D&D II Act Two Scene I - The Tower

Banjo

sKeith wrote: »

"Can you make a signal of a troop of elephants roaring to say its safe to cross the courtyard."

"Safe? Why would it be safe? Dude, I'm not playing the hero, I'm abandoning you!"

Invisibility on self and merge / invisibility on raven and merge. Think it has to be the latter RAW. Then fly for the window. If she appears, she clearly knows I'm there so Darkness on her face. If not, through the window, unmerge and while she's wondering where the giant bird came from zap her and get that yoke off her head. (If bird is invisible and retula not, sub Peck for Blast.

Edit : if it's not too late, give Sarric the fast shoes first

Evade

Fourier wrote: »

The stone shatters just as Iuric had hoped. When it does so a small amount of magical energy is released, slightly rumbling the earth of the island, but nothing too severe.

Iuric gathers up the bigger shards and tried to make stepping stones through the acid slime down to the runestone.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

"Safe? Why would it be safe? Dude, I'm not playing the hero, I'm abandoning you!"

Invisibility on self and merge / invisibility on raven and merge. Think it has to be the latter RAW. Then fly for the window. If she appears, she clearly knows I'm there so Darkness on her face. If not, through the window, unmerge and while she's wondering where the giant bird came from zap her and get that yoke off her head. (If bird is invisible and retula not, sub Peck for Blast.

Edit : if it's not too late, give Sarric the fast shoes first

Retula manages to get half way across the courtyard when the figure in the window suddenly looks in her direction and begins to cast the bolt, however Retulas darkness engulfs her face, which is swallowed in a blackened sphere.

She flails about desperately firing the bolts randomly about her. However she doesn't realise to cast a counterspell until Retula lands in the room.

The Eldritch blast knocks her into the wall and Retula takes the crown from her head.

She opens her eyes slowly.

"Retula? How?"

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

Looking around Vrakrash sees the room they were in, but everything wispy and blackened.

"I do not know, though I suspect merely as a cautionary warning for attacking those elves. Perhaps she was right and I was over zealous with them, so I shifted us here instead of attacking"

'It matters not, I'm beginning to think that retiring and joining you on level 10 might be a smarter option. Too much wilful aggression in the ranks, as you can see. If Flagg wants to find me, he can bloody well look for me - I'm not going rushing into battle with him.'

He shrugs.

'Take us back, and let us go and live a normal life. This adventuring malarkey gets tiresome after a while.'

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

'It matters not, I'm beginning to think that retiring and joining you on level 10 might be a smarter option. Too much wilful aggression in the ranks, as you can see. If Flagg wants to find me, he can bloody well look for me - I'm not going rushing into battle with him.'

He shrugs.

'Take us back, and let us go and live a normal life. This adventuring malarkey gets tiresome after a while.'

"And here was I thinking that after father's axe was in your possession. I have had visions of Flagg brother...I know the upper floors have something to do with him. He's not there, but somehow related to finding him, but...like you I am tired and would like to just live out my days.

Perhaps best we leave that slaver and his pursuit of us behind. Most likely he will never brave the tower"

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

"And here was I thinking that after father's axe was in your possession. I have had visions of Flagg brother...I know the upper floors have something to do with him. He's not there, but somehow related to finding him, but...like you I am tired and would like to just live out my days.

Perhaps best we leave that slaver and his pursuit of us behind. Most likely he will never brave the tower"

Vrakrash's expression darkens.

'Perhaps... but if there is a way to find him, to end him - we should take it. Then we can rest easy. Let us continue, for now at least.'

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

She opens her eyes slowly.

"Retula? How?"

"Well, how can I put this? When daddy elf and mommy elf have no impulse control or sense of social responsibility they - oh wait, I see what you mean. Do over? Do over!

Ahem"

She mimics 'Retula? How?' in falsetto.

"The question isn't how.... but When!"

She raises where her eyebrow used to be.

"This is how it always begins. And how it ends. I mean everyone seems to know who I am, they must have told you something... oh, did they leave the violent bits out of the orientation pack? So like Ursula, always wants to keep the secrets for herself. Now, go to sleep."

Assuming this baldy lady is not clearly a Retula, and if possible, a Thorn Whip to her head to drag her eyeball towards a waiting dagger.

If it's another Retula, Hetyaro to clock her on the back of the head with the blunt of his beak.

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

Vrakrash's expression darkens.

'Perhaps... but if there is a way to find him, to end him - we should take it. Then we can rest easy. Let us continue, for now at least.'

"Then we'll need the others..."

Drokrash shifts them back to the same plane of the tower as the others are in.

"Look brother, they seek to cross the courtyard"

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Assuming this baldy lady is not clearly a Retula, and if possible, a Thorn Whip to her head to drag her eyeball towards a waiting dagger.

The thorn whip grabs her by the feet and flings her toward the dagger.

"It's yours...." she begins.

The dagger drives its way into her skull, killing her stone dead almost immediately.

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

"Then we'll need the others..."

Drokrash shifts them back to the same plane of the tower as the others are in.

"Look brother, they seek to cross the courtyard"

Vrakrash sighs.

**See Rettie, this is where mother would have come in handy. A quick wing flap and we'd all be across here in a jiffy. But never mind.**

'Sarric, you don't happen to have your flying contraption handy, no?'

Banjo

She sends Hetyaro for a quick reccie, flying close to the fortress, looking for other windows, other baldies, other crowns. While he's doing that she tries to Identify the crown she has.

If there are no other signs of security, she casts Minor Illusion near the window, her best guess at what a troop of elephants roaring sounds like. She's seen one once. Probably sounds like this - Pffffffffffft! - but on a larger scale?

Banjo

Necrominus wrote: »

**See Rettie, this is where mother would have come in handy. A quick wing flap and we'd all be across here in a jiffy. But never mind.**

**I didn't ask her to kill herself. OK I did but I didn't think she would, becaues... well... she wouldn't. She did that on purpose. She wanted to die in this tower for a reason. She's up to something, her and the Tasimite. You can ask her when you see her. Ask your bro. He can't have lived here all this time and not know at least a little. It'd be nice to have an idea of just how deep this **** is before we hit the bottom**

Necro

**Probably has something to do with... Flagg. Drokrash says the upper floors have something to do with him. So yeah, we're probably all gonna die. But not before I kill him**

'YOU THINK IT'S SAFE TO CROSS NOW?'

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

She sends Hetyaro for a quick reccie, flying close to the fortress, looking for other windows, other baldies, other crowns. While he's doing that she tries to Identify the crown she has

The crown is a strange style, but clearly related to the crowns worn by the Raven Queen's guards.

Hetyaro scouts the fortress, finding nothing but similar guardians, all dead. Most with a dagger through their eye.

Banjo

**Flagg? Dude, Ursula has taken a cutting from Osinzir's river and is growing it in her attic. I knew 157 was a weird number.... She has a private afterlife that she administers and controls access to, that's immortality, as long as she doesn't die outside of this place.

And your mother died in her jurisdiction so she's up there drinking margheritas with the most powerful sorceress who ever lived, negotiating a way out that gets her out of her Geas. And.... and you or your brother are probably it - flesh of her flesh and all that. ****! And no one else can interfere because she has some kind of divinity suppression going on that flushed out Hetyaro and that nudey guy....

****! So that means the only one who can stop her is probably me 'cause that lazy-ass Oni isn't going to do it. And I don't know how! And that's why everything in here is made out of me... because I fail and she milks me dry for the rest of eternity...

We need to get you out of here. Ask your bro where the door is.

Hey, has anyone seen Karinth?**


(I may need to start swearing in tel'quessir 'cause the ** for telepathy and **** for swearfiltering is getting confusing!)

Necro

**So you're saying if we kill Flagg... AND Ursula... our problems disappear? Sounds like a plan, Rettie! Now... can I cross the courtyard without getting blown to pieces? **

Fourier

Evade wrote: »

Iuric gathers up the bigger shards and tried to make stepping stones through the acid slime down to the runestone.

Iuric's plan works as he carefully lays the stones getting him down to the rune without a scratch.

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

The crown is a strange style, but clearly related to the crowns worn by the Raven Queen's guards.

Hetyaro scouts the fortress, finding nothing but similar guardians, all dead. Most with a dagger through their eye.

OOC : You're giving me too much credit here! Can you tell me what Retula should know about RQ's guards and crowns?
Also, are the other dead guardians crownless?

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

OOC : You're giving me too much credit here! Can you tell me what Retula should know about RQ's guards and crowns?
Also, are the other dead guardians crownless?

OOC: Details aren't important, simply that they wear crowns and are trained in life siphoning magic. Retula would know of them. Her in character knowledge of them would Out of Character put them at about Level 3 or 4 Sorcerers in strength

Hetyaro takes a closer look at the fortress guardians without crowns. All have suffered a different form of injury, but none have had a dagger driven through their eye.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

We need to get you out of here. Ask your bro where the door is.

Hey, has anyone seen Karinth?**

Galvanised by the realisation of what may be afoot, Retula steadies herself for the task ahead.

OOC: From here until the end of the tower you have three advantages to use as you pick, reflecting Retula doubling down on her goal

Banjo

Necrominus wrote: »

**So you're saying if we kill Flagg... AND Ursula... our problems disappear? Sounds like a plan, Rettie! Now... can I cross the courtyard without getting blown to pieces? **

**Honestly? I think there's a decent chance we have to kill Flagg, then you and your brother to trap your mother, then me to close off Ursula's escape hatch, then hopefully Sarric and Iuric can beat the sh!t out of her. I've been this way before I think. I'm starting to think that what Ray-Ray wants me to recover from this place.... is me...? Ah this makes my head hurt. Did you not hear the Elephants? I think we're ok. Unless I put this hat on and zap you with it...**

Necro

**Ix-nay on the illing-kay? At least for now? You can lock me and my brother up here for all eternity if it helps, once I deal with Flagg I'm done, quits, finito - you can even bind me if you really want. Anyways, people always said I had more guts than brains so let's try out your theory on us being safe with me as a lab rat**


Vrakrash steps out into the courtyard and heads towards Retula, looking carefully at the pavings to make sure there are no further hidden surprises.

'If I die... probably don't follow me!'

Fourier

Vrakrash makes his way across to the fortress's main gate.

Inside he sees a corridor with six rooms and a set of stairs leading up to the floor with Retula.

Necro

**Ok, I see the stairs going up to where you are Rettie, but there's like 6 rooms down here. Should we check them out or keep going?**

Vrakrash peers into the nearest room to where he is standing, but doesn't enter.

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

**Ok, I see the stairs going up to where you are Rettie, but there's like 6 rooms down here. Should we check them out or keep going?**

Vrakrash peers into the nearest room to where he is standing, but doesn't enter.

Within is a cauldron with several prisoners stewing in it, long dead.

A few large worms, of the type seen on the prison roof, slowly gnaw the skulls in the cauldron.

sKeith

Necrominus wrote: »

Vrakrash sighs.

**See Rettie, this is where mother would have come in handy. A quick wing flap and we'd all be across here in a jiffy. But never mind.**

'Sarric, you don't happen to have your flying contraption handy, no?'

"Being airborne does not make you immune to being zapped and incinerated.


Retula has gone on ahead, and will signal if the woman who is zapping people will no longer be a threat, although she said she was abandoning us, I'll hold out a little while to see if maybe it happens by accident."

Banjo

sKeith wrote: »

"Being airborne does not make you immune to being zapped and incinerated.


Retula has gone on ahead, and will signal if the woman who is zapping people will no longer be a threat, although she said she was abandoning us, I'll hold out a little while to see if maybe it happens by accident."

OOC:
I know I write a lot of extraneous sh!te that no one should reasonably have to read, but I did the Elephant signal! The Elephants!

sKeith

Banjo wrote: »

OOC:
I know I write a lot of extraneous sh!te that no one should reasonably have to read, but I did the Elephant signal! The Elephants!

OOC: yeah, I seen, and you ran with Sarrics troop grouping, lmao.

Fourier

Karinth steps tentatively into the courtyard wincing.

"Seems safe, no bolts. Coming Sarric, Ser Boros?"

Ser Boros shrugs and follows.

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

Within is a cauldron with several prisoners stewing in it, long dead.

A few large worms, of the type seen on the prison roof, slowly gnaw the skulls in the cauldron.

Vrakrash backs out of the room and looks into the next one adjacent to it.

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

Vrakrash backs out of the room and looks into the next one adjacent to it.

Within the next room Vrakrash spots a large pool of water with a steel covering over it. Through a glass window in the steel covering he can see the water contains nothing currently.

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

Within the next room Vrakrash spots a large pool of water with a steel covering over it. Through a glass window in the steel covering he can see the water contains nothing currently.

Tempted, Vrakrash takes a step towards the room but stops, shaking his head.

He looks to his brother.

'We don't have time for this, for me to search every room as much as I wish I could. How do we get to the next floor?'

Evade

Fourier wrote: »

Iuric's plan works as he carefully lays the stones getting him down to the rune without a scratch.

"Orange, yellow, blue, or indigo*?" Iuric touches the stone.


OOC: *or cyan

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

Tempted, Vrakrash takes a step towards the room but stops, shaking his head.

He looks to his brother.

'We don't have time for this, for me to search every room as much as I wish I could. How do we get to the next floor?'

"The stairs should take us up to the next level of this fortress. One more level after that and there is room containing a ladder up to the 8th floor of the tower"

Fourier

Evade wrote: »

"Orange, yellow, blue, or indigo*?" Iuric touches the stone.


OOC: *or cyan

Once more the rune glows, this time yellow.

Iuric feels a presence watching him, though looking around nobody is there.

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

"The stairs should take us up to the next level of this fortress. One more level after that and there is room containing a ladder up to the 8th floor of the tower"

Vrakrash nods.

'Let's leave the rooms to those without any sorcerers to kill then, would you think?'

Vrakrash starts up the stairs, checking them for any danger before ascending.

Banjo

Humming, and wondering to herself at what point all this soul binding is going to bite her in the arse, Retula writes "Baldy Crown Lady, the Fulmination of Shadow" and a quick scribbled doodle of people and stones exploding as lightning crashes around them. (OOC : Shatter)

"What do you think, H? On or off?" She waves the crown.

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

Vrakrash nods.

'Let's leave the rooms to those without any sorcerers to kill then, would you think?'

Vrakrash starts up the stairs, checking them for any danger before ascending.

Drokrash deactivates the traps as he ascends.

"I haven't gone up this way in eight years, but the training remains"

He guides Vrakrash along the fortresses upper levels. The walls are a cold stone, with the corpses of young women impaled through the eye lining them. Several doors are open, bedrooms, from which the scent of lavender escapes. From brief glances Vrakrash can see that the women who lived here had a strict training regime.

Even more strangely, some rooms contain images of the party. Sometimes Vrakrash is present, sometimes not. Sometimes Therai, sometimes not. Iuric is rare enough. Wade and Jeremy are both present in the odd image.

However there is always Retula, but never Sarric or Karinth.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Humming, and wondering to herself at what point all this soul binding is going to bite her in the arse, Retula writes "Baldy Crown Lady, the Fulmination of Shadow" and a quick scribbled doodle of people and stones exploding as lightning crashes around them. (OOC : Shatter)

"What do you think, H? On or off?" She waves the crown.

Retula hears a conversation coming from the stairs behind her and sees Vrakrash approach with his brother.

Out the windows she can see Karinth and Ser Boros have reached the fortress.

sKeith

Sarric quickly searches some skeletons on his way to the dried up fountain. Once arriveing at the fountain he will check it for traps then get in the fountain. He'll search for exits from the fountain and if none are found, he'll then head onwards towards the fortress, at catch up pace.

Evade

Fourier wrote: »

Once more the rune glows, this time yellow.

Iuric feels a presence watching him, though looking around nobody is there.

"Yellow, as I thought. But what are would rainbow coloured runes doing underground?" Iuric makes his way back to the surface and stops at his new horse. "You can swim, can you not? We're off to the next island... You'll need a name, Scinfaxi would suit." Iuric starts towards the next island.

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

Drokrash deactivates the traps as he ascends.

"I haven't gone up this way in eight years, but the training remains"

He guides Vrakrash along the fortresses upper levels. The walls are a cold stone, with the corpses of young women impaled through the eye lining them. Several doors are open, bedrooms, from which the scent of lavender escapes. From brief glances Vrakrash can see that the women who lived here had a strict training regime.

Even more strangely, some rooms contain images of the party. Sometimes Vrakrash is present, sometimes not. Sometimes Therai, sometimes not. Iuric is rare enough. Wade and Jeremy are both present in the odd image.

However there is always Retula, but never Sarric or Karinth.

'Weird, huh Drokrash. Why is it do you think that Sarric or Karinth are never present... and Retula always is....?'

He glances up to see can he see Retula at the top yet.

Fourier

sKeith wrote: »

Sarric quickly searches some skeletons on his way to the dried up fountain. Once arriveing at the fountain he will check it for traps then get in the fountain. He'll search for exits from the fountain and if none are found, he'll then head onwards towards the fortress, at catch up pace.

Searching the bodies Sarric finds many are Vrakrash and other party members, though most are not. On one of the Vrakrashs he finds a magically sealed notebook.

Approaching the fountain, after he climbs in he finds a hidden lever.

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

Retula hears a conversation coming from the stairs behind her and sees Vrakrash approach with his brother.

Out the windows she can see Karinth and Ser Boros have reached the fortress.

Shouting over her shoulder - "You guys took long enough. Wait here!" - she dives out the window, merges with Hetyaro and flies down to Karinth. Decoupling, she asks that Ser Boros get into Karinth's "pocket", then re-merges and lifts Karinth up to the window.

OOC : Hetyaro was able to carry both her and Mags at the same time so should be within her capability

sKeith

Fourier wrote: »

Searching the bodies Sarric finds many are Vrakrash and other party members, though most are not. On one of the Vrakrashs he finds a magically sealed notebook.

Approaching the fountain, after he climbs in he finds a hidden lever.

Sarric takes the notebook.




Sarric pulls the lever.

Fourier

Evade wrote: »

"Yellow, as I thought. But what are would rainbow coloured runes doing underground?" Iuric makes his way back to the surface and stops at his new horse. "You can swim, can you not? We're off to the next island... You'll need a name, Scinfaxi would suit." Iuric starts towards the next island.

The horse threads the waters, though as a summoned being it seems the beast beneath has no interest in it, though Iuric can see its shadowy form moving searching for the summoner.

They reach they next island after ten minutes or so.

The island itself is larger than the others, the dolmen lies on top of a hill, rising from the beach they climb out onto.

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

'Weird, huh Drokrash. Why is it do you think that Sarric or Karinth are never present... and Retula always is....?'

He glances up to see can he see Retula at the top yet.

"I am not sure. The sisters of repulsion, the group here, were trained to fight her. Though their numbers have dwindled over the centuries"

Vrakrash spots Retula as they turn the corner.

Behind her a set of stairs going up.

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

"I am not sure. The sisters of repulsion, the group here, were trained to fight her. Though their numbers have dwindled over the centuries"

Vrakrash spots Retula as they turn the corner.

Behind her a set of stairs going up.

Vrakrash turns to his brother.

'You seem to be a dab hand at disarming these...traps. Care to lead, lest any harm befall me before we face our destiny?'

Fourier

sKeith wrote: »

Sarric takes the notebook.




Sarric pulls the lever.

Sarric hears a ominous clicking sound.

Then the courtyard begins to rumble...

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

Vrakrash turns to his brother.

'You seem to be a dab hand at disarming these...traps. Care to lead, lest any harm befall me before we face our destiny?'

"I think that would be..."

The walls of the fortress shake.

"...brother, I love you"

Drokrash leaps from the window...