“Ah,” the old orc says. “I had my suspicions that something was amiss when the king suddenly changed his views regarding the town. And to think that an army of younglings would immediately head out to kill... it is certainly very difficult to change our ways. Our king wanted better. He wished only for peace. Now, thanks to some meddling usurper, it will be even more difficult for us to achieve it.” As he speaks, he walks over to a nearby tree and rests his hand upon it. “I will go to them,” he says. “With luck, this unnecessary bloodshed will cease before it becomes a river of crimson. As for our king, I know of a way to free him from his imprisonment, though it will be dangerous. We will need a weapon called the Soultaker Dagger, or something of equal purpose. Perhaps...” He looks the party up and down. “Tell me, how much to you know about the Tlincalli, the scorpionfolk?”
The other sentience feels oddly muddled and faint, as though it was far away. Ignatius can’t seem to get any clear information from it.
Ignatius: Arcana check: 6+4=10
He vaguely recalls that a presence can be masked somewhat from thought detection if it is shielded by some kind of magic.
Ignatius gets annoyed that his subtle Divination magics are masked so easily by random mysterious creatures. He grins mischievously as an idea strikes his mind.
He thinks to himself:
"Whatever thou art, mysterious being, Thinking yourself cunning and clever, Now you shall have your undoing, And playing tricks you shall do never!"
Ignatius (still invisible) exits through the door and tightly closes it shut. He then goes over to the window, and casts Summon Swarm into the house with the mysterious creature! Ha!
I assume that other than the mysterious creature, Ignatius was alone in that building (since the other party members are in the shaman's house, and there is none other in or around here). So now we have a trapped quarry.
The other sentience feels oddly muddled and faint, as though it was far away. Ignatius can’t seem to get any clear information from it.
Ignatius: Arcana check: 6+4=10
He vaguely recalls that a presence can be masked somewhat from thought detection if it is shielded by some kind of magic.
Ignatius gets annoyed that his subtle Divination magics are masked so easily by random mysterious creatures. He grins mischievously as an idea strikes his mind.
He thinks to himself:
"Whatever thou art, mysterious being, Thinking yourself cunning and clever, Now you shall have your undoing, And playing tricks you shall do never!"
Ignatius (still invisible) exits through the door and tightly closes it shut. He then goes over to the window, and casts Summon Swarm into the house with the mysterious creature! Ha!
I assume that other than the mysterious creature, Ignatius was alone in that building (since the other party members are in the shaman's house, and there is none other in or around here). So now we have a trapped quarry.
"Well, they killed all around them, and then they were killed back. The only one I know that is still alive is understandably upset."
“‘Upset’ is an understatement,” the old orc says with a smile. “But that is not why I bring them up. Do you know of their city of crystal? The ruins are at the bottom of a ravine a few days south of here. You likely passed it on your way here. That place was not made by normal means. The crystals used in the city’s construction were actually made of magic. It would seem that the Tlincalli had a means of manipulating magical energy differently than a mage or sorcerer, and this ability allowed them to mold and solidify magical energy into a crystallized form, thus creating their city of crystal. Now, you might be wondering why I am bringing this up. Truth be told, a soul gem isn’t much different from one of those crystals. It is a solidified mass of magic energy. This may mean that the Tlincalli hold a means to free our king from within by manipulating the magic of the gem itself. Of course, the Tlincalli weren’t known to be a friendly bunch, and the secret method they used should have died with them, but as luck would have it, one of them still exists on this soil. I believe he possesses the knowledge and skill to manipulate the energy within this gem.”
The other sentience feels oddly muddled and faint, as though it was far away. Ignatius can’t seem to get any clear information from it.
Ignatius: Arcana check: 6+4=10
He vaguely recalls that a presence can be masked somewhat from thought detection if it is shielded by some kind of magic.
Ignatius gets annoyed that his subtle Divination magics are masked so easily by random mysterious creatures. He grins mischievously as an idea strikes his mind.
He thinks to himself:
"Whatever thou art, mysterious being, Thinking yourself cunning and clever, Now you shall have your undoing, And playing tricks you shall do never!"
Ignatius (still invisible) exits through the door and tightly closes it shut. He then goes over to the window, and casts Summon Swarm into the house with the mysterious creature! Ha!
I assume that other than the mysterious creature, Ignatius was alone in that building (since the other party members are in the shaman's house, and there is none other in or around here). So now we have a trapped quarry.
...Ignatius looks around and sees two orc guards rushing about. He notices that the building itself is rather empty...
I take it that this means the orc guards were outside the building.
The guards are inside the building. There is very little furniture or decoration inside.
Or I should say, one of them is still inside. The other one led the party to the shaman.
Oh, this complicates things... Nevermind, I'll sort them out. Please ignore my previous post since I misunderstood the wording and thus, the circumstances.
Ignatius gets out of the building and casts Alter Self to turn into the orc guard who just left with the party. In that form, he rushes inside and goes over to the other guard.
"Hey fella', they need YOU outside at Karlos' place! Quick, hurry, move on! No time to waste!"
And without waiting for a response, he drags the guard and pulls him outside of the building.
"Now go, hurry, make haste! I'll stay here and guard the place."
Ignatius then gets inside and quickly slams the door shut, and immediately locks it from inside. Then he turns into his original form and hovers outside through the window on the other side. And now (finally!) he casts Summon Swarm through the window!
The other guard is utterly baffled by what’s going on, so he doesn’t really put up a fight, as Ignatius drags him away. Anyhoo, the horde of rats appears and starts running around inside. A few moments later, Ignatius hears the door click and sees it swing open.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party returns to the meeting room to find Ixion still sitting in the corner. This time, he’s drinking something from a mug. He looks up as the party enters and says “Oh, it’s you again. Did you find the king yet?”
The other guard is utterly baffled by what’s going on, so he doesn’t really put up a fight, as Ignatius drags him away. Anyhoo, the horde of rats appears and starts running around inside. A few moments later, Ignatius hears the door click and sees it swing open.
Ignatius quickly casts Web at the door, hoping to trap the mysterious being.
So Ignatius casts web, and the sticky substance sticks to the doorway. There is no apparent sign that anything was caught in it. An instant later, the ambient sounds of the town cease completely. There is nothing but dead silence in the area around the house.
So Ignatius casts web, and the sticky substance sticks to the doorway. There is no apparent sign that anything was caught in it. An instant later, the ambient sounds of the town cease completely. There is nothing but dead silence in the area around the house.
Ignatius senses danger. He casts Invisibility and waits.
Vaga walks up to the grumpy scorpion man. "Ho there, friend!" He slaps Ixion with a friendly fist-bump on one of his extremities, whichever is closest.
"It seems we need you help again. Surely, since we are all friends now, you no longer need to work as a mercenary and will join us freely. It'll be great traveling together again, right?"
“We are not friends,” Ixion says, brushing Vaga’s hand away. “I’m not a charity worker. If you want me to do something, you’ll need to pay me for it.”
Hahaha, Vaga is such a great diplomat! I gotta admit, I laugh every time this guy fails his diplomacy checks
"Very well, friend." Vaga puts his hand down his loincloth and rummages around for a bit. Out comes a piece of stale bread. Hmm.. when did I put that there? Vaga holds up the bread for Ixion. "let's break bread together and talk about it. What do you need, what are you desires?"
"Very well, friend." Vaga puts his hand down his loincloth and rummages around for a bit. Out comes a piece of stale bread. Hmm.. when did I put that there? Vaga holds up the bread for Ixion. "let's break bread together and talk about it. What do you need, what are you desires?"
Kaled does not interrupt Vaga's diplomatic discussion. He's sure about the dwarven monk's failure, but he thinks that negotiating with the scorpionman will be hard either way, and he finds Vaga's attempt amusing.
Vaga sees Nanna's motherly, supporting gaze and feels a bit warm on the inside. He correctly decipher her gaze as encouragement for him to continue his diplomatic attempts.
He does? That’s news to me. I guess you get a Diplomacy check to determine whether he backhands you across the room or not... Anduin: Diplomacy check: 20
Ixion doesn’t take the bread, but he does feel more amused by the display than annoyed. With a soft chuckle, he asks “Alright, what is it you want?”
*Nanna nods vigorously at Ixion, whilst patting Vaga reassuringly on his back.*
Ixion, we would love you to accompany us to the city of your people. Within it we should find a crystal to save the Orc king.
We...
*Nanna speaks on with solemnity in her tone and features.*
...do not wish to disturb the dead or transgress on the monuments of your people. Wit your guidance and help we can find a crystal and leave without desecrating their memory.
*Nanna cheers up a little.*
Plus better to send us than a troop of rampaging Orcs.
*Nanna nods at the Orc guard.*
No offence.
[Spoiler]Told you he loves me! Diplomacy check! [/spoiler]
Vaga stands silent for a while.. He hears Nanna's futile attempt at diplomacy and stops himself before shaking his head. Clearly Ixion was 'buttered up' before Nanna started talking and clearly it was Vaga's excellent oral skills that had made the scorpion man thaw.
In the end Vaga decides to remain silent for a little while. Perhaps his new mama can persuade Ixion to help.
Comments
Ignatius gets out of the building and casts Alter Self to turn into the orc guard who just left with the party. In that form, he rushes inside and goes over to the other guard.
"Hey fella', they need YOU outside at Karlos' place! Quick, hurry, move on! No time to waste!"
And without waiting for a response, he drags the guard and pulls him outside of the building.
"Now go, hurry, make haste! I'll stay here and guard the place."
Ignatius then gets inside and quickly slams the door shut, and immediately locks it from inside. Then he turns into his original form and hovers outside through the window on the other side. And now (finally!) he casts Summon Swarm through the window!
A soultaker dagger... Why... I think I know where to find one!
...
Yet as I don't really want to walk into the open jaws of hell... Let's try the the Tincalli method first.
*Fiora turns to the rest of the group*
"WE NEVER FOUND HIS BODY"
"It seems we need you help again. Surely, since we are all friends now, you no longer need to work as a mercenary and will join us freely. It'll be great traveling together again, right?"
“We are not friends,” Ixion says, brushing Vaga’s hand away. “I’m not a charity worker. If you want me to do something, you’ll need to pay me for it.”
"Very well, friend." Vaga puts his hand down his loincloth and rummages around for a bit. Out comes a piece of stale bread. Hmm.. when did I put that there? Vaga holds up the bread for Ixion. "let's break bread together and talk about it. What do you need, what are you desires?"
Can't imagine how Ixion will react to that bread once more...
If you are going to butter him up.
*Nanna produces a butter knife with a golden knob of butter on its tip from the sleeve of her cloak.*
Use butter.
*Nanna butters Vaga's profered bread and gives Ixion a winning smile.*
[Spoiler]I demand a diplomacy check. Ixion loves me. [/spoiler]
Anduin: Diplomacy check: 20
Ixion doesn’t take the bread, but he does feel more amused by the display than annoyed. With a soft chuckle, he asks “Alright, what is it you want?”
The guard nods and says “We will begin the search at once.” He heads off to inform the other guards.
"Huh"
Ixion, we would love you to accompany us to the city of your people. Within it we should find a crystal to save the Orc king.
We...
*Nanna speaks on with solemnity in her tone and features.*
...do not wish to disturb the dead or transgress on the monuments of your people. Wit your guidance and help we can find a crystal and leave without desecrating their memory.
*Nanna cheers up a little.*
Plus better to send us than a troop of rampaging Orcs.
*Nanna nods at the Orc guard.*
No offence.
[Spoiler]Told you he loves me! Diplomacy check! [/spoiler]
In the end Vaga decides to remain silent for a little while. Perhaps his new mama can persuade Ixion to help.
“Why would you need a crystal?” Ixion asks. “And how would it save the king?”