Peril & Fame 2: Belhaim

[Othniel]

Cassandra

"One can be in touch with nature without giving up everything," she replied. "I still appreciate good food, soft beds, warm baths, and other nice things. I have simply learned to do without when necessary."

"But yes, the naga. Ellarie dear, do you suppose you are up to being the group's voice to her? I would be happy to back you up."

[Nefarion Xid]

The door to the south creaked open. A female voice meekly inquired, "Did Svangi hire you?" Through the crack, the party could only make out a mess of silver hair and a glimpse of a grey face.

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

A look of minor resignation crossed Ellarie's face briefly. She had never had the luxury of choosing when to do without, she merely went without. Not belonging anywhere or to anybody, that was a feeling that couldn't be explained, and so she shrugged it off. It mattered little in the face of their current situation. There was certainly no time for debate as the others voiced their willingness to try and bargain with the naga. At Cassandra's urging, she turned to speak with the snake woman.
"Hello! Yes Svangi sent us to get acquainted. We're his newest employees." She had the stifle the awful urge to giggle as she spoke through the barely opened door.

Spoiler: Action

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Bluff
[roll]1d20+15[/roll]

[Nefarion Xid]

"Oh!" The door opened wider and the face went pale with shock. "I didn't mean. You won't tell him that I -- does he let you call him Svangi?"

The creature began to crawl out from the doorway, a thin, unattractive woman's face attached to fifteen feet of pock marked black coils. Tangled silver hair hung about her face and nearly reached to the floor.

"That's so ... personal. He doesn't let anyone call him that. Not even me! After all these years together."

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

"Of course we won't tell him!" Ellarie seemed shocked by the very idea.

"We're in this together, after all. I just call him Boss, or Sir." She smiled reassuringly.

"Actually, the Boss sent us over here specifically because he has a task so special, that he could only entrust you to do it, it's that important to him. He needs you to close the Dark Window. You are the only one special enough to fulfill this task for him. That's what he needs you to do, close the Dark Window as soon as possible. Go ahead and do it, we'll wait and report back to him when it's done." She smiled and crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway as if settling in for a good long wait.

Spoiler: Action

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Bluff
(1d20+15)[27]

[Nefarion Xid]

"Close it? But, I don't have any force spells!" She looked around in a panic. "Did he say why? Oh, this is all so sudden. If I had a wand ... and hands. I, I don't think I can! Oh, he's going to be mad ..."

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

The tiefling made a show of contemplation. "Well... I don't see any reason why this has to sour your record with him. You seem nice. Why not just tell us how to do it, and then after we take care of it we'll just say that it got done and let him assume you did it yourself?"

[Nefarion Xid]

"Would you? Oh, yes you look smart! And you have the spells to do it? Magic Missile will work fine as long as you stand on one of the primer squares. And you'll really let me take the credit? What nice people. Aeteperax really has the best people. He has a very good brain."

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

"The best attracts the best! I've always thought so." Ellarie said with a cheerful grin.

"You'll get all of the credit, guaranteed. If you'd be so kind as to show us the way, we will follow your lead. Wouldn't want to keep the Boss waiting."

[Nefarion Xid]

The naga began rocking back on her coils while chewing on a strand of hair. "But, but, I can't unlock the door!" she whined. "Aeteperax uses potions of Gaseous Form to get in. Maybe if we asked Pentosh for some potions?"

[TheDarkDM]

Elias

Sliding into the Naga's field of view, Elias dipped into a courtly bow.

"Not to worry, my lady. Pentosh already provided us with a number of potions for exactly that task. If you could simply show us into the library?"

[Nefarion Xid]

Having been guided to the library and shown the secret door, the naga excused herself to go continue to continue her beauty sleep. A secret passage on the outskirts of the third floor lead to a iron door covered in passages from different languages, Vudrani, Azlanti and Taldane. A cursory translation confirms they all say the same thing: Beware! Dark Oblivion Lies Within!

The lock set in the door looks to be enormously complex, though not so much so as to defeat Kiyoko's Adamantine Skeleton Key.

The howling of wind could be heard through the keyhole and the iron door was cold to the touch.

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

After some deliberation, the lock became the latest victim of the Adamantine Problem Solver. Kiyoko stepped through the ruins of the door and looked for a portal... and also a primary square to cast from.

[TheDarkDM]

Elias

Stepping into the room of the Dark Window, Elias moved to examine the ancient artifact.

[Nefarion Xid]

As the door proved to be two solid, half inch thick plates of steel riveted to an oak plank, it took Kiyoko five minutes of jabbing to successfully carve out the locking mechanism. With the cylinder shoved through to the other side, the bolts concealed in the door could be wiggled free and the door shoved in.

The chamber beyond was bare stone except for the appropriately named Dark Window and the primer plates the Naga had mentioned. The Dark Window proved to be a fifteen foot square piece of glass on the far western wall. Depending on what angle you viewed it from, the night sky in the window moved slightly, but the stars always stayed on the periphery; the central focus was always the black space between. Staring into the center for any length of time was difficult and always ended with glancing away to the pinpricks of light at the edges. While the air in the room was perfectly still and cold, the sound of howling wind was constant.

Two black voidglass plates had been set into the floor before the window. Glowing white writing in Aklo had been scratched into each in a circle.

Spoiler: Elias

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The two primer circles contain spells that greatly amplify the effects of Conjuration and any spell with the Force descriptor when cast on of through the Dark Window. The Dark Window isn't a portal, not exactly, it's literally a window of force. While its primary purpose is the observation of a remote region of space, it also allows you to communicate or pull things from the other side in relative safety. However, and you believe the monks missed this in their design, the window works both ways. Anything on the other side could look in.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Hammerhead

Having been rather awed by Ellarie's verbal prowess in bluffing the naga into revealing how to access the Dark Window, Hammerhead had thus far been rather silent, not wanting to draw undue attention to himself and ruin the plan. As Kiyoko cut open the door and Elias examined it, however, Hammerhead could contain his curiosity no longer.

"So... what's the plan? You've got a mighty focused look on your face, Elias."

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

As Ellarie stepped slowly into the room, she was transfixed by the window. Focused by what at first seemed to be purely dark space, the longer she stared patterns began to emerge. She felt goosebumps rise along her spine and she wrapped her arms around herself at an unconscious attempt to protect herself from the unsettling swirling behind the glass. Unknowingly, so mesmerized was she in peering into the window, she had taken a few steps towards it and peered intently into the Dark Window.

"Elias, do you see that?" She murmured, her low voice barely audible over the howling wind.

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

"Nothing good ever comes from staring into the cosmic void behind the spooky artifact window." The tiefling sounded nervous for quite possibly the first time since anyone in the room had met her, and her impatience was easy to perceive. "Did you get what you needed, Elias? I'd really like to close this thing down now."

[Othniel]

Cassandra

Following the others, Cassandra edged into the room with the strange window. A window she did not like at all, thank you very much. "Uh, can we get this over with quickly? That thing is unnerving."

[TheDarkDM]

Elias

Eyes crawling over the obsidian surface of the Dark Window, Elias slowly realized what he was looking at and took an involuntary step back.

"There's something on the other side. And it can see us. It can see us right now."

Girding himself, Elias addressed the mirror in Aklo.

"What are you?"

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

As Elias had joined her inspection of the Window, her hand had reached out. A pale silhouette against the Dark Window, her hand moved to trace the patterns she saw in the cold air. As Elias voiced his horrifying realization, she gasped and jerked her hand back and stared wide-eyed into the living abyss. Fighting against the urge to hide from the being observing them, she stood firm next to Elias, though she could not understand his words. She motioned Kiyoko next to her,

"Translate for me?" She hiss-whispered at the tiefling without taking her eyes off the Window.

[Nefarion Xid]

The room grew colder and the cacophony of absent wind crescendoed.

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

"He's asking it what it is, because apparently bear-poking isn't reserved for gorgeous tieflings," the Tian-Min woman growled. "Elias, if you don't give me a good reason to not shut the window, I'm doing it in the next few seconds."

[TheDarkDM]

Elias

Feeling ice begin to rime at the edges of his coat, Elias barely heard Kiyoko as he cried out.

"Close it! Close it now!"

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

"Oh, now he wants me to close it." Kiyoko held out her free hand (like hell she was putting her sword away for this) and rattled off the incantation by pure instinct. A light shone in her hand before she flung it at the window, watching as it separated into three distinct bolts of magical force that homed in on the target before slamming into it.

Spoiler: OOC

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Magic Missile: (3d4+3)[14]

[Nefarion Xid]

Vok vok vok! Three spheres of light impacted the center of the window. The sound of cracking glass could be heard over the roaring wind and a spiderweb of white light began to shine through. At the same time, the swirling purple shape behind the glass became visible to everyone, undulating between black, purple and an unnaturally vibrant green. The wind seemed to slow for a moment, the intensity didn't change, it just became more clear. That was when Kiyoko and Elias realized that it wasn't wind, merely something screaming long slow words in Aklo.

Space lurched and it appeared in a crackled of sickly green light in the center of the room. It was the size of a young tree and, had someone more time and wherewithal to find the words, they would have described it as the twisted, fleshy amalgamation of an octopus and a spider. Tentacles vomited for what might be a mouth and six glassy orbs peered curiously at Elias.

Spoiler: Round 1

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Everyone who is not Kiyoko and Cassandra has won initiative.

Spoiler: Elias

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The creature is a Yangethe, an immortal horror from the Black Tapestry. They're highly intelligent and feed on emotions. They're immune to cold and you gauge by their somewhat leathery/amorphous form, bludgeoning damage won't harm them.

[TheDarkDM]

Elias

Scrambling backwards as the beast appeared, Elias yelled an incantation as he threw the broken remains of licorice root into the air.

"Beware the Yangethe! It is proof against cold, and bludgeoning weapons! It will feed on your emotions!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Elias casts Haste on himself, Ellarie, Kiyoko, and Hammerhead after shifting back.

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

Moving herself forward and closer to the Aberration by sheer force of will, she set herself next to the creature as her raging song rose from her lips and she allowed herself to succumb its red comfort. A spirit wisp that was at once disturbing and comforting surrounded her and attempted to swat at the hideous fiend in front of it.

Spoiler: Actions

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Move + Raging Song, Spirit Totem attack.

[Othniel]

Conall

Carried into battle by Ellarie's singing, Conall dashed forward, sharp wolf teeth flashing as he attacked the thing.

Spoiler: OOC

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Conall charge attack vs Yangethe: (1d20+8)[13]
Damage: (1d8+4)[7]

Conall spirit totem attack: (1d20+6)[15]
Damage: (1d4+3)[5]

[zabbarot]

Ioseph

The paladin had followed along in quiet contemplation since the fight with the grioth. Irori had appeared to him directly and he still wasn't sure what to make of it. He hadn't even mentioned it. He hadn't even really had time to accept Eren's sudden death or Yagenas' more sudden departure. Now they were staring down an aberration, and yet somehow this was easier. Ioseph's mind cleared as he focused on the feel of the bow string. As he felt Ellarie's raging song wash over him it became cold fury.

Spoiler: actions

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Personal Trial on the worst Christmas tree. (+2 on attack/damage rolls, to AC, and to saves)
Full Attack!
to-hit: (1d20+10)[16], (1d20+10)[30]

damage: (1d8+5)[8]+(1d6)[2], (1d8+5)[10]+(1d6)[4]