The Lost (IC)

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Peter/Meredzul

Finding a spot to change, although not as hidden as he wished it would be, Peter removes his traveling clothes from the box and puts them on. Well, at least I'm not stuck with just a robe. Glad I wrote that down. Stupid wizard robes.

And this gear. Wow. No headband of intellect, but guess I can't complain that I have other ways of blowing things up. And this cloak of charisma should let me take care of the diplomacy as need be - even if I don't have the skill points for it. Hmmm.....wonder if I can use my own personal skills. I wonder how that all will tie in.

Noticing that his gear is almost entirely black with some yellow trim, Peter then opens his spell component bag. He realizes that, although he doesn't consciously know what things are, they seem to make sense. He starts rummaging through them - as if to memorize each of them. This system seems out of place for an otherwise haphazard man - except for his strange habit of hyper-organizing his dice. He even adds the signet ring to his pinky.

Noticing Gwen heading out, Peter tosses the rest of the items into his Haversack - once again returning to his haphazard ways.
"Hey Gwen - wait up! I'll join ya." Not bothering to put his Wizard's robe on, Peter hurries to catch up to the druid.

[wxdruid]

Gwen

Gwen halts at the sound of her name, she turns a little, Yes? Oh, of course, I just need to find the way out...

[TwoCents]

Kate/Emmerli

Kate turned her back to the others and pulled on her small clothes followed by one of the grey pants. Years of life in the field had killed most of her body modesty, so after a quick check to make sure all the important bits were facing away from the group she dropped her robe and pulled on one of the tunics. Quickly dusting off the robe, she folded it and placed it to the side of the pack. Socks and boots came next, and then the armor.

Kate carefully unpacked her pack and examined everything, making sure she understood what everything was. "Hmm. Weird dice. Pretty, but weird," she said, carefully wrapping the Dice of Chance back up and putting the bag carefully away in the bottom of her pack. "Forgive me, Lady of Luck, but I hope never to be desperate enough to risk using these," she prayed.

She began to pack the haversack and don her magic items. "I have a bad feeling about this place. He said we would have a lot of healing magic, but six wands seems a bit excessive," she said, as she carefully slid the wands into a side pocket of her Haversack.

"Gwen, wait until we're all ready to go, okay?" Kate pulled a deck of cards from the pile of stuff and did a quick shuffle. She smiled happily, tapped the deck, and replaced it. "I think I'm going to want to get a belt and some pouches when we get a chance. The haversack is fan-damn-tastic, but there's something to be said for having a bit of this and that about one's person. Hey! Why do I get the GP Small tent? No snorers need apply, or you can just sleep outside. Anybody want to find out if 'travel rations' are better than Three Lies?" Kate looked over at Dierdre, winked, and explained, "Meal, Ready, to Eat"

Finally finished packing, she slung her backpack and bounced to her feet. "Oh, wow. I have to do that again." Quickly sitting back down, she jumped back up and giggled. "You never miss knees until you lose them."

[Daryk]

Aaron

As Aaron read his list, his draw dropped slightly. "I don't even know what all this stuff is," he said to himself. Inhaling sharply, he added, "I do know we're probably on every thieves' wish list right now, though, since it's going to take us time to figure out how to use it all."

That said, Aaron got dressed, not particularly caring about modesty, but not making a production of it, either. It was simply what needed to be done.

[Lochar]

Brandon

Letting out a low whistle at his list, Brandon looks over to Aaron. "I think the term you're looking for is Monty Haul. Several of these things break wealth by level all by themselves." He grins. "Not that I'm arguing."

Brandon slides a pair of the underwear on under his robes, then drops the robes and continues to dress, leaving the bard clothes in the chest. He then dons most of everything, before putting the few remaining items into the backpack and pulling everything out. "Nice."

[dauphinous]

Hannah

Hannah, still busy marveling at her own body, is tempted to ignore her box. Who cares about stuff? But the peer pressure of diving in and equipping is more than she can take. She opens her letter carefully, reveling in the feeling from her fingers as she does so, then scans the list. She looks up at nothing in particular and blinks a few times, then looks back down at it, reading it again. When she speaks, addressing someone's concern, she isn't quite sure whose, she sounds a little defensive. "He's just being careful, that's all. He wants us to succeed. If you wanted someone to succeed at a task, you'd give them all the help you could, too."

She starts with the clothing, going for the uniform. It just somehow feels like the right thing to choose. She doesn't bother with modesty, just dropping the robe where she is and pulling the clothes and chain shirt on without regard for who might be looking or not. No one ever looked at her. No one ever wanted to see. The scars had been much, much worse on all the parts of her body she usually kept covered up. It reminded people of mortality, of the fragility of life, and no one wants to be reminded of that. If she flashed flesh, people turned away, they didn't take a closer look. So she didn't care in the slightest. Even though her body was nigh flawless now, with the athletic grace of a predator.

Carefully strapping everything on, she moved in precise motions. Everything seemed lighter than she expected, and everything had a place. The sword belt went thus, the boot sheath went so. Anya clearly knew her gear and how to use it. After pulling on the gloves, she picks up the red leather bracers and gives them an odd sort of look. "I have no idea what the prof must have been thinking with these. Does anyone who actually has and uses a bow want some Greater Bracers of Archery?"

[Lochar]

Brandon

Turning, with the new guitar in hand, Brandon boggles for a moment, catching a glimpse of Hannah as she pulls her shirt on. Shaking his head, he has to smile as he watches her finish getting dressed. At her question, he shrugs. "I've got lesser ones, which are really good enough for me."

He shrugs. "No, what's really got me worried is this." He pulls a rod from his backpack. The rod is made of twisted metal, capped with an unidentifiable stone. "How desperate do you have to be to attempt to use a Rod of Wonder?"

[mdsoze]

Alastair

He scans the list of items carefully, noting each one, smiling as he does so. Then he bursts into almost a maniacal laugh.

ha ha ha ha ha....

His laughing continues, albeit quieter, as he begins to go through his gear. He puts on a pair of pants, and then tosses the robe aside before he dons his tunic.

Then he begins to go through his gear. Yes, he was a mercenary. Yes, the armor would be fantastic, allowing him to blend in a crowd.

He begins to put on his armor, and Alastair's experience takes over, donning it efficiently. But with Alastair's experience came something else. He was putting on his armor when flashes of people, of places, of battles passed before his eyes. He saw a man being led away in chains, and knew it was his brother. He saw himself slicing the head from another man. And then he saw his father. These were Alastair's memories. Douglas knew he'd written them down, thought out his backstory of a mercenary who is trying to make good in the world. But now, they filled his mind, the images so vivid that they seemed like they had actually happened, like they had been his life story.

Finally, after he had put on his armor, packed his haversack, put 2 kinds of each potion in his belt pouches, and slung his waterskin over his shoulder so it hung by his hip, he reached for his weapon. The mercurial greatsword. And as he did, the combination of Alastair's experience and Douglas's metallurgical curiosity brought forth a large smile, and the strange laughing came to a halt. As he picked up the sword, he held it horizontal, tipping it from side to side, feeling the mercury run down the center of the blade. Alastair knew the sword was of good quality, and Douglas marveled at how it had been forged.

Alastair walks towards the center of the group, still tipping his sword back and forth.

I can feel it, I can feel the mercury redistributing along the blade. This is... incredible.

[Wiz]

Diedre

Diedre steps from the shadows, clad in her finery including the cloak which boosts her charisma even higher. She smiles and does a little turn to show off. "Hey, it's not so hard to move if you don't think about it and just do it!"

[Lochar]

Brandon

Grinning, Brandon's fingers slide along his guitar, a song familiar to most coming from it. "If you're going to dance, Jimi can help." He laughs then, his fingers playing the song even though he's never actually been a guitar player before.

He stops playing after a moment, looking around. "By the way, the great professor left me a pearl of power. Anyone want it, since as a bard, I don't prepare my spells?"

[Wiz]

Diedre

The girl laughs, a melodic giggle. "I've never danc... oh... well, Bill never danced and I have no special training in it." She smiles, "I can talk a good deal though, and I've studied the lore of nature, particularly the significance of color, and I'm familiar with the ways of the nobility, and of course I know magic... I'm very good at magic!"

She stops moving as the music stops and she looks at Brandon, "If you don't want it, I could certainly make use of it."

[Santanya]

Quanos/Jason

Jason whistles as he starts looking through the pack. He quickly dresses, pulling on undergarments and a pair of dark tan pants on before shedding the robe. His body didn't seem overly muscled, just a lean build. He pulls a deep burgandy tunic with loose sleeves over his head as he peers at the list, letting out a loud whistle. "Definitely well geared," he says. He pulls out a pair of brown boots and grins slightly as he pulls them on. He pulls a tan vest over the shirt, then lets out another whistle. "Good fit as well," he adds as he produces a maroon enameled breastplate. "Can you imagine how much some of this stuff would have cost at home, let alone in reality here?" he asks as he looks at it, running his hand over the metalworking. He slips it down over his head, adjusting the straps naturally.

As he pulls on a maroon cloak and pulls the pack out of the box, he looks to the others. He stands just over five foot tall with auburn hair hanging just to his shoulder. He seems pleasant to look at, almost striking with elven qualities. He reaches into the haversack, a slight grin on his face. He pulls a small circlet of braided gold wire with a ruby set in its center and slips it on, using it to hold his hair back out of his face as he rummages through the pack. His search ends up with a pair of rings, one gold and one silver that he slips on his hands quickly, taking in a breath as he does. "Well, I'll only have to worry about the food for a week," he say, grinning towards Kate.

He slings the pack over his shoulder as he looks over the list. "Whoa," he says as he kneels down quickly, flipping it back open and rumaging again. He pulls out a large leather bundle who's weight surprises him as he pulls it out. He drops it a few inches producing a metallic clink. He quickly undoes the ties and rolls it out, revealing a tools of varying sizes and purposes. A grin slips across his face. "Glad I emailed with the Professor," he says as he glances up to the others. "Metalworking tools," he says as he starts rolling them back up. He quickly slips it back into the Haversack with a grin. He finally stands, examining a pair of lenses in his hands. "These should come in handy," he explains as he takes both and holds them up for a moment before pressing them against his eyes. They stay in position, looking like a pair of frameless spectacles. "Ok, this is very cool," he says, almost laughing as he moves towards the front of the cave with the others.

He pauses a moment before turning around and returning to the box of his items. He kneels, pulling out the toolset from his pack and goes about dissassembling the box, just enough to remove the hinges and locks from it. "You never know," he says with a slight grin. He moves to the other boxes to repeat the procedure, making sure that the person doesn't mind first.

[dauphinous]

Hannah

By the time she's finished equipping herself, Hannah is covered in red and gray from head to toe. She has a floppy-brim gray hat, blood red sleeves covering her arms from under her silvery-gray chain shirt, red leather pants, gray boots, red doeskin gloves, and a blood red broadcloth cloak held together at her neck with a brooch that is gold, copper and red with a phoenix embossed on it. There are swords on both her hips, one long and one short and held on by a red rope belt, and a red and gray knife vest covers part of her chain shirt, with daggers all over it.

She pulls both swords in a fluid motion, crossing her body with both to do so. One leaves a trail of red sparkles in its wake, and the other, silver-gray. "Oh, yes," she says breathlessly, swishing them around a little in Anya's practiced and precise movements, then sliding both home in their sheaths. "'Very cool' is most definitely a good way to put it," she grins.

[Lochar]

Brandon/Hithos

Shrugging, Brandon motions to his box. "Have at. Since you know what you're doing, might as well do it. And probably better to leave nothing of ours here if at all possible. Annika, where did you say we were supposed to go? The World Well? I wonder how bardic knowledge works, when I've never even been in this world..."

Spoiler

Show

Attempting a bardic knowledge check on the World Well.

(1d20+19)[36]
+5 level, +4 feat, +2 variant, +2 K: History, +6 int modifier.

Modify as required.

Brandon pulls the little pearl from his bag and tosses it to Diedra. "Have at Bi-Diedra. More power to you, literally."

[Wiz]

Diedre

Diedre smiles and catches the pearl, "Thanks, Bra-Hithos. I'm assuming it's something low like 1st or 2nd level spells?" She puts it in her pack. "You know, it's not the only mistake the Professor made. No complaints here, mind you, about the equipment anyway... but one of the spells in my book is from the Daggerspell Adepts, a PC I had no intention of following, and it requires two, dual-wielded daggers. He only gave me one dagger in my equipment."

[Lochar]

Brandon/Hithos

"Yeah, first level." He nods to Diedra.

A flash of memories rose in his mind as he thought over the World Well. A drunken old man, insisting. A noble, sending a group out. An escaped criminal, whispered words.

Brandon shakes his head. "Well, that would answer that question. The World Well is a lengendary item, as we expect. Apparently, all stories of it put it in a high mountain temple, as a a pool, or basin of some sort. Most of the stories I've 'heard' place it Marrowbone range on the continent of Janeva. Legend has it, it was used to banish criminals but no one knows how to use it anymore." He pauses thinking something over, before looking at the note that had listed his equipment. Praetor is a mageocracy with libraries on Janeva. They'd have more info most likely. And according to at least my note from Merlin, I'm a Praetorian Scholar and Bard. So we're either near there, or at least would fit in there if not."

[Wiz]

Diedre

Diedre looks interested, "The Praetorian Guard were the bodyguards of the Roman emperors... I think praetor might mean emperor in Latin, though there was also the term Ceasar - though that may have come in fashion after Julias Ceasar siezed power. I wonder if this world influenced our language or if our world influenced theirs... since the words sound identical." She frowns, "That explains then what I am, as I am supposedly a Praetorian mage, I am theoretically in the upper classes of Praetorian society." Diedre is silent for a moment as information buzzes through her brain regarding her chosen knowledge expertise on nobility. "I wonder, perhaps there is a unique skill, or knowledge, or feat, or special ability one or more of us might cultivate to gain information on or influence over this well."

[Santanya]

Quanos

"Hmm, Quanos might work better here I suppose for myself," he says as he continues working, stripping the hardware off the last of the boxes. He replaces the tools in their places in the roll and slips it back into his haversack. "Criminals you said?" he frowns slightly. They now had evidence that the well worked both ways, or at least the Professor was relying on that. "We'll have to be careful we don't fish out the wrong person," he says, shaking his head slighty.

He stands and pulls a few more items from his pack. A large bundle of arrows, followed by a quiver come out. He somehow manages to fit all the arrows into the quiver despite there being way too many, and quickly follows with the ornately carved bow, sticking it without any effort. He stands and slings it over his back and produces a dagger and longsword. "Well, might as well be ready," he says as he belts the scabard alongside a pair of belt pouches. "So, we ready to take a peek outside?"

[TwoCents]

Kate/Emmerli

Emmerli was taller and younger than Kate. Behind the blue eyes gleamed her old personality, with a touch more impishness perhaps. The deep lines constant pain had etched in her face were gone. Her hair, while still dark, was longer than it had been, curling down to her shoulders. She pulled her hair back under an olive headband, and wore a grey felt hat tilted rakishly to the side. She was dressed in an olive tunic over grey pants, with a set of glamered armor blending into the ensemble.

She swung a holy morningstar in one hand, feeling its weight and letting the muscle memory of the body she now wore direct her swing. "This is definitely interesting." Hanging it on its belt hook, she began to examine the rest of her magic items.

Kate looked up from her fiddling when Hithos offered up his Pearl. She had to search her memory for what, exactly, a "Pearl of Power" did, and remembered a moment after the mage took the item.

:Cough: "Cure Light Wounds" :cough:cough: "I'm just sayin'... might come in handy..." She looked up and smiled at Hithos and said, "Plus, you do want to keep on the good side of a Priestess of Luck, what with that spiffy rod you got there, dontya?" She turned serious for a moment and added, "You know I'm just kidding, right Brandon? I would never let you down."

"That's a great idea to keep the hinges, Jason, er, Quanos, but I want the padlock and key," she said, as she removed them and packed them away. Kate stretched and twirled slowly, still slightly giddy.

ooc:

Spoiler

Show

some people have other things besides site issues keeping them from posting :ahem: so let's not all rush out before we let everyone deal with the box of goodies

[Lochar]

Brandon

"If we hadn't know Professor Benson for as long as we have, I'd actually wonder if he'd been kicked through it once before and was looking to come back."

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

(Obviously you won't know this from looking at it, but as I expect people will be adding locks to their inventory, it's cleaner for bookkeeping purposes: They are 'good' locks: DC 30 to pick.)

[Wiz]

Diedre

Diedre smiles at Kate, "Hey, I've never had a problem with extra Cure Light Wounds." She reaches back and pulls the pearl from her pack and passes it to Kate. "There you go." She looks at Quanos, "You can have my whole crate... lock too."

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

As Gwen starts to explore the cave, while still staying in sight of the group, she moves towards the more lit area. Rounding an outcropping that leaves her just barely within sight range of her companions, she can see the exit to the cave, and a few steps beyond, waves pounding upon the rocks. For some unexplained reason, the noise doesn't appear to penetrate the cave itself. Before she has time to react to the sight, an orange blur darts down the short tunnel and bowls Gwen over. She finds herself lying on her back with a large tiger cub-- perhaps six months old-- sitting on her chest and enthusiastically licking her face, and emitting an intermittent purring sound.

(Not moving anyone out of the cave, just introducing something else. =) Y'all can continue to explore your gear as much as you wish.)

[dauphinous]

Hannah

Now that she's all outfitted, Hannah paws through the rest of the stuff in her pack. She picks out a red leather scrollcase, but, unable to think of anything that would be of immediate use to her inside one, she dumps it back inside to check later. She ties the gray bag of tricks to her belt, but leaves the tan one in the pack. It clashes.

Once that's done, she stands up and hefts the thing onto her back. Just because it's cool, she reaches into the pack and pulls out a small toolkit in red leather. Then she dumps it back in, and pulls it back out. Grinning at what she regards as the best part of a haversack, she repeats this one more time, then inspects the toolkit itself. It unrolls and is chock full of small blackened instruments that Hannah doesn't have the first clue what to do with. Anya knows, though. She's used them plenty of times, and she knows that this set is high quality, with extra pieces that an ordinary locksmith wouldn't keep in his. She grins again and tosses it back into the pack one more time.

"I'll keep my lock, also, Jason, um, I mean Quanos. You can have whatever else you want."

[Wiz]

Diedre

Diedre smiles at Hanna, "Aside from the gender thing... I love the change. I love being a magician. Abjurers have so many better ways of protecting things than with locks."

[Santanya]

Quanos

Quanos grins slightly towards Hannah, chuckling softly. "Why thank you, I'll have to keep that in mind," he replies. "I want to know one thing," he says, putting a hand on his hip. "Where's the tavern with the old guy sitting there looking forlorned? Isn't that how things are supposed to start?"

[Lochar]

Brandon/Hithos

"Most people don't start playing by taking on their characters lives. The forlorn guy is at the tavern, probably outside here and down the road waiting on us."

[dauphinous]

Hannah

She rolls her eyes at Deidre. "Yeah, sure. Your character is better than mine. Whatever." She shakes her head a little. Never having been inclined to participate in that game before, she wasn't about to start now. It was as she turned away that she really heard what Quanos said.

She just looks at Quanos, stupidly, with no idea whatsoever how to respond to that.

[Wiz]

Diedre

Diedre looks at Hannah, purses her lips, and sighs, "Sorry if I'm enthusiastic about something I've always dreamed of... I'm sure you have a hard time understanding that." She turns and walks over toward the lighted end of the cave.

[Lochar]

Hithos

Hearing the Diedra's words, Brandon can't help but chime in. "How about walking again? That'd be something I'd dream of." Brandon looks to Hannah and shrugs.