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[Zynx]

When Avalyra is finally sure that they made it out of the cathedral safely, she takes a few deep breaths, trying to expel her tension. Turning to Val, she declares, "Next time you need someone to go undercover with you, you should probably pick someone else." But then she adds quietly, "Although that was quite the thrill."

Even as the others converse, she is still thinking pragmatically, and makes a pointed effort to ignore Muun's strangely shifting, then talking quiver. When Quintus and Jack discuss the use of phantom steeds, she interjects. "We should get moving as soon as possible. It's only a matter of time before they realize that Lucille is missing, and we don't want to be around when they do." She then belatedly realizes that she's standing pretty close to Quintus with the Hand of Vecna, and takes a step back. Then she sees the wizard start to motion with his hand...casting a spell? "Hey!" she exclaims as she watches him reach over to touch Lucille.

 

[KittenMaster]

"Ah, I am Muun." he says lightly in response to the girl. The fairy then flies out towards Lucille and makes a point to correct her, "I'm Muun's friend! Not his pet! Besides, if anything he depends on me not the other way around."

"Bloody... Okay, I don't know how she got here, but I'll just say it. This is Celia, a fairy I met in the afterlife in Ehlonna's home world. It's a long story... many ages of it in fact."

The fairy then loops through the air to return to Muun, placing herself where she would have his visual attention, "Ehlonna let me come to Primaria to meet you again! I figure you would be helpless without me. Plus, I need to make sure that you are worshipping the goddess every day."

If Quintis succeeds at polymorphing Lucile into a spitting image of his old companion, Muun would hold up his arm to give a place of landing, which would incidentally give a closer view of him, and say, "Playing upon my sentimentality is a bit much, don't you think?"

 

[Jackben]

Loosening his grip on his greataxe, the half-orc relaxes his shoulders as he spots the trio heading toward them without pursuers. "Better than last time indeed" he remarks to Quintus in response to his referencing the Watcher's tower mission. Having worked out her identity earlier, Tarkus is not too surprised to see Lucille when Avalyra and Val come out of the cathedral with her in tow. He salutes Val and Avalyra as they return. "Mission success."

Caught up in the turmoil of the telepathic communications bestowed by the psi-crystal, the warrior was completely unaware of the fairy flitting about. Eyeing the ranger's subtle movement, the bulging quiver and tiny voice are nonetheless unmistakable. "Who your small friend, Muun?" Tarkus senses something familiar and otherworldly about the small voice but he cannot quite put his finger on what it is. As she introduces herself, Tarkus is fascinated by the headstrong nature of the tiny creature. He speaks to the fairy in a curious voice.

"Understand you responsible for helping our friend in afterlife. So Celia a welcome presence for Muun and all. Today full of magick surprises."

He smirks at the princesses' response to Muun, amused by her and the ranger's response to each other. "Lucille, your beauty and attention span not change. But did not know wayward princess also human relic." He pauses as if to ask a question but observes Quintus casting a spell and grunts instead. Clearing his throat, he steps forward and prepares to usher the group forward as he returns to a survivalist mindset.

"Questions wait. Let us move to exit before gate guard are alerted."

 

[ThLunarian]

The princess is not expecting a Polymorph spell at all, and a shriek of unwanted surprise transforms into a plaintive "HOOOOOO!" as Lucille abruptly finds herself an owl. Though it is of the same breed that Coriolis used to be, its fur is the same light hue of her human form's golden locks. She immediately flaps her wings to ascend and gets directly in Quintus's face, slinging out a series of angry "HOO!"s that no doubt contain multiple avian expletives.

Ultimately, though, she settles into her new, temporary form and lands on Muun's arm when he gestures for it, and is soon calmed once again by staring dreamily into his eyes. She scoots herself up his arm and onto his shoulder, taking up the spot that Celia had been resting upon earlier, and practically nuzzles against his head. "Hoo," she says.

A nearby group of revelers begin to applaud, having witnessed the transformation and apparently thinking that Quintus is a street magician. A few copper coins are thrown to his feet.

 

[Mike M]

((Had a big write up and then the computer restarted to install updates. I was like... a sentence from completion. Argh.))

Val escorts Lucille and Avalyra away from the guards and out the cathedral without further incident. Once it becomes clear they've made good on their escape, he allows himself to relax a little bit. Avalyra's comments on the experience brings a smile to his face, as he responds, "To the best of my recollection, the undercover work was your idea, I simply suggested that we go inside once our work outside the perimeter proved fruitless. Don't attempt it too much now though, we wouldn't want you becoming addicted to the thrill seeking. Otherwise, you might end up like me. Look at the amount of shit I constantly find myself in, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone."

Spotting the rest of the party with ease, he heads over in their direction. "Gentlemen," he says as he approaches, before spotting the fairy flitting about Muun's head. "And... lady? I suppose? Are we recruiting some more? Regardless, allow me to present the Princess Lucille. I, heir to the venerable Val Fierno name, have stolen the fucking princess of the realm and subsequently cemented my place in the halls of legend. She came along willingly, I will grant you, but it still counts. It still counts... Perhaps I should send them a thank you note for making it so easy, just to really tweak their noses about it. Plus, it lets them know who's responsible. Where's the fun in pulling the heist of the millennia if you don't get any of the notoriety, I ask you?"

Ducking into an alley, he taps the side of his glasses, and the uniform of the royal guard evaporates in an instant, leaving only his cleric's vestments. He absorbs the conversation around him as he retrieves his regular equipment from the haversack. Puzzling over how to conceal the princess, he finds that Rubio's enchanted necklace practically falls into his hand when he reaches into the sack. "Here," he says, tossing it to the princess. "Put this on. I have no idea if it will suffice in averting prying eyes, but there's certainly no harm in trying."

((Er, we'll just presume that happened before the polymorph spell was successful))

Strapping on his armor and sword, Val fires off a rapid fire series of thoughts on the subjects and questions raised by the rest of the party. "Anything able to fly would be able to clear the city walls within fifteen minutes, no problem. It's a straight shot west of here. Anything large enough to carry the entire party would certainly be noticed, however, there's not a lot of air traffic in Ruby Keep. We're much more mundane than Sigil. I know several places we could hide if it came to it, but remember that not only does the Arm still possess the monocle, but they already knew all my safehouses even before they acquired it. I vote we just walk out of town before the goons in the cathedral get savvy to the fact that the princess is missing. We've got what we came for, we should regroup as far away as we can and plot out our next move. We've got eight of the ten relics, and they have the monocle. We need to figure out the identity of the final piece and move quickly, because I don't doubt they will be far ahead of us by the time we act."

 

[Jackben]

((Quintus as a street musician would be an amazing alternate history))

Raising his eyebrow at the transformation, Tarkus is only momentarily swayed before returning to action. Adopting a stern expression at the revelers response, the warrior presses gently against the backs of the party, urging them forward into a brisk walk. "Haste not optional." He marches quickly to the front of the group and engages with Val while making his way toward the western gates.

"So-called rebel keep should be next. Were approached by mystery man who seem to know you. Heavily hint at existence of mind-alterin' relic." He relays the details of their visit to the Kaff Rayneel lookalike and subsequent encounter with the mysterious informant. "If truly only one relic left, and we deny Arm royal wedding to consolidate power, fear major retaliation close at hand."

 

[ThLunarian]

The chain of Rubio's necklace seems to automatically adjust itself to fit the owl-form of the Princess, and the party is on their way. Some minutes later, they notice some sort of commotion back toward the Cathedral, but they are a safe distance away, and are able to exit the city easily, thanks to the relatively lax gate security that owes to the festivities taking place all over town.

Perception DC 30

Spoiler

You are being followed by some number of assailants lurking on rooftops. Once you get outside of town, you continue to notice signs of pursuit, though you can no longer get a direct line of sight on any of them.

Once safely outside of city limits, the party reaches a spot where it would be safe to summon a group of Phantom Steeds.

 

[Mike M]

Val stops short for a brief moment as Tarkus relays this information. He rushes to make up the few steps he's fallen behind, and whispers urgently, "He told you to say hello to Kaff Reyneel? He used that exact name? The identity I only came up with when I arrived at Alydar?" The hairs on Val's neck stand up in caution. Turning behind him, he sees nothing but revelers and some guards scrambling around the perimeter of the cathedral in the far distance.

"Something tells me we have barely evaded a particularly terrible fate..."

 

[KittenMaster]

Celia, seeing the amazing lovey dovey affection between the human and the owl-fied human that took her favorite spot humphs a bit, and decides to sit on Val's shoulder instead for the time being.

--

Perception check: 1d20+15=30

Muun merely has to move his eyes to notice something his amiss. The princess would likely notice a change in expression, a dire seriousness that comes with being a warrior. Responding to Val's premature conclusion of their escape, he says, "Not yet. They're not letting us leave cleanly."

 

[Zynx]

As Val counters that it was her idea in the first place, she sheepishly replies, "Well, I just wanted to get some clues from the outside guards..." but is cut off as she sees the effect of Quintus's spell.

Avalyra watches as Lucille transforms into an owl. She waits a little longer, but he doesn't continue to polymorph anyone else, so she eyes him warily. "What was the point of that? We have to travel together anyways." But before she can further admonish the wizard, Muun urges everyone to get going.

Perception 1D20+20 => 32

As the group heads out of the city, she looks around her uneasily. "Hey, guys? We're being followed." Retrieving her psicrystal from a pocket once again, to be an extra set of figurative eyes, she concentrates to fully open its senses as she directs it to scout behind them.

True Seeing (on crystal)

 

[ThLunarian]

The crystal immediately picks up on at least three invisible humanoids, on the rooftops while in town, and following behind the party while outside of town. There may very well be more, but they are also hiding behind things, and so they pass in and out of vision, making it hard to get a solid head count from the distance that they're keeping.

 

[Zynx]

As Avalyra concentrates on her mental link with her psicrystal, her eyes are closed, and she speaks in a dull voice. "There's two, three, at least three figures pursuing us, and and they seem to possess some kind of invisibility effect."

As she finishes speaking, her eyes open, and she looks around the others, a bit frantic. "Hey, I guess we should go, like now? How fast are your phantom steeds? You don't want me to talk to them, do you?" As she mentally directs her crystal to begin returning to her side, her gaze stops at Muun, and suddenly she silently wonders if he would prefer fighting instead.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Quintus responds to Muun's remark about sentimentality "Hey, sometimes you just gotta make your own fun."

"Transforming her was mostly to not attract attention to ourselves, being able to fly out of town was just a bonus, if it were to be needed." Quintus says, answering Avalrya's earlier question.

This was changed in a later post((Once he is informed they are being followed, he replies "Damn, should have known. They probably had people watching outside the temple just in case she tried to run again. ...How fast are my steeds?" Quintus then bursts into laughter, but quickly recomposes himself, "You just worry about holding on, you are not gonna want to fall off going this speed." He begins reading the scrolls, summoning a total of 7 phantom steeds. They now have a base move speed of 240 ft(ignoring several types of difficult terrain). One more level and they will be able to fly at that speed as well. for now they can just water walk and air walk(only one round for air walk though.)))

 

[ThLunarian]

((Gonna wait for other party members to react to the news that they're being followed before we jump ahead to what happens after the steeds are mounted))

 

[Zynx]

((Don't scrolls have their own caster levels?))

 

[ThLunarian]

((Don't scrolls have their own caster levels?))

((I knew there was something I forgot to address. Yeah Quintus, how much did you spend on those Phantom Steed scrolls? Different caster levels of the spell would cost different amounts of gold. If you bought Level 14 CL scrolls then they actually could fly.

If, on the other hand, you were just paying the 375 gp book price, then the caster level on them is only 5, which means that they're significantly worse than you were thinking.

If this makes you want to scrap the entire purchase, I'll let you retcon it if you want))

 

[Mike M]

((Zynx has ruined everything!))

Val curses under his breath upon hearing the news that not only are they being tailed, but in force. "It would seem that I'm going to have to earn my notoriety after all," he says with a frown.

"In our favor though, we have deprived them of at least some measure of the element of surprise. We need to get to Alydar, and quickly. It's the only place we can mount a suitable defense."

 

[Jackben]

Although he was unable to spot the stealthy enemy himself, Tarkus is undeterred. "No surprise we are followed. Not expect that easy to get away." He checks the straps on his armor and resecures the belt on his waist. "Need to put greater distance between us and Keep, wherever we chose to go."

He stares off into the distance anxiously as he waits for Quintus magic to materialise.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((well shit... one of those things I always assumed was the case for some reason, but was clearly wrong about... maybe there is a feat for it or something, but I sure don't ahve it. oh well. caster level 5 is still 100 ft base speed, and if our pursers can keep up with that, we were probably in trouble anyways,))

EDIT(HA! Well first off I'm gonna say he got 6 scrolls at caster level 10. costs the same amount, but gives double speed and only loses the air walk effect(1 round anyways, no big deal). Gonna make a new post with some new actions, mostly because 10 minute casting time on these scrolls. Man I totally dropped the ball on this one jegus.))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Once he is informed they are being followed, he replies "Damn, should have known. They probably had people watching outside the temple just in case she tried to run again. These things take some time to conjure, so we are gonna need a little something to give us that time. Val? You think you could ditch these guys... actually, Avalyra, you can actually see them, think you could make these guys follow for a bit and then ditch them? I'll link us telepathically, so we can find each other later, once i summon a couple steeds we should be able to meet back up."

 

[Zynx]

((Aw c'mon, Mike. I was just making sure we didn't miss out on any chances to earn a little extra XP.))

Avalyra is incredulous at Quintus's suggestion, then becomes quite scared that they might force her to do it. She edges back a step, pleading. "You want me to act as bait for them?" Looking around desperately, she points at the others, a fearful note in her voice. "Why don't you turn one of them into a dragon or something instead?"

 

[ThLunarian]

As the party temporarily stops to iron out their next move, everyone notices that the people following them aren't getting any closer. They seem to be intentionally maintaining the same distance.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((Great thing about not tracking xp is you don't feel the need to have combat just to get extra xp. ))

"Alright, I suppose that was a bit much to ask of you. I'd do it myself, but unless someone isn't telling me something, I'm they only one who can actually use these scrolls... So no dimension door. Anyone got a plan that doesn't involve attacking these guards that are most likely good guys just trying to do their jobs... wait a second. Those invisible guys, can't you see what they are wearing? Any kind of green clothes or armor?"

 

[KittenMaster]

EDIT: ((Nvm))

 

[ThLunarian]

While the pursuers are currently staying out of sight, and she wasn't looking for any specific colors earlier, Avalyra has a feeling that they may very well have been wearing green. They definitely were not wearing anything resembling the uniforms of the guardsmen in the city.

 

[Zynx]

Once it becomes clear that their pursuers are not closing in, Avalyra calms down, just a little. "Good guys just doing their jobs?" She exclaims, once again exasperated by Quintus' assumption. "What kind of logic are you using to draw such a conclusion?" She's about to say more when Quintus continues with a question.

She pauses before answering. "I'm not sure, I can't tell," she replies, her voice strained in concentration. "I guess it's possible that they're wearing green. I don't recognize their outfits at all."

Turning to the others, she continues. "I also hope we don't have to fight them. If we just wait here, will they go away? I don't think we can count on that. Maybe we should try talking to them?"

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Quintus casts true seeing so he can confirm his assumptions, "They are town guards. We just kidnapped the princess. As far as this whole city is concerned, we are the bad guys. Some of them may be plants from the Arm, but I'm not going to assume they all are and I'd rather not hurt someone else just because they were unfortunate enough to be in our way." He then finally gets a good look at their invisible friends, "Anyways, while I'm normally all for diplomacy, I don't think even Val can convince these guys to let us take the princess, perhaps we should just run while they are busy standing around, and hope they aren't waiting for reinforcements to flank us or something."

 

[ThLunarian]

One of the invisible assailants shifts positions, temporarily coming into view and revealing that he is, indeed, wearing a green outfit. Quintus is pretty sure that it's not a Ruby Keep man.

Just then, the Polymorph spell's duration expires, and Lucille spontaneously returns to her human form. Muun, unprepared for the sudden weight increase on his shoulder, crashes to the ground. The princess feels a little heavier than she looks.

"Ohmigosh, are you okay?!" she yelps, but makes no move to actually get off of him. "By the way, now that I can talk," she says to no one in particular, "I think these guys are acting shady. We should probably just try to get away from them as soon as possible. Plus, don't we need to get away from Ruby Keep?"

 

[KittenMaster]

Muun up until that point was gently brushing the feathers of the owl without really thinking. When the sudden weight of an entire human body tips over his balance, he feels a sense of vertigo for a moment and gravity pulling him greedily. Expecting to suffer an injury of some sort, the armor that he wears extends their branches and pushes against the ground, cushioning the fall for the two. The branches then shrink, slowly lowering them to the ground and he starts to slide from under her to try and get back his footing, "As long as I never die, you can consider me okay." He gets up before she does, and holds out his hand for her to take to help her up.

After that... moment, he'll turn back, and try to seem like he wasn't distracted, "Whatever the case may be, if we fight now it'll just waste time and give the actual guards enough time to find us."

 

[Mike M]

Val nervously fingers the grip of his rapier. "I vote we just summon the phantom steeds and get the hell out of here. They're not closing the distance at the moment, there's no guarantee that they will be so considerate if we press on and fail to shake them..."

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"Uhh... it takes me about 10 minutes to summon each one. If think you can keep them busy for about an hour, I'll get started right away though."

((I wish phantom steed communal was a thing in 3.5...))

 

[Mike M]

((Oh shitsnacks, I thought it was ten minutes for the whole thing, not apiece. Oops.))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((Naw. That my bad, its my job to know how my spells work, and kinda fucked up big time here... but hey, we've been in worse shit then this, we'll be good.))

 

[Zynx]

Avalyra is pretty nervous, standing there. "So we're just going to hope that they don't do anything for an hour? I really think we should talk to them. It would at least give us some clues as to their identity and intentions." She's still a little confused. "By the way, what's so important about them wearing green? And are town guards normally trained to traverse rooftops and utilize invisibility effects?"

((Another good thing about limited wish - always a standard action! I had thought that there was some sort of spell-into-item that would always require only a standard action, but when I can't actually find anything, other than psionic tattoos. Maybe it's another wrong impression I got from neverwinter nights, like toughness being a decent feat there.))

 

[ThLunarian]

Quintus starts the process of summoning the first Phantom Steed, as the rest of the party nervously looks back in the direction of their pursuers.

The ten-minute ritual is completed, and a ghostly blue equine manifests into existence, whinnying and clopping its ethereal hooves against the ground.

The assailants make no move to approach, and don't seem to move at all.

Quintus then begins the second casting. Again, the party watches behind them.

The second steed appears without incident.

The process continues, and each time, Quintus successfully calls forth a phantasmal mount, and each time the people lurking behind them take no apparent actions.

Finally, the seventh casting of the ritual is completed, and the group of predominately-invisible mystery stalkers has still merely stood their ground.

Having come this far, the party mounts their horses and begins the journey back toward Alydar.

Perception DC 33

Spoiler

After twenty minutes of riding, you notice a group of six red phantom steeds behind you, and they're flying. Two of them are carrying riders, but the others appear to be flying alone. The horses are gaining on you alarmingly quickly.

((Whether or not you make the perception check, feel free to describe the experience of riding an ultra-fast (we're talking 45 mph, or 72 kph) ghost horse. No ride checks are necessary for the time being unless you want to try some kind of stunt))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

*WOOSH*

((...What? Not god enough for you? Alright.))

Quintus quickly realizes how long its been since he rode one of these things, the experience kinda of reminds him of riding that pegasus back in Sigil though. Really should have shelled out the extra money for the flying ones, but oh well, maybe next time. Focusing back on the current objective, he shouts to Val, "Hey Val? What do you think about the guy who gave us this information, can we trust him? Or do you think this is the one that betrayed your old gang?"

 

[Mike M]

Val still has not grown acclimated to riding horses, and it is unlikely that he ever will. The fact that his current mount is rushing through the wilderness at breakneck speeds that would certainly kill him if he were to fall off, he eschews proper horseback riding posture for wrapping his arms around the phantasmal blue equine neck and clinging on for dear life, his eyes shut tight.

Hearing Quintus shout to him over the wind, he tries to push the terror from his mind and focus on the question at hand. "I have good reason to suspect that he is not my family's betrayer," he shouts over the howling wind. "Naturally though, that doesn't translate into whomever this mystery man is having my blind support. It's clear he knows me in some capacity, but we have to keep in mind that I'm no longer anonymous to the Arm, and they are running the show in the Keep. So it literally could be anybody.

"My best guess? Their rebel issue is genuine, and we're being set up to either retrieve the relic for them to try and take from us later, or the rebels kill us off. Actually, it's rather ingenious, I'd respect their utilitarianism if it didn't involve a high probability of my throat being slit. That said, I think the fact we made of with the princess has made a mess of their stratagem, at least in the short term."

The undulating gait of the phantom steed hammers Val's stomach into his throat before forcibly returning it to its rightful space, over and over and over again. "Gods, how much further to Alydar?"

 

[Zynx]

It's a tense hour for Avalyra as she waits while Quintus completes his conjurations, but to her surprise, their mysterious pursuers do nothing during the time. Still, her natural curiosity overcomes her as she examines the summoned equines. She experiences some difficulty getting mounted until Muun shows her the way, but even then, her dress makes things a bit awkward. With some effort, and a little rapid tailoring, she manages to find a comfortable and secure position, and soon the group starts to ride.

At first, Avalyra finds that she's enjoying the novel experience of riding, but as the horses quickly accelerate to unnatural speeds, she finds that all she can do is hang on for dear life, hugging the horse's body, as she is contantly battered by the onrushing air.

Perception 1D20+20 => 34

After their journey progresses and she continues to struggle to stay seated on her ride, she notices something at the edge of her peripheral vision. Risking a look behind her, she sees something that makes her heart sink. Doing her best to yell through the sound of the incoming wind, she alerts the others. "We're being followed! There's six flying red horses behind us, and they're catching up!"

((rolz.org seems to be having db problems, I can still roll but they don't seem to save now. Btw, I still want to know, what is the significance of wearing green clothing?))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Quintus fills Avalrya in before they ride away on the horses, "The Arm of Vecna's agents almost always wear green and black uniforms of some kind."

During the ride, after hearing her warning, Quintus responds by yelling a single word in Abyssal, the kind that would make your parents wash your mouth out with soap... if they could understand Abyssal. He then pulls out his rod of Lesser Quicken Spell, and shouts "Do we wanna fight? We probably aren't going to be able to ditch them if they are flying as fast as we are..."

((What timing... I'm gonna be flying across country later today, and my PC won't be coming with me, not sure how much I'll be able to log on until I get it back, which i suspect won't be till Thursday at the earliest.))

Just in case a battle does happen, I'll just get my first action out of the way and have Quintus try to get everyone together so he can cast haste on them all.

 

[KittenMaster]

Muun isn't sure why he is helping Avalrya, and expresses his cluelessness as to what he is doing to help, "I have never ridden a horse before, much less sat on one, and I've never worn a dress before either.." Muun eventually gives up, unable to grasp any sort of logic and has to ask Jack to help him help her. From where Val is, the fairy snickers at Muun's plight. Celia eventually returns to Muun, so that she can use that pocket to not get blown away by the speed of the horse.

((Rolled 32 on Perception. Not sure how that works.))

After they get started moving, Muun simply does his best to keep a hold of his ride, which seems to move on its own competently enough. He looks over his shoulder to check on the ground level of those that were following them before and his senses twinge at a disturbing color his mind could've sworn he experienced, but he doesn't actually see the assailants until Avalrya confirms for him. He comments with a very vague knowing, "Red wings... cute."

"If we can't outspeed them and escape, we need to find terrain where we'll have the advantage. Possibly even a place where we can hide."

 

[Jackben]

Given his previous experiences with Quintus' phantom steeds and the pegasi in Sigil, Tarkus does not find surprise nor difficulty in saddling and riding upon the magically enhanced beasts. In fact, the half-orc finds that the tunnel of wind rushing past his face and whipping at his sides is an excellent adrenaline rush. Gripping the beast with his legs, he tilts his body forward in a practiced lean, attempting to squeeze all the speed out of his mount as he can. However, the shouts of his companions interrupt his focus.

Straining his ears to listen as Avalyra and Muun alert them to their pursuers, Tarkus pulls lightly, slowing to settle his ride to keep pace between Muun & Val. He shouts a question to the group.

"FACE NOW OR LEAD TO ALYDAR?"

He nods at Muun's words, and looks around to see if there is suitable terrain to lead their followers to off-road.

((Dunno what kind of check for that but Tarkus rolled an 8 and has no spot or perception bonuses so likely a moot point))

"IF THEY FLY, MAY CATCH UP BEFORE WE HIT TOWN."

 

[KittenMaster]

((Rolled something but remembered that isn't what it's for. Rolled a 3 which is terrible.))

 

[Mike M]

Val dares to glance over his shoulder as the scenery whips by too fast to process, just a blue of grass and trees. Once informed of what to look for, he sees the red phantom steeds galloping through the air right at them, gaining quickly. "Gods, how long until we reach Alydar?" he repeats with new urgency.

"Anyone have a means of contacting Valerie? She may be able to dispatch reinforcements, though there's no telling if they can reach us in time. I vote we go as far as we can before engaging, we may get lucky..."

 

[ThLunarian]

Quintus is able to cast Haste, and suddenly the party isn't being gained on by the red phantom steeds; they are merely keeping pace.

That quickly ceases to matter, however, as one of the riders casts a Scorching Ray at Lucille's horse, vaporizing it and causing her to fall hard to the ground, leaving the rest of the party speeding ahead as the opposing force rapidly gains on her.

((I'm assuming that everyone is going to try to stop and get back to the Princess. Here are some ways that you might go about it:

-To stop your horse, make a Ride check. DC 10 to stop after 200 feet; DC 15 to stop after 100 feet; DC 20 to stop after 50 feet; DC 25 to screech to a halt immediately.

-To jump off your horse, make a Jump check. DC 15 to land in a prone position without taking damage; DC 30 to land on your feet. If you roll under 15, take 12 damage. Either way, you'd land 50 feet from the Princess.

-Quintus could elect to drop the Phantom Steed spell entirely, which would cause everyone to take the 12 damage and end 50 feet from the Princess.

-If Quintus wants to use Dimension Door to teleport off the horse, he can make a DC 30 Arcana check to compensate for his inertia and reappear standing still. If not, he takes 12 damage and lands prone, at whatever location he designates.

There are probably other ways to handle this; these are just the ways I came up with off the top of my head. Don't feel restricted by these options.

Also, whatever action you take here will consume your entire turn, and we are entering combat. I will try to make some kind of map when I get home tonight))

 

[Jackben]

((The only action we can take this round is to direct our horses? How would mounted melee be handled?))

The sky lighting up before them unnaturally, Tarkus peers back in time to see the princess crash to the ground as the horse she was riding moments before ceases to exist. He shouts to the others while pulling away from their close knit ride. "RAH!" Wrenching his own steed's mane, he directs it back the way they came, managing to turn around violently ((or stop I guess)) after 50 ft.

Ride Check:[URL="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4181850/"]1d20+7 → [13,7] = (20)[/URL]

 

[KittenMaster]

((If I take damage, the damage reduction will mitigate it, right?))

 

[ThLunarian]

((Mounted combat rules are found here http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Mounted_Combat . You can ignore the DC 5 ride check that allows you to control the horse with your legs because that's a waste of time, and you can ignore the DC 20 ride check at the beginning of the entry because these summoned horses aren't going to shy away from combat.

Muun, yeah you can assume that your armor's special DR applies to all damage, even magic. This is home brew and not normally how DR works, but it does for this relic))

 

[Jackben]

((Ok so if I'm reading this right then I can only do a single regular melee attack if my horse is moving. So I will go ahead and move towards the pursuers and attack though I will save this action for my next turn if all I can do on this turn is turn around and head toward the enemy.))

 

[KittenMaster]

Muun is the first to scream the princess' name noticing her plummet behind everyone, "Luciiiile!!!" Not wanting to waste any time, he reaches into his efficient quiver and pulls out his bow while letting Celia free and then drops from his horse to keep himself from getting distanced, knowing that the relic he wears will extend its earthly limbs and break his fall for him.

 

[Zynx]

((Heh, I thought a ranger would be the person to ask for help with a horse, sorry KittenMaster. We can say Avalyra made the same mistake IC. More stuff about mounted combat that might be useful:
https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050215a
https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050208a))

((Also, how close together/spread out are the six pursing riders/mounts? And how far away are they from Avalyra? What if one of us just stayed mounted and tried to loop back around?))