Minos: Dark Times [IC]

[Ilhares]

Cilene

"Why does everyone seem to assume I mean the worst? Besides, even if we did leave the nutter, there's a whole village near here, it's not like it'd be abandoning him to his death."

Cilene picks herself up and brushes off the excess sand, waiting for the others to get into gear. And trying to put the thoughts of the .. angels? archons? avatars? whatever, she's trying to let that slide from her mind, it's just bad news and doesn't want to go away.

"Look, she gave a freakin' big clue. Mortal magic. Let's go find Mr. Wizard here in this big old sandbox, and see if he can crack the spells binding these things. If not, he'll probably be able to tell us who could."

[Tacitus]

Liam

At hearing Cilene's words he turns his golden gaze to the woman but says nothing until after her addition about moving on. He glances to Ruhidr and extends his hand holding the waterskin back to the dwarf, "I should be fine now, thank you, you have a noble heart." To no one in particular but to the rest as a whole he nods and speaks, "She is right. I will live, and would have even without your kind assistance. If I am here today it is only to realize my destiny, and by the marks upon my arm tied to these dragons I must be. For your aid I will accompany you and aid you in this so that I might gain more insight into the mysteries of my life here on this plane. I may know very little about the greater workings of magic, especially about such a grand spell as to entrap dragons in the likeness of stone, but my arcane powers are as much a weapon of war as any siege engine."

[demonllama]

Ruhidr

Looking thoughtful for the barest moment, Ruhidr nods decisively and says, "If yer feeling tied to these dragons somehow, then yer aid's welcome, for my part."

Glaring around as though everyone else was arguing with him, though nothing of the sort has happened yet, he says "I've a hunch these dragons are connected to the draconian army, an' even if not..." Shrugging slightly, his scowl doesn't perceivably change, but now it seems pensive instead of irritated, "Sands take me, but we're wasting time. Let's get resupplied an' visit this wizard." His mood shifting as easily as the sands on which he was raised, he chuckles wryly, "Maybe me an' yers can finally do some talking, Wanderer."

[benuneko]

Wanderer

Looking wistfully at Liam, wishing his desert sojourn could have left him with as much clarity as this man, Wanderer nods. "Indeed, I too would have you join us. Of course, as a newcomer to this interesting collection of people, I defer to the others on the ultimate decision, but I feel your connection to these dragons is more pressing than our lack of knowledge of you, yourself. But if we're going to make a decision on this, we should do it quickly. Ruhidr is correct; time is of the essence."

Then, hearing his dwarven companion chuckle, he smiles. "I, too, hope that we can finally discuss what little you might be able to tell me about who I am."

[Berand]

Round 99

While the group continues to converse, Muhami and Narlam both suddenly shake their heads and start in surprise. They look around in confusion, blinking.

"What... who's that?" Muhami asks, pointing at Liam. "Where did he come from?" He wipes one hand across his face, for all the world looking as if he just woke up, clearly with no recollection of Sha'ire's arrival.

When the group tells him that they need to set out right away for the wizard he mentioned, he nods, regaining a bit of focus. "Very well, let us head back to the village and I'll get you a guide and you can set off." Narlam hands you the used gem as well, reminding you to get it recharged.

Within a few hours you and your guide, a quiet man named Yesem, are setting off to the west on your way to Lake Solace. It took a while for all the villagers to say goodbye to Wanderer, followed by promises to return with the gem and admonishments to watch over the dragons. Just before the group sets out, however, it's determined that someone needs to get word back to the Knighthood about this. Kellin volunteers to do so, since with his magical knowledge he can explain things with a bit more technical detail. You suspect he just wants to go hit on Kiera some more, but either way you all agree it's a good idea. Muhami sends him off with another guide heading east, back to Durnlan.

Yesem tells you that you have another four days hard travel, assuming no storms develop, before you reach the edge of the desert and enter Toraland. From there it's only another day to Lake Solace, where the wizard Vendor lives. The first two days are uneventful. The sun scorches you during the day, leaving you feeling delirious half the time as you watch the air shimmer in the heat waves emanating from the next huge sand dune you have to climb. The group spends some time conversing as well, learning a bit more about Liam's past and his wanderings. No one mentions his gold hair or golden eyes. Ruhidr and Wanderer talk about the Knighthood, and while a few things might tickle your memory, nothing of substance starts coming back to you. At least those little tickles make you think your memories are still in there, somewhere.

Then around mid-day, Durgrin suddenly jerks his head around, having heard something. Before he can say anything, or identify the source, everyone hears a screech, followed by the sound of wings beating the air. Something large flies right over you, then spins to a stop and lands about 75' in front. You recognize it as the creature you saw eating the camel before running in to Muhami and his men, one that Ruhidr recognized as a species of Sphinx. It opens its eagle-like beak and lets out another screech, brandishing its huge claws. It starts to move slowly but menacingly toward you.

Combat map:

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[SandDemon]

Durgrin

Taking a few steps forward as he mutters a word to his god, he turns his head back and chimes in for insult as he begins to grow in size "So, leave it alone eh? What ya get ya freakin' pansies!"

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Init:(1d20+3)[21]

Going to move forward 20 feet and cast Enlarge. If the beast comes at me, I'll try and use Stand Still on my attack of opportunity which will kick in at 10 feet away since enlarged.
Attack of opportunity: (1d20+10)[17] (+2 bracers, -1 enlarge)
If it hits, Stand Still attempt: (3d6+19)[25] (has to beat that in Reflex or stop in place)

[Ilhares]

Cilene

"There's no guarantees it's the same one, so take your attitude and place it with yesterday's meal, dwarf."

Cilene starts moving towards the northwest, putting some distance between herself and her colleagues, making sure it can't rush forward and try to tear up everyone at once. The little blue and red trails of energy come swirling down around her wrist, forming into a solid blade grasped firmly in her hand.

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Initiative: (1d20+3)[13]

Also, beasts don't tend to attack for no good reason, and since we're not carrion, look around to see if we're near anything that might stand out as relevant (nesting, whatever).

Spot Check: (1d20+7)[23]

[Sirrion]

Torkai

Quickly stringing and readying an arrow to his bow, Torkai holds it at his side, ready to draw and fire in an instant. Keeping his eyes on the beast, he moves slowly to his left, making sure to keep a clear line of sight between him and it.

"Not sure what it's looking for, but if wants an easy meal, it will not find one here." he says quietly to himself.

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Initiative: (1d20+4)[12]

Holding my action to see what the beast does.

[Tacitus]

Liam
HP: 34/34 AC: 19 Init: (1d20+2)[15]

With a cocked brow he glances to the others, "Friend of yours, I take it?" As he moves forward and to the right ten feet, or more if he needs to keep within a twenty five foot range, he draws a strange looking wand from his belt. The length is made from tempered steel sculpted to look like a thin column of granite until in blossoms out into a mailed fist grasping a pulsating purple orb at one end. He flicks the wand towards Ruhidr and he swiftly grows to match Durgin in size. The spell will not last nearly as long but should be a boon all the same, if only to discourage the beast from attacking.

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Cast Enlarge Person from an Eternal Wand. One casting left for the day.

Edit: For reference the spell has a caster level of one and therefore has a duration of one minute.

[demonllama]

Ruhidr

Growling under his breath about certain dwarves having less sense than the sphinx in front of us, Ruhidr nonetheless moves to keep pace with Durgrin, spreading out slightly to the side so they would flank it if it tried to make it between them.

Crashing his now-giant dwarven waraxe against his shield, Ruhidr gets ready to act.

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Well, I'm nowhere near close enough to engage, so as stated I'm mirroring Durgrin at a spot the beastie would definitely get hit by both of us if it tried to go straight through. Obviously, if my initiative beats the sphinx's, I have to wait for it to make its move first as I'm not anywhere near in range.
Initiative - (1d20+4)[19]

And, in case it gets close enough for an AoO to occur:
Attack - (1d20+11)[27] (-1 size, +1 from strength boost = same)
Damage - (2d8+6)[11] (the dwarven waraxe is 1d8/1d10 for Small/Medium, the same as a bastard sword, which increases to 2d8 for Large weapons; if I'm wrong in this assumption, lemme know and I'll re-roll... if it even matters)

If it's close enough for the AoO above, it would be close enough for a normal attack:
Attack - (1d20+11)[17]
Damage - (2d8+6)[11]

EDIT: Okay, that rolling 11 for damage both times is just... irritating :P

[Berand]

Round 100

The creature stops its screeching and lets out an eerie cackle that sounds far too human-like for a beast. It slinks forward slowly, looking like a predator stalking its prey. It looks momentarily surprised when confronted with two over-sized dwarves.

Your guide freezes in place, clearly scared.

Ruhidr:

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The hair-raising cackle triggers another memory you have of these things: they all have some level of intelligence. You seem to recall a few are even as smart as dwarves, but a lot of them are significantly dumber than that. Most are even capable of speech to some degree.

Cilene:

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You pause for a moment to get a little "situational awareness", as they say in the "business". You're immediately glad you did, as you spot the dark shape of what appears to be another one of the beasts circling a ways behind you.

Combat map:

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OOC:

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Last new round until Tuesday folks, the girlfriend and I are off to New York in a few hours for a long weekend. I got the trip for her for our one-year anniversary back in September - we're going to see the Colbert Report filmed on Monday. :) Anyhow, get your rounds up and round 101 will come then. Thanks!

[benuneko]

Wanderer

Wanderer leers at the creature that is again bothering this group. Impatient to make progress on their newly acquired objectives, he first reaches into his memories to see what he can remember of such creatures. Then, he brings the words of a spell to mind, glad to feel the familiar surge of magic course through his veins as he does. It is good to be able to remember some things, and he knows that he has always had a deep affinity for magic, especially enchantments, due to his familiarity and the way that they seem to effortlessly slide to the front of his mind after a short stint of studying. He watches, waiting for signs of aggression from the creature.

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Initiative: (1d20)[16]
Knowledge: Arcana to figure out facts about the thing: (1d20+13)[25]
Holding action until it shows aggressive action toward party members, in which case:

Casting Ray of Stupidity (Spell Compendium 167)

A subject struck by the ray takes 1d4+1 points of Intelligence damage. If the target is a wizard, she might temporarily lose the ability to cast some or all of her spells if her Intelligence drops too low.

Ranged touch: (1d20+3)[17]
Int damage (if it hits): (1d4+1)[4]

I don't know if you can do both of these in one round (skill check + spell cast) so if not, just forget the held action for now.

[demonllama]

Ruhidr

Raising his waraxe and aiming it at the creature, Ruhidr booms, "Yers got no chance, yer daft bird, but come on then."

Ruhidr continues speaking, but now it's silently, apparently to himself.

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Okay... lessee. First, to benuneko: Knowledge checks are instantaneous, per standard rules, so a Knowledge check will never take up an action slot. The only times you might want to split a Knowledge check out into a separate event would be, say, when you're going to attack a draconian and only realize after you start the swing that this one is the kind that turns to stone and traps your dwarven waraxe. Doh :P

On to my post:
Unsure if this is a "new initiative" round, but just in case:
Initiative - (1d20+4)[12] - if it's not, just use the old roll (19)

Now, my actions are in this order:
1. Invoke the bead of karma (+4 caster level); free action
2. Cast Divine Grace (+2/+2 bonus, thanks to the +4CL buff)
3. Move up to just outside the sphinx's threatened squares. Again, positioned so that I would get an AoO if it tried to move past me toward, say, Durgrin. If the sphinx moves first, turn this into a "position me in a flanking position" statement.

AoO rolls, if applicable:
Attack - (1d20+13)[22]
Damage - (2d8+8)[18]
If the sphinx's Initiative beats mine, then subtract 2 from both the Attack & Damage roll, and it'll just take effect next round.

[Tacitus]

Liam

Drawing a bead on the beast out in front of them Liam slipped the wand back into his belt and directed a single finger towards it. He readied himself to deliver a ray of scorching heat from the tips of his fingers if any hostilities were shown.

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Ranged Touch: (1d20+4)[22]
Scorching Ray: (4d6+2)[3][1][4][6](16)
New Init if needed: (1d20+2)[14]

[Ilhares]

Cilene

Caught between two critters, and not knowing if more may be present, Cilene moves forward cautiously, but does not yet attack.

[Berand]

Bad news folks, I'm going to postpone the game indefinitely.

We go weeks without regular responses, the interest just isn't there. I could probably drive it along myself, but my own interest level isn't high enough. This weekend it never even crossed my mind to check the thread, after things weren't ready on Friday for the next round.

Thanks for playing!