Auromar: Light and Dark (IC 3)

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

It's... like a font of it's own. Even the fragment we drew, in it's own way, was...

Hist, seemingly about to answer Reid's question breaks off.

Hello. I think we have an answer to the whole question.

He beams.

Excuse me a moment.

He then sits down, cross legged on the floor.

That's it. He just.... sits there.

[GimliFett]

Grazys Senneker

The binder purses his lips and slowly - impatiently - taps his foot.

"An' then?"

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

After a small while, Hist's eyes open wide. Then he rises.

Well, that explains that.

One of the guards must have been a cleric of Pygas. He drew upon the energy without thinking. It established a link between us, and gave him some of his power back.

And I just heard him preying. To Pygas. The link was fragile, and snapped before anything else, but... well, that would explain it. He drew the god's energy without thinking, and used it to try and contact him.

He shrugs, and smiles once more.

Well, at least the Scholar didn't get it. Far worse things have happened

[GimliFett]

Grazys Senneker

Arching an eyebrow, Grazys strokes his goatee. "Well, that is news! I wonder how many more have links ta Pygas aroun' here? I wonder if there's a shrine or somethin', too. An' 'twould 'splain how he resisted my...diplomacy earlier, I guess." He shrugs.

[Toliudar]

Reid

Reid's brow furrows.

A priest of...so they didn't all leave? That's very interesting. He might have valuable insight into the nature of the curse. Although, if he was left to suffer its effects, he mustn't have been a very senior member of the church.

[GimliFett]

Grazys Senneker

The binder shrugs once more. "Unless, of course, he chose to remain behind?"

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

Hist shrugged

They were the guards. Pygas taught Law, obedience, ect. Abandoning their duties would probably be sinful, no?

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Do I need to roll knowledge if Hist is just guessing?

[Toliudar]

Reid

Reid scratches his head.

But...I thought that this whole thing was the curse of the priests AS they left the town. Seems pretty, well, self-sacrificing to give up your body just to become a part OF that curse.

He shrugs.

But then, I don't think I really understand how those priests could think and act the way they did. Who knows what they were capable of?

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

Who says self sacrifice is limited to the noble? Remember, these aren't brigands. They believed in doing what was expected, what order decreed right. Their job. And in their case, it was to protect the town.

And these guys were focused on Pygas in his role as Lawgiver, not as tyrant. In fact, that's how the guard prayed. "Pygas, Lord of our souls, God of Law," He used no other titles.

Where as the priests who left... were probably temple priests. The sort more like those we knew and loved.

The irony in the Aasimar's voice at the end is plain.

[Greyen]

Dothen

Shall we go collect this guy for an interview? Dothen tries to look innocent and fails completely, especially to those who knows his true visage.

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

Hist shrugs

Not that simple. I don't know who it was. All I felt was him reaching for the energy. Could have been any of them. Possibly even one at the guard house.

[Toliudar]

Reid

Reid smiles at Dothen's display.

Plus, we don't even know what we want to try. I'd say that, if we're going to experiment, we should at least have a theory to test.

Grazys has suggested that I try to recreate a bit of Pelor's light here at and past sunset, to see if the spirits of the severed cord may be able to meet, and connect with, the spirits of the night. I can try that with a modest prayer this evening, and a more potent version of his sunlight tomorrow. If we can find a way to communicate with these spirits, all to the better.

[GimliFett]

Grazys Senneker

"Agreed. So what now? Party on?" Grazys grins.

[Toliudar]

Reid

The priest frowns slightly.

This word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

He shrugs.

I could send a prayer to Anura in Eras. She often has good ideas. Perhaps she'd have a suggestion.

Unless there are objections, Reid will take a few minutes and send the following message to

"Town is cursed. No immediate danger, but complicated. Seeking advice. Can you scry me in two hours? I will prepare details. Blessings to you."

[guardinal]

Anura
Anura's response comes back a moment later.

It's nice to be wanted. Finished here for now. Will scry in 10 hours and then attempt teleport. Hallowed or uncursed ground would be best.

[Toliudar]

Reid

Reid makes no effort to conceal his delight as he shares Anura's response with his companions. Again, he engages the senior priest in conversation.

Father, we have a learned friend whose studies may cast new light on this curse, and how we might best help. I would ask your permission to use this temple as a safe haven for her to come to, this evening. I'm assuming that the building has been consecrated?

[guardinal]

Anura
Anura spends about half an hour gathering her gear and locking up the house before retiring for 8 hours' rest.

[Lochar]

The priest nods. "It has been re-dedicated to Pelor, yes. And you are welcome to entreat your friend to join you here."

[Toliudar]

Reid

Bowing in gratitude, Reid turns then to his companions.

It would appear that we have some time before Anura is able to reach out to us.

I am still eager to speak with this Kjapp fellow. I have a suggestion. Dothen, if I may be so bold - you have a knack for looking as other than you are. If this is, ah, loan-able, perhaps Hist could leave town with it inobtrusively, find this Kjapp, and loan it to him long enough for him to assume a new seeming, and encourage him to enter town as for the first time.

That's...if he has any interest in ever spending another day here. Hist, do you think that the gentleman would be up for that? He certainly has something to teach us, if he spent two weeks here in the jail and resisted the guard-spirits.

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

The warlock smiles

Probable. He seemed an adventurous sort. In fact, he wanted to travel with us to the center of the continent

He holds up his hands

I didn't explain to him about Grahf, I'm afraid. I left the idea open for later, pointing out that it was a thing we'd need to decide as a group.

Still, he'd probably be up for another night. Still,

he turns to Dothen

It's your choice, friend. We'd need that ring to get him in; he can't manage without some sort of disguise.

[Greyen]

Dothen

Dothen's face scrunches up, thinking for a few moments. He takes his scarf and wraps it around his head covering his exposed face and the pulls a ring off his hand. no one here needs to see my skin condition. He hands the ring to Hist and while eyeballing his three friends says I want that back or I want it replaced.

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

Damn well goes without saying friend. As do my thanks, I hope.

Hist smiled at Dothen, then, after finding out how the ring worked, bowed to him and vanished, flying over the gate, and seeking out Kjapp. He goes quickly too, touching the ground as soon as he sees him. If he's a fair way from the town, he immediately

Hello friend. Long story (Yet again I fear). But I've an offer for you. Do you want to speak with everyone? They want to meet you, and have provided... a way to get you in safely. But getting you out again would be tricky.

You up to that?

[Greymist]

Kjapp

((Assuming Hist manages to find Kjapp))

Kjapp smiles at the sight of Hist

To be honest I was planning on sneaking into town this evening to borrow some food anyway, so if you have some way for me to come in safely I'll definitely take it. I'd also like to thank you all in person for helping me out.

Oh, by the way did the other man with you manage to recover my equipment? With that getting out of town will be no problem.

[Lochar]

Hist can find Kjapp after a little searching, and Kjapp can make it into town with a few looks, but he is not stopped. Hist flies back into the town, invisible, but watching over Kjapp's changed form.

The evening comes and the streets of the town become deserted, just as the previous night. It is getting close to three am when Anura's hours are up, and Reid hears her voice. "Reid, this is Anura. I have scried your location and am teleporting now. If I don't appear in the next few minutes, something has probably gone wrong. Hopefully I'll see you soon."

The minutes pass, and Anura does not appear.

Anura:

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OOC: Remember I told you teleport would drop you down one level, and studied carefully says at least an hour studying with scrying.

As you collect the magics required and state your spell, you feel something twist in your magic, the ambient energies of the land between you and your location much stronger than you'd expected. The spell's energies twist and turn, redirecting your destination off course. Concentrating as the spell's energies go wild, you are at least able to trace through the Astral how far off you're going to be. The Astral link between Eras and the crossroads breaks only halfway through, and drops you further south than the western direction your spell was to take you.

The magic fades, and you find yourself standing on wood. Looking around, you find that you are in the elven city in the woods again, at the odd portal in the center of the city.

[guardinal]

Anu

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No worries. Them's the breaks.

As this is the first teleport spell she has ever cast, Anura blinks as she looks around in momentary confusion. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, she recognizing the place and breathes a sigh of relief.


Well, at least I know where I am. I wonder if the portal's magic drew me here?

just in case, Anura decides she'd better put some distance between herself and the inactive portal before trying the magic again. She loops her 'glowing orb' around her belt and then casts 'polymorph' on herself to assume pixie form. Willing the orb to put forth enough light for her to see clearly, she flies out from the city center into the forest at a hustle (double move, fly 60ft (good)).

Assuming nothing troubles her and she sees nothing alarming, when the nine-minute spell duration is nearly up she wills the orb back to darkness, lands, and immediately casts her second 'teleport' spell.

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Second time's a charm, I hope!
teleport roll: (1d100)[67]

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

Just through here

Hist lands invisibly, and leads Kjapp into the temple, and towards his friends. With that, he reappears.

Gentlemen, this is Kjapp. Kjapp, I'm afraid I'll need to ask you for that ring back now.

With that, he considers his part in the introduction more or less finished. He wanders over to the still (presumably) scarved Dothen to hand it back.

Thanks again mate.

[Greyen]

Dothen

Slipping the ring back on he unwraps his 'human' face Thanks for bringing it back. He turns to Kjapp, I think I got some of your stuff here. Dothen begins to dig in his pack unloading all of Kjapps stuff.

[Toliudar]

Reid

Reid extends his hand in greeting to Kjapp.

Welcome, friend. Perhaps, we can start to discover the friendlier side to this town. I am Reid.

He settles in to wait for Anura's scrying. Before sundown, Reid also summons enough food for all of them, and gives the extra to the priests to distribute as they see fit.

***

As the time of Anura's contact comes and goes, Reid becomes nervous. Then more nervous.

No sign of her. Hist, do you think you could do some scouting, in case she's landed nearby? I can scry on her in the morning, but in the meantime, there's not much I can do to help unless she's close by.

[Moral Wiz]

Hist

Done. She could be anywhere, so I'll use my light to try and draw her attention.

With that, Hist yet again becomes invisible, and flies out over the gates. After he's out of sight of the Town, he focuses for a moment, and before too long what appears to be a ball of blinding light starts flying around the night sky of Auromar, looking for travelers upon this barren plain

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You want me to make checks?(1d20+5)[22]spot

[Greymist]

Kjapp

Kjapp hands back the ring and then takes Reid's offered hand.

Thank you, it's definitely good to be seeing you from the other side of those bars.

After greeting all of those present Kjapp will put all his gear on.

All:

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Typical adventurer gear, though Reid may notice the symbol of Fharlanghn on a necklace, and a sprig of mistletoe.

Lochar:

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Next time I have a 24 hour break would it be easier to pray at that time to get the animal companion back? TBH they're a pain in the ass to keep track of but oh well.