a tale of five orbs

[boomwolf]

easy-to-watch char sheets.

Matthew D'Malek
Augustus Andronicus NPC for now.
Sling Spears NPC for now.
Thyria
Wisp

now that i've set that up lets get on with the story.


...i will send you to the plane of heran, search for the one called terenis, he will guide you further...
and with these words, the world around you crumbled, and you appeared in sitro, the capitol of heran.

the capitol was not to impressive in your eyes, mid-level housing was all over seemingly in no order, with a glimps you have from your position you can notice a tavern, a few houses, some market tents, and a big structure guarded by man in yellow robes, seems to be a center of power.
the enviorment around you was also quite poor, desert sand as floor and a few plants, all seems very dull and unimpressive save a single little plant that has purple leafs and is guarded by one of the men in yellow robe, he looks at you and the closing portal without much thought. planeswalking must be common thing around here..

feel free to roam around and attempt to gather info in any way you think is best.

[pingcode20]

Wisp looks around and takes in the surrounds, before silently putting her mask to her face and swinging around to look at the yellow robed guard, her garb of the day shifting into a yellow robe, while making no attempt to change identities.

She smiles, and holds the half-mask slightly cocked to the side as she looks at the guard.

"Well, where are we?" she asks, a little too cheerfully.

[boomwolf]

"another miss-direction planeswalking?"
sais the guard, seemingly unhappy.
"getting quite common our days actually.
this is sitro, capitol of heran, city of the prophet, bless by the light of Lord Famret.
actually you went up right before the palace." he said while nodding to the large structure.

[Krelon]

Thyria, standing unmoving, straight and broad-shouldered, has a stunned expression on her face for a second before she regains her composure. Squinting at the sun she quickly pulls her hood over her head so far that her horns are covered and gathers her cloak around to hide the spikes adorning her armor and tries to appear smaller than she really is in an attempt to look less dangerous.

She peeks suspiciously at the three lighter humanoids next to her who have been seemingly tranported as well: the dark skinned elf, the strange small man with pointy ears and the human.

Hearing the brief exchange between the woman - apparently her fourth companion - and the guard, she hisses under her breath, so that only the three men next to her can hear her "No word to the natives about what happened, we must speak first".

Quickly she makes a few steps in the direction of the guard saying, "Well, hello good man. Let's say you are right and we are lost, where can we find a person or a place with books & scrolls that can guide us to some person who might help us along?"

[boomwolf]

the guard, seemingly stunned by thyira's figure of speech says in return "well. if i knew who you want to find i could direct you to him. in any way, if you are looking for some item to buy it will probably be in one of the market stands or off this plane."

[Krelon]

Smiling at the guard Thyria continues, "Ah, you're so very helpful, even though standing on hard duty under the hot sun. Forgive my ignorance, what is it exactly you are guarding here, must be something of value on this plane?"

After giving the guard the opportunity to answer, she continues seemingly unsure.

"Hmm.. you said you can help, good thing my parents did travel a lot on the planes and you hear a name or two here and there. So, what names do I associate with Heran?" she pauses briefly, tipping her nose with a finger "We are in Heran, right? See, I don't know these persons personally but maybe you know something about a... Kalayda? Terenis? Guskor?"

[Chaos Perfected]

Augustus grabbed his chest as he appeared, his eyes darting to and fro from all the strangers gathered here. You see, long had he been under the belief that his land mass of Vasanr was the only place that existed and there was nothing beyond the great blue, not that they could go on it, and certainly no other planes of existence. It seems he was wrong.

"What in Gaims name.." He silently whispered to himself, backing away from the chatting humans. Humans were barbaric people, how were they talking? Perhaps things were different on other planes.. Was that an elf? He eyed the Drow unknowingly and then returned his attention to the conversation at hand. He would test the mettle of his companions at a later time.

His grip on his sword and chest loosened. The city was vast, he had not been in a large city all his life. He shook his head, human rulers that would not try to kill him on sight.. this would be an interesting adventure. But he had to return.

"We must contact who brought us here, I must return to my home." The halfling whispered to Thyria. "You seem to have some knowledge of these things..."

[boomwolf]

"Terenis..." he says "sound familiar but i cant quite put my finger on it"
"anyway. the important people of this plane are Lord Famret and the prophet, the rest are pretty common people."
"and for the plant, we use it essence to create planar portals, its quite rare around here so we always keep guards on it."
"never heard about kalayda andguskor due" he added with a board voice.
he looks at some sort of amulet and says "well, my shift is over" then he leave, quickly to be replaced by another man in a yellow robe.

[Krelon]

Spoiler

Show

((OOC:this happens only if no one else wants to iteract with the guard.
btw, if you feel spammed by my posts I'll limit myself))

When the guard turns around Thyria tugs Augustus' by the sleeve of his shirt and pulls him out of the guards (and any local citizens who might be around) earshot.

"Yeah I wish we could, I'd love to talk to our abductor in private. He certainly doesn't stick to the appropiate way of business proposals." Her orange eyes with small black pupils take his measure, looking up and down the small humanoid wonderingly. "Are you one of the fabled small races, like the kobolds? Or did the planar travel shrink you by half? I heard there might be dangers. You know, you can't be more than 3 feet high!"

"Anyway, all I know is that we seem to be on an other plane, this Teneris fellow is the only hint we have. And that someone didn't care to talk payment before sending us here. That bloody plant over there could be of some help as well. So what do you know about what's going on?" this last sentences are directed as well to Augustus as to any other of her companions who cares to listen.

[boomwolf]

Spoiler

Show

OOG:
no need for yourself to restrain posting, if i want to wait for others to respond i'll jest hult the game until they do. but in this part its unimportant.

well...this naturally calls for others to respond.

[Erikkin]

Sling Spears:

The short drow shudders as he is teleported once more to the world of light. His hands quickly move to his hood and he draws it around his face, cloaking it in shadows. He examines the others while he fingers his kukri. He ignores the initial contact with the guards; instead, he muses to himself in his native language of Undercommon. "Hmmm... I have never been contacted by a god before. However, if I was to be contacted by one, I would think it would be Shar. Do any of you feel that this is odd?" He waits a few seconds for anyone to respond before he realizes that noone else can understand him. "Bah. Infidels. It appears once more I find myself among th uncultured speaking in primitive babble." He frowns a bit before switching over to the common tongue. "I asked if any of you had ever been contacted by a god you'd never heard of before. A god who failed to mention his name. It seems we may be footmen in their cosmic war. I will be blunt for just a moment. I don't trust any of you yet, and I don't trust the nameless elder. I will however, search for Teneris." He folds his arms and looks at the new guard.

He quietly walks up to the new guard and looks at him. "Greetings, friend. I have a little question which your previous officer couldn't help me out with. I would appreciate it if you could help me out, and I would just hate for anything untoward to happen to you. Do you perhaps know Teneris?"

OOC: I like to color code languages, so when Sling speaks, it will be: Common, Undercommon, Elven, and Abyssal.
Intimidate: - (1d20+2)[17]
Gather Information: - (1d20+2)[16]

[Chaos Perfected]

"Though a Kobold may be a worthy companion, I am a Halfling, good lady. And what are you, may I ask? You are similar to the barbaric humans.. and yet different." Augustus responded, "Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Augustus Andronicus, leader of the Daystars. Who are yo-" He began to address his question to the group, but frowned as the Drow wandered off and spoke in low tones to the new guard.

[boomwolf]

oog:
quite disappointed the rest didnt post yet, ho well. they will catch up...

ig:
the guard looks at sling and says "a drow huh? not quite the common thing around here, we`ll keep an eye on you, but i have never heard on that teneris."
after a little thought he adds "i bet you can ask the prophet. if anyway knows it will be him."

[Krelon]

When the drow passes by talking about gods, Thyria quitely replies without interrupting him "I don't need no gods and I'm no ones footman". She eyes the drow suspiciously as he moves on.

Turning towards the halfling she straightens up proudly. "I'm a tiefling, in the common language 'those from the deep planes', call me Thyria and skip the lady. I'm a ... sailor, battleproof and waterproof, not some noble squirt."

She turns back and listens to the inquiry. As soon as Sling Spears is done a small grin appears on her lips. "It seems we team up, at least util we find Teneris ... not that I would trust a drow, yet"

Spoiler

Show

OOC: about the origin of the word tiefling see this wikipedia article

[Chaos Perfected]

"A drow and a tiefling, eh? Never heard of them. For a minute I thought he was one of those legendary elves." Augustus said with a slight chuckle. Then he looked over hard at Thyria. "I meant no disrepect, Thyria. Women have fought and died at my side in the trenches just as much as anyone."

"It seems we have a trust issue. This is going to be a problem, and one I don't need. I need to be able to trust each of you at my side so that we can quickly return to our homes. So lets just put all of this i'm a distressed loner who doesn't trust anyone attitude behind us, shall we? We're all doing this for the same reason, and I do not want to be trapped on an unfamilliar plane of reality." The little halfling said, stepping among the group as he talked and finally walking to the front of them.

"Now.. tell us, fair guard, where might we be able to find this Prophet?"

[ForzaFiori]

"A dark elf, a Tiefling, a Halfling, and a human. While I could have picked more interesting creatures to travel with, I doubt that really matters right now." Matthew says from behind the group. "What matters now is two things. One, who is this Terenis, and who are all of you? I am Matthew D'Malek, a Telepath from Sigil." As the drow voices his distrust, Matthew turns to him "Dont worry Drow, The fealing is mutual. I wouldn't trust a female drow, let alone their male servents."

[Krelon]

"Like I already told Augustus", Thyria nods in the direction of the halfling who walks away towards the guard, "I am Thyria, sailor from Arguntum, the largest city in the Great Empire of Gesis"

Gesturing towards the dark elf she says, "Our friend over there has a valid point, I have to admit that. Whoever sent us here could be this Tarzif guy himself, let's keep that in mind. Anyway, in the end it doesn't matter. My plan is to get my hands on the orb and then I'll have - I mean we'll have - an extremely valuable token for negotiations. I suggest that we should all work towards these ends." She looks in the direction of Augustus, "Hear that Augustus? You'll be able to trade it for a passage home", returning her gaze to Matthew she adds "I know nothing about Terenis, except it's our only clue so far"

While she takes on a more relaxed stance, waiting for the guards reply, she asks Matthew "What is a Telepath?".

Spoiler

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OOG:the world of Gesis has no psionic adventurers. Maybe mind flayers would qualify but they are creatures from the very deep, even less known than the drow. Even if some telepaths came through the newly created gates in the last years that knowledge is limited to scholars and nobility. Mind reading itself is known because there are spells and rare artifacts for that.

[pingcode20]

((As a side note, I realised male and female humans have different base heights, and rerolled height and weight.))

As she heard the words, Wisp swung around to look at Matthew, swinging the mask across her face again and shifting into the very visage of Sling, only distinguishable by the fact that she was still holding her signature mask.

But with a quick flick of the hand, it too vanished.

"And pray tell, Matthew, what is wrong with a drow?" asked "Sling", sounding almost exactly like 'his' real counterpart.

Disguise - (1d20+22)[40]

[ForzaFiori]

"What is wrong with a drow? You mean besides the fact that your race operates on more dark and evil secrets than the tieflings? Besides the fact that your race is a corruption of elves that was never meant to happen? Or that you are the most untrusted humanoid on Sigil, hub of the worlds? In your very veins flows deceit and trechery. When Thyria asks about his profession, Matthias answers "I am a Psion who specializes in contact and control of the mind of others. We can read minds, communicate telepathically, turn a monster into our best friend, or make it our slave for life."

[Krelon]

Looking amazed at the supposed shapeshifter Thyria exclaims, "Wow, you're a wonder! I think I know illusionists and this was soo natural - who are you, really?"

Then realization strikes her at what Matthew (Matthias?) just said and she takes a step back involuntarily, interrupting her talking to Wisp. "Just to spare you the effort finding it out, if I ever learn that you messed with my mind in any way, you will not like my personality at all... yes, your abilities are very powerful and welcome. And frankly, there are tons of races that operate on more dark and evil secrets than the tieflings, I don't doubt that there are more evil humans in the multiverse than evil tieflings"

She turns back to the human female/drow man, "Sorry, I was distracted for a second. So, who are you? I'd go so far to say that you have a sort of magnetic personality, are you a Psion like Mat here? I'm not inclined to trust strangers at all, but you have this likeable look all about you."

EDIT: ok, removing that part
((OOC: just re-read last few posts and noticed that we look for teRENis while the guard was asked for teNERis. I think I misspelled myself in some of the posts above. If this has no game relevant importance, I'll delete this part of the post.
btw, I don't roll height and weight. Within what's given on the tables I try to find the best values that fit STR,CON and class/profession of the char.))

Looking between the two drows and trying to find a difference she says, "By the way, wasn't that Terenis - not Teneris - we are looking for?" And louder towards the guard in a sweet voice: "Pray tell, good guard, does your distinguished knowledge of persons include a Terenis?"

[boomwolf]

((OOC: i slip by things that your intention was clear, i wont kill you for misspelling.))

"no, i've got nothing." say the guard, clearly unwilling to talk.

[Krelon]

"Well, this nice little man" pointing at Augustus "asked politely how we can get in touch with the prophet. I bet you've got something on that, don't you?"

[Chaos Perfected]

"My friend.." Augustus began, looking at the guard. "You mentioned the Prophet, how could you not know of his location? Its only a simple thing to tell us.. and i'd like to move on from this place as soon as possible."

[boomwolf]

"well, actually...he has not come out of his room for quite some time, but if you want to try your luck you should lok for the temple of the six by the northen gate" he says, pointing to the direction.

[Krelon]

"Ok, let's go to the temple. On the the way there is plenty of time to finish introducing ourselves", she looks at those who didn't tell their names yet "if we're lucky we'll find a tavern or two on the way. I'd love to get a cool beer and some answers from the common folk".

Thyria is trying to identify a tavern or two in the direction of the temple while she moves on.

OOC:
knowledge local (1d20+4)[7](11)
spot (1d20+4)[15](19)
search (1d20+7)[17](24)

[boomwolf]

i will wait to see if anyone is not willing to go?
if you wont respond for long i will take it is a no.

[Erikkin]

Sling:

Sling glares evilly as Matthew mentions the drow females. He speaks in a low and evil voice. "Then it is a good thing you are not dealing with a servent foolish one." He looks at Wisp intrigued as she assumes his form. Then looks as Matthew bashes his society. He quickly offers his rebuttal. "The drow society does function on those secrets, yes, but can you say that your human society doesn't? I have spent time in human lands, and yet you profess that your race of ignorant barbarians is better than mine own? I don't care what your history tells you. The elves are a corruption of the drow that was never meant to happen. You weren't alive then. There are more evil humans than there are anything. Your pathetic race breeds faster than goblins and kobolds." He turns his attention from Matthew to Thyria. "Lead on water demonchild."

[Chaos Perfected]

"I havn't had a nice one in a long time.. all the best bars are in the capital of Thermopolye. The Den is alright but its not exactly what you'd call beer." Augustus said to no one really, remembering the cobbled together mixes they made. He hoped his troops and Zion were okay. He had trained them well.

Augustus shot a glare over at Matthew and Sling, "Stop it, both of you. This is no time for bickering." He looked sternly at Matthew, "In my world, i'd have killed a human on sight. Terrible creatures, barbaric, feral, and they live underground in these.. caves. They can't even speak the way we do, no more intelligent then animals. Remember that things won't be the same everywhere.. its a concept i'll have to get used to."

[ForzaFiori]

Your mind is your own. As long as you do not seek to work against me, you will find all I will do is to create a link between you and others. Attempt to harm me, however, and you will find that I have abilities other than just messing with your mind.

[Erikkin]

"I never said that I would hurt you, only that your society is not as great as you seem to think it is."