Of Light, Life and Liches

[MountainKing]

Amos froze. He hadn't had time to study the runes on the door, he had no way of knowing whether or not opening it would kill him. Glancing about, he tries to find some manner of stick or pole, with which he could push the door open, calling out as he searches.

"Hold fast... friend! I'm... I'm trying to open the door!"

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

Slightly confused by the goings-on and talk of royalty, Matthias at least realizes that Radley is trying to get everyone into the city and the people organized. Hoping to reduce the amount of time they would need to spend searching, he approaches the subject of the group's target with his usual tact and subtlety. "Have you seen the lich? Can you tell us where he is? We're here to kill it."

[Kuma Da]

The Green Man

A thought occurs to The Green Man, rising ponderous out of the depths of his mind like some kelp-shrouded leviathan. He begins to sniff at the air.

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Do these people smell like people? Do they smell at all?

[Faithdreamer]

Smiles and Faces like Snow

He regrets it as soon as he opens his mouth – these people – they smell like crap. It’s a wonderful idea you have not fainted yet.

Kherhenn gives you a dubious look. You get the feeling he left out the word ‘idiot’ out of perhaps misplaced respect. “You’re standing inside it. And no, Lord Radley, we really don’t think that’s a good idea. They’re Worgs, not wolves. They eat people, they eat whatever they want and go wherever they damn well want to. We’re not stupid – they live on our land. We’re not telling them they’re wrong to yield by strength alone; we’re just saying we’re not strong enough. The mutts can stay outside… Lord Radley.”

Several of the city folk appear to adamantly agree, some people give Matthias heavy looks. It isn’t as if they need to be convinced – they want to grind Darvis’s bones into powder with their bare hands. They just don’t know how to do that, and they don’t think Matthias is any better off. And if they can’t do it, what hope can Egan Radley, his teddy bear, and an old crackpot, bring to light..?

Travelling with Worgs. Fame is fickle, so they say. There are one or two people in particular still looking at Radley and Matthias with sincere hope.

One was the girl swooning over Matthias’s graceful movement. The other was a man who’d uttered:

‘Thank goodness, it’s another Wizard’, earlier.

’s Now like Searing Fire

Amos manages to force the door open, pulling on it with all his strength. Snow surges inside. None other than Harin sprawls through the door, teeth chattering, stumbling a few steps and falling in a heap of limbs and feathers. Frigid air cools the room. Sharp wind instantly snuffs the light and heat out. Harin’s light spell looks very lonely now, it feels dimmer. It’s almost like a wavering heartbeat.

You tried to push the door closed again, but the snow is far too heavy. It’s frozen, iced the doors – if you want to close them again you’ll have to melt it.

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You can assume that all your statistics are back to normal now MountainKing. I need both of you to roll Will saves and Spot checks.

How dare you, measly mortal! How dare you throw my kindnesses away! I can’t afford kindness! The wind howls, and somehow you understand what it says. You’re too insignificant to understand, you worthless human!

[Another_Poet]

Radley

Radley smiles a vicious smile. "I understand you concerns, Master Kherhenn." Turning to the lead worg, he says out loud, "Scar, I know these people would taste good to you. Give me just one moment to try to convince them."

Turning back to the peasants, and not speaking only to Kherhenn, he says:

"Our government is built on one very simple agreement. Those of us you call 'lord' will lay down our lives fighting to keep us all safe. The others feed us, and our men-at-arms, horses, dogs and even worgs if we have them. You provide for us in peace and in war, so that we can train and be ready to save your lives."

((I'm picturing his voice as very steady and matter-of-fact, not unlike the main oil tycoon in There Will Be Blood.))

He looks back and forth across the crowd.
"You call me lord, and I am willing to do my part. But you must follow my orders. If you don't even follow them, why would the worgs follow them? And if the worgs don't follow them, well..." He snaps his mouth shut in imitation of a dog bite.

And smiles.

bluff - (1d20+21)[26]

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Faith, did you give an answer about spells refreshing? I didn't see it.

Also, I'm a bit confused - Kherhenn said we're standing in theri fortified position, but I thought we were still on the roadf outside the gatehouse. Radley won't leave the worgs unattended to go inside the gate, so as far as I know we're still standing on open road.

[Kobold-Bard]

As Harin crumpled into the room he inhaled the fleeting warmth in the air. Forcing himself to stand he turned to see Amos, the last person he remembered seeing before the snow had came.

Though many questions sprang to his lips they were all forgotten with the sound of the wind. Harin understood the words, though he didn't understand the meaning behind them, nor the reason for the venom in the voice.

But that would have to wait, the door it seemed was frozen, and unless they shut it he would be back were he had been a moment before. So calling on Kord once more he raised his palm and sent forth an intense ray of light at the door hinges, hoping that it would be enough to free the stone door.

[spoiler] Will Save: (1d20+13)[19]
Spot Check: (1d20+6)[26]
Searing Light, just in case: (3d8)[8]
If searing light frees the hinges Harin will go to close the door.[spoiler]

[MountainKing]

"Hold fast your venomous tongue," Amos screamed, the words torn from his lips by the winds, "I have heard enough of those who would whinge and scream that kindness is wasted when it has been shared! I grew up, from infancy into adulthood, amongst many good people who understand full well that to give kindness is to share it! Be silent! Condemn me for I am wretched, but do not say that I waste your kindness away, when the only one limiting its quantity is YOU!" Amos was, for lack of a better word, furious. His left hand clenched into a fist, his own Daylight spell shone brightly, driving back the shadows and darkness that surrounded. With his other hand, he rolled his wrist, and wiggled his fingers, his face grim as he turned to try and tend the hinges.

He had a spell that could alter the temperature of food and drink... perhaps it would work here...

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If possible, I'd like to get creative with the Prestidigitation spell, which if memory serves, I could potentially use to heat up (or cool down, but let's not do that one) material temporarily. I don't recall if I can actually do that, or if it just *feels* like it's warmer... but I'm also posting from work. So let's see what happens.

[MountainKing]

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Also, I'm a fool. Here are my rolls.
Will save: (1d20+13)[22]
Spot check: (1d20)[18]

Also, if conditions don't make it impossible, I'd like a listen check, to determine if Amos can tell if it's the wind that's talking, or somebody else outside/inside/wherever.

Listen check: (1d20+13)[30]

[Faithdreamer]

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You're brilliant, MountainKing, I'll post soon.

Somnolence

The wails in the wind felt like they stopped short, cut off by something poignant, like a certain…

‘Oh’, when faced with an irrefutable truth that stung more harshly than any insect, something you hadn’t the heart to deny. With your arcane skill, you each manage to warm the door hinges, getting the impression that whatever foul force was behind the ice it hadn’t the will to resist you now. The ice that held them stuck open recedes, the snow melts most unnaturally, and you hear…

Goodbye. The word sounds like a smile. Harin spots something glistening out in the snow, catching the light, glittering with it; a play of white shades out in the snow. A kaleidoscope of purity, it looks like… a jewel..?

Amos is easily able to close his side of the two doors, and quickly notes that Harin hasn’t quite finished yet. He appears to have spotted something interesting out in the snow. The Bard gets an uneasy feeling in his spine. Something is definitely wrong with this.

[Faithdreamer]

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I was under the impression everyone stepped forward through the gates, either toward the crowd or into it. That would mean passing, or at least standing in between, the gates. I’ll edit things in this way:

Things in Order

Watching Radley move back out of the gates, against the Worgs protectively, Kherhenn loses a bit of steam. He swallows uneasily, and the crowd looks around in uncertainty. “They haven’t eaten you, yet.”

Kherhenn doesn’t miss a breath. “All these Worgs stay with you. And we’ll be watching. We’ve lost too many already. You should all follow me inside, we’ve got something that needs your attention urgently. You won’t like it.”

[Another_Poet]

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That's fair.

Radley gives a curt nod. Then he turns to Scar.

"Scar, will you control your pack? No eating the people... just the food that's already dead. Agreed?"

He clutches his arcane rod in both hands, not stepping aside to let the worgs easily enter just yet.

If Scar agrees he will follow Kherhenn to see what this distressing news might be.

[Kuma Da]

The Green Man

"Uh, I have a few extra items to add to the 'no eating' list. They include pets, livestock, children, us, and other people in this town who may or may not fall under the umbrella category of 'these people'. Look at it this way: they've got food that they'll willingly give you. They also make more food every day. If you can keep your pack from snacking on the occasional kid, you'll never have to go hungry in here." The Green Man turns from Scar to Kherhenn. "Alright. Let's have a look at this urgent whatever. If it needs an axe put in it, we can do that for you."

[Faithdreamer]

The defensive Bulwark

The city walls were only 5ft. wide here, with wooden boards jutting out the side of the wall. Narrow planks could be placed for archers to shoot over the top. By Calamdan’s standards, this place wasn’t a fortification. It just looked a lot like one. The wall opposite the gate you’d arrived at was at three times again as thick. Someone, probably another Wizard, had sealed the place where you suspected was originally a gatehouse into the rest of the city. It was just solid stone now.

Radley would be the only one who could break through with any ease. Kherhenn said, “The undead would have pooled through the gate and swallowed us. I had no choice. And now look what I’ve gotten us into with my Wizardry.”

He walked you around so you could see the breach in the wall. The river feeding Calamdan had been diverted toward this tiny ward of the city. It had already weathered through the stone wall, by whatever magic, and was now pushing hard against a levee two stories tall. When that barricade broke, the water from the river would flood the entire ward and drown the survivors. Then the Undead would come.

“Darvis did this, he came to the wall and cast his spells right in front of us. He warned us before he did it, laughed at us, and that monster knows it’s only a matter of time. He has all the time in the world. Didn’t even bother to block off the outside gate… he said if we ran, the forest would just eat us alive.”

Swooning Girl

The girl swooning over Matthias found him at a moment when he was at least semi-alone. She speaks with her eyes downcast and talks very plainly. “Do you want to dance with me..?” She smiles, “We’re not ever sure if we’ll get another chance, right?”

Worgs of Wisdom

As long as Radley was willing to unlock his house for them, the Worgs would all pile in and sit quietly. Scar and Silt would never have to do anything to ensure a Worg was good on its word. They were, all things considered, a very common-sense pack. Just don't mind the dog hair on everything. Or the smell. Or the mud.

[Jade_Tarem]

Matthias

"..."

On any other day, "Mad Matthias" would have just ignored her and gone about his business. But she did have a point - there was an extremely good chance that they would all be dead soon. That and he has a kind of empathy for these refugees. After all, they had just gone through what he did, hadn't they? Losing everything to the undead and those that would use them. Even worse, they had seen it happen.

And truth be told, he was starting to enjoy being around people again. He never thought that that would happen. He never thought he'd see his companions as more than assets. But he felt more energy now, despite fatigue, the loss of Absalom, and the disappearance of Harin and Amos, than he had in years.

Ten years undead hunting.
Ten in seclusion.
He's starting to wonder what he's been missing.

So he's sorely tempted to take her up on it. There's just one problem.

"I can't dance."

He turns his head to look at her, to try and catch her eye. One corner of his mouth lifts in what might be the first hint of a smile - his first in ten years.

"I'll do everything I can to make sure you get another shot at it. Maybe when I return I'll learn how, hm?"

Yep. What they say is true. Old Man Raker is goin' crazy.

[MountainKing]

Amos placed a hand on Harin's shoulder.

"Go inside, friend. I will secure this; whatever is out there, is not ours to pursue," the bard could tell... he knew that his former strength had returned. With a strong sword arm, he firmly, but gently, ushered Harin away from the door, taking a moment to speak to the winds.

"Thank you. Whoever you are."

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So, just to clarify; was Amos able to tell whether or not it was the wind itself speaking, or some entity separate? Also, I'd like a bardic knowledge check, to see if Amos has heard any stories, tales, or songs, depicting beings similar to whatever it was he and Harin have just encountered. Examples that come immediately to my mind... well, only one really comes to mind, which is yuki-onna... but we'll see what you're willing to give Amos, Faithdreamer.

Having just checked, you *can* take 20 on a Bardic Knowledge check, so rather than roll it, I'd like to do that instead, if that's permissible.

[Kobold-Bard]

Harin couldn't take his eyes off it, whatever it was.

However the urge to know more was wiped with the Bards hand on his shoulder. Exhausted he allowed himself to be moved away so he could finish shutting the doors.

Now that some sense of warmth was returning to the room, Harin threw another light sphere, this time at one of the barrels to reilluminate the place. He noticed the symbols above the door as well as the alter but paid them no mind. His most pressing concern was anything the Bard may be able to relay to him.

"What happened Amos"? The question came out much blunter than he had intended, but at this moment that didn't bother the celestial.

"The last thing I remember before waking up in that snow storm was relaying a message to you regarding the former king. After that there is nothing. Are you able to fill in some of the gap? Finishing, he then went about searching the room.

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I will post again in a couple of hours with checks and stuff. Late for work right now.

[Another_Poet]

Radley

“The undead would have pooled through the gate and swallowed us. I had no choice. And now look what I’ve gotten us into with my Wizardry.”

"A scroll?" Radley asks absently.

If yes: "Have any others?"

He follows the peasant leader to inspect the dyke.

“Darvis did this, he came to the wall and cast his spells right in front of us. He warned us before he did it, laughed at us, and that monster knows it’s only a matter of time. He has all the time in the world. Didn’t even bother to block off the outside gate… he said if we ran, the forest would just eat us alive.”

"Probably true," Radley agrees. He surveys the survivors in the narrow ward. "Master Kherhenn, how many people would you say you have here? Just roughly?" He glances over the crowd and then at the thin outer wall. "If we put them all up on the rampart, it would be uncomfortable, but.... would there be enough standing room for everyone?"

Other questions:

"What sort of experts and craftspeople do you have here?"

"Any healers? Mages, besides yourself? Any soldiers?"

Then he climbs onto the wall of the dyke and gives it some magical treatment....

Casting Mending.

Casting Mending again.

Casting Resistance on it, in case it's making Fort Saves against collapse.

Unless my spells have refreshed, or you'll allow me to use False Life (normally a "personal" range spell) to give it temporary hit points, that's all Radley can do for it.

He does, however, look at the diverted water course. To run a river through city streets - sure, magic must have been used, but are there any dams or dykes holding the river to its new course? Or have houses and existing structures been incorporated into its bank? I'm wondering if a well-placed Wall of Fire could destroy some section of upriver dam or wall.

He then asks Kherhenn one more question.

"If we had the right materials, we could make a channel to carry the river to the outer city wall. Just let it flow right out the gate we came in through. How are you on digging tools and construction supplies?"

[MountainKing]

Amos grimaced a little as he finished shutting the door.

"...for now, Harin... I do not have any answers for you. Rest. Are you wounded?"

[Faithdreamer]

In the Name of...

The bulwark is a simple affair in principle.

[Another_Poet]

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YES! Finally. I missed this game.... :)

Anyway, I assume the southern gate ("thoroughfare gate") is the one we came in through? It looks like the water is on all four sides of the ward, assuming the blue is water. Where is it coming in through?

Also, not to be a pest, but can I get answers to the ?s in my previous post?

Hehe, YOU chose to be DM.... :P

[Faithdreamer]

She places her left hand over her right, and bows softly like a field of grass in summer breeze. The breathless flow of fresh air in a flower meadow. "A flawless pageant of shadows in loving empathy." No matter how the world looks, she shines with inner light.

She waits for you to follow her lead, but only while gracefully showing her skills off, circling you once speaking with a tone that reminded you of the floating mist. "Dancers endure for a very long time, the tiniest, most difficult things like a swirling leaf."
Her blush is small, and her eyes have an intrepid sparkle. "When I saw your feet come through the gate like a wave swirling at me, I knew what the spirit of the water felt like embracing the warm sand; and I never thought before that shadows were as beautiful as this man."

Just then you noticed her hand as on your shoulder, reassuring and reaching for something. Just your much favoured wide-brimmed hat.

(1d20)[20] - Grapple Check

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Boys -- the modifier is always secret.

Radley and Kherhenn

"I don't waste my time with that parchment. Some idiot walks in thinking he'd like a morning read, and what have I done to the reputation of magick?"
Kherhenn tells you whatever he knows about the general condition of the bulwark. Right now he's only telling you dry facts, he leaves out his personal feelings on the matter. It's up to you whether to decide if he's a good man for that, or not. There are roughly two-hundred thirty citizens all told, twenty of them are ill or unable to move very well. Fifty children, mostly watched very closely by their parents. One hundred people could be called unskilled labourers. There are twenty very good trades persons... and only thirty trained militia.

When Radley gets to construction supplies at long last, Kherhenn is quiet. "Not tools per se, we've been able to improvise an edict of 'gouge out your fingernails digging, or be eaten to fuel a hole of another sort. Take that for whatever meaning you find.'" He doesn't smile, it's more like a flinch, and he pointedly avoids looking you in the eyes when he says this.

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Number of Refugees: 220
Number of City Militia: 30
Number of Experts: 20
Number of Unskilled: 100
Number of Children: 50
Number of Infirm: 20

One Captain per Five Militia acting as a squad leader to a few men, and there are two Adjutants per Three Captains to coordinate with the Chief; this person acts as the overall militia leader in the district. Probably there was someone to report to before the tragedy.

The Blue colours represent walls.
Biege is very good terrain for moving -- that means a road.
Green is good vegetation like grass, flowers or herb gardens or trees.
Orange represents this daunting blockade they've built.
While Dark Green is the tainted river of necrotic sludge.

The dark spaces are buildings.

[Another_Poet]

((Thank you! And where on the map is this wavering dyke?
And the only other question I had - looking upriver, is there anywhere I can firebomb to divert the water away from this district? Dams or other dykes, etc.?))

[Faithdreamer]

((I'm working on it, hush like the sound you never heard before. Or else.))

[Another_Poet]

((*silently makes faces at Faith*))

[Faithdreamer]

((You've already come up with the answer. Most of the flooding is likely alien or magical in nature... you might find more than your fair share of the source of the problem if you were to look upriver. Doesn't it seem doubtful that Kherhenn would know anything, since he's been inside the Bulwark the whole time?

Usually people find it strange if you make faces at them. I've got a feeling you're being made fun of, the lot of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Making sport of your close circle is not appropriate under any circumstances. Spend your time saving the universe, instead.

Also, let me know if Harin has a response for Amos. If there is no answer within the day something odd is bound to happen.

And don't feel intimidated by the 150ft. dam they've managed. You should be more afraid of what that levee is holding at bay. My only warning to you right now is... don't drink it.))

[Another_Poet]

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Sorry about the faces. It's a sign of affection.

I'm not trying to ask Kherhenn about what's upriver. I'm trying to look upriver. If the water is getting into the walled district, there must be a hole in the wall it comes through and hence, I can stand on our dyke and look through said hole in the wall and see what lies upstream.

Surely some earth embankments, existing buildings, or structures of some kind have been magically installed to direct the river here?

If you're saying the entirety of the river is held to its course by Walls of Force then I'm terrified.

[MountainKing]

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Oh come ooooon... you mean to tell me that, rather than just NPC the poor sod, you're going to turn him into yet *another* attribute draining beasty? I can't lie, it kind of feels like I'm being punished for someone else's lack of posting...

At the least, can I get some information on the various checks I wanted to make since waking up in this tomb-thing? Interrupted by Harin or no, Amos still wants that information...

[Kobold-Bard]

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Sorry, I know I suck.
Search: (1d20+4)[7]

"No, merely tired and confused. What of you, how have you spent the time since I saw you last? And why did you thank that voice"?

Looking around the room Harin suddenly became concerned, as if Kord was warning him to not let his guard down. So while he examined the room he released his floating shield once more, having stowed it lest it be lost in the snow.
He then continued to look around the room, levitating barrels out of his way with his mage's hand, more because he felt he hadn't utilised it enough since he bought it than any real necessity.

[MountainKing]

"...if you need to ask, Harin, I fear that you won't understand the answer," Amos said gravely, "You mean to say I ought not repay kindness, even if only with giving thanks?" Amos turned from the door and seated himself atop a barrel, "I... have much to ponder, Harin... in time, I will explain what I can, but for now, please, let me think."

[Faithdreamer]

Amos Omaril

Bards always got themselves in funny situations. Sometimes it was nice to make a list, there was good reason many tongues had only a past and a present. It kept your mind, as they'd say, in the present. Which at all times was arguably the most imperative place to be.

1 - It was still very cold
2 - Now you were with Harin and you were warmer than he
3 - This place was a tomb, and it was the thing that arguably saved your life
4 - You'd opened the door and it was a blizzard outside.

There were only a few places where it was a blizzard outside, and Calamdan shouldn't have any... provided time still mattered here, in the way that time was there. It might be best if you thought about places with snow. Knowing exactly where you might be was almost as helpful as knowing exactly where you happened to be, here and now.

Harin

Moving aside the many so-called 'worthless relics of dead past', more specifically the furniture in the tomb -- it comes as a surprise you find a little balled up Imp. Previously hiding behind that specific piece of furniture. Judging by the look of things, the imp was really out of it, not having awoken yet.

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Amos should make a Bardic Knowledge check.