A Second Chance [3.5]

[Cavir]

Look at yourself. I wouldn't say nature was still with you. Let's see where this rat takes us. Could be beneficial for all of us. None of us are mindless like he expected, or as I would expect assuming I'm correct on what spell he tried casting on us. Regardless of his lack of knowledge he is still our best source of information for now. He expected five mindless skeletons to create destruction. We should be handle to handle that easily and come out ahead. Do any of you have memories of what you were or can do now? I feel the power of a variety of spells at my command.

[Baby Gary]

I'm sorry, where have my manners gone. I am Wyn, the former protecter of nature and some what of a vigilantly. I can remember some things alright. I remember living in a lush grove deep in the forest, surrounded by nature and peace. I lived a joyous live, living with nature and defending it on some few occasions. But then one day... I don't want to talk about it... its hurts too much... lets just say thats when I started to hate wizards.

[Luccan]

She shrugs My memories are vague. I am a woman. And the sigils and magic writing are all familiar to me... but the only clear image I have before we were raised isn't useful. I agree, though. This necromancer could provide useful information. I suppose we should introduce ourselves, but I have no memory of my name.

[DoctorGlock]

That answered on question. The others were also sapient. No point to continuing this charade.

'Then I see little point to continuing this farce... we are all manifestly self aware, and since I feel no particular compulsion to act, I assume we have our own wills as well,' the silent figure speaks for the first time, his voice soft and accented. 'And our reason. Here's one-- we obey the sorcerer because we fear his power over us. Yet if he were so potent, why not deal with his rival himself? Does he fear this rival? Is the rival more powerful? Do we head now towards our own destruction? I remember little outside of the howling darkness, but I have no desire to return to it.'

He pauses. 'As to who I am? I think I was called Rashid once. But what meaning that has is long lost on me.'

As they progress, Rashid makes an effort to slip into the background and be as unnoticeable as possible by anyone who might be in the streets, keeping to the shadow of walls and allowing the city detritus and clutter to break lines of sight.

Spoiler: OOC

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(1d20+7)[23] hide, add whatever the bonus for having concealment is (child of shadows stance)

[Clockyard]

Your skeleton "eyes" (one of which was a ball of onyx and the other a dot of green light you remember) could pierce the shadows nearly as easily as light, yet the skeleton named Rashid seemed to almost disappear. He was blurry, as if the shadows were clinging on him like a cloak.

The rat limped onward down the alley, ever so often it stopped to sniff the air.
You could hear now less shouting and fighting, but the screams of the wounded still filled the air.

[dethkruzer]

So they all were like this. Remarkable. "We'd best tread lightly in trying to gauge the potency of might this arcanist holds. He managed to create not one but four skeletons who retain individuality and sentience, even if most likely by accident." He would speak, before pausing for a brief period. He would switch the morningstar in his hand over to his other, raising his now freed hand, the one stained black, so he might look at it. "My memories are... Fleeting. Who I am, or rather, who I was, I feel as though I understand it, yet the details lie just beyond my grasp." The hand would clench into a bony fist, his jaw grinding slightly. "Yet I recall two things. A name, or at least part of one. J-J-Ja?" He continued, trying the word in his mouth, trying hard to recall it. "Jack... I believe it was Jack... And the other thing..." He would trail off, before opening his palm, minute wisps of blue light floating around his hand. "Is this."

[Cavir]

Treading lightly with our maker is smart. The spell he used for us holds more spell power than I can summon yet. But treading quickly here is also smart- sounds like the battle is dying or moving elsewhere. The fewer we come across out here the better. We have our own wills but I feel this raid could be useful for us. He walks behind the rat, encouraging it to hurry its little feet.

What is that blue light, holy power? Mine is a darker source. His hand radiates a sickly brown briefly. He comes to a mental thought and conclusion. Interesting, this may be more useful than initial thought. Wyn, Rashid, Jack... call me Zoran.

[Clockyard]

You follow the rat into the alley.
It moves swiftly from one shadow to another. Sometimes it changes directions at crossroads or moves around corners, allways staying in dark alleys.
The streets are all empty, as most the people are hiding in their homes.
After while the shouting starts again, but no sound of battle.
The rat suddenly stops in front of a crossroad, letting a group of eight or so armored guards pass, bevore cautiously proceeding onwards.
What little you can see of the city, mostly large, dirty and old wooden buildings, slowly starts to change, as you move towards a richer part. The buildings are still large and wooden, but there are less dark alleys and dirt now and more open spaces.
Eventually, the rodent stops in frot of an unremarkable door on the backside of a smaller building.

[dethkruzer]

"Indeed, I cannot imagine the citizens would think well of skeletons, intelligent or not." He replied, pausing to close his hand, the motes of light vanishing. "I wish I could speak of the source, but I cannot recall. All I can say is that it seems to from within but also from without. Yet I cannot seem to draw upon it with this noise, I might need some time."

That said, Jack would follow with the rat, honestly surpised that they did not get caught. The fact that the presence of general filth decreased as they went did not escape his notice, but for now, he said nothing. Finally, they stood before a door. Was this is it? "Well that was... Anti-climactic." He noted in a dry tone... Well, as dry a tone as he could achieve with his unnatural voice.

[Cavir]

Rashid, you are quite stealthy. Do your skills include locks and traps?

[DoctorGlock]

'I was trained in the art of the Hashshashin, not the common thief. Perhaps those would have served me better,' the hooded figure says. 'I suppose burning it down fulfills the contract?'

[Luccan]

She lets out a sound like a sigh and rolls her neck. The bones make an unnerving snapping sound and she raises a hand. Let us see if it is even locked She summons up the power she feels within, that which rose in her when she recognized the spellbook.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Using Unseen Servant from Night Haunt feat and sending it to try to open the door.

[Clockyard]

The door handle moves down on its own, but but the door doesn't open. It seems to be locked.

From the shadows you notice a large stray dog watching you.

[Baby Gary]

Ok time to show you what I am really about. You guys have your things, get into the building. I can handle this dog. Wyn says to his friends. He approches the dog, stops about 30ft away from it, and starts talking. Some of what he is saying is in the common tongue, some more is in a speech that sounds similar to elvish, an educated person would know this as sylvan, and finally the last bit is in a tongue that no one had any idea what it was. It sounded oddly connected to nature, the chirps of the birds in the trees, the splash of the water in the river, the whitening of the wind in the trees...

Spoiler: OOC

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Wild Empathy, can I get a buff on this for my awesome fluff? lol
(1d20+2)[20]

[Clockyard]

The dog first moves away from you, deeper into the the shadows. Its fur is the the darkest shade of brown, so it seems to almost disappear in the darkness. But then it stops when it hears your voice and looks at you.
It sure has seen some rough days. There are spots of fur missing and it is horribly thin, like it hasn't eaten in days. A big scar runs down its snout and its left eye seems to be blind. The other eye has the color of amber.
The dog sniffs, and for a brief moment you think it might attack you, as you are sure it smells your bones.
But then it moves closer and touches your hand with it's snout.

Spoiler: Wyn

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Say hi to your animal companion.
The blind eye has no consequences, it's just fluff.

[Cavir]

Hashshashin... nope never heard of it. Burning it down should help make the point, but first let's take what's good inside then burn it down. The fire will cover out escape too." He looks to see if there are any windows on this side of the building, peering into them.

[Clockyard]

There is one window on your side of the building, a few feet to the right of the door.

You peek through the window. Between the door and the window must be some kind of wall, almost cutting the room in half.
On the opposite side of the room you can make out some shelfs, filled with round glasses of all sizes and books. On the right side you can see a large beast with four legs, a long tail and scales, its mouth wide open, showing huge teeth. It is completely inert. Right next to it stands a skeleton, also inert.

[Cavir]

Hmm. Take a look in. Looks like his rival could have guardians. Zoran pauses in thought. If the skeleton is more than decoration, I should be able to take control of it to do my bidding, though it may take a few tries.

If we break the window I could try it from here but it will make noise. Anyone good at forcing doors?

[Luccan]

She peers into the window, attempting to see what awaits them

Spoiler: Rolls

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Spot: (1d20)[10]
Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+8)[10]

[Clockyard]

You can't see anything more than your comrade. You must have heard or read about the creature on the left hand side of the room, but you are sure you've never seen one before.
The legs spreading away from the trunk like body, the long snout, the tail, the tiny scales that create a beautiful pattern. No doubt, this must be a crocodile or alligator.
It still doesn't move, its huge mouth open.

[Baby Gary]

So what do we do now? Do we do in there and do the bidding of the necromancer who brought us to life. Do we go in there and talk with this person and turn against the man who brought us back into this cruel world. Do we just go on and do our own thing. Or do we do something else? I personally am for going in there and depending on the person we find do option A or B.

Another question we must ask our selfs is why does the necromancer want to kill this person? What has this person done to warent being killed? I am against taking a human life or one of nature unless it is necessary.

[Cavir]

He didn't say to kill, just to destroy the lab. Our necromancer had the power to raise us. This one is his arch-rival so we don't want to face him yet. I do want whatever is useful in there then we can burn or smash the rest. No time to waste, help me with the door unless you have another way in. Zoran shoulders into the door, but it's obvious he's not used to doing such work.

Spoiler: OOC

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STR check (1d20)[13]

[Baby Gary]

My bad. I don't have the best memory, I can be distracted by little things sometimes. I think I know a way to get through that door. I am not that strong but my friend here is. Wyn says as he gestures to his dog to try to break in the door.

Spoiler: OOC

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str check(1d20+2)[14]

[Clockyard]

You throw yourself against the door with a loud bang. The door doesn't brake, but the dog follows you after a quick moment, and with joined forces you finally break the hinges.
With a second loud bang the door alls on the floor.
The Room before you is not very big. On the right side there is the wall you could see from the window, but from the other side. It splits the building almost in half, with only a tiny passgae tho the other part at the back side. Two crossed tribal looking spears hang on it.
The room is messy. On the right wall is a table, with books, notes and drawings on it. A window is just above the table, next to it are large anatomacal drawings of humans and animals on the wall. On the far wall you can see shelfs, filled with books and and round glasses.

[Luccan]

She takes a look around the room, paying special attention to the books and attempting to find anything unusual

Spoiler: Roll

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Search (1d20+4)[23]

We should see what we can find out before destroying this place. I'd like to know where we are, for instance.

[DoctorGlock]

Rashid prowls into the room, listening carefully for possible danger and trying his best to stay unnoticed from that possibility while he performs his search. Pillage, then burn.

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+5)[23] Listen-- anything moving around in here?
(1d20+7)[20] Hide in case I need to do it again
(1d20)[13] Search, do I find anything that looks important?

[Clockyard]

The only thing useful there you see are the two spears on the wall. There is a mortar lying around, a bonesaw and a set of files. The glasses at the back wall are filled with different things, most of them body parts or small animals. Hearts, brains, eyes, paws and ears, just to name a few. Some are filled with insects and snakes and other small creatures. Yet most of it doesn't look human.
The books are mostly anatomical books, some are books about wildlife or different humanoid cultures.

A curtain is covering the gap in the right wall that leads to the other side of the room, where you saw the skeleton and the crocodile through the window.

Rashid prowls into the room, listening carefully for possible danger and trying his best to stay unnoticed from that possibility while he performs his search. Pillage, then burn.

You can't hear anything special in the room. The only noises come from your undead brethren.
But outside the shouting gets louder. After a short while you can hear a loud bursting sound and more screaming.

[Baby Gary]

Once the door was broken in Wyn stayed back. Better to not be in the line of fire. He sent his dog in in front of him, and signaled him to try to find anything of interest in this room. While the dog was off doing his thing Wyn went up to the bookshelf and took down a book about wildlife and started to page through it. After he finished he looked around the room for anything that might be a journal, something that would give a clue about the owner of this establishment, or anything else of interest.

Spoiler: OOC

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Dog spot (1d20+5)[10]
if the dog finds tracks then following them with scent + track (survival roll) (1d20+5)[15]

Wyn spot (1d20+8)[15]

[Cavir]

Disappointed the hinges gave before the lock, Zoran moves in with the others who begin to search with mundane means. Zoran heads to the back by the curtain. He sticks his head through, ready to pull back quickly.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spot (1d20-5)[6]

[Clockyard]

You can't find a jurnal or anything here. Only books about anatomy, biology and culture.
The dog sniffs on the floor and in all the corners, but he doesn't seem to find much. He finally sints in front of Wyn, barking and with large eyes. He seems hungry.

Disappointed the hinges gave before the lock, Zoran moves in with the others who begin to search with mundane means. Zoran heads to the back by the curtain. He sticks his head through, ready to pull back quickly.

You stare directly into the hollow eye sockets of the skeleton you saw before.