You bring your homebrew class 2!

[Oslecamo]

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In case you didn't notice, Glyphstone's character has just said he can give you all flying, if you just give him a few gold for him to build some effigies of your characters.

[Oslecamo]

(testing something)

[The Glyphstone]

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Technically, he didn't specify what donations, and I personally was referring to the personal component* - skin, hair, blood, etc. The gold wouldn't go amiss though.

*Yes, he has Spiritual Voodoo. He considers it crude and a last resort.

[SurlySeraph]

"Well, that's settled. I guess I trust you enough to give you what you need to get me in the air, Ikitani. What do you want, gold?"

[Kagehime]

"Well, whatever," Rin shrugged. "I can already fly, so I'm good."

[The Glyphstone]

"A bit o' coin to cover expenses of de materials wouldn't go amiss, but I was thinkin' o' somethin' a bit moh....personal. da key ingredient of an effigy is da bit dat links it to its ownah - a couple strands o' hair, a few drops o' blood, a bit o' skin, dat sort of thing. If I gonnah be workin' wid you people, it'll be necessary if yah intend to get da most use outta me powahs."

[Emperor Tippy]

Akresh shrugs again and yanks out a hair before handing it over.

[sidhe_blooded]

Samantha

No offense Ikitani, but I don't really know you well enough to be handing over bits of my body just yet.

[The Glyphstone]

'Suit yahself, it be da skin off yo' back, not mine."

Heading back into the center of the room where his rope trick remains hanging, he shimmies up the rope again and disappears momentarily, reappearing with a large and well-stuffed travelling bag over his shoulder. This time, as he descends the rope, something else comes out with him, a tiny and brightly colored lump that buzzes as it zips about the room with a clearly independent agenda. It stops to hover in front of each of the others for a moment, holding still long enough to reveal itself to be a bird small enough to fit in the palm of a man's hand, wings beating so fast to be only a blur.

For his part, Ikatani ignores the creature, rummaging through his back and pulling out a smaller sack of some unidentifiable leather. From that bag he removes some dried plant matter and a handful of cloth scraps, sitting himself cross-legged and hunching over the stuff. His hands move rapidly, tying and sewing the cloth squares together around a grass core, all the while mumbling to himself softly. After about a minute, he gives a sudden shout, jabbing at his creation with the hand holding Akresh's hair - at the same moment, Akresh feels a prickling sensation in the back of his head that quickly fades into nothingness. Ikitani holds the completed effigy close to his eye, inspecting it critically, then cackles in satisfaction and stands, holding it out for Akresh to see - a simplistic humanoid shape shrouded in dark and drab colors, bits of wood cut to resemble daggers in each hand, and a smooth face lacking eyes, nose, mouth, or any distinguishing characteristics.

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It will cost 120GP apiece to make the dolls, and I'm currently broke - that doesn't need to be included IC unless you want it to be.

[SurlySeraph]

"Alright, some hair and some gold. But if I start getting aches I can't explain, I'm going to assume it's your doing and respond accordingly." Ainariel cuts off a lock of his hair with his sacrifical knife, then hands Ikatani a small bag of gold.

[Oslecamo]

Well, then it's settled. You're going after the beholder. You!-says the captain, pointing at a passing crewman-Go tell the druiving room to turn 23 degrees west, full speed ahead!

Aye aye captain!



Sajik then guides you to the roof of the ship, where you see the rain has almost completely stoped and you're roughly eight hundred feets in the air.
Banks of fog now cover the swamp marshes below you and sky above you is cloudy, blocking the sun of the lught.

The top of the airship is reinforced with a combination of steel plates and tick pieces of wood. A small wall covers covers the perimeter, with special holes that would allow one to shoot or wield spears against outside oponents while remaing in cover. Three ballistas on the sides and one in front and back are being mounted in place by some crewman, while in the middle four catapults lay waiting with large metal spheres by the side. A large blue flag depicting a scimitar carried by a sea wave flies at the wind on the rear part of the ship.

The captain pulls out a spyglass, and starts looking over the territorry. After several minutes, sudenly, he freezes and seems to start focusing in one point.

Ah, that looks like the place where the battle ocured! Here, have a look!

Passing you the spyglass, you see a small clearing in the swamp, where most of the vegetation has been burned, petrified or simply disinitrigated. Some humanoic corpses litter the floor, but you don't see anything moving. It's now roughly two thousand feets from you on top of the airship.

Well, this is it. If you still wanna go, fly there, find the tracks and slay that wicked beholder.

Try do don't screw up lads, allright? I wouldn't like to have to face you charmed by that abberarion-says the dwarf.

Well, it was a pleasure meeting you.continues the gnome.

I still don't trust you much... But if you come back from this alive with the gatekeepers rescued, I'll be owing you an apology for yesterdady, you lot-finishes the human lieutenant with the large sword at his back, while the warforged simply keep silent, observing the terrain.

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Assuming the witch doctor already created the dolls from the materials given.

Also, assuming everybody agreeded with the beholder side quest

[SurlySeraph]

"Doesn't look too nice down there. Could be an ambush. But I guess I'm ready as I'm going to be. Let's get going."

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If there's a way to bring my skeletal dinosaurs with me, I'd like to. Could Samantha carry them down with TK?
I'll cast False Life on myself. (1d10+6)[13]
Also, I'll survey the scene before I get down.
Spot: (1d20+14)[24]
Listen: (1d20+14)[17]

[Emperor Tippy]

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The following assumes that Ikatani has cast flight or does so as Akresh is falling

Akresh takes a flying leap off the side of the ship without saying a word before flying off towards the clearing.

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Jump check: (1d20+34)[48]
Spot: (1d20+23)[25]
Listen: (1d20+21)[25]

[Kagehime]

Rin gets on her knees and says a quiet prayer to the kami, then stands and examines the battlefield as well, reaching into the pouch held at her obi by a netsuke and slipping on one of the rings there. She'll be putting on the other one once she gets down.

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Spot: (1d20)[11] + 5
Listen: (1d20)[7] +5

She's putting on her Ring of Protection +2 now.

[Oslecamo]

As he aproaches the scene, Ainariel sharp eyes notices that there's an orc hiding in one of the leftover trees surrounding the battle area. It seems to be looking towards the airship flying by. It wears a crude leather armor under a green cape that blends him with the surroundings, and holds a longbow.

The rest of the zone seems to be completely empty, even of the natural flora one would expect at a swamp.

Akresh also notices this.

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I'm pretty sure you got a bag of holding last battle, and that the skelets can fit in there, since it was where the necromancer was holding them.

[Emperor Tippy]

As he approaches the area and notices the goblin Akresh alters his path slightly, heading straight towards him.

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Assuming that I have the range to reach him this round I use Cloak of Deception and attack with both daggers.

Attack 1: (1d20+21)[34]
Damage 1: (1d4+20)[22]+(6d6)[1][1][1][3][4][1](11)
Re-roll's for 1's on SA dice: (10d6)[5][6][2][6][2][6][6][2][3][6](44)

Attack 2: (1d20+21)[40]
Damage 2: (1d4+20)[21]+(6d6)[2][4][2][6][1][5](20)
Re-roll's for 1's on SA dice: (10d6)[5][5][5][1][5][1][5][1][6][2](36)

He is denied Dex to AC for both attacks.

[Kagehime]

Rin leaps of the side of the airship with dramatic flair, her hakama billowing in the wind (I hope they don't look up...), and slows down to gently settle on the ground via her flight ability, at once noticing the enemies. Good thing she brought the ring.

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Ring of invisiblity.

[sidhe_blooded]

Samantha

Samantha follows the rest of the group over the edge of the airship, but doesn't go near the ground with everyone else.

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Spot-(1d20+18)[28]
Listen-(1d20+18)[22]

[SurlySeraph]

Ainariel descends. Seeing Akresh veer off after the orc, Ainariel decides that his teammates probably have the area guarded well enough and begins to look for tracks.

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Survival check: (1d20+12)[28]

[Oslecamo]

As you aproach the battle zone, you see it used to be a place with relatively lighter vegetation, altough now it's completely barren, with all but the smallest plants burned, taken down or simply turned to dust. Broken arrows, weapons and armor litter the floor. At first glance, anything valuable has already been taken.

Some fresh blood still covers the ground, and none all of it it's red, with some pools of a green bubling slime and violet goo here and there. The only remains of the ones who participated in the battle are pieces of bodies too little to be any worth to a necromancer. A severed hand here, a riped leg there. You can also see some irreversilbly damaged skeletons and zombies.

The orc notices the fliying party members and looks at them for a while as they aproach. Then he lowers his bow and starts waving to them, as if inviting them to aproach him.



Ainariel quickly finds some tracks leaving out of the battle area, heading north. They clearly belong to humanoids, around twenty individuals.

[The Glyphstone]

Now sporting two new dolls on his belt, Ikitani hops out and glides after the others, the colorful bird darting after him.

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Spending a 4th level spell slot and a charge of my Lesser Rod of Chain Spell to bounce an Extended Fly to myself and the two people who I made effigies for. It lasts for 30 minutes.

[Oslecamo]

As AKresh aproaches the orc, he looks at him for a moment and then starts taling in a nercous scared voice:

You're... You're from the Vento Salgado right? Thanks the gods my animal messenger reached you. It was all so quick, we were heading north and then they sudenly jump out of nowhere, and I still killed one or two of them, but they were everwhere, so I run away into the forest and hided. I saw my companions being killed or enslaved by that many eyed aberration. I...I hadn't the courage to do anything to help them...I'm a shame to the gatekeepers. My master also escaped, but he fought valiantly. He was the last gatekeeper standing, only retreated when there was no hope left. I don't know where he is, I fear he abandoned me, he deemed me unworthy of his atention anymore...

The cultists went north, carrying the bodies of the fallen and their belongings. I...I however don't have the courage to help you any more than this. I'm sorry. Please help my companions.

[Emperor Tippy]

Akresh merely nods at the orc and then says to the rest of the party "I'll lead off first. Try to stay at least a few hundred feet back unless you hear a major battle or the like going on. Ikatani, if you have any magic that will make me sneakier, harder to detect, or harder to damage feel free to use it."

With that Akresh heads off following the tracks to the north.

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I'm taking 20 on my Hide and Move Silently check if I can, in which case the spot and listen DC's to detect me are 59 and 57 respectively. Here are the rolls if I can't take 20.
Hide: (1d20+39)[55]
Move Silently: (1d20+37)[53]

I'm also making my free Spot and Listen checks each round, which you should prolly be rolling. I get +23 and +21 respectively.

Current Stance is Hearing the Air
Maneuvers Readied are:
Cloak of Deception
Stalker in the Night
Ghost Blade

[Kagehime]

Hearing this, Rin was a little surprised, but then again, maybe one shouldn't assume that everyone was out to get you. Perhaps this orc really did just need help. Slipping the ring off her finger, she gave a consoling glance to the orc as they got in order. "Say, I don't know about him, but for you, Shield of Faith."

[sidhe_blooded]

Samantha

Who the hell put you in charge you sneaky bastard? Last I heard we got a tracker who's gonna you know, follow the actual tracks instead of listening to some guy who happens to be here.
Samantha says before turning to the orc.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have any reason not to believe you, but when people's lives are at stake I'd rather be sure.

[Emperor Tippy]

Akresh says "In charge? No one. I just happen to be pretty sure that I'm the most capable scout in our little group. I'm also pretty sure that I stand a better chance of detecting any ambushes than any of you as well. And on the off chance that I am ambushed I'm pretty sure that I can run away faster than any of you as well. So if you want to scout go right ahead. But from how you move I would rate your ability to hide and remain undetected to be below that of most gutter rat's in Sharn."

[sidhe_blooded]

Samantha

I didn't say anything about me, but last I heard the plan was to track them, and Ainariel over there-who appears to already be looking for tracks-is our tracker, unless maybe you think you're better at that too?

[Oslecamo]

Akresh manages to keep up with the tracks, wich are still fresh and easily spotable in the muddy soil. He spots some animals and other swamp creatures lurking nearby, but none wich could actually do any harm.

Sudenly, Akresh hears crying. Roughly one hundred feets ahead of him, he sees a strange scene.

Roughly one hundred feets ahead, he sees the source of the scream: a robbed human slowly crawls in the mud, his legs severed by some unknow force. He's completely covered in dirt and red blood. Tears roll down his face, agonized in pain. Also, the assassin spots several jewels and coins scatered in the floor around the bleeding man, as if some treasure chest had been emptied there. The man however ignores them, simply trying to crawl forwards as fast as possible, altough the lack of legs and soft floor means he advances very slowly.

Akresh doesn't see anything else strange in the zone besides the vegetation and natural terrain. He, however, hears something else breathing besides he and the crawling man. Something big. Really big. Just in front of him, altough he doesn't see anything big there.

The tracks themselves lead to that same area.

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Doing rolls in the ooc thread, Akresh managed to catch up with the tracks.

[Emperor Tippy]

damnit, something invisible. seems big too.

Akresh heads back to the party and says "There is a wounded man up ahead. But he's being used as bait. Something big and invisible is waiting right by the wounded man. If I could actually see the monster then I could aim my attack more precisely and likely drop it in one hit without an alarm being raised. Before you all go rushing up though, let me head back and check out the area to make sure that their aren't any other monsters waiting to ambush us as well, ok?"

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Glyphstone, I see Blindsight on your spell list. If you cast it on Akresh then I can death attack the monster, which should drop it unless I completely flub the damage rolls or it has massive HP.

[Kagehime]

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Rin also has Invisibility Purge, remember. (I knew that would come in handy!)