Kingslayers: Wild Magic of the Seekers

[dauphinous]

Cara
HP 51/68 AC 28

Not stopping for longer than it takes to let her spell off, Cara changes direction to head for the other neogi. Moving as fast as she can, she spares a moment to agree with James' earlier comment. This would be easier if Cassy was here.

Spoiler

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Pretty much out of the wiz-bang fun spells. Just run x3, heading to the other neogi.

Active spells:
Bull's Strength (Taros)
Bless (everyone but Abbie)
Magic Circle vs. Evil (Cara)
Prot From Evil (Taros)
Greater Status (Taros, Abbie, 5th level soldier)
Status (James, Deeker, Reollo)
Daylight (arrow)
Blessing of the Righteous <-- this spell only lasts 10 rounds, so I'm not sure if it is still active.

[Roland St. Jude]

Latigo

Latigo will sell a crate to Vallone and will chat the man up about his royal trader connections. He aims to continue Vallone's good will and apologetic disposition for as long as they remain in the area.

----
Privately, with Anthony, Cassy, and Robero, Latigo asks whether they want to hunt down Pauline.

"I wasn't kidding about settling accounts with Pauline, but I'm not going to swear out a blood vengence or anything. She's not what we came here for and the sooner we get out of here the sooner we can get home with whatever we learn. Any thoughts?"

[Vazzaroth]

James immediately drops what he's doing and turn to run and free his men.

Bastards! I'll free you, Ethan, Wolf!

((Same charge as before, but over to Ethan))

[BlueWizard]

Neogi's:
Cara can sprint over to the Neogi, but the moment the Neogi acts, it walks into the 20 foot silver craft and suddenly it disappears, leaving most of the silver clothed men and many crates and cages behind. James will be at some of the cages and unlocking the surprised Ethan and Wolf. Both are gagged. All the hobgoblins look in awe.

The hobgoblin King will crawl toward Cara, humbly on his knees.
"I beg you! Remove this device. If I do it will kill me!"

The hobgoblin ladies are disgusted, but say nothing.


Crusty Bucket: The Captain's Chamber
Robero looks at the Cassy, Latigo and the Anthony, "What ever you think. If this woman recognized Cassy, is that bad? I leave it to her to decide. I have no problem executing one of my mother's co-workers, mind you."

The ship will sail on once business here is done... though there could be a delay.

[Eratosthenes]

Taros

Taros will nod towards the hobgoblin women, respectful to keep his distance and not threaten them, while advancing on the silver clad humans and crates. Leveling his sword at them, he says, "Seeing as you've been abandoned, I think it's high time you surrendered."

[BlueWizard]

Taros can see the silver neck bands on the men. They are all dazed and look very confused and frightened as Taros addresses them.

[kariokie]

"You have a bit of a point, but if she knows who I am and also thinks I'm dead, it means she's not very connected, you know? I suppose she could go flapping her lips and blow our cover though, if she finds someone else to put the pieces together for her."

Cassy realizes then that Silvas probably doesn't know what she means, though Anthony probably does. "Like a little over two years ago some Guild people did a crap job of killing me." Staring up at the falling snow, everything turning grey. "Uh. Anyhow. Everyone thought I was dead until Tunia started trying to 'help' me by telling people I was alive. No, I have no damn idea why she thought that was helpful. She's good in the sack but dumb as a box of brain-damaged kittens." Cassy waves her hand, dismissing the stupidity. "So, the Guild knows I'm alive, but I suppose most everyone else I've ever known thinks I'm dead. I'd prefer it stayed that way you know?"

"Anyhow. We should probably find her and deal with her. If she tells people I'm alive and she saw me some goddamn lunatic bounty hunter will show up and start monologuing all over the place while trying to kill me with a kitchen whisk."

[dauphinous]

Cara scowls at the spot where the neogi and its craft were just a moment before. We must find out exactly what was going on here. It takes her a few seconds to realize that the hobgoblin king is groveling at her. "Oh, by the Light, stop begging," she says with no small amount of exasperation in her voice. "If you are willing to talk, then so are we." She hangs her mace back on her belt, then starts looking over the device to determine how to remove it.

[Eratosthenes]

Taros

Slinging his shield onto his back, Taros marches over to one of the silver-clad humans, sword still at the ready.

Reaching up to the device around his neck, Taros attempts to remove it, as they've removed the others, and throws it to the ground.

If the man seems to regain his senses, he orders, "Go about the others. Remove their controlling devices. Do it."

Turning to the hobgoblin women, Taros asks, "Do you speak common?"

[Idiotbox90]

"I think this is one of those situation where it's best to keep sight of the main goal. What was that again? Play pirates? Sounds about right." Anthony takes out a leather-bound book and quickly makes a small note. "Of course, if it becomes convenient for us to take out Miss Wizard, we certainly should. But we shouldn't go hunting for her, either."

[Roland St. Jude]

Latigo

"I agree that we shouldn't get sidetracked, but I'd rather not be harried by this wizardess or bounty hunters while we're trying to be covert. There's a risk of going after her now, but it seems like more of a risk to let her go and have to worry about when assassins will show up."

He reaches behind his head and pulls a length of leather out of his shoulder length hair; it becomes a small cap in his hand.

"While you are, of course, quite lovely," he says to Cassy sincerely, "perhaps you'd like to play at being someone else for a while. This hat will let you do that on a whim."

He offers it to her. "I didn't realize you'd be so famous in these parts."

"As for Ms. Pauline, I'm as torn as my counsel from you two seems to be. I guess, all things considered, I'd favor settling up with her now so as to avoid further trouble later."

[kariokie]

Cassy waves off the hat. "I have one. It won't help this current situation, though, only the future. If she tells people she's seen me, then me looking like someone else won't do a thing to protect this ship, you know? These people aren't idiots. Well, they are idiots, but they're not that dumb." Cassy puts on a fake high voice, "'Oh my, we heard Cassy was on this ship, but there's no one here who looks like her. And she couldn't possibly be using a simple magical tool to hide herself. It's not like she's a sorceress or anything. I suppose we'll go now, ta ta!'"

"Let's go find this woman. I have no idea if she'd consider me being alive worth telling anyone about, but the pyro act on our crew isn't okay, you know? I mean, if I got fried I'd assume you people would be kicking ass and taking names -- or Cara would have your head -- so why should it be different if some peon gets killed?"

[BlueWizard]

Crusty Bucket:
Robero begins to be swayed to Cassy option. "Lord Latigo.... Lord Anthony, we could use a rest, and under armed guard we should be safe. Probably safer with Cassy away from the ship too. Hehe, uh hm! I think Cassy is right, this is a localized problem right now. But, depending on which wizard she was and who's friends with who, we could have Cassy's ex-boyfriend here quick.... oh Sorry...." He is unsure if mentioning this man, or letting himself on that he knows this fact in perhaps too much detail than Cassy might like. He turns beet red.

He looks to Cassy, "Look Vito's a close cousin of mine. I know him. Believe me, he's not so nice... if you're on his bad side. So, I try to stay away from him. I had to get him through Secondary School, but I don't think I saw him since Prince Valdis and Princess Rhianna's wedding, what... 10 years ago or something....? Perhaps you could give an illusionary image of the woman. I may know her too." He fumbles with his words.

In the meantime, a map and quick path to Werkain's barges can be found. The Trader-Wizard, Vallone prefers any dealing in the Captain's quarters and not on the open deck. He has no problem negotiating alone with no body-guard.
Werkain's barges are a busy area and disguises might be good.




Neogi Infestation:
The hobgoblin King stands, "Oh noble lady! I beg you, please, don't slaughter my daughters! We have been forced by these Neogi to do as they wish. They have brought human bandits and evil priests among us! My grandfather long ago made peace with a great general of your people. We agreed to live in peace, and I tried long to honor this, and to honor the barrier. We understand this! Never did we want to fight intruders, and we had nothing to do with taking your soldiers!"

A man in silver nods to Taros' orders, he is quite confused and begins to unclasp the neck braces of the other men in silver. They cannot be removed by the wearer, they are mentally blocked from doing so.

When Taros speaks to the hobgoblin females, they seem to trust him the most. One strong old one, that is hunched-over steps forward. "I speak your tongue. Do we go back to the old ways? Or do you wish to rule us? Perhaps we do need your aid. Our cowardly King, my husband should answer to the Bugbear Queen. We may have to seek her aid, but her goal is domination of the humans. We of the Crawfish Clan cannot survive with out more powerful protection. The underdark is too infested with aliens and aberrations!"

The King doesn't even flinch.

Ethan and Wolf will be freed, as soon as Wolf is out the loincloth wearing teen will find a dagger and begin to charge over to the hobgoblin King to stab him in the back. "You foul, pathetic beast! Your whole race should cease to exist!"

[Eratosthenes]

Taros

Speaking to the outspoke hobgoblin crone, Taros responds, "I do not wish to rule you. Nor do I wish to war with you, or your tribe. That man," Taros indicates James, "has demesne over the surface realms here. If we were all to work together, our tribes would both assuredly prosper. These...abominations...who seek to enslave endanger us both."

Sheathing his sword, Taros adds, "If you were to seek out the Bugbear Queen, you would be aligning against us, and would bring war to our tribes. You must choose - shared prosperity, or mutual destruction."

At Wolf's crazed attack, Taros will warn James, and try to subdue the man before he can kill the hobgoblin king.

[dauphinous]

After removing the device from the king's neck, Cara is looking it over a little curiously. She hadn't actually seen the ones they encountered before. Not up close, anyway. After a few moments, she shifts her attention back to the king. "I understand. We have no wish to slaughter anyone at all, especially not those who are willing to live in peace."

Wolf's outburst, makes her snap her head up and around. She puts herself between Wolf and the king, offering herself as a shield for him. As gently as she can, she says to Wolf, "We do not murder those who have surrendered to us. Nor do we torture them."

[Vazzaroth]

James will grab Wolf and whip him back as he starts to charge, and glares at him sternly.

Wolf! Calm yourself or I will be forced to subdue you! Don't let your youth cloud your vision. He has surrendered, and is not our true foe, anyway.

If Wolf calms down, he will release him, while telling Ethan to keep an eye on him.

King of this tribe, I, Lord Bellows who controls the surrounding land by order of the queen, would be more than willing to forge a pact for peace and protection between our people. I may be a man of war, but I value peace. There is no need to waste the lives of your people or my own in petty conflicts.

[Idiotbox90]

Anthony nods, agreeing with the others' statements.

"If you all think it best for us to hunt the witch down, I will help." A smile creeps onto his face. "Wine thieves are the lowest of the low, after all."

((OOC: First Taros shows up in Anthony's bedroom, now he's at the pirate meeting. That paladin really needs to learn a thing about boundaries. ))

[Roland St. Jude]

Latigo

Latigo grimaces, placing his 'hat' back where it was. "Yes, the cat's out of the bag as far as Pauline is concerned, but going forward..." The pixie stops short of expressing displeasure or trying to order Cassy around. He suspected she'd take such things the same way he would, with a mercurial outburst or a sudden disappearance.

At Anthony's continued joke, Latigo laughs, "yes, and less wine for her means more for us - which is always good.

Shall we be about it then? Or rest and hit in the morning? We'd be better rested in the morning, but then so will they. And they seem to have taken the worst of it back there from you fire-throwers." He smiles thinking of the amazing effectiveness of the aracanists back at the barge. "I'm fine either way."

[BlueWizard]

OOC- Fixed latest Taros mix-up. I had just made Taros diplomacy roll with the hobgob-ladies...

Crusty Bucket:
Robero is definitely for completing this side mission now.

OOC- The trip over the populated barges will go quick, and I can get you straight to Pauline's residence. Vallone will personally guard the ship, under Robero's close supervision.


Hobgoblin King:
James gives young Wolf whip-lash as he grabs him. As Ethan removes his gag he mutters, "That punk got us into half this mess. I'll tell ya he needs to learn to keep his mouth shut!"

Wolf splutters at James, purely insulted, but when Cara admonishes him he bows his head, and tries to splutter something, but only says, "Yes, mam." He bows his head.

The Hobgoblin King, now without the silver neckband speaks to Taros nervously,a cross the room, "I want to work with you. I must, of course, pay homage to the Bugbear Queen, but peace shall continue to exist... however, the Neogi have killed our priesthood and the few arcane goblins we had living among us. We will need great magic to aid us, and we will request you go to the elves, and the Ancient Alliance, we may need to finally join it. The hobgoblin time is short." He says very depressed.

In general all 50 or so female hobgoblin here give a general eye roll at the Kings comment. The older female, sits on a stone. She seems satisfied, and gives a nod that relaxes the other females. Many don't speak imperial common.

The King bows to James, "I shall swear allegience to you."

Wolf spits at this in disgust, "You can't believe him!"

Quietly, Ethan will tell James and Cara, "These monsters intend to breed us. The goblinoids call them the Neogi, and fear them almost as much as the illithids."
OOC- This will be a perfect way to get Abbie onto her hiatus. She will return with the Hobgoblin King to the elven forests. He surely wouldn't last long alone.

OOC2- Hallf of the men in the scout party are dead are missing. 6 are here, in addition to a few local mountaineers from the region. Ethan will say the first Neogi took women, about 8. The rest were supplies including the ship mentioned in OOC3.

OOC3- Eventually the silver craft Cara hit exploded, but everyone knew to stay clear from the 40 foot diameter blast that shook the cavern and destroyed many empty bed pads.

[kariokie]

Cassy reaches into her haversack and pulls out a small hat, popping it onto her head. "I hate disguising myself. It's not very fair. Why must the world be denied my beauty?" Cassy grins and then waves her hands in a dramatic gesture, changing her looks just enough to get by. Her pixie-cut black hair becomes blond, and her dark skin fades into something lighter. Her eyes remain the same emerald green, however.

"It's for the best anyhow, I look like all the nobles down here, so people'd stare anyhow. Cara said I look just like that Empress' daughter, Ari-something, 'cept for the lack of a royal scepter shoved up my backside. Well, she didn't say that part, she just strongly implied it."

"Anyhow. I've still got enough juice left to take that lady out. Let's go now."

[dauphinous]

"We should, at least, get out of this cave. These 'neogi' know of it, and of our presence here. They will undoubtedly return in greater force as soon as possible. James, if you or any of your men can give me enough information about those who are still missing, I may be able to track them down through scrying."

Cara takes a look over the hobgoblin women. They won't be safe here, either. "James, I think we should offer some kind of temporary asylum to the hobgoblins. If you don't have the wherewithal," she says that word with a little bit of a pause, hoping to convey that she also means 'willingness', "I can provide it."

[Roland St. Jude]

Latigo

"Excellent," Latigo says smiling approvingly at the new look, "let's go show Ms. Pauline how we deal with wine theives."

He expects that Pauline has bigger issues right now than looking out for them, but just in case, he shifts his own appearance to be more like a random local. He smiles at the others and begins to head out. He'll re-poison his blade as they approach and offer to scout ahead when they get to the barge.

[Vazzaroth]

((Do we have a name for the Hobgoblin king? If not, James will ask))

When Cara mentions giving more information about the missing men, he nudges Ethan. He should be able to help more than James, he couldn't remember exactly who he had sent besides Wolf and Ethan, aside from some first names or faces.

"I would be more than happy to provide quarter for these new allies, until they can lodging better suited. I cannot say how the current resident would react, but I will tell them to respect everyone.

James looks around at the humanoids he agreed to house, and tried to figure out if he had room for them in his province.

[BlueWizard]

New Galorine:
The population of New Galorine is more than any city Cassy has EVER seen combined! Hundreds of thousands of mixed race humans live on this sprawling sea metropolis. This was just seen on the crowded walk to the Werkain district. It is mostly poor fishermen in towers, or at least involved in canning or some other fish or seaweed industry. Mostly to feed itself!

The sea here smells horrible, especially away from the main waterways for the larger ships. Many catwalks connect the buildings and are the main way to get around on foot, and could be compared to modern city's streets and sidewalks. There were great barge-buses that ferried many people around.

Most of the populous pays no heed to the passing trio, though more than one man tried to get a glimpse of the blonde teen's face.

The city map is quite large and Don Vallone had to give it to you in sections.

When Pauline's apartment building is found it is a relief.

The wealthier areas of town have better sanitation and more than one wizard was seen flying about his business in this dense population that Vallone puts at 4 million. The apartment building that Pauline lives is a fine stone tower of white. Somehow its barge supports it with great magic. There is a nearby sprawling mansion and even landscaped barges with forests, this would be the Werkain estate.

The building is home to many of Werkain's special servants. Apparently, Pauline lived in a penthouse on the top floor.

Our heroes will begin to notice that the weather here is strangely calm. You will begin to see the dark robed druids that also fly about in their created breezes. They calm the seas, and block winds. Great magic is at work here.


Hobgoblin King:
The hobgoblin ladies will refuse to leave. The self proclaimed queen speaks from her stone seat. "These are our caves. We don't wish to leave, only seek better protection. Clearly our leader is too weak." The bed pads still smolder nearby.

Wolf nods, "I like that old goblin lady." He looks at the old female.

The old lady goblinoid continues, "Let the hobgoblin king go and seek aid. He will need it to maintain order among our hobgoblin warriors."

Ethan steps forward, grabbing some of his gear from the supplies left in the crates, "Excuse me, Miss Cara. General Bellows. I don't mean to speak out of place, but I did keep an ear out. Sergeant Forrell speaks goblin and the underdark tongue. He picked up a bunch, while we were... bred with the women." He indicates a gentlemen in his 30's, with a few scars of war on his arms and body. "These monsters are more afraid of our wizards than we should be of them. They are crafty, but we can beat them. I don't think they'll be back here, but we should be wary of them elsewhere in the world. For they will show up where you least expect it. They like to work in secret."

The hobgoblin king will officially introduce himself as Hrgath the XII.

The party can begin to make the return trip to civilization. Ethan will say the missing scouts were killed and eaten. They were fed to the hobgoblin ladies. The women were peasants that Ethan had never seen before.

[dauphinous]

"Very well, then." Cara gives a polite bow to the hobgoblin woman. "I wish you good fortune." She looks to James to make certain he is ready to leave before withdrawing. Then it's back to the rest of the troops with the horses, walking with Taros. As the rush of the battle fully wears off, the pain from the pair of half healed wounds that she herself carries comes crashing down and she slumps a little, giving a quiet hiss every now and again as she walks.

Once they reach the rest of the men, she takes the time to check over those just rescued for any sort of harm.

[kariokie]

Cassy's green eyes scan the tower. "Well, assume there aren't any fancy wards, I suppose I could pop the three of us up into that penthouse of hers. Or we could go in the front door and start talkin'. Or I could make Anthony and myself invisible and we walk in, or pop in, or hell, I could fly us up there. So many options. 'Cos I'm just that special."

[Roland St. Jude]

Latigo

"Well, if we could all be invisible, and pop into the penthouse, that seems best. My magic arrows tend to work best on weaker-types, but I've got a poisoned blade," he takes a moment to apply some to an arrow as well, "and arrow."

"It seems our first priority would be to stop her from just disappearing again or spelling us somehow," he pauses, "can we do that?" He felt like he should know, but somehow didn't. He was ready to turn invisible, his natural state, once a plan was decided upon.

[kariokie]

Cassy shakes her head. "That's a pretty specific spell -- I don't have it. We could try to knock her out or Anthony could prevent her from casting like he usually does to casters." She turns in a circle, taking in the area. "So, I make Anthony and me invisible, you do your trick, then I port all three of us up to where I think the penthouse is. Okay. Don't worry about me if we miss our landing or I end up in the air -- I'll float like the beautiful butterfly I am."

She points her staff at Anthony, her green eyes glittering and her lips turning up in a grin, "He's screwed, though. 'Less he flaps his arms real hard."

[Roland St. Jude]

Latigo

"Assuming she's there, and we find her, the old-fashioned way works for me. I just thought we should consider it. We might only get one shot at this."

[Idiotbox90]

"Port us near a wall and I'll be fine. Should she try to cast, I'll do my best to mess her up."