D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

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stavaros_the_arcane
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

OOC: All right lets go forward with this. So yes, Ysariel do an IC post for Celestina as she takes on the role of ghostly knight. Arkite and Psistrike, if you would like describe the ambiance you're creating with your illusions and thaumaturgy. EO, describe anything Evan gets up to during the big charade.

And let the show begin.
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Ysariel »

Célestina (Tina)

In the legends of the church, Saint Serafina once strode into battle clad only in gauzy lace and a loincloth, and protected by faith alone, slew an entire unit of armored heavy infantry with her sword of light, demonstrating the superiority of divine power over mortal steel. Tina cannot help but wonder what kind of courage that might require.

Her own task is comparatively easy. She strides down the stairs into the halls below with her sword drawn and shield in hand. (She wonders how much longer the blade will remain unbloodied.) As she does so she stares into the darkness: trying to note location and disposition of the enemy, and attempting to see where the hostages are being held, comparing what she sees with Putz's testimony above, in case this does does turn into something much more violent.

"Your time is up, defilers," she says, putting on her most imposing voice. "You have befouled our tombs and stirred our bones, plotting foul sorcery in this place of rest. How dare you sacrifice innocents in these hallowed halls? The ghosts of the Delian League demand an answer!"

She points her glittering blade at the culprits. Sariel, now! She thinks. Of course the sorceress cannot hear her, but she can hope that she would spot the opportunity.
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Psistrike
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Psistrike »

Sariel Amastacia

Sariel had been working to figure out the perfect details for the illusion, what would help Tina's deception here to scare the bandits away. And it came to her in a flash, a simple thing from a child's story in her home village, tales of what the restless dead would do to drive the living away. Suddenly the sound of ghostly wails began to emanate from around Tina, all combined with the pitch of a loud shout, the sounds of the restless dead as the books had described them years ago. And hopefully enough to send a chill up the spines of the bandits.
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Arkrite
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Arkrite »

Ector Blagettal
HP: 11/11

With each step that Celestina takes a tremor runs through the the floor, stopping as she does.

In the seconds before she enters the room the torches and fires flicker and dim, and as she demands her answer the flames burst upwards turning an eerie and unearthly blue colour.
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stavaros_the_arcane
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

The goblins turn to gawk at the sudden intruder into the hall just as tremors shake the room and the flames providing light turn an unearthly blue. The wails and eerie sounds of the vengeful dead backing the declaration of the armored figure before cause the goblins to be filled with dread.

The tremors and strange lighting even give the massive relief on one of the walls depicting the knights this tomb was dedicated to the illusion of movement.

Soon the goblins are running around in a panic, practically tripping over themselves as they rush passed to flee the tomb. However two of them, instead of fleeing to the exit run out the other doorway that leads further into the tomb.

Your ruse has succeeded. In a matter of minutes the large hall is empty, leaving the vandalized offering room and an entire abandoned goblin encampment for you to sort through at your leisure.
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Arkrite
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Arkrite »

Ector Blagettal
HP: 11/11

"Plan is good, Celestina," Ector rumbles, "Now we save sacrificial victim."

Dusting himself off he strides into the room like a orc on a mission pausing only to poke and prod anything that looks like it might hide a trussed up child, or small humanoid. But his path is curved towards where the two goblins had fled.

"Ector is having bad thought," Ector rumbles, "Goblin are having sacrifice to make scary ghosts go away."

"And now scary ghosts have come. Ector is thinking maybe we should be running before they try to do ritual right now, to get rid of scary ghosts,"
He looks at the others to see if maybe he was just being crazy.

OOC: Perception check: 1d20+3 21
Last edited by Arkrite on Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by EnigmaticOne »

Evan Roadbound

"Celestina did say attempting to sacrifice was what brought we 'ghosts', so wouldn't that deter them?" Evan paused and then looked around quickly. "...We may want to hurry and find who they captured."
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stavaros_the_arcane
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

Any of you searching the Hall please roll me a Perception or Investigation check.
Ysariel
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Ysariel »

Célestina (Tina)

"Well done!" Tina grins as her companions join her. That takes care of the main goblin force. However, the hostages have yet to be found. And there is something else to attend to...

Tina shakes her head at Evans. "I doubt so. If anything, they may be more desperate. Putz mentioned that their chief -- Gravak, wasn't that his name? -- was still in the altar room with a rookie shaman and someone called 'Redbeard', and they may not be so easily fooled. I believe those two might lead us right to their doorstep."

She points down the corridor where the two goblins fled deeper into the catacombs with her sword.

"Ector, can I leave this room to you? Search for anything that might be of use or advantage to us. Then rejoin us below." Tina pauses to light a torch. She has no intention of being ambushed in the dark. Then, lit brand in her left hand and drawn sword in her right, she heads down the doorway leading deeper into the tomb.

OOC

Tina will forego searching the room, since she doesn't have either of those skills. Instead she will head through the door the 2 goblins (who went the other way) were seen going in.

Tina will also light a torch from her backpack and hold it in her offhand.
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Arkrite
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Arkrite »

Ector Blagettal
HP: 11/11

Ector frowns and thinks for a second.

He didn't like it, but Evan was probably their best fighter, Sariel's magics could easily change the course of any fight, and Celestina was just as well armed and armored as he was. And she was probably a better fighter than he was.

His armor and spells would make him the safest one to remain behind. He couldn't imagine there was anything specific worthy of his time, but if the sacrificial victim was bundled up in here and they left them victim to anybody who could come in afterwards...

"Will look," He rumbles, slowing his walk to consider the room, "If you need him, you call. Ector will come."
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Psistrike »

Sariel Amastacia

"Take care, Ector. We will definitely yell if we need you, with a dragon around that might be sooner then we think." Sariel moved to remain close to Tina, keeping her senses open to any potential threat. "Aw, you lit a torch already. I can cast a cantrip onto anything we can carry to generate light, normally use it on my staff. Well, next time then."
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stavaros_the_arcane
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

Ector:

Your search of the hall yields many things, but no small human sacrifice.

While not the focus of your search you can't help but see the grand bas relief on one wall, upon closer inspection you find it to be a magnificent work depicting the knights of the Delian Order during the Fel-Drake War in which they won their fame, doing battle with a vast horde of fiends and draconic humanoids of all sizes under the banner of the evil Dragon Goddess Tiamat. At the center of the image locked in combat were two figures, a sword-wielding paladin glowing with holy light with armor marking him as some sort of leader or champion; and a monstrous dragon, its scales a mix of dark and red hues. The vivid, almost lifelike nature of the artwork remains even beneath the ravages of time and goblin vandalism.

On the opposite wall is another image of the same Paladin kneeling, along with a passage of writing. The text is archaic but readable, it roughly reads: "I, Sextus Varius, swear the Delian Oath. To serve Law, battle chaos, and strive to keep the secrets of the Delian lore." You get the impression this Oath was very important to the Order.

As you sort through the goblin camp you find plenty items looted from prior caravan attacks, while most of the valuable cargo was probably sent back to 'the black one' there are still crude furnishings made from crates and wagon parts. On a table made out of one such piece of wreckage you see the abandoned set up of a fairly high stakes card game. The cards are scattered every which way when the goblins fled (and from what cards you can see, at least one player was cheating) but the pile of coins that was the games pot is still on the table.

<You find 10 GP, 50 SP, and a small gold bracelet worth 25gp>

Eventually you find a corner of the camp with a handful of cages large enough for a medium or small sized humanoid. As you examine them you notice that most of them look like they've been unoccupied for at least a week or two, until you come to a space between two cages. There's clear signs that there used to be another cage there recently and there are drag marks on the floor that look at most a few hours old. You also spy a small shoe, just the right size for a human child. Clearly the human they captured was here not long ago.

Just as you start to move away to leave the hall and rejoin your companions you hear a small desparate voice call out to you from a pile of cages designed for chickens or other small animals. "Hey! Don't go! I need help. Please get me out of here!"

When you investigate the cry, you see a tiny woman with silver hair and delicate transparent wings looking out of one of the small cages.
----------------------

Celestina, Sariel, and Evan:

You leave the hall and begin following a long passageway, by the light of Celestina's torch you can see ahead that it turns to the left. The passageway is made of stone with a tile floor and is 15 feet across. Beyond the bend you can you can hear frantic footsteps and rapid chattering in goblin.

OOC: can I get your marching order (i.e. what order are you walking down the hallway.)
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Arkrite
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Arkrite »

Ector Blagettal
HP: 11/11

The relief was pretty, and he made a note to take a better look at it when he had the time. If he had time. Still the image of a person fighting off a horde of evil was a nice thing to see when one was expecting to be fighting evil.

He pauses at the wall, mumbling the words he finds there out loud as he reads them, "I, Sextus Varius, swear the Delian Oath. To serve Law, battle chaos, and strive to keep the secrets of the Delian lore."

It helped him remember, and maybe it would mean something to the others. It had to be important if the other wall had such a magnificent image that had survive all these years, and the other held only this. Maybe.

Turning back he wanders through the camp, as it was, stepping over wreckage, debris, and makeshift furniture. Pausing at the poker table he counts at least seven aces, which wasn't how cards worked to his memory. Deciding that the only reasonable action was to punish the offenders he pockets the coins. If nothing else the team would have a nice little reward if they got out alive.

As he walks through the cages he grimaces and grips the handle of his warhammer. If he had time he'd break the lot of them. But that was noisy, and he was in a hurry.

He opens any unlocked cage he walks past, peering in as he walks along, then stops when he sees the shoe.

With a sigh he bends down and picks up the small shoe, holding it in his scarred hands for a long moment before stuffing it into his backpack. The kid was gone, he was wasting time. He stood with a huff of effort, and turned to leave.
stavaros_the_arcane wrote: Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:40 am "Hey! Don't go! I need help. Please get me out of here!"
"Eh?" Ector says, lurching to a stop, turning back to the chicken cages.

He'd forgot to check those. In his own defense, he noted, he hadn't expected the sacrifice to be a chicken. With a quick couple of steps he bends down, spotting the captive and removing the other cages in his way.

"Hold on, little friend," The scarred half-orc rumbles, "Ector will have you out soon."

His big fingers fumble with the cage door, trying to find the lock or latch to open the door.
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stavaros_the_arcane
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

CELSTINA, EVAN, SARIEL:

With Celestina in the lead, the three of you continue down the passage on the goblins trail.

Just before the passage turned, Evan and Sariel hear a quiet click as a stone tile beneath Celestina's feet sinks down slightly beneath her weight.

From the ceiling an axe swings down to strike at Celestina, smashing into her side.

OOC: Axe trap vs Celestina 1d20+3: 23 [1d20=20] Damage 1d6: 5 [1d6=5]
Celestina takes 5 damage.

------------------
Arkrite wrote: Tue Feb 05, 2019 1:59 am Ector Blagettal
HP: 11/11

"Eh?" Ector says, lurching to a stop, turning back to the chicken cages.

He'd forgot to check those. In his own defense, he noted, he hadn't expected the sacrifice to be a chicken. With a quick couple of steps he bends down, spotting the captive and removing the other cages in his way.

"Hold on, little friend," The scarred half-orc rumbles, "Ector will have you out soon."

His big fingers fumble with the cage door, trying to find the lock or latch to open the door.
Ector finds a heavy iron bar latching the cage shut with a crude sign written in goblin next to it, probably telling the goblins not to open it. Well he is no goblin and has no interest in leaving the fairy imprisoned. He easily slides the bar out and opens the cage.

The tiny fairy gives her wings a quick check to make sure they haven't been damaged, then flutters up so she's eye level with Ector. Relief and gratitude are clearly written on her face. Suddenly overcome she flies forward and wraps your neck in a grateful hug. "Thank you sir, thank you so very much! I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't come along."

She lets go of you and sheepishly takes a moment to compose herself, wiping tears from her eyes and adjusting a pair of spectacles. "My name is Tear, collections agent and debt manager for Golden Scales Banking and Currency Exchange." It sounds like a well practiced business introduction. "Again thank you so much for letting me out of there. My...client and I were captured by the goblins a day or so ago, their leader dragged her off some time ago and made a comment about selling me off to a human he was talking to. I was afraid I'd never be free again, and then everything became chaotic with those strange lights and sounds. After all that I'm relieved you were able to find me at all."
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Re: D&D5e The Golden Wheel Turns (IC thread)

Post by Ysariel »

Célestina (Tina)

"Ow!" Tina yelps as she gets an axe in the side. Her armored cuirass stops the blow, but it also empties her lungs of air and as any knight will tell you, being hit by a jousting lance even while in full plate hurts.

She resists the urge to blurt out something uncouth in response. She had not accounted for this, that the goblins might have had time enough to booby-trap the passage. So now she was stuck here with three companions and no idea of how many goblins -- or traps -- there are ahead. If she retreated, the goblins would have leave to plant more traps and perhaps even complete their sacrifice. If they advanced unprepared they might well be marching to their doom. She doesn't have the experience to tell which course of action might be better.

Guide me, O Lady of Light, she prays silently. Ahead there might be a small child, with parents and a family at home, clinging on to faint hope. Let love prevail today.

And in a moment of clarity she realizes she doesn't have to be the one to come up with the answer.

"Sariel, Evans," she whispers to her companions. "There may be more traps ahead. We don't know how many goblins there are exactly, either. What do we do? Do you have any spells that would let you get past traps or spy on the goblins' disposition?"

Tina pauses. "Or we could feign a retreat," she adds. That tactic had been used to devastating effect in cavalry warfare before, with lightly-armored units of horse archers disengaging from heavy cavalry, who then gave chase, only to be surrounded and destroyed.
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