All Shook Up

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

The sun rose, silent and red.

Grassy fields and leafy forests sway in the wind.

You all awake inside of your stronghold, ready to plan for the day. After having recently secured a statue of cosmic importance--the statue of the original Lord of the Nine, and discovering one of (and the strongest) of it's many hidden functions.

Unfortunately, not much time remains to enjoy your prize. Across the ocean, a storm is brewing. A similar statue of the little-known creator of the Abyss has already manifested it's Gate, and the demonic armies continue to bulk up with each passing hour.

A rotting scroll in the hand of the statue tells of the six items needed to control the stone man's powers, but the locations are not written.

--The Diamond Helm
--Ivory Breastplate
--Silver Leggings
--Chained Gauntlets
--Chained Boots
--The Soul-Tearer Axe

[Zweanslord]

Zaon

"Seriously, whoever made this thing and the items sure had difficulty finding fitting names. Now, my guess is still that these are supposedly unique items, or close to anyway, because have you ever heard of a fabled statue being able to be controlled by merely armour made out of diamond, ivory, silver and chains? A proper smith working with those materials could make those items for us. Heck, same goes for the Soul-Tearer Axe, most likely a magical axe with a not-unique property by the name of it. But considering this is of cosmic importance, I doubt it all would be that easy." A puff comes from Zaon as he shakes his head. Once again, his mental words from his telepathy fill the head of his companions. "This information seems pretty useless actually. Now, in all honesty, I do not think I have asked around for information regarding such items before, but the likelihood of these specific items being told in legends as opposed to other armour pieces made out of fancy materials, heck, chained gauntlets and boots are even common, is so far off that I do not even know where to start." For a moment, he scratches his clean chin. "Perhaps those folk at the demonic gate have similar items. Though highly unlikely the same, so that will not be of use to us. Anyway, our best option would be to look for some crafted who already made such items since we all know how long crafting can take. Our second best option is to ask around and see if, however unlikely it seems, there is some information about these.. not so uncommon type of items.. can be found. Alternatively, we can study this statue better.."

And with that, the elven figure of Zaon looks up at the others and awaits their response. Zaon himself wields his appearance with flair. An elven figure with graceful and lithe features, dressed in a stylish, purple and long jacket, which falls over his purple overshirt, which is falling over his white shirt in turn. Over that again falls his pure white and long hair, a silken tapestry of snow, merely interrupted by the long ears sticking out of it. He stands in his dark boots firmly, radiating an air of confidence and persuasiveness which fills the room. To neglect his presence seems unfathomable, since he is clearly present, noticeable and paying attention to you. His red eyes leave little to be escaped and whatever does not catch his eyes will certainly catch the eyes of the colossal dragon standing behind him. It is one of the multiple that seem to follow him without error. Without even the slightest order, they do what is in his best interest. Currently, the dragon behind him is a fierce and mighty bronze dragon, towering above the others in his unmoving position. Not even the slightest muscle is flinching, yet he seems more aware and present than the surface betrays at the first eyesight..

[playswithfire]

Thorkild
Agreed, it seems likely these are unique items we are seeking and possibly beyond the ability of anyone we could find to reproduce. Unless the whole thing is some sort of ridiculous riddle, but I doubt that, since there's a statue present that could wear the items present. But where on Earth do we begin? And do we know they're all even on Earth? The large human's voice blends interest and annoyance at the enormity of the task before them. His hardened skin, a testament to dragon ancestry in his distant past, tenses as his fists tighten in frustration, thinking. To have come this far only to be stymied.

Itaravap
Sensing his friend's mood, the slightly built Raptoran puts his hand on Thorkild's shoulder. At present, we do not know where they are, but those who built the statue must have envisioned a time when it would need to be used. And they could not be certain it would be within their own lifetime. So, it stands to reason that, either by oral tradition or by some ancient text we've not yet found, those instructions still exist. We will find them, if only because we're all likely dead if we don't. His wings spread open at this last statement, making it even more visible that he is different from most Raptorans the others have seen. Blue scales blend with lighter blue feathers, though some white still remain, the outward symbol of his study to master the art of dragonfire.

Part of the reason for this devotion, the young blue dragon Tiayan, moves about the circle, accompanied by his rider, Paog.

Poag

Yes, yes, the end of the world. That much we know. That's why we're here. But now what? Have we checked that list in any way other than just looking at it? Hidden text would make sense to me, but I'm not historian. I just want a target, something to move towards. The halfling with skin like pale stone turns to Tiayan and seems to be silently speaking with him. He had never regretted the process that made him what he is, gave him the ability to swim through the earth, and bound him to Tiayan, direct descendant of the goddess Tiamat herself. So long as Tiayan fights beside him, he is prepared for any hardship, but, for now, he will heed the dragon's silent request for patience and hope one of the more learned can give them some insight to the current problem.

[Maldiem]

Twtdi

I imagine that it is far more meaningful and distinctive in its original Infernal. At any rate, I doubt that a mundane item that has the same name would suffice. This is, after all, the first Lord of the Nine. It is entirely possible that all the items of similar names are in fact modeled after these items, if they were the first.

I shall pass the word down the lines of The Great Army of the Sands. We have a large number of Bards and storytellers among our ranks, and doubtless one of them have heard of these items. I will also review my library for any mention of these items.

The elephant-man Twtdi stands 12 feet tall, dressed in simple white and tan robes. A turban sits on his head, and the symbol of St. Cuthbert is tattooed on his forehead. He carries a huge heavy flail, and the palpable tingle of magic flows with his every move.

Debra, his anthropomorphic whale bodyguard, stands nearby, her 15 ton weapon slung over her shoulder, with the chain wrapped around her torso. She carries a Large falchion in a scabbard on her back, and a Greatsword at her hip like a dagger.

His retinue of Inevitables flanks him, a Marut eyeing Zaon with obvious distaste, but clearly reigned in by a more important mission. Two Kolyaruts stand behind that, and three Zelekhuts behind them. Outside sit his four Emerald Dragon minions, statue-like but alert.

(1d20+26)[30] Knowledge: History check
(1d20+59)[76] Knowledge: The Planes check
(1d20+59)[77] Knowledge: Religion check
(1d20+59)[62] Knowledge: Arcana check
(1d20+26)[29] Knowledge: Geography check
((Use those checks that are necessary to find out about the items in question, their history, where they are, what they do, and what could be guarding them.))

Additionally, 1,900 bards in the army make a Bardic Knowledge check, reporting stories of import to their superiors, who will screen the bunk from the possibly correct stories.

(1d20+19)[36] Gather information check to see what the lieutenants in the army hear from their suboordinates

[Jael_Darkwood]

Gaara

Standing in the shadows is the indistinct form of Gaara. "We obviously must seek out these items, and thwart our foes. One hopes that they will send nobody to interfere... but if they do... I will welcome them." The air behind him shimmers briefly, and you get the sensation of four immense presences. "Or Rather.... We will welcome them."

[Sicarius]

Vayne Tarasil

"If it were that easy, someone weaker would have done it by now. But rest assured any who pay attention will no doubt try to stop us." Unlike the others, this man came alone. Rather tall for a human, he appeared to be built almost entirely out of muscle. Green scales shone with a sickly color where his skin would be, his eyes gleamed with the reptillian nicitating membrane, and a small crest poked up slightly on his head, but was covered by the massive head of unkempt hair that he had. He looked wild, almost feral, with his clothing appearing more oversized and made out of more stitches than cloth. His teeth were sharp, and he looked almost revolting to behold. Yet there was a rugged, primal power in the way he carried himself, as if he went beyond the need for manners. He carried no weapons, although a shield stood behind, floating on it's own.

"Which one shall we seek first?" Mentally, he prepared to inform the Spurned, his elite crew, to cast the appropriate divinations.

[Zweanslord]

Zaon

By this time, Zaon has revealed that his long jacket, or coat, was actually hiding his wings. Flaps in the back of the coat were swiped to the side as two large wings unfurled themselves from the back of Zaon. Large draconic wings manifested themselves and casted a shadow over Zaon, of whom some could say it had dark malevolent eyes..
With the draconic wings unfurled, their appearance was strange. Not due to the nature of the wings, for they were draconic, but due to the colours of the wings. They seemed to be a dark, shadowy purple, unlike most, or any, dragons that were normally encountered.

Strong and flexible, these wings lifted the shape of Zaon up in the air, but the purpose as to why Zaon used these wings proved to be far from truly useful. He used his flight to get on the back of his colossal dragon, after which he furled his wings again and lay down on the back of the colossal dragon, resting against the dragon's neck. He seemed to be lying like that a bit lazily for a bit now, though the mental voice of Zaon seared through everybody's heads once more as he responded to Vayne.

"We naturally seek all of them. Why limit ourselves to one or the first? We gather information on them and then determine which one to go after, if not all at once. As I said, however, I find the likelihood of us finding usable information very slim due to the particular naming of the items. And no, I think I can be pretty sure if I say it is not more meaningful or distinctive in Infernal. I think any search for these items will surely result in us finding items, but they need not be the unique sort that this statue most likely seems to require. That, or any type of similar item would work, but that seems so far-fetched. Rituals that seek out such a goal usually require more than such items.

But hey, I could be wrong. I would hope so too.. would make our search easier. Either mundane, alright, masterwork items such as these are required, in which case this should be a breeze, or a unique kind of these items were required and these are pretty known too in the sense that they are not confusable with similar items. If the first is true, that would be great and shows that the creator of this item surely spent a lot of effort in getting that gate running and if the latter were true.. than I severely underestimated the capability of master smiths over the centuries and overestimated the expensive tastes of the wealthy people throughout the centuries. I mean, seriously, what if there had stood "Find the Iron Helmet, the Steel Breastplate, the Copper Leggings, the Chainmail Gauntlets, the Wool Slippers and the Sword of Sharpiness"? Which is basically what it says, just with more expensive materials. Oh wait, it did mention the Chained Gauntlets already. Do you see how ridiculous this is? There are thousands of Chained Gauntlets in existence, how are we supposed to find this specific one if a unique one was intended?" For a moment, you feel what seems to be a mental shrug from Zaon. "But ah well, perhaps Twtdi or his people find something. If not, I will ask my dragon here too."

Meanwhile, Zaon seems to have shifted his position on the back of the dragon and is looking down upon the others from high position once more. "Thorkild, the items could be in the earth as well. As for the rest, let us have patience for now. Anybody up for a game of Chiss in the mean time?"

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

EDIT: I heard from him, he will have more constant internet access soon.

[Sicarius]

Vayne spits, slight steam coming from where the spittle lands. "They ain't going to be things we find laying around." He states this matter-of-factly.

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

Careful thought and information sifting yields results: (this information is purposely long and vague, the point is that a lot is found, but finding what matters is difficult)

Twtdi and his followers cannot remember or find any mention of a statue of this kind in any historical works of the Material Plane, nor do any maps show the locations of artifacts as mentioned on the scroll.

Looking over dusty tomes written in alien tongues of the histories of the worlds beyond provides some slight clues. Here and there, there are mentions of statues depicting various gods and greater beings with powers similar to what this one contains. In particular, strong interest in shown by devilish and fiendish 'scholars' alike in the potential of various artifact to open a massive gate to another plane to allow the Blood War to spill over.

Although the extraplanar scholars have but theories and thoughts, the teachings of the darkests gods are more concrete. Several gods, both existing and gone, have taught their followers to search for a way of unleashing demons or devils on the mortal realms. Several artifacts have been recovered over the ages, and all were destroyed in great battles over their powers.

The arcane libraries have contradicted this idea. According to an unnamed tome recovered by one of Twtdi's bards, Mordenkainen himself captured two avatars of the creators of the Abyss and the Nine Hells, and turned them to stone. This may be one of them, however Mordenkainen has no mention of any such item, even in his most private journals--which have been laid bare to the world by the workings of Halastar Blackcloak.

Many conflicting rumors abound, these are the most often (not often) heard ones.

Several of the bards were also able to determine that the paper is not nearly as old as it should be, and that the statue may have been found previously and the orginal scroll translated again and again until it has lost it's meaning. One bard in particular is quick to point out that translated from Common to Elven to Infernal, "Chained" can have up to 12 different meanings.

[Maldiem]

Twtdi shows his colleagues the information he found, then asks them This is most unsettling. It seems these items will be very hard to find. As you've said, Zaon, any divinations will most likely need to be clarified before they are at all useful.

My suggestions are twofold-- we find a great arcane scholar from one of the independent nations, and see if they know more than I. This is doubtful, as I am very, very good, but still possible.

My other suggestion is that we find a way to contact one of infernal scholars who have researched how to open the gates-- they will most likely be very happy to help.

[Zweanslord]

Zaon

"Good point. Though let me spare ourselves a trip to a great scholar. I will ask my dragon and if he does not know then you would have to find an arcane scholar that, well, is probably too busy with his or her own epic ventures. As for the latter, I concur, though still rather vague. What I mean by this is that it gives us little to act upon. Perhaps one of you folk is able to do a divination on the scroll and see whoever was the previous owner of it? That way, we can do the long tracking down of previous information. Anyway, I can not do any divinations here." There is a moment of metal pause. "Makes me think why we are doing this again. Ah well." And with that being said, he extracts any arcane lore from his dragon minion versed in such knowledge.

Spoiler

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Knowledge Arcana (1d20+87)[91]

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

Zaon's minion builds upon the arcane knowledge discovered by Twtdi.

The wizened dragon once knew a brilliant fighter who braved the depths of Undermountain and fought Halastar himself as he 'rescued' some of the Mad Mage's library. The unfortunate fighter died opening a cursed book, but among his discoveries was a torn out page of Mordenkainen's journals.

On it was mentioned the very statue that stands before you. Scribbled in the margins, barely legible, was a reference to a "living arcane mark" which was replaced by a mundane scroll before the statue was hidden.

A different hand had circled the mark, and written by it: Mechanus

[Zweanslord]

Zaon

Sharing the knowledge he gained from his dragon minion, Zaon seems to shrug. "Well, more than that we will most likely not find by consulting lore. Anybody have an idea of what it means for us or how this newly found knowledge will be able to guide further steps? I mean, Mechanus is, last time I checked, not the smallest place to look for something."

[Jael_Darkwood]

Gaara

"It seems logical that these artifacts, items which support the cause of extremely lawful evil would be concealed in Lawful and Evil planes... Perhaps we should travel to Mechanus and begin an investigation there..."

[playswithfire]

Thorkild
Doing anything sounds better to me than standing around here. If that means a jaunt to Mechanus, so be it.

Itaravap
Agreed, though I will remain here if there are any who wish to wait and come up with our second idea.

Poag

Tiayan and I won't be much good at new ideas, but hunting down and intimidating sources of information? That we can do. We stand ready to join a group going to Mechanus

[Sicarius]

Vayne

"Anyone going to stay here and watch our place? My crew ain't housesitters."

[Jael_Darkwood]

Gaara

"My minions and I will make the journey. Any who wish to come may do so." He pauses, and looks around. "I have the means to travel there, but no ability to take passengers. So if anyone else wants to come, they will have to bring themselves."

[Maldiem]

Simply charging into Mechanus is an unwise proposition at best, especially if we do not know where to go. I doubt it is simply laying around. Still, it is all we have to go on right now. Let me see what I remember about Mechanus...

Anyway, I can cast Plane Shift, so I can transport whomever cannot transport themselves.

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[roll]1d20+59[/roll]Knowledge (the planes) check, to find place in Mechanus that would be well-aligned to our cause, or may have useful information about it. Or, at the very least, won't drop us into the maw of the clockwork tarrasque, or whatever happens to lurk there.

[Maldiem]

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(1d20+59)[64]

Not sure why that didn't work...

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

Mechanus is a fairly well-understood plane by many, and Twtdi remembers the following:

It is a plane based solely on law and order. The inevitables protect various moral standards (honoring contracts, etc.) and act as a police force within mechanus and throughout the planes. The plane itself is made of giant spinning cogs which can be quite dangerous to walk between, although otherwise it is relatively safe.

Chances are that the librarians of Mechanus will be willing to help in return for a service (finding more books for them, most likely) and will not care what you are looking up as long as you do not commit crimes to get the information from them.

[Sicarius]

Vayne

"I'm taken care of. Do we just knock on every library's door? Or is there one that's better?"

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

Sorry about the delay.

There are many libraries on Mechanus, but close to the very center of the plane is a massive cog with a spire run by the Fraternity of Order which contains information donated by practically every writer in the multiverse in return for a look at the stacks. Access is given to the general stacks for free--although a contract the size of a book must be signed. The rarer texts often require a gift of an usual writing to see.

[Zweanslord]

Zaon

"Well, I will need some aid in traversing to another plane if we do that. Preferably I would take some of my dragon companions with me in case there are troubles and few may be left behind to guard this place. Would it not be easier to open a Gate instead of Plane Shifting?"

[Sicarius]

Vayne

"That's how I'm getting there. Got a guy who's gonna open it right as soon as I leave here. So, anything else we need? If not, I'm going there."

[Zweanslord]

Zaon

Standing up from his place on the dragon, Zaon once again unfurls his draconic, purplish wings in a grandeur and splendid way, after which he soars down. As he does, the following telephatic question is asked. "Would you mind if I and a number of my dragons tag along?" With the question left hanging, so does Zaon hang higher in the air before Vayne as his wings flap gently to keep him aloft. His red, piercing eyes look down upon Vayne, demanding an answer to the question.

[Sicarius]

Vayne

Vayne looks noticeably less than impressed. "Don't care." He states simply with a shrug.

[Jael_Darkwood]

Gaara

"Then we are decided. I will leave my allies here to defend our sanctuary. To ensure that we all end up in the same location, I will travel through the Gate as well."

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lets leave all the minions here, if we get into combat its enough just having our characters... too many extra combattants will just make things too complicated, and the DM will have to throw something way stronger at us :p

[playswithfire]

Thorkild
Looking over at the other two, who knod, Thorkild turns to Vayne
We would also need passage through your gate, if permitted
Our dragon followers will also arrange themselves to guard this location.

[Sicarius]

Vayne

"Right, maybe we can all hold hands and skip around too." Vayne looks around, disinterested. He starts to walk out, motioning to the group he'll be back in a few minutes.

Several minutes later, he returns with a bookish looking man in long robes. The taint of evil is clear on his twisted horns and fangs, marking him as a tiefling to those who understood even the basics about the planes and mixed bloodlines.

"Library of the Fraterinity of Order. On Mechanus. Far enough away so we don't pop right on them." Vayne says briefly. The mage casts an incantation, moving his arms, and a circular hoop forms in mid air, 20 feet in diameter. "You can't fit, it's your problem." Vayne spits out, walking through the portal to Mechanus. Seconds later, the mage walks through as well.

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Due to logisitics of it, I'm bringing my mage so he can open a gate back.