A Rather Odd Shovel [Judge: Bront]

Using the combined magic of Fimble, Tommy, and Tarag, the gang bundles Turket up, drops from sight, and flies away as Keldar leaves the house, the spitting image of Vladimir Turket.

Under Fimble's careful direction, the flying squad manages to make it to Fimble II's front door with barely enough time for Fimble to open it with his key and shuffle everybody inside.

Mr. and Mrs. Gimmons are enjoying a quiet dinner at their tiny dining room table when suddenly four bodies pop into being. Mrs. Gimmons jumps and spills her soup. Mr. Gimmons is startled, but his expression quickly moves from fear to fascination when he sees his investigative team with a prisoner.

"Well, it seems that you've found something! Do tell." He gives you his nearly undivided attention: he helps his flustered wife mop up the little mess as he listens.

OOG: Apologies for the delay. The semester is coming to an end, so LEW will have to be a lower priority for the next couple of weeks. I'll try to get on once every other day, though.

[sblock]OOC: In light of covaithe's and Boddynock's silence, I'd be okay with Keldar making a dramatic entrance and answering Fimble II's question.

OOG: So, are we good to continue? Any requests? How much combat do you like, and what kind (strange or normal terrain, many weaker foes or one BBEG)?

Do you enjoy investigating leads, even if it sometimes leads nowhere or to false trails, or would you rather be railroaded with incidental RP'ing? There's nothing wrong with a little railroading, if that's what will make you guys more excited to play.

Give me some feedback so we can light this game up again.[/sblock]

Rae ArdGaoth said:

"Well, it seems that you've found something! Do tell." He gives you his nearly undivided attention: he helps his flustered wife mop up the little mess as he listens.

Click to expand...

Tommy hesitates, looking around hoping someone else will speak up. When no one does, he tries to explain. "Well, uh, I'm not sure what we've found, to tell the truth. It all started when we went to visit Vlad Turket, what, two weeks ago now? Or is it only one? Anyway, he lives where that Urton used to live, and we wanted to get a good look around the place, because after we deciphered Urton's book, that was where one of the secret tunnel entrances was. Er. Did I tell you about that? The book that the guards found in Urton's home when they arrested him, back when. We were about to get the guards to let us examine it, and with the help of some excellent librarians at the College of Magic, I managed to decrypt it. It was a description of a network of secret doors and tunnels, all around Fallon! Since one of the doors was in Urton's house, we wanted to go in there and check it out. Vlad Turket is the current occupant of the house. We disguised ourselves as city inspectors, making routine examinations of the foundations. We thought Turket had believed us, since he let us in, but then he threatened us and locked us in the basement! Fortunately for us, that was where the secret door was, and we knew how to open it. We managed to escape through the tunnels, and laid low for a while in case anyone was after us. I made this circlet; do you like it? I would have liked to use a smaller stone, but this one seemed to have the best crystalline structure for the spell matrix of the ones that I could find.

Er, where was I? Oh, yes. We hid out in Fallon for a week or so. Then we went to pay Turket another visit. We knew he was with the Archaeologists from what he said to us when we first visited him, so we thought to capture him and interrogate him. We magically broke into his house and, since he wasn't there, set an ambush. He fell right into it, except that he turned out to be a very, very dangerous foe. He nearly killed us all before we finally brought him down.

From examining him magically, I believe that he is some kind of devil. He has several characteristics in common with an erinyes, though there are some significant differences as well. That ribbon in his hair has an illusion spell that makes him appear human, but I assure you that he is not.

We were at a bit of a loss what to do with him. After all, devils are powerful, dangerous creatures, and I was not at all sure how we would be able to keep him captive for any length of time without putting ourselves in great danger, let alone interrogate him. A normal human, even a powerful warrior or wizard, we could have deal with, but this... Fimble said that maybe you could... Um... That you have friends who can deal with this sort of thing? I'm afraid we're a bit out of our depths here."

Fimble II nods along with the story, excited that progress is being made on his decades old case, anxiously waiting at every one of Tommy's hesitations. At the big reveal of Turket's identity, Mrs. McGee gives her husband a meaningful look and heads for the door. Fimble II nods and she disappears for a while.

"You gentlemen have made some serious progress! A devil, you say? I've never encountered one myself, but maybe my son told you that I, too, once traveled the land looking for adventure, much like yourselves. In my days on the road, I met my lovely girl and did a favor or two for some powerful people. I'd say it's high time to call in those favors."

Leaving the dishes, he darts into another room and comes out with a heavy leather bag and something hard beneath his clothes. "Never thought I'd be using these again! But with devils... I'd rather not take my chances."

Opening the bag's mouth, he gestures to Turket's body. "Quickly, in he goes. We've got to make a quick trip." Fimble II opens the door just as Keldar is turning the corner. Fimble II hardly pauses to say, "You! Follow me."

Taking the lift down to the ground floor, Fimble II guides you through some less well-traveled back streets. You make a short stop to allow Turket's body to breathe, and then continue on. The towers of the Wizard's College loom closer as you weave through the city. Reaching one of the smaller ones, Fimble knocks on a large wooden door. A viewing window slides open and shut, and from inside you hear a latch being undone.

Ms. McGee opens the door and ushers you into a dark hallway. Fimbus lets Turket breathe again and turns to his wife. "Everything's been arranged?"

She nods. "We have the room to ourselves, indefinitely." Fimbus grins, and you head down the hallway to some stairs. Down the stairs you go, into the basement, down another hall, and into a small, circular room, with intricate carvings and silver inlays forming rings in the floor. Fimbus dumps Turket out of the bag unceremoniously in the center of the room and quickly retreats to outside the magic circle.

"If this doesn't hold him, we're all out of our league. My wife and I will stay here with Turket, what's your next move?"

Waiting on anybody for a plan.

[sblock=OOC]If you're tired of playing Fimble and you want to leave him here with his parents, that would be fine. Or you can take him with you. The McGee's are at your service.[/sblock]

Keldar looks doubtful. "Are you s- Don't think I don't have some experience with... shiny roundy things of... capturing. The last time that I can recall, it was a water elemental inside, begging me for help. As I was a little busy at the time with some of his fiery counterparts and with saving Galwynn's life, again, I let him out simply by tossing a javelin. Sploshy - I named him Sploshy - was very grateful. My point is, you want to be careful with these things."

[sblock=OOG]As Trouvere was kind enough to point out in an email, this ridiculous magical prison is my deus-ex-machina way of saying, "Let's cut the crap you don't care for and start playing again."

Boddynock and covaithe (well, mostly covaithe), you expressed disinterest in dealing with Turket. Here's your chance to dump him. I thought you might have sprung into action at the prospect of taking the game in whatever direction you wanted, but I've got mostly radio silence.

So I ask once again: What do you want from this game? Keepin' on keepin' on isn't working, as evidenced by our posting rates.[/sblock]

Waiting on somebody to do something. Anything.

[sblock=ooc]Apologies for my recent silence. I do want to carry on with this, and have ideas how to proceed, but... I'm less than a week from moving across the Atlantic, and every time I sit down to type a post, my mind supplies me with a long list of things that really need doing Right Now.

So, I'm behind across the board. Sorry, but it's likely to continue for at least another week, possibly a bit longer. It's not lack of interest, though.
[/sblock]

OOC: My trouble is twofold threefold:
1. Like covaithe, my life is hectic.
2. IC, I think it's reached the stage where Tarag just wants to get back to his Forge.
3. OOC, I'm not much interested in playing him, since he's really just degenerated (now that Galwynn's gone) into the butt of Keldar's jokes.

Of my other characters, I can't see Eusebius fitting in with the group, and Peladus is, unfortunately, only second level (and a wizard, so pretty redundant).

I guess what I'm saying is that if you want Tarag to hang around he will but that I won't be initiating much action.

On the other hand, if you think you can recruit somebody from the RDI, go for it!

The game was a lot of fun for a long time but it's lost its gloss for me now, I'm afraid.

Whether you want him to stay or go, I'll take this opportunity to thank you, Rae - you're an awesome DM.

[sblock=OOC]Thanks for the honesty, and thank you for playing, Boddynock, it's been a pleasure! I have no problem with Tarag returning to Orussus, and new recruitment is already in the works.

I will award experience tomorrow, and we can finally move on with this adventure.[/sblock]