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[KittenMaster]

"I am going to begin bluntly, because I know you are with those that have fought with me once before: we are enemies.. but for you in particular.. we are enemies that go beyond the scope of this war.

"I had once served a dark god, whose name and secrets have been brought to his grave in light of his defeat and destruction by mortals. Nobody can remember who this god was, and those that attempt to speak his name are censored. This god was Heironeous' enemy, and therefore your enemy... this makes us enemies, as is the conflict between Good and Evil as mandated by the gods.

"But the reason for my speaking to you is not to state my intentions... it's to tell you something you need to know.. It is about your father, Aloysius Birchwood, and about you. I am quite possibly the only proof and testimony that your father even existed at all. To begin, me and your father used to go way back during the past war. In fact.. he was my mentor."

After Dreadstone warns about the skeleton, Loinel mentions, "That skeleton is a treasure of a battle my comrades once fought here. You are standing on historic ground. Don't be alarmed, I have no need of those brittle bones as a tool for battle." Despite this, the guards stand wary around the skeleton.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Upon hearing an unknown voice in his head, Tiberious looks around confusedly?

"What? An enemy? Come on out! A man talks to his foes when he looks them in the eye!" As he begins to address Thaddeus specifically, Tiberious ceases being on edge.

"Unless a fight breaks out, I'm going to leave this to you Thad. It's starting to sound like personal stuff."

 

[ThLunarian]

"By all means, Mister Savis, tell me more," says Thaddeus. He gestures for everyone to start moving again, and keeps his sword at the ready. While the voice speaks, he carefully scrutinizes his surroundings, looking for any sign of an intruder, or perhaps a scrying implement, or anything else that seems amiss.

 

[KittenMaster]

Only darkness welcomes you as you continue down the massive cavern, yet the voice of the Cleric never wavers, "He taught people much like myself what he knew about the dark arts, while working from within Ruby Keep. Our sect was one of the first to make way for wars based on secrecy and deceit, as our god would have it, and your father was a strong proponent of the cause by being able to work from within; his efforts and results were rewarded greatly enough that he was blessed with a gift by the dark god himself."

He pauses for a brief moment, "That gift was you, a dark elf brought to the surface." He allows Thaddeus and the others to process this story before he continues on.

 

[ThLunarian]

"Is that so?" Thaddeus calls out into the darkness patiently. "That is quite the revelation. Please, tell me more of my father's debaucherous past."

((If Draco is wearing the anti-scrying amulet from that fiasco in Emerald Bay)) Thaddeus points to Draco's amulet and holds his hand out, as if to request it be lent to him for a moment.

 

[KittenMaster]

<I will wait to see if you willingly choose to block out scrying before continuing and ultimately become unable to hear what he says.>

 

[ThLunarian]

((I don't plan on keeping it on. I was just going to put it on for a second then take it off, to see if Loinel has any sort of reaction. Basically Thaddeus wants to test how powerful of a scry this guy is using))

 

[KittenMaster]

<I'll just go ahead and assume that happened then...>

When Thaddeus puts on the amulet of anti-scrying, the voice does pause momentarily. Once Thaddeus takes it off though, he begins to hear the voice again, this time more eager to assure the Drow, "..I am only watching you to be able to send a message easily to your thoughts safely.

"You were placed in the wilderness for your father to stumble upon through circumstance. To put it simply, you were to be raised into our world, our ideas and under the watch of our god. You were to be a symbol of darkness as the Drow typically are..

"But your father grew to adore you.. he began to see you as his blood son. He couldn't bear to force his son into a vicious world where he would most certainly be wanted for death by a great many people, so he did what a loving father does: He gave you a choice. He allowed you the choice to overturn destiny and follow Heironeous. He loved you so much that he committed one of the greatest sins against his god by allowing his gift to worship and serve a different god.

"Aloysius Birchwood... your father.. my mentor.. his sin brought punishment upon himself and you. He was no longer allowed to live, and his family name was to be forever tarnished even though you. I have heard about your father's name being erased from Ruby Keep records.. this isn't just a political cover up, it is super natural. Even now a dead god's curse continues to afflict the son of Birchwood."

 

[ThLunarian]

Thaddeus nods, confirming that the wearer of the amulet is indeed masked from Loinel's influence, and hands it back to Draco, nodding to confirm. "Truly this is a momentous and world-shattering revelation," says Thaddeus. "I am not sure how I'm to hold on to my sanity. Perhaps you can offer me some grief counselling. Where may I find you, Mister Savis, so that I may be consoled in these difficult times?"

He looks at Tiberious with a self-assured smile, as if to say, Did you like my performance?

 

[KittenMaster]

<Roll Bluff.>

 

[ThLunarian]

((Can't access InvisCastle right now but my dice rolling app gave me a 20 total on the check))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Rolled 25 on Sense Motive>

Disappointment can be heard through the man's voice, "So you don't believe me... I never imagined I would receive such a jaded response to the only other man on this plane to have memories of your father."

"Regardless, even if you did hear what I had to say, we are still forced to fight... no, not just because we are enemies both by the mandate of the gods or being political opposites in this war.. but because there is someone I must protect; I cannot allow you to reach her at any cost."

 

[ThLunarian]

Thaddeus shakes his head, himself disappointed that he was unable to fool the man. "Whether you tell the truth or not is inconsequential," Thaddeus explains. "Your story began outlandish. I'll admit it began to make more sense as it continued, but even if you are telling the truth, it matters not. My father was a good man, though he had his faults. The systematic scrubbing of his memory from the world is a great tragedy - one that I may have to work to remedy. If your aim was to waver my resolve, you have failed. We are coming for you and Excalibur, and you will both be brought to justice."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Tiberious grins and gives Thaddeus a thumbs up for his acting. When it becomes apparent that Loinel didn't buy it, he frowns. "It looked like good acting to me, especially for someone who didn't grow up putting on shows. Old people just aren't quick to be trusting."

 

[KittenMaster]

"No.. Not Excalibur.. She has proven more than capable enough to protect herself from you in the past. It is Cassandra I cannot let you near. If she dies, something much worse than this war will befall this plane, and I will be forced to fight you should you continue to come closer."

 

[Mike M]

"I don't got any mind t'kill any Cassandra," Dreadstone says aloud as they continue their cautious march through the Underdark. "But you an'Excalibur have gone an' signed your death warrants with what you done. If y'surrender, they might make it quick fer you, but somehow I don' get t'thinkin' yer gonna make it that easy fer me..."

 

[ThLunarian]

"If the fate of an innocent is your primary concern, you needn't worry - this Cassandra will not be harmed," says Thaddeus, remembering the name but not quite remembering who she is, exactly. He is fairly sure that she isn't a rebel, though she may have been mixed up with them somehow. "If that is of any assurance to you, then I second the Lieutenant's recommendation that you surrender yourselves."

((As a player, I forgot who Cassandra was so I had to look it up and now I remember. I incorporated that forgetfulness into Thaddeus's character, but I as a player don't need to be reminded))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Tiberious is slow to react, but as the others begin answering, he chimes in "Cassandara? ... Oh yeah, her! She hasn't given us any reason to kill her, so we won't unless she does. You and Excalibur are as good as dead unless you take up Thad's option of surrender though."

((I had to go double check too. I was about to assume she was the woman who talked to us in the dreams we had, but I don't think that was ever confirmed/might not be the case))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"For once, I'm with Leo on this. I quite frankly don't care about this Cassandra so as long as she keeps to her self. She gets in our way, though, I make no promises."

 

[KittenMaster]

Hearing Draco state he'll make no promises, the former mayor snaps, "You will make a promise! You will swear your life on it!! Thaddeus, I mentored that girl like your father mentored me, but not only that, should her life end by any hand, it will release a power that was burdened to us that we the Orphans were never meant to have. Despite what you may think of the revolutionaries, the war could have more than easily be won if we didn't care about innocents or the well being of others.

"Now promise. Swear that you won't lay a blade to Cassandra. She above all is the most crucial person to this plane."

<Start rolling Diplomacy.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Hmm, maybe someone more Machiavellian than Tiberious can try and leverage her life to make Loinel do what we want.))

"Sure thing! We don't just go around killing innocent people and..." Tiberious's eyes narrow, "Wait a second! You already said you were going to try and kill us later! Why should we go making promises to you if you're still going to be a bad guy afterwards? I already said I don't have reason to kill her, but if you want a promise on top of that, promise us that you won't try and fight us or help Excalibur when we come for her."

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=79571]Diplomacy: 1D20 + 9 = [11]+9 = 20
[/url]

 

[Mike M]

<Start rolling Diplomacy.>

((Oh noooooooooo!))

Diplomacy check:  1d20=7

"I promise," Dreadstone says through gritted teeth. "I swear a whole heap'a things. Startin' with when I find you, I'll–"

Diplomacy check:  1d20+2=19

"No harm shall befall Cassandra!" Chloe interrupts, shouting into the darkness. "I swear upon my oath as a cleric of Herioneous, I would sooner fall to the swords of my comrades than allow them to harm an innocent!"

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"Fine, fine. I promise I won't hurt your little friend. I really don't even care at this point."

Diplomancy: (1d20+17=20)
+
Inspired Dice: (1d8=8)

((how long has it been? have we rested yet since all the other crap? I might need to change some of my mods and shit since I still have buffs up from before(although my diplomancy should be correct right now, even if i did get a shit roll).))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Whenever I do a huge time skip it's safe to say that you've rested at some point.

I had intended to let you rest before you actually went into the caverns, and some days have passed by now.>

 

[ThLunarian]

Something seems off about the stranger's intentions here. What is he angling for? Unless...

"Do you promise to surrender if I make such a promise as you request?" he offers. The only way this makes sense is if the stranger is prepared to offers concessions.

He hopes he is right, but it seems as though there is nothing to be lost if he is not.

((30 on Diplomacy with 11 on the die))

 

[KittenMaster]

"I will not turn myself in to the Ruby Keep army.. and I'm not oblivious to the lack of regard in your voices, not all of you seem as trustworthy as I'd like. I will be keeping a close eye on your actions."

And with that, the voices you hear stop. Several soldiers walk to Dreadstone and ask him, "Do you think it is safe to proceed? What should we do if we see this Cassandra he spoke of?"

 

[Mike M]

"We move on," Dreadstone announces. "Our priorities are that snake necromancer an' Excalibur. I don' intend t'make a liar of myself, we take no action against Cassandra unless she gives us a reason."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"Sounds like a plan!" Tiberious chimes in. After a bit more walking, he looks around to the other party members and asks "So, do you think he was serious about that whole world ending if anything happens to Cassandra thing? I can't figure out how that would work, but that guy was getting real fires up about it."

 

[ThLunarian]

"If he is a necromancer then he is anything but trustworthy," says Thaddeus. "That said, he did seem rather convinced of what he was saying. As we are not in the business of harming innocents, I shouldn't think it will be a problem."


((I'm actually playing a necromancer in an IRL DND game. I based him around the tall, imposing trenchcoat dude from the first chapter of Resident Evil 4. So far the only monsters we've come across have been undead, so I'm having a lot of fun taking control of them and whatnot))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((I'm actually playing a necromancer in an IRL DND game. I based him around the tall, imposing trenchcoat dude from the first chapter of Resident Evil 4. So far the only monsters we've come across have been undead, so I'm having a lot of fun taking control of them and whatnot))

((That gave me an image of your character doing his one-armed strangle on zombies, which is awesome))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Anytime I think of necromancers I think of "STOP TOUCHING ME!!!">

 

[KittenMaster]

You and your army are able to continue on unhindered. The Wizards among the Ruby Keep unit send a magical notice to the kingdom confirming the presence of enemies ahead.

You continue to travel the days, your only reminder of daylight being the young Cleric's use of the Daylight spell to light the repetitive underground formations. After a long journey, you finally stumble upon a tower built into the cavern side.

It is a downward spiral that takes you deeper into darkness and the unknown. There is no telling how battered one will become should they slip and fall.

<It's Christmas Eve, and I'm gonna be opening a present early soon and possibly enjoy it. Roleplay among yourselves, and also I can see a case for Acrobatics mattering so roll that too. No DC, just hope you don't roll a fumble.

Have a great Christmas!

EDIT: Also, I just started a wordpad document writing down all of the stuff I plan on doing to suck less at DM'ing and hopefully make things better for the players should I ever DM again.>

 

[Mike M]

((Up feeding the cats, I'll RP when I get up for real. Wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and also call dibs on DMing the game after next (since Lunarian's got next.). In another year and a half, the campaign should be nice and polished! Heh heh.))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Hopefully after ThLunarian and Mike M's campaigns people will forget how much this one sucked.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((A merry Christmas Eve to all! I'll go ahead and jump behind Mike M (KM as well if you were planning on running a campaign after Mike) in the DM cue, I've got a rough idea for a campaign that may or may not still exist two and a half to three and a half years from now))

For a long period of time, Tiberious roams the blackness of the tunnels with relatively little to say. After the events that have transpired, he appears to be deep in thought. Minutes of walking in silence turn into hours, extending into days. Finally, Tiberious has an epiphany.

"I've got it! The best answer! I know what to do now!" After a moment of confused stares, he turns to Draco and says "Now I know what to do with that bat guano you offered me back on monster island! You still have some right? You have to! Ok, listen closely. I can take it, and smear it on my brightest, most well-polished weapon. Then when I attack bad guys with it, it'll get in their blood and make them sick, so even if they warp away they'll still be incapacitated! I call it... the Shining Shitshow™!"

-------------------------------
Assuming the party doesn't throw Tiberious into the downward spiral on arrival, he looks down with curiosity. "I was starting to wonder if we would ever find it. We're just about to the Supreme Orphanage! Time to walk with manly gusto and not trip on the way down."

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=79607]Acrobatics: 1D20 + 13 = [2]+13 = 15
[/url]

Tiberious's idea of manly walking involves walking backwards for short spans of time. Luckily, his balance is decent enough to keep this from ending in tragedy.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"It could takes day for that to make them sick, if it works at all and just by cleaning the wounds in clean water they could probably avoid getting sick completely... But if you actually do want to make some actually useful poison, I could help you there."

Acrobatics(Jump +5): (1d20+19=27)

((I might have just barely made it with my stupidly good acrobatics skill.... even on a one I get a 20(and then i can always add a d8 to it for more fun).))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Tiberious frowns as days of thinking and namecrafting are shot down in seconds. "A more effective poison, you say? That could help us all in our final battles. Of course, I'll have to come up with a new name..."

 

[Mike M]

The days spent in the darkness is the longest time that Dreadstone has ever spent away from the light. It's a curious phenomenon to witness the changes in his vision whenever he wanders beyond the extent of Chloe's miraculous light, the color vanishing from the world around him, but no less visible. The wide-eyed stares of the soldiers peering blindly into the darkness beyond the radiance looks peculiar to the tiefling, who can't imagine what such a limitation must be like. It would be like missing a limb or something, he supposes.

Staring down the spiral, Dreadstone watches as the darkness subsumes everything that extends beyond even his enhanced vision into the all consuming abyss below.

"Rope," he says to the nearest soldier. "Everyone tie off to one 'nother."

((Equip the Covenant of Artorias, everyone!))

 

[Jackben]

((Merry Christmas, friends))

 

[KittenMaster]

((Equip the Covenant of Artorias, everyone!))

<I was hoping you wouldn't catch the semblance. Also, "Oh crap, we don't have the Covenant of Artorias! We're gonna have to go all the way back to Baldur in the forest and fight him for it!">

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Equip the Covenant of Artorias, everyone!))

((So you're saying we're getting ambushed by four kings when we reach the bottom?))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Double post

 

[Mike M]

((Merry Christmas, friends))

((So you're saying we're getting ambushed by four kings when we reach the bottom?))

((Fuck, I left my ascended Pyromancer's Flame and Iron Flesh at home... Someone summon Beatrice!))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Also, even if you tie ropes to each other, you still need to roll acrobatics.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((With a bunch of alcohol-fueled family festivities behind me, I can now officially say Merry Christmas everyone! May all have good gifts, and may the rolls favor all!))

 

[Mike M]

((Having a pretty stellar Christmas so far.))

Dreadstone Acrobatics Check:  1d20+4=20
Chloe Acrobatics Check:  1d20-6=9
Gnaw Acrobatics Check:  1d20+6=20

((God damn it, Chloe...))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Having a pretty stellar Christmas so far.))

((I said goddamn.

And not a nat 1, so maybe a Christmas miracle can happen?))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Thaddeus still needs to roll Acrobatics.

As a Christmas present, everyone gets a Level Up and an Ioun Stone of their choice.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Christmas has been pretty nice. I got a PS4, but with PSN down right now I have a chance to post))

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=79611]Health: 1D12 + 3 = [11]+3 = 14
[/url]

((Ridiculous HP rolls to the end, it seems. Taking a magenta prism and putting it to strength. Unless it doesn't stack with other bonuses, then I'll grab a lavender and green ellipsoid))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

hp roll: (1d8=3)

((Giving me 69 hp exactly... Anyways, picking up a pale green prism stone since we don't have a bard to worry about. And yes, the magenta prism bonus is enchanment so it would not stack with a belt or anything like that. And getting myself a point in charisma finally, now i actually have a cha bonus.))