Eyes of the Lich Queen IC (Take Two)

[Lochar]

T'Mere

"So I can infer from that comment that you will be coming with us?" T'Mere looks at Sur'kil intently, the black orbs of his eyes seeming to become even darker as he focuses on the man. "I had thought you said you were leaving by lightning rail this afternoon?"

[Kyeudo]

"I intend to depart on the expedition this afternoon. There is a large distance to travel and the sooner we leave the better. I will be accompanying you for the first few legs of the journey."

[Wiz]

Will

Will looks thoughtful. "So there is one item among everything that you will claim as yours. Anything else that interests you you will offer us a price and we will be allowed to negotiate that with you. It sounds a fair deal. One thing, you will be revealing the target relic once we are under way, correct?"

[Kyeudo]

"Yes. Once we are on our way, I'll fill you in on all of the specifics."

[Lochar]

T'Mere

"Well, if we're not going to wait on the sixth chair, I suggest we leave as soon as we get the advance payment."

[Waspinator]

"Sounds good to me."

Spoiler

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I'm going to tell my piscrystal to get ready to be picked back up when we're leaving...

[Kyeudo]

"It apears the other member I asked here has decided against my offer. If there is no other concerns, it seems I must make a few more arrangements than I first thought."

Sur'kil withdraws pen and a small sheaf of papers from an inside pocket of his waistcoat, each penned in a careful hand and notarized with the House Sivis mark and the House Kundarak seal. He signs each and hands one to each of you. "Here is the down payment on your services. The rail coach leaves at three o'clock, so you'll need to have your preparations done by then. I'll be off now. Feel free to stay and finish your meal. Goodbye." With that he leaves the room.

[Qualia]

Balen

"Anyone for more coffee? I think I have a pack of cards somewhere if anyone fancies a game. I find a game of chance is a great way to get to know a man."

[Wiz]

Will

Will frowns, "Is anyone in this group a cleric, or a healer? I'm a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, and I can stand in for most party positions, but I hope I'm not the only healer the group is taking into a serious situation. Especially since I'm usually leading the way and subject first to any traps that might be in place. I can only heal myself if I'm concious."

[Lochar]

T'Mere

"I don't follow a priest's path, no."

[Qualia]

Balen

"Sadly I have no gifts in that direction. Perhaps we could get some healing potions from the local artificer?"

[Waspinator]

"I know some useful battle meditations that can help me recover strength, but you could not benefit from them without much training first."

[thevorpalbunny]

Kabe
"No, I've no ability in healing. Bu speaking of that, what skills do we have between us. We've a jack-of-all-trades, -- didn't catch your name, by the way -- ,Belamros here said he's some kind of mystic warrior, if I caught your drift. As for me, I am a student of shadow. My strengths are weakening enemies and using and detecting stealth. I can do a few other things with some proficiency, also."

[Lochar]

T'Mere

"You too are a student of shadow magics?" T'Mere's black orbs focus on Kabe. "Due to percularities of my birth, my shadows tend to focus on defense of myself and the local surroundings. Not to say that I cannot hold my own in a brawl."

[Waspinator]

"Actually, I am a student of psionics who uses it as an aid in hand-to-hand, or rather claw-to-claw, combat. The power of the mind yields some interesting options."

Belamros' hands suddenly grow large and monstrous, with large claws on their ends. Just as quickly, they go back to apparently normal hands.

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Manifesting a 1 PP Claws of the Beast, so I'm down to 13 PP for the day. Not going to waste a bunch on showing off.

[Wiz]

Will

Will smiles, "Name is Will. As I said, jack-of-all-trades. I can use the sword well, but I'm not a frontline fighter. I can pull off some spell-like effects, but I'm no master wizard. I can do a bit of healing, or undead turning, but I'm not really a cleric. The one thing I do best is find and disarm traps."

[Kyeudo]

((If anyone has anything they want to buy before leaving, just note it. This will be your last chance for unrestricted spending for a while.))

After finishing breakfast and whatever other preparations you need to make, you meet Sur'kil at the lightning rail station, as scheduled. With him is a brown haired young man, geared for travel and wearing the arrowhead and flame symbol of the Silver Flame. "This is Pax. He has agreed to join us as part of this expedition."

You spend three days traveling in first class accomodations to Korranberg, where you board the Swiftwind, a Lyrander galleon chartered just for this expedition. Though you may ask for specifics before the Swiftwind sets sail, Sur'kil refuses to elaborate further until you are underway.

Once the vessal is safely away from the docks of Korranberg, your enigmatic employer finally fills you in on the details. "The location you will be surveying is in the jungles of the Q'barran peninsula, to the south of the great volcano of Haka'torvhak. From Adderport, you will have a five-day trek inland to the site of the Temple of Kha'shazul. This temple is your destination and the site of the relics you seek."

"The temple is now used by a tribe of lizardfolk worshipers of some half-fiend dragon god. From what I understand, they demand tribute from other lizardfolk tribes in the region, so I would expect them to be armed and capable. However, the temple and it's inhabitants are merely an obstacle."

"I believe that the Temple of Kha'shazul hides a deeper secret, one unknown to even the current inhabitants. My research indicates the temple occupies a place where an ancient demon was cast down. Such places were guarded, in legend, by half-dragon beasts. Somewhere beneath that temple, I believe that the crypt of one such ancient creature lies, along with relics of that time."

"The object that I primarily seek should be an orb, about a foot to a foot and a half across. It will likely be stone, but possibly metal, and will probably be marked in the ancient infernal tongue. It is an object of religious significance and key to understanding the culture of the Age of Demons. Anything else that you find dating back to that era will be of great help in deciphering the signifcance of the artifact."

After five uneventful days of sea travel, you reach the shores of Q'barra. Stepping off the deck of the Swiftwind onto the docks of Adderport, you can't help but wonder why anyone would want to live here. The air of the tropical penninsula is hot and humid, and you begin to sweat almost immediately once you are out of the cool ocean breeze. Biting flys and mosquitos abound. The buildings look as though they wish they had seen better days and the dirt streets are muddy and rutted.

After some small negotiations with one of the local traders by Sur'kil, you soon find yourself in possession of a pair of ill tempered mules, loaded with tents and two weeks worth of food and supplies. Sur'kill hands one of you a map, indicating the appropriate trails and landmarks needed to find the temple, as well as a small box containing six vials of antitoxin and a pair of polished blue-gray stones.

"The antitoxin is there in case you run into the local inhabitants." He says with a wink. Pointing to the stones, he continues. "Use one of the sending stones to contact me once you find any relics. I would like to know as soon as the expedition is successful."

((If there were any further questions for Sur'kil or anything you wanted to do while on the voyage, feel free to post them. I just cut to the arrival to save time.))

[thevorpalbunny]

Kabe
(At the meeting earlier, replying to T'Mere)
"You also? I suspected you might have some knowledge of it from,as you said, your peculiarity, but I did not think it wise to assume. We shall have to compare notes on the ride. I'm sure our companions would be bored."
(At the station)
Noticing the holy symbol, Kabe's expression shows distaste.
He thinks to himself, Hope this Flamer isn't a zealot like most. They always seem to object to productive use of shadows.

[Wiz]

Will

On the trip, Will introduces himself to Pax. "So you follow the silver flame, are you a priest or healer?"

[Lochar]

((T'Mere is my character, not Gimli's))

[Kyeudo]

Spoiler

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Kabe
(At the meeting earlier, replying to T'Mere)
"You also? I suspected you might have some knowledge of it from,as you said, your peculiarity, but I did not think it wise to assume. We shall have to compare notes on the ride. I'm sure our companions would be bored."

I think this is the only part of the post directed towards T'Mere. The other half was directed towards Pax.

[Waspinator]

Belamros takes the map and box and bows.

"Thank you for your preperations."

"Anyway, everything sounds straightforward enough to me. If nothing else, even though they aren't directly related to our goal, it sounds like these lizardfolk would be worth investigating and dealing with. If there are no objections, I say that we should get on our way. I will take the lead, if no one else wants to."

[Lochar]

Kyuedo:

Spoiler

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Actually, Wiz's post was talking to T'Mere for a bit. He edited it before you saw, I guess.

[Wiz]

Will

Will looks confused, "Lead in what sense? When we get to the ruins, I should take point."

[Waspinator]

"If you think so, I will defer to you. Please show us the way."

Belamros hands Will the map.

[Wiz]

Will

Will smiles, "I mean, I'm the trap guy. That's all. If you want to lead us to the ruins, that's fine. I should just take point as we move in and underground... you never know what's been set down to guard whatever is there."

[Qualia]

Balen

"Sur'kil, I wonder if I could hold of some native dress. I find it much easier to blend in if I look the part."

[Kyeudo]

"Native dress for most lizard folk is practically naked. I'm sure you can manage that if you need to."

((Assuming there are no further questions or arrangements in Adderport, on with the trip.))

Somehow, once you get into the jungle, it gets hotter, more humid, and the number of parasites trying to eat you alive seem to double. After a few days hiking down rugged trails that only deserve to be called such in comparison to the rest of the jungle, you start to wonder if maybe you should have haggled for a higher fee.

Four days after you left Adderport, as you turn yet another corner along the overgrown trail, you suddenly come across a well-armed lizardfolk standing somewhat surprised in the middle of the path. He eyes you warily as he motions to another half-dozen lizardfolk behind him.

[Waspinator]

The rest of the party suddenly hears a voice in their heads, saying "This is Belamros. I'll explain the telepathy later, but for now we just need to not give away our plans. How do you think we should handle this group of lizardfolk?"

Spoiler

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Psicrystals with built-in telepathy are a wonderful thing

[Qualia]

Baleen

(via telepathy)

"Let me talk to them, I can try and bluff our way past, or at least gain their attention."