantly as he can manage, "You said something about blood?"

[thegoldenfedora]

Owen steps back, giving Valeris some room to breath. He makes a mental note to not use his own magic detection spell. After Eluna answers Valeris' query, he speaks up, trying to wrap his head around this strange artifact.

"Uhm, I know you said it was a private matter, but can you tell us anymore about the last time the well was used?"

[warper]

The Druids watch Valeris go down in shock and confusion that swiftly changes to concern. The man pulls out a pouch and pours a few berries into his hand before casting a spell. After Valeris wakes up he hands him the berries. "Those should help you feel better." He says after Valeris finishes speaking.


Eluna shrugs at Owen's question. "Well, they were both of a darker skin. The southern region is where they were originally from. As I said before, two went in, one came out." Eluna looks up at the ceiling and around
.

[ilinares]

Valeris eats the berries, looking slightly better for doing so. After that, he looks around to see everyone gingerly waiting and talking. Shaking his head, he steps forward and draws a knife, holding it over his palm and both above the Well.

"How much blood?" he asks. "And what happens after that?"

[thegoldenfedora]

Eluna's words confirm some suspicions for Owen, and he jumps at the chance to ask, "Was one of them named Zin? He was telling us about how he used the well, but his memory is rapidly going away so he couldn't tell anything more than that." His earnestness overcomes his usual pausing and stammering.