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[KittenMaster]

Sarm begins to shake his head, starting to seem like he is in denial about this, "We haven't seen the end of this.. We still have three days before we can truly decide there is no hope. I wish to waste not the days and return to Ith quickly."

 

[ThLunarian]

It's very easy by now to get access to Ith; none of the guards even try to stop you or question you about your purpose. You quickly make your way to the uppermost room in the castle, where Ith is studying some scrolls on a desk. In the center of the room, the Rod of Pelor shines brightly, floating in the air and surrounded by a rainbow-hued barrier. The rest of the room is filled with shelves, some containing books and some containing magical implements, ingredients, artifacts, and other miscellaneous fair. Standing next to the door on the inside is a young man standing guard, though his eyes are much older than the rest of his body would indicate. He's watched the party with fascination every time they've passed through the doors to this room, though so far he has never addressed them.

"Welcome back," Ith says cordially. "I trust today's hunt went well?"

((Remember to roll Bluff checks as appropriate here if you tell any outright lies))

 

[KittenMaster]

Sarm gazes to the Rod of Pelor trapped behind its hued curtain, musing inwardly about its purpose and his own. When addressed and asked about their progress, Sarm looks to Ith with a grave seriousness that stiffens and tightens his every feature, "Excuse everyone from this room. There cannot be anymore more hunts."

 

[ThLunarian]

Ith grows pale, recognizing that something serious is going on. "Muun, wait outside," he says, and the young man next to the door leaves without a word. As soon as the door fully closes, Ith looks at Sarm. "What's happened? Are the vampires up to something?"

 

[KittenMaster]

"The vampires may falter to the light, but we were warned of foes that will not," Sarm explains, "I am sure you know the implications of such a threat."

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"We could probably set up some defenses possibly hold back the army of Devils the vampires have hired for a time, but I doubt we could outlast them for an extended period of time. I think your best option right now is to pick up what you can and leave. There's gotta to be somewhere else you can go, and while I don't think you can find someplace that is truly safe in this plane, this city is the most dangerous place you could be right now."

 

[ThLunarian]

"So... Vlad is making that threat again," Ith says wearily. He Rubs his temples in exasperation. "Seems I was correct to call his bluff last time, but if he's making the same threat again, there's too great a risk that he can actually deliver."

He stands from his desk and snaps his fingers, and is at once dressed in clothing more suitable for an outing than the bland gray robes he'd been wearing at the start. "Vlad is far too strong for the five of you to fight. I shall have to take care of him myself. Please, take care to watch after the Rod while I'm gone. This shouldn't take long, and I imagine it will be safe behind my wards, but you never know."

He begins to stalk around the chamber, collecting supplies in preparation for a journey.
He seems to have intentionally ignored Quintus's plea for evacuation.

 

[KittenMaster]

"Ith, wait! If they see you attempting to take them on alone, surely they will make sure your people are doomed by sending their Demon Army. How do you know that you can defeat this Vlad alone?"

 

[ThLunarian]

Ith smiles at Sarm. "Son, I rarely deign to toot my own horn, but I am an exceptionally talented magician. I was born with a rare gift, and in another life with a less-harsh existence I am sure I could have ascended to godhood.

"Though that may no longer be in the cards now that I've sold my soul, I have still been honing my craft for over a century now, and I am the best at what I do. Despite his fancy clothes and his snide arrogance, Vlad is just a vampire after all, and I have had sufficient dealings with him to have a fair gauge of his strength. Even if he saw me coming I am confident I'd come out victorious; since I'm taking him by surprise, he won't stand a chance."

 

[Jackben]

Tarkus clears his throat and steps forward to interject alongside Sarm. "What good killing Vlad do? Another may pay devils still." He shakes his head. "Our hunting vampires amount to dust. More and powerful lords rise to replace every slain night fang who plot to reclaim city." The half-orc closes his eyes and frowns, his facial muscles pulled tight in frustration.

"Enemy of my enemy are my friend. But you need acknowledge our will drive us to act for greater cause. You sacrificed everything for your people. For that, must to ask honestly:

"Having lived under vampire masters, would people rather die free or live again as slave?"

 

[KittenMaster]

Knowing that this is precisely what Venca and the vampires want, which is to leave them in the room alone with the Rod of Pelor for the easy take, he begins to say, in the hopes that he can at least do a little bit of good for the people before the party members have to take the Rod, "I plead for you to not be so brash and jump into what could be a trap. If you so wish to destroy the vampires in that time, then allow me, a follower of Pelor to try and help you augment the Rod's powers even further."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3, rolled 10 = 13​

 

[ThLunarian]

Tarkus's words cause Ith to stop what he's doing. He stares hard at the pouch he was just about to grab, and his face fills with anguish. It scrunched up, and a tear falls down a wrinkle in his face.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he suddenly screams, and a cone of pure destructive magical energy erupts from him toward the wall, obliterating all of the shelves in his path.

He turns, continuing to scream and pointing at random objects around the room, each exploding in turn. This goes on for about thirty seconds, and then Ith falls to the floor, weeping.

"I've doomed them all," he laments, and suddenly he looks far older and more tired than he has previously. "I... I just wanted..."

He trails off and sobs miserably to himself.

 

[KittenMaster]

Sarm paces quickly towards Ith as he breaks down, and thrusts him upward into a stand to force his gaze into the degenerating man's eyes, "You will listen to me! I am not about to give up on your people just yet! I have nearly made the mistake of abandoning innocents and I have failed comrades, but I will not make the same mistake for your people!"

He eases his grip, and continues onward, "If you want even the slightest bit of hope for your people, then give me a chance to convince my god to bring out the greatest power of the Rod of Pelor's light, in the name of doing good for them. If that fails, I will go as far as to stay behind and fight in your people's battles."

 

[ThLunarian]

The old man is snapped out of his nervous breakdown by the urgency of Sarm's words, but he has not been cured of his despondency. Sullenly, he waves his hand, and the Prismatic Sphere surrounding the Rod of Pelor disappears.

Sarm releases Ith gently and approaches the relic of his god. He grips it and closes his eyes, filled with determination and concentration.

Sarm begins to glow brightly, and simultaneously the entire palace begins to shake. The glow around him steadily intensifies. He opens his eyes, and additional beams of light project outward from them.

Sarm's glow quickly overtakes that being emitted by the rod itself, and now Sarm can no longer be seen behind the glare. The rumbling intensifies, and then the entire party becomes blinded.

"LORD SARM!" Suvne cries out, to no avail.

Seconds pass in the absurdly bright room, and finally the intensity of the illumination subsides enough that everyone's vision returns.

Sarm is gone.

On the floor, seemingly deactivated and inert, the Rod of Pelor lays where he had been standing. Somehow, a light remains, illuminating the entire room, yet it doesn't appear to have a source.

"No! NO!" Suvne runs forward, kneeling where the Rod lays and impotently clawing at the floor as though she wants to dig and find Sarm under it.

The door opens, and the young man from earlier rushes in. This time an owl is perched upon his shoulder. "Illuminary!" he shouts excitedly, "Pelor's Salvation...! It's... everywhere!"

A simple look out the window reveals that to be true. The light has not only persisted without the Rod of Pelor, but it has also expanded not only to the city walls, but beyond them for quite a distance.

 

[Mike M]

Taken aback by the flurry if actions and recriminations, the apparent sacrifice of Sarm has left him speechless. He had a multitude of cards to play depending on how things played out, but this turn of events is not one he could have possibly accounted for.

"Well," he says at length, "that was unexpected."

Glancing out the window, he confirms what he's been told. The power of Pelor suffuses the entirety of the city, and beyond as far as he can see, all without the apparent need of the Rod.

The absence of Sarm is disconcerting, but Val doubts that Pelor would remove his chosen agent from the board without good reason and instead concerns himself with more material matters. "I think it's safe to say your vampire problem is largely resolved, but will it repel the devils?"

 

[Jackben]

Surprised at how the Illuminary has taken his words to heart, Tarkus swallows and is about to speak again when a blast of arcane energy catches him off guard. He rolls to the side to avoid the accidental attack by the manic Illuminary. Drawing his weapon in alarm, before he can move he allows Sarm to try and snap Ith out of his depression...and is subsequently stunned by what occurs.

At Sarm's brave words and promise of sacrifice his eyes widen, his words barely above a whisper "Sarm..." Seeing the cleric of Pelor reclaim the rod, the hair upon Tarkus skin raises as if there is an electricity in the air. As Sarm appears to channel its energies, he feels as if he is in the midst of a storm, the power which emanates from Sarm and the rod nearly knocking the half-orc off his feet. He roars out in protest as the light approaches blinding levels and takes a knee, covering his eyes and steadying himself as the palace shakes mightily.

Opening his eyes once more he hears Suvne's startled cry and rushes forward to assist, but finds no enemy in sight. But neither is the cleric of Pelor. Sheathing his greataxe, he yells out Sarm's name before approaching the Illuminary. "What have you done?!" Seeing the old man in a pitiful state he shakes his head in frustration, certain this is no trickery of his making.

As the young guard from earlier proclaims the light has come to shine over all of Ravenloft, Tarkus looks out the window to see the truth of his words. "Sarm...what have you done...."

- - -

In response to Val, Tarkus shakes himself of his reverie momentarily. "If light now shine as far as we see and is same light which burned Countess...Vlad and many other vampire like as not to be burning before any deal with devils have chance to occur."

 

[ThLunarian]

Ith seems dumbstruck as he struggles to process what's just happened.

"Illuminary! Illuminary? Are you okay?" the young man with the owl carefully approaches Ith. When he is only a few feet away, Ith snaps out of it.

"Muun," he says, his voice still slightly strained from the emotional rollercoaster. He looks around with an analytical eye, and mumbles some combination of arcane and divine syllables; his eyes take on a dull glow. He seems to be observing the surrounding magical signatures.

"Fascinating," he says. "There is something different about this... whatever this is. It's closer to natural sunlight while at the same time much more potent than it was before. In fact..." He pauses for another moment. "This is Holy Light. Not only will it keep vampires away, but would also be harmful to any magically-evil creatures. Oh... the vampires!"

Ith raises his arms to cast another spell of the Divination school, and closes his eyes to concentrate. A moment later his eyelids snap open in disbelief. "They're gone! All the vampires in the city are gone - every single one of them!" He gazes around himself. "Sarm, you magnificent bastard!" he shouts joyously. "You did it!" He laughs and claps his hands together, and what he's doing could be said to resemble a dance.

Muun blinks a few times. "Gone? The vampires are gone?" he says, as though it's hard for him to wrap his mind around.

Suvne is quiet, but she is breathing heavily and is clearly still mourning Sarm's apparent disappearance. "Lord Sarm," she whispers, "What will I do now?"

((Just so you guys are aware, KittenMaster is not leaving the game. He'll be chiming in soon enough.))

 

[Mike M]

Val picks up the depleted Rod off the ground. "Well I do so love happy endings then." Tossing the rod from hand to hand, it seems for all the world a mundane--though exquisitely crafted--mace.

Turning to Quintus, he asks, "You are perhaps the one person I can think of to speculate on this. Where the helps did Sarm go? Did our... patron evacuate him ahead of us?"

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Quintus is a bit shocked at watching all this unfold, but eventually responds to Val "Yeah... I' no better at figuring out what these gods are doing then I am with people. And these divine magics have never really been by area of expertise, quite frankly I'm surprised it didn't do anything to me. That I know of yet anyways."

 

[KittenMaster]

A voice soon calls out from the light, "Ah, but it did do something to you..." If Quintis were to look, his skin begins to return to its normal shade, and the Hand of Venca will suddenly be pried from his body, where a power similar to the Restoration spell will grow his original hand back. ((This is sort of DM powery but I was told in PM I could do this to address the fact that Sarm forgot to heal Quintis before he became the light.))

"Everyone, I am sorry that I have to suddenly leave like this." The voice responds, clearly being Sarm but it echoes across the room, "I had begun my journey with the intention to bring light where there was none, and I could no longer accept what would have been the reality that I was being driven to take light away from those that most needed it. I had traveled far from the Bright Desert to distant worlds such as Alydar, and found myself even further and in stranger lands like Sigil and Ravenloft to fulfill this purpose.

"Every day I had dreamed of returning home to be at peace and humility, to tell stories of my exploits on our quest, but as I have seen the hope of Ravenloft's people grow dimmer, I came to realize how much of a privilege it is to have such a fantasy.

"Pelor had allowed me to sacrifice my future, so that many others can have one in its place. Do not worry about me, it is the Rod of Pelor which all of existence needs, not me. It is me these people need, not the Rod of Pelor."

"Suvne, I cannot tell you what you shall do. But I know that whatever you do will be the right choice for yourself."

((Guys, I think now is a good time to tell you: I no longer have the Leadership feat.))

((Also, I suddenly imagine Sarm as having Mufasa's voice, because that is what he has become. My biggest regret is that I didn't imagine him with that voice the whole time.))

 

[Jackben]

((Vadernooooooooo.jpg @ Sarm's physical disappearance. Also yes I heard Mufasa before you even mentioned it, haha.))

As Quintus begins to heal, Tarkus jumps into action once more as the hand of Vecna is thrown from Quin's hand onto the floor. Stepping over to the smoking gauntlet he reaches into his haversack and throws a linen rag over it before wrapping it up tightly with rope and tentatively handing it back to Quintus with a smile. "Look alive, Quin."

Hearing Sarm's fatherly and solemn explanation, Tarkus hangs his head and coughs rather conspicuously. "Sarm...new form to remain here?" Eyes downcast momentarily, he suddenly lets out a laugh and shakes his head. "Yes... is definitely Sarm. Shining light to darkest places...what you always wanted." He smiles sadly accepting that Sarm may not return with them to Primaria.

Turning to the Illuminary and the rest of the group he steps forward. "Now where to new beginning?"

 

[Mike M]

"Sarm, you self-sacrificing git," Val mutters quietly to himself. "You're more noble than me by half. Considerably more than that, it would seem."

Handing the Rod over to Suvne, he speaks more audibly, "Looks like you'll have to get on as the resident holy person in the group. Try not to get yourself transformed into the manifestation of you'd god's blessing until after we're done, if it's alright with you."

Turning to Tarkus and Quintus, he says, "We few, we happy few. Bet Vecna 's righteously peeved about the loss of his claim on Quintus' soul there, hopefully he still honors his part of the bargain. Where too? Shall we deal with Quintus' gnome problem down in Southport?"

 

[ThLunarian]

Suvne shakes her head and hands the Rod back to Val. "No," she says with absolute conviction. "My place is here, protecting these people. I am sorry, Lord Val, but I cannot go with you. Your quest was never my quest; I came with you to follow Sarm's and Pelor's teachings. Now that Lord Sarm is here permanently, I shall remain with him."

She places a firm hand on Val's shoulder. "Truth be told, Lord Val, we rarely got along, and I never agreed with your methods. Despite that, I respect you as one of the best at what you do." She looks him in the eye and nods approvingly, then walks over to the half-orc.

"Lord Tarkus," she says, "You are the most skilled and honorable fighter I've ever encountered, and one of the things I will miss most is mimicking your morning routine. Oh, I know you never saw me; I was too shy and self-conscious to actually train with you. But thanks to you, I believe my own fighting skills have improved tremendously, and I will always remember you for it." She ventures to give Tarkus a hug, which is a little difficult because of the armor each of them is wearing, but she manages.

She then moves to Quintus, and her face is beet red. "Lord Quintus..." she says, "I am glad I got to see you cured of your condition. I.... well, I..."

She decides to stop talking, and instead lunges forward and kisses Quintus square on the lips, wrapping her arms around him and lingering there for a few seconds before finally releasing. "I will miss you, Lord Quintus." She immediately turns away and walks off to a corner to cool down.

Muun, the young fellow with the owl, steps forward. "If you're leaving, then I want to go with you," he says to Val, interpreting him as the leader of the group. "This town is safe, and there are no more vampires left to hunt. My family is dead; there's nothing left for me here. It looks like you're short a few teammates, so what do you say?"

Ith seems only slightly surprised by this, but after some consideration, nods in silent approval of the young lad's impulsive decision.

((And from now on, KittenMaster will be playing the part of Muun Reinhart, Human ranger))

 

[KittenMaster]

"And besides..." The silvery haired bowman continues, the blunt approach to his speech becoming more apparent, "You owe me for the Illuminary giving you some of my notes on those swamps you went to. I think we have a deal." he concludes, before the others can deny the proposal just yet.

((

Spoiler

I wasn't able to finish this in time, so crappy coloring ahoy!

))

 

[Mike M]

Val shrugs and recieves the Rod back from Suvne, which he places back into the seemingly bottomless haversack since there doesn't seem to be anyone else currently in their number who would make much use of it. "Suit yourself. Frankly I think you are once more acting in your profoundly shortsighted manner to abandon us, but I know better than to try and debate with the religious types.

"And frankly I'd like you to point out even one person who's better at what I do than myself," he says with a smile that does not completely mask some degree of sadness he is doubtlessly experiencing at the loss of not just one but two of his companions.

Suvne's unexpected molestation of the newly-restored Quintus elicits a raised eyebrow of surprise, as Val finds cause to turn from the display towards Tarkus and mouth, "Seriously?" to his half-orc friend. He then turns to Muun to address his request. "I would gladly welcome any additional shoulders to carry the weight we are burdened with. Plus, the more targets there are in a battle, the greater our individual odds of survival, I find that hard to argue against.

"There is the slight matter that we've just been deprived of our collective medical expertise. Ith, before we make our departure, I don't suppose you happen to be harboring a rather large supply of curative potions we might avail ourselves of for the adverse conditions we shall doubtlessly encounter going forward?"

 

[KittenMaster]

At the mention of being considered another target, the new recruit chimes in and intends to correct Val, "I don't need to make myself a target to do my work."

((I've been needing to figure out the cost of a Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds, because I am taking advice I have heard that characters past level 5 should carry a Happy Stick.))

 

[Jackben]

((Now it all comes together. Should of anticipated this since you mentioned way back about combat being a drag. But who will be the new moral center for our ragtag band?! The idea of us falling into more morally questionable situations and dark paths without the cleric and paladin's guidance is actually rather exciting. Muun seems very cool and I like the picture KM.))

Tarkus accepts Suvne's hug wholeheartedly. "Honor all mine to have known your bravery, Lady Suvne." He presses his forehead to hers in an intimate gesture of camaraderie before looking up at the roof of the keep. "Learned much of patience and kindness to stranger from you too, Sarm." At Suvne's display of girlish affection and Val's whispering, Tarkus cannot help but let loose a hearty laugh that pierces the solemn nature of their farewells.

Speaking to Ith, Tarkus takes on a serious tone once more. "Illuminary, with Sarm and Suvne no doubt you remain safe and in good counsel. But must use life you have left to lead people into new age of freedom."

As Muun speaks up about joining their group Tarkus turns an appraising eye toward the ranger. His eyes narrowed in skepticism he seems about to speak up when the stranger flatly states his reason for wanting to journey forth. Softening his expression he looks to Val and nods in agreement before addressing the ranger himself. "Relic hunting done wonders as fresh start for me. Don't see why not new willing soul be offered same chance." Introducing himself he offers his name. "Muun, am Tarkus. Unsure if Illuminary describe task, but honest ally are much welcome."

 

[KittenMaster]

The ranger stoically responds to Tarkus' greeting with a nod, "Tarkus." In response to the mention of a task, he states, "It can't be any worse than what I have been doing. I would say that you outsiders manage to live up to my skill level, but in greater number." Turns out this is his idea of being impressed.

((Now it all comes together. Should of anticipated this since you mentioned way back about combat being a drag. But who will be the new moral center for our ragtag band?! Muun seems very cool and I like the picture KM.))

((Val, obviously. Also I worked with ThLunarian on this outcome because I thought it would be a fitting decision for the character, I almost didn't do it since the Cleric class is pretty good. Turning Sarm into a light was his idea.))

 

[Mike M]

((Now it all comes together. Should of anticipated this since you mentioned way back about combat being a drag. But who will be the new moral center for our ragtag band?! The idea of us falling into more morally questionable situations and dark paths without the cleric and paladin's guidance is actually rather exciting. Muun seems very cool and I like the picture KM.))

((Well, last time Quintus and Val were left alone, they started a civil war, so...))

 

[ThLunarian]

((A Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds will cost 4500 GP. I will actually just let you have that for free, Muun, because the party will probably need it. It has 50 charges and will heal 2d8 + 5 damage a pop.

I meant to give you guys some gold after the vampire hunt, but I forgot, so here it is. Val, Quintus, and Tarkus each get 12,000 gold for their trouble. In addition, they gain a level, which will put everyone at Level 12.))

Ith nods at Val. "I'm sure I can come up with something. Why don't I...."

Abruptly, Val, Tarkus, Quintus, and Muun (along with his owl) find themselves somewhere else. The transition is absolutely seamless, with no physical sensations at all, save for a very slight change in temperature and air pressure.

Gone are the extremes of light and darkness that have become par for the course these past two weeks. An overcast sky looms above, with scant rays of sunlight from an actual celestial body peeking through the clouds. Green grass covers the soil underfoot, and healthy, leaf-covered trees dot the landscape.

This feels like home to most of the party; Muun's reaction is hard to guess.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however; while the natural surroundings seem to be in order, the abandoned buildings surrounding them are not.

The party seems to be standing in the middle of a ghost town. Some of the buildings are partially burned, but most are merely empty, run-down, and deteriorated. Nothing of note has been left behind; whatever inspired the former citizens of this place to leave, must not have been particularly urgent.

To the south lies a sandy beach and an ocean of blue water. To the east is a very wide river flowing into that ocean.

Geographically speaking, it looks like this is supposed to be South Port, judging by every map that the party has ever seen.

 

[Mike M]

((Trying to decide what Feat to take... Combat Reflexes seems absurdly good for potential attacks of opportunity, but hey, now we've got no one w/Leadership!))

 

[KittenMaster]

((Yeah, I am still sheeting my character and I have a crapload of feats I need to choose.))

 

[KittenMaster]

((Darnit.))

 

[Mike M]

((Darnit.))

((MAAAAAAVIIIIIIIS!!!

Man, I don't even see anything particularly banworthy in his post history that would warrent that.))

 

[ThLunarian]

((::cue elevator muzak::

This seems like a good break point. I'm glad the banning happened after the whole climax from today, rather than right in the middle of it. This will give everyone a chance to get their character sheets updated, etc. Also Quintus still hasn't had a chance to give his take on everything that just happened.

I'll dig up Jackben's email and figure out how long the ban is for and we'll plan accordingly.

Everyone feel free to give reactions to the most recent plot development, and discuss things amongst yourselves, but depending on the length of his ban, I may just wait until he gets back to pick things up again.

Edit: It seems like he quoted some image links, and in the quotes they turned up as actual embedded images that were NSFW. The ban is 10 days. That seems a little long to just suspend the game. How would you guys like to play this? Do you want to just wait it out, or continue to move things along with Tarkus temporarily as an NPC?))

 

[KittenMaster]

(("I'm glad the banning happened" - ThLunarian 2013.

What we could do is I can post one more Sarm related thing to pad things out a bit (which will be something that won't require anyone's cooperation), if we get into combat we might have to get Tarkus to do his actions via e-mail.))

 

[Nostremitus]

((Ok, I'll take this opportunity to say well done ladies(?) and gentlemen. I PM'd the DM, but I'll tell you guys too. That story arch gave me chills. Truly, a great read. Thanks to you all.))

 

[KittenMaster]

((Glad you enjoyed it.))

 

[Mike M]

((Always interesting when the audience pops in to say hi, with the possible exception of when they decide to RP a time traveling robot from the future who kills my character.

Seriously, what was that about?

Anyway, re:Jackben, clearly ten days is too long to just pause the game. I vote we just NPC him for the duration, or preferably he could e-mail one of us his post for the day or whatever. Presuming you can still see the board when banned. I've never been, so I don't know.))

 

[KittenMaster]

Seriously, what was that about?

((Chinner being Chinner.))

 

[ThLunarian]

((Actually Mike M, that was quite interesting, if perhaps not quite as welcome as the normal audience interjections.

Anyway, looks like we're going to continue. When you're banned, you can still read the forum as long as you log out of your account, so hopefully Jackben will do that and email me if he wants to add anything in. For now I'll still wait for Quintus to chime in before moving on, and as I said, you guys feel free to post reaction stuff in the mean time))

 

[Mike M]

((I'll let DeadPhoenix get a word in edgewise before moving on to reaction stuff. Character sheet update is pending on a decision on a feat. If Lunarian thinks it'd behoove the story, I'd consider Leadership to up our numbers. But outside of it potentially being an interesting direction to take Val, I've got no attachment to the notion.))

 

[ThLunarian]

((I'll let DeadPhoenix get a word in edgewise before moving on to reaction stuff. Character sheet update is pending on a decision on a feat. If Lunarian thinks it'd behoove the story, I'd consider Leadership to up our numbers. But outside of it potentially being an interesting direction to take Val, I've got no attachment to the notion.))

((I have to admit that it is nice to be able to RP during intra-party interactions, and I don't think Suvne really got in the way (at least from the perspective of the game's structure. She certainly got in the characters' way occasionally, but I thought that made things interesting). If you do want to Leadership it up, let me know what race and class of character you'd want your cohort to be. I'd have to find a way to work it into the story, and depending on what you guys do you may get into a combat before meeting your new cohort, but if you're alright with that then it's cool with me))

 

[KittenMaster]

((inb4 ThLunarian finds a way to have my Owl make our characters question our decisions.))

EDIT: ((inb4 "Oh no, Graham!" then suddenly die to a scorpion.))

 

[Mike M]

((Alright, I'll Leadership it up, but it might be a bit before I come up with a concept. The temptation to just do a Val Junior is something I need to overcome.))

 

[KittenMaster]

((Just don't do Val Kilmer.))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Quintus watches in awe as he becomes human again, then looks a bit more confused when the Arm removes itself and his forearm becomes whole again. He just kinda stares for when Tarkus takes the Arm, but before he can respond, Sauve decides they need a short make out session first "...Well that's one way to get the blood pumping again."

After Muun's short introduction Quintus responds "Well we are certainly in need of some new blood so I don't mind you tagging along." and then not long after he finds they've been whisked away, back to their own plane, but in a new town... which appears to be a ghost town.

 

[Mike M]

Val blinks, and Ravenloft has vanished. Frowning, he mutters something about how they could have really used Ith’s proffered potions, which are now for all practical purposes forever out of reach.

Much like the two devotees of Pelor he had once known...

Though not aesthetically pleasing in the conventional sense, the gloomy, overcast day is perhaps the most beauteous sight that Val can recall in recent memory. Even when filtered through the gray clouds (or perhaps because of it), the sunlight here has all the shades and subtlety that Ith and Sarm’s equivalent in Ravenloft had lacked, though Val lacked until now the capacity to express precisely what the differences in the quality of the light exactly were.

“Well then, Muun,” he proclaims with a dramatic sweep of his arm, “welcome to our little corner of the multiverse. I’ve never been, but deducing from the current position of the sun (near as I can determine), I would say that way over yonder with the water is south, and that over there seems to be a port. I would subsequently surmise that we are currently standing in Southport.”

Nothing greeted his proclamation sans the pounding of the surf on the sand and the calls of water birds. “It’s significantly less lively than I had been led to believe...”

Though it seems unlikely that he would find anything of value to pilf-- salvage from the abandoned and ruined buildings, Val does his due diligence and at least performs a cursory search of the nearest buildings. The first he enters was clearly a store of some sort in its previous life, judging by the empty shelvings and the enclosed counter in the corner. Hearing a crunch beneath his boot as he picks his way through the detritus and debris, he lifts his foot to find the remains of a compass on the ground. The small glass bubble is badly fractured, and the needle within doesn’t point anywhere near north, and indeed seems to orient itself seemingly at random. Picking it up, he rattles it experimentally as though this would somehow rectify its obvious deficiencies. With nothing else to show for his venture, he pockets the broken navigational tool and heads back out into the gray light of the streets of Southport.

“So, Muun,” he asks amicably as he continues his largely fruitless search of the buildings, “you seem the observant type. You made mention of our skill levels relative to yours, but are you fully aware of the ecological niches we each fulfill in our group? Quintus does the magic, Tarkus does the hitting, and myself...”

Val grins broadly. “I do the lying.”

 

[KittenMaster]

Muun doesn't handle the transition as well as one would hope, the sudden change to an unfamiliar environment which, despite the recent sunlight allowing his eyes to get used to the brightness, was still not prepared to see a sudden surge of color fill the environment.

For him, seeing the sky and water as blue is wrong to him, and the vibrant grass even more so. The dull buildings only serve to confuse him more with the contrast. "Ugh..! W-where am I.. Is something I ate making me hallucinate?" he wonders, knowing some mushrooms can do that.

Muun holds out a hand to silently ask for a second to get himself oriented so that he can properly respond to his explanations, and looks around to make sure that his Owl is still nearby. Once he is sure, he responds with new-found doubt of Val's particular role in the hunts, "I never watched you work, but I can guess you weren't doing much lying. A vampire will find a scoundrel and a noble to taste the same."

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((mmm... sweet sweet hp roll 1D4+2 => [ 4 ] +2 = 6. picked up spell pen so sr is slightly less of a bitch. though I am disappointed to see that i need level 7 spells before i can take acrhmage, or i could have gotten next level... they might as well had made the skill reqs 16 instead of 15 if they were gonna do that.))