The Cube (IC)

[Taffimai]

Linon

Following Yashar to the meeting point (or making her own way there if he is going somewhere else), Linon reflects on his words.

Xii'thktor must be very prosperous if they can afford to spend 24.000 gp just to make sure an empty tomb is really empty. It makes sense now, too, that his original notice put so much emphasis on the treasure we might find: no better way to keep treasure hunters off of your streets than to hire them yourself.

At the meeting point, she immediately walks over to Hynerst. "Mister Whistkingstone?" She waits for him to notice her.

"I have already met the mayor this morning, and I have told him of your discoverings. I know it was your work, and I made sure to give you all the credit for it, but it just seemed too important to risk not being able to tell him. I hope you don't mind too much."

Assuming Hynerst doesn't get angry, she smiles at him and then returns to the others. She enjoys listening to John's music for a while, then says to no one in particular:

"I have a really good feeling about this mission. I hope you are all looking forward to it as much as I am."

[Bender]

Hynerst

Hynerst takes a small step backwards when Linon approaches him, and tenses up. After her explanation he whispers: "I don't mind".
He is relieved when the woman leaves him alone again. She is nice enough.

[Halna LeGavilk]

John looks around at his companions. "Alright, once Loretta gets here, we should be good to go. But, we need to discuss strategy." John sits up and puts his harmonica away. "Hynerst, what does the map say about the first room again?"

[Bender]

Hynerst

Without retrieving the map or looking up:
"first room says: "Nothing here." The second room says "Our fellows fell…all the gold is gone, but we dare not retrieve it.""

[Taffimai]

Linon

"It is a good idea to discuss tactics up front, but we shouldn't forget that the notes Mr. Whistkingstone has translated are several hundreds of years old, and that monsters can move around. That empty room might no longer be empty. Also, if they didn't get the chance to clear up the bodies of their fallen comrades, those might have attracted all kinds of foul creatures."

She pauses briefly.

"I propose that I look into each room before we send anyone in and see if there is anything evil inside. If that should mean that I might take the first blow from time to time, well, I don't really care about that."

[Otakutaylor]

Loretta

Well... let's get going.

Loretta shows up, a bit behind everyone else just like the first time. But she seems taller this time, and apperently... she has wings.

Of course, it makes a lot more sense when she comes into view that she's apperently carrying a large owl on her shoulder. It's nearly two feet in height and an intimidatingly large bird for it's normal size. Loretta shows up with a smile on her face, laughing somewhat at the situation.

Before Loretta says anything to the party, she turns to the bird and makes a few odd sounds while gestureing to the lot of them. She finishes and turns to the group.

"Good day everyone. Allow me to introduce, Hoots."

[webgem]

Jarek

Jarek blinks in surprise at the overly large owl. I've never seen some strange birds, but that is exotic even for me.He motions toward the interesting creature.

"That's a nice bird"

He turns back to the rest of the party and addresses Linon.

"That certainly is a decent idea, although I find it unfair that one person need be the first in at all times. There is something else to consider though, not all things that could be dangerous are evil. Especially the room where they talk of falling. That seems more likely to be a trap of some sort. Is anybody trained in that sort of thing?"


OOC: I had a cat named hoots once

[hexonxonx]

If all of you are ready to go (and it seems you are,) Yashar will meet you all at the middle of town. Following him is a red-haired human female of middle aged who is trailed by a sleek black panther. "This is Lady Deidre," Yashar says. "A prime, she moved here a few years back. She is a Druid, and has been tracking around the wilderness around Xii'thktor for most of her time here. She found the vault, when all we had to go on was some vague rumors by the ungrateful dead." Deidre does not show any pride in this complement by her mayor. "She will be your guide to The Cube. Unless you have any last requests, you should begin the quest today." It is the middle of the afternoon.
(If no one disagrees.)
She leads you out of town, which does not take too long seeing as how Xii'thktor is not very big to begin with. Once the small homes of the town are out of sight behind you, Deidre speaks. "We go at this quest in two days. I could get us there before the sun sets if I had a mind to. But, except for the dwarf lady, you are not skilled in the ways of the wilderness, and such a quick pace would surely exhaust you and leave you ill-prepared for whatever waits in The Cube." This is the longest thing she ever says to you on the journey. She leads you through paths that you could not possibly see for yourselves (except for Loretta, who has an eye for hidden game trails and such things.) This part of the Outlands alternates between tall grass prairie and shrubland, and the only landmark to speak of is The Spire, as tall as they sky, at the center of the Outlands. You go through that day, camp early that night, and leave early the next morning. By midmorning you stumble upon The Cube.

It is very nondiscrept, and you understand how this ruin could have remained undiscovered for nearly two thousand years. Most of the Cube remains underground, buried under a large hill. An upper edge of The Cube lays exposed where the hill on top of it eroded away, and a large rent has torn through the wall, leading into a black hole. The entrance is almost completely obscured by hanging shrubbery.

"This is it," Lady Deidre says. Her panther lays by her feet, and she looks at the sun. "I camp further back along the trail. I cannot give you too much aid, but I can guide you back to town if you need to get back in a hurry. I dare not camp right next to The Cube, for I do not want to attract any more attention to this region than I have to. I'm afraid you're all on your own now."

With that, she leaves you, traveling up the path that lead you here.

(before she left, she left you detailed instructions about where to find her if you need to.)

Now what?

[hexonxonx]

(OOC: I didn't want to stifle any conversation PCs wanted to have with each other. You will have several hours to talk about strategy as you walked to The Cube, so please feel free to add dialogue as you want. I simply assumed people were getting sick of town, and you had everything you needed from town. Tell me when you are ready to actually enter The Cube.)

[Halna LeGavilk]

As they are walking through the shrubbery, John walkes closer to Linon. He looks over at her and says "I don't think you should take all the risk. I can see pretty well in the dark too, I should definitely take on part of that burdan."

[webgem]

Jarek

During the trip Jarek spends most of his time examining the surroundings and taking in the scenery. He seems to be enjoying himself quite a bit, even whistling quietly at times, if a bit off key. If he seemed to be quiet, hidden, and sarcastic when the party was in the town, he is a stark opposite once the trip begins. Not that he seems particularly adept at navigating the woodlands, it is more that he doesn't seem to mind the mistakes he makes. If any interesting examples of local flora or fauna present themselves he inquires about them to his more knowledgeable companions. Well, we're out of the city, and at this point I'm more likely to be in danger from the cube more than my companions hopefully. I suppose it would help to know a bit more about my companions.

Around halfway through the first day he addresses the group with a question, "Well my traveling companions, I do think that deciding on some sort of a plan is a good way to go in these situations, and I believe the best way to know how to work together, is to know at least a bit abot what we are good at. At least as far as how we will approach this upcoming adventure goes.

to hexonxonx:
Knowledge Religion:
Knowledge religion on Linon if I can see her holy symbol and surmise from her..."looking in for evil" to know if she is a paladin, or if I know what paladins are.
[roll=knowledge religion]1d20+8[/roll]
[/spoiler]

OOC: This is if I get info from my rolls, I will cross it off if it doesnt work
"For example I would guess that Linon is some sort of holy warrior, or paladin. Pardon me if I am wrong, or overstepping my bounds. But either way you and John seem likely to be able to hold your own in a brawl. Myself, I prefer to stay back aways and shoot things with my crossbow here. I don't know much about you others, other than I'd guess you are more than just a simple scholar Hynerst, although there would be nothing wrong with that alone. I am also adept in some magic. I am mostly able to fix damage that bad luck brings, but I also can prepare many different sorts of spells depending on what we might need.

OOC:The only difference is that I would only refer to Linon and John as being able to brawl in a fight, instead of mentioning paladin.

OOC: Okay, I thought I did that right, could anybody help explain what I did wrong here? I'm a little new to the forums, sorry.

[Bender]

Hynerst

When Loretta nears with her owl, a panicking shriek comes from Hynerst's pocket. He puts his hand in and starts moving it around "shhhhh, Vuskunsis, shhhhhh".
For the whole trip, Hynerst avoids being too close to Loretta and her owl.
In fact, he avoids stepping too near to anyone, lagging behind a bit and trying to avoid getting dirt on his boots. He is quiet and only responds shortly when addressed directly.
He occupies himself by identifying plants by mentally comparing them with the pictures he saw in books. He regularly looks up to the spire and the glorious city of Sigil.

OOC: your roll seems fine, perhaps you only added it when editing the post? rolls only work when you roll in the original post. You can't preview your post or use special signs like () inside the roll either.

[Taffimai]

Linon

"Hello, Loretta, and welcome, Hoots."

Linon smiles at the owl and glances over at Hynerst, paying close attention to how he is interacting with his pocket. Realizing that he must have an animal with him too, she feels a brief pang of envy.

One day, I will rise high enough in St. Cuthbert's esteem that he will send me a companion, too. It will be a powerful steed who will fearlessly follow me into battle. I'll take care of it just like Mr. Whistkingstone protects his little friend, and it will be trusting and loyal just like Hoots...

She muses on her future friend for a while, and so misses Jarek's remark and anything else that happens until Yashar and Lady Deidre arrive. Though the scenery is nice enough, it's also quite repetitive and she soon loses interest in the flowers and shrubs that she passes. The distraction offered by John is very welcome.

"I don't think you should take all the risk. I can see pretty well in the dark too, I should definitely take on part of that burdan."

Oh, yes, please. I wasn't suggesting that I should get to be the brave hero with the rest of you cowering behind me like grannies. Four eyes always see more than two. How about we take turns? First one to get hit in one room has to stay behind the other when entering the next.

She smiles broadly and unless she feels that John is getting bored, they chat the morning away about the benefits of flanking your opponents, two-handed weapons versus weapon-and-shield styles, metal versus wooden shields and similar fighter related topics.

When Jarek joins their conversation, she gladly admits to being a paladin and asks him which ideals he advocates.

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[rollv=Knowledge religion]1d20+2[rollv] to link the travel and luck domains to Fharlanghn, though she won't comment on it if she does.

"You just be careful with that crossbow, though. If you hit me you'll be lucky indeed if I don't come over and smite you!" she jokes at him.

That evening, she asks Hotaru to sing a heroic tale for them, and tries to get everyone to tell about their past adventures. Her own are rather disappointing, ranging from protecting merchant caravans from thugs to "help, help, my basement is overrun by spiders".

(OOC: you might notice that Linon doesn't eat or drink and only sleeps 2 hours per night)

[Taffimai]

(My roll didn't work either, so I'm going to try again without the surrounding text)
knowledge religion - (1d20+2)[20](22)

[Grrth]

Hotaru:


Hotaru leaves the planning of strategy to the real warriors of the group and instead lets his mind wander, humming and occassionally whistling as they follow Lady Dierdre. The owl is a magnificent creature, but such a mundane animal holds little interest for the bard. He muses once more about dragons and finally decides to drop back and speak to Hynerst. Wizards were usually scholars, too, and he might know something.

"Say, Hynerst," he says, "didn't you say that the map's writing was some kind of version of Draconic? I was wondering, do all wizards know the language? Or do you follow the stories that all magic is derived from some kind of link in the past to dragons? Does dragon blood run in your family somewhere?"

((he's trying to strike up a conversation, not bombard Hynerst with questions))

Whether or not that works, Hotaru will stay to the rear of the group, keeping a close eye on the absent-minded wizard.

That evening, she asks Hotaru to sing a heroic tale for them, and tries to get everyone to tell about their past adventures. Her own are rather disappointing, ranging from protecting merchant caravans from thugs to "help, help, my basement is overrun by spiders".

Around the campfire, Hotaru is exceedingly pleased to get a request from the paladin. He sweeps her a gallant bow and obliges the party with a performance.

((ho, ho, let's see how we do now!))

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(1d20+11)[3](14)

((GAH! Oh, the pain, the pain!)) As he realizes how just awful he's sounding, Hotaru will blush beet red, clam up, and slink off to his bedroll. "Wake me when it's my turn at watch."

In the morning he looks to the strategists. "So, how do you recommend we proceed?"

[Bender]

Hynerst

Hynerst seems less uncomfortable about being talked to when someone requests some of his knowledge. Although he keeps his face down, his voice is stronger and less wavering when he answers Hotaru.
"Magic comes naturally to dragons. Therefore they need little study and preparation for it and their magic is exceptionally strong. Those dragons that used their great intelligence and long lifespan to study magic uncovered arcane knowledge otherwise inaccessible. The tomes they wrote where in their language and those who study magic have an advantage when they understand draconic. A lot of powerful humanoid wizards kept the tradition and published their findings in draconic as well.
I do not think it is necessary to have a strong draconic heritage to be able to perform magic. The same, and more, can be achieved by years of discipline and study. I have no knowledge of any draconic ancestry of my own, but the intermingling of bloodlines gets extensive over millenia and it is therefore not impossible."

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for possible future discussions:
knowledge arcana dragon disciple - (1d20+15)[32]
knowledge arcana silver dragon - (1d20+15)[34]
and while I'm at it
knowledge religion st cutberth and Linon - (1d20+8)[23]
knowledge religion Jarek - (1d20+15)[28] ==>this one is actually only 21, screwed the modifier

[Otakutaylor]

Loretta

Loretta notices the wizard strugling with his pocket as she walks up with Hoots. A familiar again, huh? defenitly a wizard.

After they get going, Loretta makes an effort to watch Hynerst and his pocket friend. As soon as she's fairly certain it's a rat she calls out to him.

"You don't need to worry about Hoots, if your little friend is feeling a bit troubled. He's a Blakiston's owl."

She finishes her sentence, then chimes back in a moment later realizing he may not know what that entails.

"It means he's a fish eater, large insects in case of a lack of fish. Rodents and small mammals aren't his prefered food item. See?" As she lifts up one of Hoots' legs and showing him the foot. "It's this X pattern for grabbing fish out of shallow water."

Loretta wouldn't be suprised if he still keeps his distance, so to at least put him at ease on occasion she has Hoots keep his distance.

Loretta may be a ranger, and well versed in tracking animals and path making, but this druid lady knows so much more than she does. She doesn't point it out each time, but she's learning things she didn't know about nature during this trip.

As for the campfire stories of past adventures, Loretta gives the more humorous tale of an adventure she was on with two rogues who weren't the sharpest swords in the smithy. They worked in unison with each other, and weren't that bad at it, but were only suited to the urban enviroment, or more importantly humanoid opponants. She still laughs when she thinks about them attempting to stab a walking tree. They learned that daggers don't work that well against a tree. Turned out the young treant just needed a good talking too.

[webgem]

Jarek

Jarek spends his time
OOC: don't have time for a long post now, but i'm going to try to pick out a slightly revised spell based on our discussion so it's ready for the cube, I'll have a longer post out in about 6 hours

OOC: I guess this actually said everything I wanted to.

In response to Linon's question about his ideals, he replies that he advocates he replies that he doesn't think he would use such a powerful word. "It's a little more simple than that for me. I try not to preach to anybody. But if I had to nail it down it would be a couple of things. First I believe that everybody's life is influenced by luck to some degree. Certainly the world isn't total chaos, but I try not to get weighed down in regiments that might be changed in an instance by something that I can't control. No offense of course meant to anybody that does, I just try to remain as open as possible. Also, I believe that everyone should get out and see the world, or the planes as is the case. Seeing things from a perspective different than your own, seeing different cultures and people, makes people better in my opinion."
After this brief speech Jarek tries to talk some more strategy as far as combining magical efforts and the more physical aspects of the plan. If anybody else cares to add in to the magic area, Jarek gladly hands over the reigns. The only real spell choice of importance is one that he mentions to whoever seems to be inclined to be the front person. "I know it is fair to rotate out who enters each room first, but I do have an alternate solution perhaps. I have a spell that allows me to receive some of the damage dealt to a person. We become linked for about 5 hours, and any thing that hurts the person linked hurts me as well, but we are both injured equally. I can't switch the spell between people, and I don't have the components to have it be on multiple people, but it is an option. We would have to stay close to each other, around 30 feet, but it is likely in a place like this it would be a foregone conclusion. Beyond this Jarek continues the magical discussion, and in the morning prepares his spells according to any relevant information.

[Taffimai]

Linon

"I know that spell. It's a very useful one indeed, because it lowers the chance that you'll have to heal someone mid-fight, which allows you to do more interesting things. Not only that, but it is a lot easier to heal yourself than it is to run up to someone in the midst of a fight to lay your hand on them. A lot safer, too. I suggest that you use it to shield John or Loretta, since I can always heal myself in case I really need it."

She looks over to Hotaru and Hynerst, glad to see them engaged in conversation.

"You know, Jarek, when you go over to compare spells, you should remind them to shout out what they know about the things we encounter, especially if they know of any particular dangers or weaknesses. No offense, but you knowledgeable people tend to forget that not everything you know is common knowledge for everybody."

[Halna LeGavilk]

After their long discussion about weapons and such, and when everybody settles down to rest that night, John pulls up to Jarek and Linon. After listening talk about strategy for a while, John thinks of something. "I don't think we should do that spell. Say, if one of you guys gets hurt really bad, then we have two guys down for the count, likely dead weight, and since I assume you both have healing abilities, two of our healers down. Probably a bad idea, at least if we cast the spell on you two. It would probably be smarter to cast it on myself and you, Jarek."

After they are done discussing strategy, John pulls out his harmonica and begins to play.

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(1d20+4)[5]
OOc:I'm assuming John overheard Jarek and Linon talking about religious stuff, he figured they were clerics or paladins or some-such. He does have a high enough intelligence score for that, right?

Oh, also, if I roll really bad, John gets embarrased and stops playing.

[hexonxonx]

ooc: I'll let you talk until you are done strategizing.

[Otakutaylor]

Loretta

"Well, I guess we're good to go. Right? Suppose we should go in. The map said nothing was in there, right?" Loretta says with a grin, knowing that "nothing" usually means "something you didn't notice".

"Oh, since there's likely no light in there, I suggest if you can't see in the dark you get some light."

[Bender]

Hynerst

Silently, Hynerst gets an everburning torch from his backpack. He stays to the back.

Immediately before entering, he casts mage armor on himself.

[Taffimai]

Linon

Barely managing to suppress her excitement now that they're finally there, Linon waits for John so that they can walk up to the opening in the cube together. She carefully peers through the hole, keeping as much of herself as she can hidden from anyone who might be looking at them. She shifts from side to side to get in as much of that first room as she can, looking left, right, up and down, all the while relating to the others what she discovers.

In her enthousiasm, she goes as far as to give details that are quite irrelevant, such as the markings on the spider that has built a web right inside the entrance, before she realizes that Loretta will be quite capable of seeing the spider herself once she gets up there.

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spot - (1d20+5)[16](21); darkvision 60ft and she's detecting evil

[webgem]

Jarek

OOC: I cast extended long strider on myself, and shield other on john unless somebody else can think of a good reason in our discussion, I include everyone so whoever makes the best argument. So far looks like john unless loretta makes more sense. I inform whoever I cast it on we need to stay within around 30 feet of them roughly, that being one of the spells few limitations.

Jarek pulls out his crossbow, loads it and prepares himself. He too is very excited. He tries to stay within 10 feet of whoever he had cast his spell on.

[Halna LeGavilk]

Johnathan unsheathes his sword and readies his shield. He moves slowly up to the hole, peering into it, and listening for anything.

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(1d20+2)[14] That's my listen.
(1d20+2)[13] That's my spot. Darkvision 60 ft.

[Grrth]

Hotaru:

"Here, why don't I go in first?"

Johnathan, Jarek, and Linon turn around but don't see anything. They do hear Ru chuckling.

"Handy, no?"

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He's invisible.

[Taffimai]

Linon

When John pulls up to her with his weapon drawn, Linon does the same. Now why didn't I think of that?

Hotaru's remark makes her swing around. She looks left and right for something he might be hiding behind. It takes her a while to catch on that he really isn't there.

Nice one. Would have been even nicer if he had mentioned this trick up front, like, when we were discussing tactics, rather than being all "I'll go along with whatever you warriors decide" and doodling dragons in the dust.

She is unpleasantly reminded of the novices of Kord springing similar surprises on her, then sighs.

That's right, he must be about their age, too. Would he actually ever have seen a real fight? Maybe he's nervous and trying to lighten the mood. After all, it's just a prank.

She smiles now, and says in a friendly yet concerned tone:

"That is indeed very handy, Ru, but will you actually be able to see anything? I mean, even if you had an invisible torch, creatures would still see the light, wouldn't they?"

[hexonxonx]

Just so you know, the vegetation around the opening is so dense that you cannot see into The Cube.

[Taffimai]

((Well, could Linon detect any evil behind it? It penetrates up to 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of metal, or 3 feet of wood or dirt (lead blocks it even as a thin sheet) Range 60ft))