D&D II Act One Scene IV(a) - The Dead in Osinzir

Fourier

"Pretty much, they starve to death eventually when we run out of food, unless they figure out the trick. Anyway, please yes, destroy the chair"

Banjo

"I'll definitely consider it.

What's the trick?

And what does the Lich get out of this?"

Fourier

"It's his duty to adjudicate the race, his binding task is to design a puzzle."

Banjo

"wuh? The chair is tied to the race? How does eating cans of ghost chum tie into the race? Ah I knew I should have asked more questions before I agreed to this.

Look, I tried to be friendly but you're talking in riddles and making me work for information. You don't want my help. Have fun catering for your next chump. I'm keeping the can opener."

She follows Mags upstairs.

Fourier

"Wait, wait.....he is bound here, made to form a puzzle so that people earn the booster, that's the condition of his summoning.

The puzzle he made, is this chair and escaping from it."

Banjo

"Summoned? Bound? Duty? Those aren't big boss words. Those are servant words. So if the Lich is binding you, who's binding him?"

Fourier

"The Osinzir council, via a centuries old spell."

Banjo

"see this is why I don't do politics. Makes me tear my hair out. I'mma check out upstairs but Ill catch you on the flip side, don't worry - we 'Fellers gotta stick together. Spooks before mooks, n all that."
Kakraaaw!
"Don't worry, it's still rooks before spooks. Settle down!"

Up she goes, keeping an eye out for anything big, heavy and smashy along with the usual traps and doors.

"Which side of the house was the panther room on?"

OldGoat

Fourier wrote: »

The stairs lead him up to a long corridor, with two doors on its Southern side.

After doing his damnedest to find any traps or sekrets Mags knocks loudly on the first door.
"Hello, room service, need any clean towels?"
If there is no answer he tries opening the door for a look inside.

Fourier

OldGoat wrote: »

After doing his damnedest to find any traps or sekrets Mags knocks loudly on the first door.
"Hello, room service, need any clean towels?"
If there is no answer he tries opening the door for a look inside.

He enters a cloak room with a single cloak hanging on the hook. A faint distorted song comes from the cloak that only a bard could hear. It makes Mags feel queasy.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Up she goes, keeping an eye out for anything big, heavy and smashy along with the usual traps and doors.

"Which side of the house was the panther room on?"

As she ascends the stairs she sees Mags enter the cloak room via the first door, the second door still closed.

Banjo

"Silent treatment, eh? You should be apologising, you made me sit in the death-chair.

Mags, I'll be behind door number 2, holler if you need help. If I squeal like a pig come running!"

Retula (with Hetyaro) checks the other door for traps, then tries opening it.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

"Silent treatment, eh? You should be apologising, you made me sit in the death-chair.

Mags, I'll be behind door number 2, holler if you need help. If I squeal like a pig come running!"

Retula (with Hetyaro) checks the other door for traps, then tries opening it.

Retula enters a very odd room. It has a long desk, with a very comfortable looking chair and a large clock. Four model minitures of goblins on horseback lie on the desk.

Two doors leads out to the East, one close to the North edge of the current Room.

OldGoat

Mags waves an acknowledgement to Retula as she passes. "Righteo Daddy-o" before turning his attention to the cloak.
"Ugh, bad vibes."
He examines the cloak, picking it up, checking the lining and the pockets but not putting it on (yet).

OOC: Mags checks the cloak for magic (Arcane (int) check + jack of all?). Will an arcane check let me know the alignment of the cloak or cloak owner?

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

Retula enters a very odd room. It has a long desk, with a very comfortable looking chair and a large clock. Four model minitures of goblins on horseback lie on the desk.

Two doors leads out to the East, one close to the North edge of the current Room.

Kakaaaaaw
"The **** I will. No one puts 2 shadowfell death-chairs in their house. That one's probably infernals."

Retula takes a closer look at the clock - is it set to the correct time?

OOC : Also, what's odd about the room? A desk, a chair, a clock - is it the fact that it's so normal by our standards that it's weird by hers? Or are there issues with shapes, proportions relative to the house etc?

Hetyaro is to keep one eye on those goblins...

Fourier

OOC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8o5fxnDUjs

OldGoat wrote: »

Mags waves an acknowledgement to Retula as she passes. "Righteo Daddy-o" before turning his attention to the cloak.
"Ugh, bad vibes."
He examines the cloak, picking it up, checking the lining and the pockets but not putting it on (yet).

OOC: Mags checks the cloak for magic (Arcane (int) check + jack of all?). Will an arcane check let me know the alignment of the cloak or cloak owner?

The lining is woven with a green fabric, which when Mags sings his song of revelation vibrates back with the clear tones of poison and death.

The cloak would have killed him instantly had he chosen to wear it.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Kakaaaaaw
"The **** I will. No one puts 2 shadowfell death-chairs in their house. That one's probably infernals."

Retula takes a closer look at the clock - is it set to the correct time?

OOC : Also, what's odd about the room? A desk, a chair, a clock - is it the fact that it's so normal by our standards that it's weird by hers? Or are there issues with shapes, proportions relative to the house etc?

Hetyaro is to keep one eye on those goblins...

The clock ticks at a faster rate than normal and is not at the correct time.

Hetyaro remains fixed on the goblins. They move slightly when not looked at, but remain Frozen otherwise. Becoming wise to them, he impales them with his beak, stopping them completely.

OOC: Normal by our standards, it essentially looks close to a modern office.

Banjo

Ooc : if feasible, Retula stands by the door she came in by while Hetyaro moves the hands either to the correct time or midnight, 10 and 2 (the 'happy clock' time), whichever is easiest based on the current position of the hands.

Fourier

Moving the hands to midnight causes a click to be heard from the door close to the North side.

Banjo

"go on - touch the door handle. Don't be such a thrush!"
Retula commands the Raven to check the door handy for contact traps, the checks the door herself, brandishes a dagger and opens the door.

Fourier

Hetyaro opens the door into a bedroom with a large panther mural.

Clothes lie all about the place on the ground. Strange thin books with slightly shiny pages also lie here and there.

Banjo

Ooc : based on the look and window position is this the room Hetyaro saw from the outside?

Retula has a gander at the clothes - condition, nature, function - then tries a flicking through a book using a dagger to turn the pages. Unless the clothes look like they were ripped to shreds by a panther....

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Ooc : based on the look and window position is this the room Hetyaro saw from the outside?

Retula has a gander at the clothes - condition, nature, function - then tries a flicking through a book using a dagger to turn the pages. Unless the clothes look like they were ripped to shreds by a panther....

Hetyaro confirms this is the room he saw from outside.

The images in the books involve some kind of four wheeled metal vehicles and others strange boxes with children pointing to images on them.

The clothes are not made from the fur of any animal, that much Retula can tell and some of the trousers have especially odd smooth material.

Banjo

Ooc : wait, did you make a dungeon out of your own house?

"Hey, these look like those crawling tubes the Bandyguys had back near Zassan. But these are children in the pictures.... Wait, do you think dwarves are really just children who don't want to grow up?"

Kakraaaw

"Ok, ok, just asking. You said there was a weird box in here - where abouts?"

She examines the painting - front, back, edges.

Fourier

The painting is exquisitely detailed, but upon examination suddenly vanishes to be replaced with a panther who lies on the bed and rubs against Retula in a friendly manner.

Hetyaro caws as he sits on the strange grey box.

Banjo

Retula takes the 3 cans from downstairs out to see if the panther reacts favourably to any of them - if yes, use the opener to open it and find something to feed it out of. Failing that she slowly edges around to the box, reaching for it with the hand that isn't holding the dagger.

Fourier

The panther begins guzzling on one with meat, then straightens itself up and speaks.

"Yo, I'm your booster bro"

Banjo

"Well that's exactly what you would say if you were going to eat me.

Can.... Can I...pet you? And keep my hands?"

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

"Well that's exactly what you would say if you were going to eat me.

Can.... Can I...pet you? And keep my hands?"

"Of course, I'm yours to use as you please. Part of the deal"

Banjo

She commences the nuzzling.
"Ok, look - what do you know about this race? I'm clueless. And how do you fit into it? And what happens to you after? And do you eat horses? And hey - do you know the shadow dudes who serve the chair downstairs? Oh, and what's in that box? And what's your name?"

OldGoat

Fourier wrote: »

OOC:
The lining is woven with a green fabric, which when Mags sings his song of revelation vibrates back with the clear tones of poison and death.

The cloak would have killed him instantly had he chosen to wear it.

Mags carefully rolls up the cloak and put it into his bag.
"Bound to be useful sometime."
He then checks the rest of the cloak-room.

Fourier

OldGoat wrote: »

Mags carefully rolls up the cloak and put it into his bag.
"Bound to be useful sometime."
He then checks the rest of the cloak-room.

Everything else is just a typical cloak.

OldGoat

Mags heads out and up along the corridor to the second room where Retula is hanging out with the menagerie. His belly roils hungrily at the aroma of meat before he even gets to the doorway.

Banjo

Retula leaps to her feet, dagger brandished.
"There's something in the hall! Sounds like a troll mating with a sewage outflow pipe..."
She begins to trace complicated symbols in the air while rapidly shifting from painful looking finger position to painful looking finger position.
"Oh, it's you."
She holds out a can of mystery meat to the famished bard.
"Eats? If you sit on the cursed chair downstairs they'll cook it for you."

OldGoat

Mags eats the contents. Between mouthfulls he thanks Retula for her gift.
"Nice, could be better. If we fried this on a skillet it'd be lovely. Know any cooking or fire magic? Nice cat by the way."
Mags tries to share some of his food with the panther while looking around the room, trying to make sense of the books, boxes and mostly the apparently frozen critters.

Banjo

"Yeah, actually, if you want a fire I can totally make a fire. Only know how to make big fires though, so like I don't think indoors is a good place to use it? And these shiny clothes look reeeeally flammable? Inflammable? Flimflammable? One or more of those.

The cursed shadow dudes downstairs that serve the evil chair trap might cook it for you for free if you break their chair and set them free? I'm not really good at smashing stuff but you look pretty buff - Tell them the Raven Queen's bald avenger sent you so they don't, like, possess you and make you eat your own spleen."

Kakraaaaaw!

"No it doesn't! Ok, maybe don't say bald avenger, that might mean something else."

OldGoat

"If the chair is part of the race set up then probably best not to smash it up just yet. You know how to get past it but others in the race might be slowed down here. We should find a bookie and lay off some gold. After the race, if the shadow guys have something to offer, we can smash stuff.
Did I mention that the cloak in the cloakroom was poison? Don't try on any clothes till you've checked though I have to admit those trousers look pretty snazzy."

Mags once again checks the clothing for magical properties.

Banjo

"Yeah I should probably explain - I have a..."
She glances sideways at the panther
"..uh...I have something I need to do, like for a 'friend', and I think winning this race is probably the best way of getting it done. They told me it's in vehicles and I'm really worried it's those crazy little boxes in the kids book here. Look at 'em - no horses, no crazy crystal arrays, they must just push them off a cliff and watch 'em roll! But there are boosters - this cutie-pie here is one of them - and I don't know what they do but they help. So I'm going to check out as many as I can, see how I go about entering and then win, I guess. And if I don't... well.... maybe my friend is going to break my metaphorical legs? Ha ha"

Retula leafs through her tome and fishes out her pearl.
"If there's something specific you have your eye on, I can see what the book reveals. Other than that those trousers are sooooo last season. It'll only take a few minutes. But then I reeeeeally have to get moving, I have a few more stops to make before nightfall."

Fourier

OldGoat wrote: »

Mags eats the contents. Between mouthfulls he thanks Retula for her gift.
"Nice, could be better. If we fried this on a skillet it'd be lovely. Know any cooking or fire magic? Nice cat by the way."
Mags tries to share some of his food with the panther while looking around the room, trying to make sense of the books, boxes and mostly the apparently frozen critters.

The panther takes a clear liking to Mags, sticking close to the Orcish Bard.

Fourier

OldGoat wrote: »

Mags once again checks the clothing for magical properties.

A simple song has the clothes hum back their fundamental tones, strumming the fabric of reality in only a way bards can hear.

Their pitch is off, it doesn't match this plane, but aside from that they are normal.

OldGoat

Banjo wrote: »

"If there's something specific you have your eye on, I can see what the book reveals. Other than that those trousers are sooooo last season. It'll only take a few minutes. But then I reeeeeally have to get moving, I have a few more stops to make before nightfall."

"Magic box racing. Sounds like fun. A task divided is a task halved so where else have we got to look? Give me a location and I'll go for a nose around.
As for the trousers, they are not 'last season', they are 'retro-chic' and I'm having them."
Mags replaces the trousers of his casual clothes with the shiny new trousers then scratches the panthers head.

OOC: I'll not be posting over the weekend so heading out on separate hunts for race powerups will allow you to play on without waiting for me to roll.

Banjo

Banjo wrote: »

She commences the nuzzling.
"Ok, look - what do you know about this race? I'm clueless. And how do you fit into it? And what happens to you after? And do you eat horses? And hey - do you know the shadow dudes who serve the chair downstairs? Oh, and what's in that box? And what's your name?"

The awkward silence becomes unbearable. Since it's painfully obvious the panther is not going to answer any of her questions, Retula turns her attention to the box Hetyaro is sitting on. Does it open? Are there buttons, markings etc? What is the rope/cable thing connected to it and where does the other end of it go?

Fourier

The panther clears his throat, yawns and then answers.

"I can phase in and out of solid matter. Handy for getting around obstacles. My name is Lumol.

I don't eat horses, I don't need that much meat to live and there's a good chance they're self-aware like me.

The box you're looking at was called a console on its plane, it makes entertaining images that you control. You won't be able to get it working on this plane."

Banjo

"Wow. Matter phasing? Schweet! And is that just in the race or, like, all the time, as often as you want? Cool

OK, Mags, here's a list of the leads I have"

OOC :
The Map :

(Imageshack is blocked at work, so I can't see if that worked, but the link should bring you to Fourier's post with the map. "Little stick dudes are nomadic tribes." Points of interest for boosters:
The Honey Pagoda (in Zhulugal)
The Light Lake house (0207)
The Arch of old Osinzir (0707)
The Kingdoms beyond Gate
Merculin's Townhouse (In Osinzir)
Temple of the Music God (in Zhusarrum)

"I'm headed to the Arch next once I check in with those dragons you mentioned, then if I'm not bit in half I guess I'll head to Zhulugal and if the light is good I might try to get to the Light House before bed time. I know there's a nomadic tribe on the map directly in my way but like, they're a nomadic tribe - surely they'll have moved on by the time I get there, isn't that kind of the point of being a nomad? That and getting to pee outdoors like all the time?

You can come with, or if it's more your speed and you don't mind me pidgeon-holing you a little there's a temple to a music god up north - you could stop by Fathe's in Tsuzim if you need any kit, he's a bit of a tool but he's got good stuff.

Then we need to see about how we actually enter the race. Kind of an important detail."

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

"Wow. Matter phasing? Schweet! And is that just in the race or, like, all the time, as often as you want? Cool

OK, Mags, here's a list of the leads I have"

"Whenever I want, though it's not perfect, I can't just slip through everything as if it were air, somethings are a real struggle"

Banjo

"so you have powers, but they're glitchy? Bit of a swizzle that. Show me! Can you phase me out into the garden?"

OldGoat

"'Temple of the Music God', too good a name to resist. Rightio, I'm off to meet with a god, should be quite the adventure donjathink? I'll catch up with you later somewhere or other."
Mags leaves to find the road to Zhusarrum. He walks back to the bard portal on the bridge.
"Hi there Mr. Guard, still guarding well I see. Good job. I managed to get a bite to eat thanks very much and I also passed on your message from the dragons. Right now I'm going to try and get to Zhusarrum through yon portal. Wish me luck."
He takes out his flute and whistles a plaintive air reminiscent of the famed Zhusarrum sunsets and then steps into the rippling portal. As he does so he muses on the number of talking animals he's met in the last few days since he was thrown into some kind of game-show for a crime he may not have committed.

Banjo

"well...bye then...." Retula waves at the now empty doorway.
"All alone again. Nothing to do but stare at the ceiling feeling sorry for myself and stroke my pussy."
She pets the panther - which somehow sounds worse - and hopes she isn't smoten for stealing the DMs joke.

"Come on, phase me out into the garden, I don't want to have to face those chair ghosts."

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

"Come on, phase me out into the garden, I don't want to have to face those chair ghosts."

She finishes off a quick rub to relieve the stress, before she and Lumol jump through the wall and onto the street, out into the square behind the palace.

Banjo

"Bitchin!"
She whistles for her horse and raven and takes the whole talking zoo on the road.
"Ok before we go I need to go say hi to the dragons, then we're off to the arch."
And off she goes.