Ongoing Games (In-Character)Play-by-post games are going on in this forum as we speak (well, read). All threads on this board are actual games, so please, only post on a thread if you are a player of that game.
"Bah, modesty is wasted on me girl. What does a dragon care for human flesh?! He points to where her circle would be on his own chest since she is turned. Clearly you are bound to something. Was this done against your will?"
Arien turns her head so that the side of her face is facing you, "My name is not girl.....lizard. I....." she trails off as she tries to speak, but ends up lurching over, throwing up again and barely missing Mai. She turns to Mai after spitting all of the bile out of her mouth, "Sorry, I hope I didn't get any on you. If I try to talk about it too much, I get deathly sick."
Engrossed as she was in translating the runes emblazoned on Arien's chest, Mai didn't react to her vomiting (and thus was fortunate it missed her) apart from shooting Infernion an annoyed glare before resuming her examination.
"It's an oath ritual, written in Netherese. A wise choice on their part, few now who live can understand it--and I'm guessing you are not one of the few," she told the woman with a knowing look, but that statement was as much for her draconic companion's benefit. "Given enough time, I could probably reverse it, but that's a dangerous prospect not guaranteed to work. The only other options, though, are for you to fulfill your oath or *ahem* to die, but let's avoid that. In fact, let's avoid asking her any more questions about the oath or relating to it, all that'll do is torture her and not even yield any answers."
Sensing the inevitable next question, she continued.
"What we need to do is find the key. So all they had in common were those necklaces, and they don't seem to do anything? Hmm. Did you try the other ones that the cultists were wearing? They may be different since she isn't one of them."
After trying to decipher the engravings on the amulet for a while, the tiefling comments almost absentmindedly: "Yes, devils like to make their oaths safe, and it is Asmodeus we're dealing with - well, she's dealing with him, to be precise. I wouldn't advise trying to fiddle with it. But there is something we need.."
He holds up the amulet by its chain, his other hand pointing towards the letters on it. "We need a word, or a phrase. Something to make this trinket work."
He puts the amulet around his neck, wearing it over his armor unlike his holy symbol, which is tucked under the plate.
Then he shoots a curious glare towards the tied female, brow raised. "I take it your oath prevents you from sharing this with us, too?"
Frustration with all the careful planning beings to mount in the dragon once more. 'Just cut the circle in half! A good sharp knife should do the trick! or..." he flexes one of his talons.
The woman looks up at you, Ewin, and just stares at you. It looks as though she is trying to say something. Then she stops, takes a breath and starts again, "I cannot tell you anything about the thing on my chest, nor the necklace I wore," she then stops for a second, as if getting ready for something, and spits out fast and sudden, "ButyouarecorrectaboutthekeywordandyouknowitEw in," and once again retches on the floor and breaks out even more in hives.
Mai's look of annoyance returns, though it quickly shifts into one of semi-amusement as she glances over at the tiefling. Before saying anything about it though, she returns her gaze to Arien first, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder and mending her tunic with a simple spell.
"Thank you, dear, you've been most helpful. I'll get you some water in a moment, and some food if you can eat--the dry heaves are the worst," she says with a wry smile, which she maintains as she turns to Ewin though now there's some steel behind it.
"Well, Ewin, it seems your reputation precedes you. Your past is your own, I'll not pry, but if it has any affect on us, right here and now, I think it's time you tell us what you know."
Ewin's eyes become no more than slits at the mention of his name.
A quick look of surprise rushes over his face, but his attention is immediately diverted by his companion's reaction.
He turns his horned head around and after a couple of seconds of silence answers in a low voice:
"I didn't expect this one to know, but I guess it is not unexpected.
I have crossed paths with mordai and other minions of Asmodeus before.
One might say that I have been a.. thorn in their side.
Maybe this cult was even informed of our presence here."
He raises his brow and adds with a slight smile: "Why do you think Metherna tasked me to go with you?"
He taps his finger against the smaller horns on his chin, trying to make sense of the mercenary's words. "Although I still do not know what word she meant. Maybe something trivial, like Asmodeus? We can just try it."
Arien nods at Mai's sympathy and concern, even for an enemy. She listens to Ewin and seems to nod as he talks about them knowing who he is. He starts talking about the word he knows, and she pipes in......"NotinCommon"......and quickly stops, looking a little sick, but doesn't seem to puke this time.
The red's impatience and frustration are growing visibly. Smoke is begining to leak from his jaws and snout. His scales are starting to glow dull red and put off heat. The leathery wings are held out to the side, moving slowly.
"I am going to cut that circle off her and destroy it." he advances towards the woman but is cut off forcibly by Ewin
(Oh, I do?)
The tiefling throws a fierce glance towards his draconic companion. "Won't do any good, though. Devils aren't stupid, so it either won't work at all, or make the situation worse. Anyways, I do remember a phrase the devout of Asmodeus used to mark their allegiance."
He turns towards the door and holds out the amulet hanging from his neck.
His face shows hesitance as he speaks his next words: "Just prepare yourselves. Open this door, for the Lord of All."
You step up to the door, hold out the amulet and speak the words. You feel a little bit of somthing stir from the amulet, but nothing really happens and the door doesn't open, nor do its runes light up as before.
Behind you Arien shakes her head, composes herself, and says "Not.....in.....common."
Slightly embarrassed, Ewin clears his throat and repeats the phrase in broken supernal. The words feel raw on his tongue and he is clearly not too comfortable using this language.
(If we don't want to retcon the first try :P)
You all hear Ewin's broken speech of a language that is almost angelic. Of course, it doesn't sound quite as smooth with Ewin's rough try at it, but he seems to get the job done. All of the Runes of the door light up and glow with a red, hot light.
Seemingly right as the runes start to glow, Evalie runs into the room from where she was keeping watch, and quickly says to everyone. "Two figures are coming down......one large man and one drow, be on your guard!!" And with that slips right on the inside of the doorway, longsword drawn.
Mai's wry smile at Ewin turns genuine as the tiefling reveals his knowledge of Supernal. She was about to make a complimentary retort to him about Metherna when Evalie sounded the alarm.
"Wait, only two of them? Even with the drow that doesn't sound like reinforcements, but they could be more mercenaries," she said, at first eyeing their prisoner then turning toward her. "Arien, were there any more of your group? Your oath shouldn't prevent you from answering that."
"Whoever they are, they aren't my mercs. All the men that worked for me were humans." She seems just as genuinely confused as the rest of you.
ALL
All of you are looking down the hallway and see the two figures walking down, and appear in the doorway. Evalie's Blade goes up immediate at the throat of the drow and about the chest of the Barbarian, "Move and you die, who are you and what do you want?" The Barbarian looks over at Evalie and pulls out a scroll, he gives it to the drow and the drow starts reading it. When he is done, a figure appears in the middle of the room, in what looks like a spirit form, of Metherna. "Hello all. You might be wondering what it going on, well I am here to clear things up for you. These two men are here for you all to use, they are Arya and Kadaith. I know you may mistrust the drow because of his heritage, but give him a chance.....though don't turn your back on him," she says with a very sly smile. "They are here to replace Lucious and Evalie, both of whom are being called back by Vala and Myself respectively., and they are to return to us immediately. That is all you need know for now, I will explain things when you return from your quest." With that her form disappears and you are left with a very large man and a drow as new companions.
The drow rerolls the scroll and holds it out for someone to take. "As the dragon said, I am here for you to use." He says with a smile that isn't entirely pleasing. His long hair is bone white, contrasting with his dark skin and dyed leathers. A smooth staff carved of rosewood is slung across his back and the fingers that hold the scroll seem longer than normal, the nails sharper and heavier. "It seems we've interrupted you in the middle of something." He says, gesturing towards the glowing runes on the door. "Please, continue."
__________________ The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai Me. "We have sent many to Hell, to smooth our way," said I, "and we are standing yet and holding blades. What more?"
The red dragon bows low to the image of Metherna for a moment, until he sees its is merely a pre-recorded scroll.
After the drow is done speaking in Infernion says "Very well, I assume you know I am Inferion, the Red. You can serve us best by walking through that door with us and killing everything on the other side." At the same time, Infernion walks to the passage the newcomers just came down and places himself in the doorway.
Walking back on all fours toward the visitors without hesitation, the hooded githzerai seemed to be less interested in their physical oddities and more interested in the items exposed to his eyes. Approaching the drow, he looked up with a childlike gaze at the back of the scroll, trying to peer through it from all appearances. He even gave it a few sniffs.
Circling around as his dragonkin ally spoke, he eyeballed the drow's staff across his back. Putting his hands to it as one would warm one's hands at a fire, he uttered, SUCH POWER from this...Dak must learn secrets of dark elf! Almost too gleeful at the prospects of seeing new items showcased in a dangerous place, Dak does a backflip.
Kadaith nodded perfunctorily at the polite words and unusual antics of his new companions, before eyeing the elf before him once again, a strange and dangerous fire burning in his eyes. A moment passes before he spoke, his voice sounding like broken boulders rolling down the side of a mountain.
"I moved. I'm not yet dead. You would do well to remember not to threaten me again."
__________________
Spoiler
Do you want this dollar
Yes Sir, I do
Then sever your arm, and you can have the dollar
No Sir, I cannot live without my arm
Then remove a finger, and you can have the dollar
No Sir, my finger is dearer than the dollar
Then cry me a cup of tears, and you can have the dollar
No Sir, I cannot cry. Not for a dollar
Then shoot the man yonder, and you can have the dollar
After sheathing her sword, Evalie looks down at her feet, to find a letter with her name on it. She picks it up off the ground and looks around at everyone else's feet to find no other letter, save on at Lucius' feet. "At your feet soldier," she motions to his feet, and he looks down, and he too picks up a letter with his name on it, though written differently. Both of them read their designated letter and look up at each other with somewhat worried looks on their faces. As soon as they are done reading the letter, the letters fly up a little and burst into flames. Evalie speaks up first, "We must go, immediately. We cannot say why, but my Lady will explain it on your return. Be sure to take the same path back to the kingdom as we took getting here." Lucius speaks up next, "Vala has called me back for some important business it would seem. Good luck, don't die," was all Lucius said before picking up his thing and walking out. He pushes his way past Infernion, if he doesn't move, and Evalie follows, turning back one last time and giving an almost sad smile back to her companions. "I hope we see each other again." And with that, they are gone.
The drow smirks at Infernion. "If it's killing you need, I'll be happy to oblige." He says and the exact subject of who would be killed seems to be left intentionally vague. He stretches his neck and cracks his knuckles, then runs one long fingernail across his forearm, drawing a thin line of blood; hundreds of similar scars run across both his forearms.
He lets out a low growl and his body begins to quickly change, limbs elongating and growing fur. He drops to all fours and by the time he hits the ground the drow is gone; in his place a wolf the size of a horse. He prowls around and sniffs at the rune scribed door then sits down and stares at Infernion, green saliva dripping from his sharp teeth.
Spoiler
Wolf shape!
Stat Block
Spoiler
Arya HP 85/85 Surges 8/8 Surge Value 21 AC 29 Fort 22 Ref 26 Will 26 Speed 7
Werewolf Form
+2 Reflex, +2 Speed, Resist 15 Poison, +5 Stealth.
With Combat Advantage: +2 AC, +1d10 damage.
Snake Fang Action: When you spend an action point to make an attack, each target hit by that attack takes ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends).
Shadow Initiate: Shroud 2/encounter. Venom Hand Master: Ignore poison resistance and immunity. Venom Hand Killer: +2/3/4 (by tier) feat bonus to poison damage rolls. Venom Master: When you hit a creature with your darkfire racial power, they gain vulnerability 5 poison until the end of the encounter.
__________________ The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai Me. "We have sent many to Hell, to smooth our way," said I, "and we are standing yet and holding blades. What more?"
Mai at first stood back with arms crossed, looking a mixture of skepticism, amusement and annoyance at the dragon's intrusion; she didn't really doubt it was Metherna--the dweomer seemed far too advanced and specific to have been faked--nor that it was well-intentioned, but something about it still rankled. Mentally she chalked it up to her latent anti-authoritarian streak and moved on. After all, there was a shapeshifter now amongst them, that was much more interesting, or at least of more immediate attention.
"Yes, farewell Evalie, we shall meet again," she offered, of course completely ignoring Lucious. "Well, I think you just learned one of the dark elf's secrets, Dak. Metherna certainly keeps interesting company. Perhaps proper introductions should wait though until we've finished with our business here? The way should be open now."
Spoiler
Just out of curiosity, Arcana on the image of Metherna projected from the scroll: (1d20+19)[20]
Kadaith watched the elf leave with a somewhat unpleasant look on his face but let the matter slide. It was a novel experience, working for the dragon. Kadaith could hardly remember the last time he had been surrounded by such dangerous, if strange and not entirely sane, people. Still, "Someone said there were things to slice apart, let's quit yammering and get a move on."
__________________
Spoiler
Do you want this dollar
Yes Sir, I do
Then sever your arm, and you can have the dollar
No Sir, I cannot live without my arm
Then remove a finger, and you can have the dollar
No Sir, my finger is dearer than the dollar
Then cry me a cup of tears, and you can have the dollar
No Sir, I cannot cry. Not for a dollar
Then shoot the man yonder, and you can have the dollar
Quick, inside! INSIDE to face our next foe, growls Dak as he scampers ahead of the group, inside the runed entrance to see what lay ahead of the group. Having a keen set of eyes, he was more than willing to scout the area for danger, but also understood when to get out of the way for the big muscley-types.
Spoiler
Perception for traps or anything in the near vicinity as we work our way inside: (1d20+16)[26]
Now that this odd group of fierce combatants are focused on the door and what lies ahead, Infernion knows it is his time to act. They might not like it, but I answer to Metherna and this is her command.
He quickly walks from the door to the restrained woman, fixing his eyes on her and finding her soul. Before anyone can stop him he places his clawed hand on her head. Green and purple energy flood into her, shining out her eyes and mouth, then bathing her in a halo.
......
Spoiler
Curse then
Hand of Blight vs FORT
Attack: (1d20+20)[7](27) +2 (CA), +1 (Dragon), +1 (Prime Shot)
Damage: Necrotic&Psychic (1d8+10)[7](17)+(2d8)[2][1](3)+(1d8)[7](7)
33 total damage
The wolf watches as Infernion attacks the prisoner. He shakes his head slightly and huffs once. No style at all. Simply waiting until our backs are turned? How dull. The wolf glances towards the other members of the group to watch their reactions, the genasi in particular. She seemed agitated early. Couldn't imagine why.
Spoiler
Arya doesn't care about Infernion murdering the prisoner, though he is interested in the reactions of the group.
Insight to gauge Mai's reaction (1d20+12)[21] Scylfing, use that roll as you wish or don't worry about it.
__________________ The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai Me. "We have sent many to Hell, to smooth our way," said I, "and we are standing yet and holding blades. What more?"
Infernion, try as he may to kill the woman secretive-like, walks over to her and fills her full of her demonic powers, light pouring from her eyes, nose, ears, and any other open orifice. Arien screams extremely loudly as she is burned from the inside, still tied up. She falls overs, still screaming and kicking from the pain, then she is silent, her smoking body lying in front of Infernion.
Infernion
Spoiler
You feel a great tug at you from your Infernal powers. Something seems to have awoken in you that laid dormant before. It seems to want to take over you, but it is still quite weak and a quick thought sends it away. Though it seems it come back, though it may take a while to creep back into your mind.
RSS Feeds: 
Re: [4e FR] The Five of the Realm - IC
Characters:
DMing:
