S3: The Scythe of Seto (Bront Judging)[Completed]

[Patlin]

Originally Posted by Rae ArdGaoth

"Well then." Rasereit harumphs. "'Tis a bit... vague, isn' it?"

"You think so? It seems straightforward to me. Find Trimble, ask him about the Lost Temple of Jareth, then go there. Maybe I'm oversimplifying."

[Manzanita]

"Well, I agree, Banion, my boy. Do you think you can find this Trimble, then?" Poto snaps his finger and a spark appears. He applies this to the parchement, and allows it to burn. "Top secret this." he says quietly, and starts as a sudden motion stirs the straw near his feet. Ogrin stabs down with his sword, but it only a rat, which scampers out a small hole in the wall.

"Well. If you're all up for it, I'd say this mission is in good hands." Says Poto, letting the ashes drop to the floor, and stomping them under his boots. "So, do you need me to come with you? I do have some nice spells, but I'm getting old, and I've got a shop to run. Hard to get quality help these days, you know?"

[Rae ArdGaoth]

"Silverwood's a big place, mate. Ah lived there a few years, Ah know. And 'what we need'? Who's t'say what that is?!"

When Ogrin stabs at the rat, Razh protest, "Ah, let 'im go, 'e's just lookin' for means t'get by, jus' like the rest of us, eh?"

And when Poto asks whether he should come along, Rasereit chimes in, "Sure Ah want ye, Poto. 'Tis always better to have a wizard on your side than against ye. Ah'm sure ye still got it in ye. Me fifth Da, 'e was a ripe ol' 303 when 'e went, an' 'e went in glorious battle he did. Er, not that Ah'm sayin' you'll go that way, if ye come wit' us, Ah mean... eh..."

[SlagMortar]

OOC: Is Eusebius willing to cast a Zone of Truth spell to make sure Poto is what he seems to be? Beamer would broach the topic with Poto at this point, but I don't think Boddynock has chimed in with what Eusebius thinks of asking him.

[Boddynock]

"Hyrag cherishes trueness of heart - and expects that to be reflected in truth in speech. I can pray for such a boon on the morrow. I hope that would be acceptable to all here."

[Manzanita]

Poto smiles at Rasereit, though the dwarf was hardly reassuring.

"Do you know what to do and where to go? Anything else you need to do before leaving town? I suggest maximum haste in this matter."

He turns his head & scratches his neck. "If I were to go, I'd need to spend some time preparing the shop..." He glances sideways at the group.

Any more comments? What's the plan? I'll allow Eusebius to post his spells for the day now. He would have had time to prepare the ones he wanted to interogate Poto Knezer &/or Torvin Arkenthrasher the night before. Anyone else want to encourage or discourage Poto from coming with you?

[Patlin]

Do we have any directions on which road to take to find Trimble?

[Manzanita]

Originally Posted by Patlin

Do we have any directions on which road to take to find Trimble?

The note Poto showed the group gave no directions. The party originally heard of Trimble from Reinert the dwarven merchant whom they met in Rivensblight. He was heading to Trimble's place when the group left him at the small stockaid one days ride north of Rivensblight.

[Patlin]

"Well, if we feel lucky we could go back to the stockade and head into the Silverwood from there. Less lucky, we could try to look up Reinert and hope that he didn't get eaten by anything in the Silverwood on his last trip."

[SlagMortar]

"Thank you for all your help, Mr. Poto. Ah, just one more small thing. We seem to have grown a habit of late to running afoul of things that are not as they seem, and people who are acting under compulsions through no fault of their own. Father Eusebius here is a true devotee of the Shining One, and has been blessed with powers to aid in this fight against evil. For your protection and our own, would you be willing to allow Father Eusebius to place a spell of truth in this place? It is only for fear of compulsory or form shifting magicks that I would make such an inhospitable request. I would ask only that you pronounce this sentence, 'I, Poto Knezar, am speaking and acting with the best intentions of ridding the world of this evil weapon of Seto, and Seto or his followers from acquiring the weapon.'"

Beamer can't decide whether he wants Poto to come along so chooses not to make an argument either way. Asking Poto to submit to the spell may have already made that decision for him.

[Manzanita]

"Ah. You don't entirely trust me. Yes, good man. Don't blame you a bit." he lowers his voice. "I don't trust a lot of people around here, myself."

After Eusebius casts the spell, if he does so, Poto will state, with a twinkle in his eye, 'I, Poto Knezar, am speaking and acting with the best intentions of ridding the world of this evil weapon of Seto, and Seto or his followers from acquiring the weapon.'"

[SlagMortar]

"Not that we don't trust you in particular, but things are often not as they seem. Thank you for your understanding." To not dwell on the distasteful subject of trust, Beamer asks, "Before we depart, would you be able to provide some scrolls for me? I've found I can activate scrolls even with spells I do not know how to cast. I would pay you for them, of course."

OOC:
Beamer would like to purchase scrolls of See Invisibility, Invisibility, Shield, and Rope Trick.

[Rae ArdGaoth]

In the zone of truth, Rasereit stands and says, "Me name's Rasereit, last o' the Vundinn clan, slayer of orcs, goblins, ogres, and minotaurs, defier of dragons, and friend of halflings! Ah've bested five men in hand to hand combat, Ah've wrestled a crocodile, naked beneath an active volcano, and Ah've braved the turbulence of the Great Sea on more'n one occasion! Ah'm here in the north t'find me homeland, t'vanquish the foul creatures who took me clan from meh, and t'bring glory to the Vundinn name! Ah'm with Eusebius on this one, as far as he needs me." With a nod at Eusebius and a wink at Ogrin, he sits again.

[Patlin]

Banion makes sure he's in the zone of truth and says the following.

"I'm Banion Lorish. Beamer and I have had several adventures together, accumulated an unfortunate number of enemies that are still alive and capable of causing us trouble. We know things that could get a body killed just for hearing about. I'm trying to make the world a better place, and would like to see this evil artifact destroyed. I've had a few victories in the past, and at least one total debacle in which I made it out of town just ahead of a coup resulting in a military dictator taking over a city. The lesson I've taken from that is I'm tired of being pushed around. After destroying this weapon, I'd like to see if I can do something about that dictator."

[Boddynock]

Eusebius, who is happy to cast the Zone of Truth, nods in approval at the others' statements. He then steps forward and says, "I am Eusebius, least of the servants of the Shining One. I have battled winter wolves and a weretiger, orcs and men of twisted heart, and the foul corruption of undeath."

Here his voice falters, and his ruddy visage pales. After a moment or two's hesitation he speaks again, his voice gaining strength as he goes. "Many are my sins and multitudinous my shortcomings ... but the greatest grief I bear is that I stood by, base coward that I was, and watched my family killed by ghouls. And then I ran away - ran until I dropped in exhaustion, ran blindly until the Lord Hyrag gathered me up and set my feet on His path."

"I will spend my life's blood to rid this world of evil - whether it be Seto's foul blade, or the disgusting perversion which is undeath. I am Eusebius, least of the servants of the Bright God ... and I will never again fail to act."