From the Ruins

Duelpersonality · Aug 29, 2009

It is 1st Mysinas, Nylis. It is already an uncomfortably hot day, and it is still midmorning. The sun hangs in a cloudless sky, and the air reeks of brimstone.

[sblock=Cole]Cole is still kneeling near the chasm when the level of the lava within begins to drop. A wisp of fire leaps from the depths of the chasm and floats away to the northeast, calling his name.[/sblock]

[sblock=Sathi]Sathi is walking along the northern road leading to Tyral when the spirits begin to howl. She has never seen anything like this before. Somewhere amongst the nature spirits she sees what looks to be the shade of her father, running in terror into the trees and bushes to the west.[/sblock]

[sblock=Grayven]Grayven has been sent to collect rare crystals from around a highly volcanic area to the south of Tyral, a task usually reserved for initiates in the College. As he finds a small cache of them and begins to carefully collect the purple crystals, a vision of Spite appears about twenty feet away. Grayven's trained eye recognizes this as illusion almost immediately, but it is crafted with great skill and detail. The illusion slowly walks off to the south, waving for Grayven to follow.[/sblock]

[sblock=Honag]Honag is travelling north, inland from the Bay and heading for the city of Tyral. As he walks along an open path through the brush, he sees her. He doesn't know how or why, but she's calling for him to follow, to the east and south.[/sblock]

[sblock=Karesh]Karesh is still coming out of the haze of awakening. He is travelling north, not entirely certain where he is. Suddenly he sees a glimpse of...herself. She's running to the east, a terrified look on his face, eyes pleading for Karesh to save her.[/sblock]

[sblock=Mondel]Mondel is making his way toward Tyral, and the warmth of the day on his armor is making the walk more difficult than it could be. He wipes his brow and as his hand drops away from his face, he sees his grandfather limping away to the west. The old dwarf looks back over his shoulder and jerks his head, indicating that Mondel should follow.[/sblock]

[sblock=Norian]Norian is on his way to Tyral, having left his home to seek a new path for himself. As he trudges northward, he sees a vision of his father, wreathed in flame. The vision brightens and begins to float away toward the west, never turning its gaze from Norian.[/sblock]

HolyMan · Aug 29, 2009

Norian human male

Nearing the crossroads south of The Shimmering City, Norian finds a rock to sit down on. Taking the shoulder bag off with a grunt the thin young man starts to brush dust and dirt from his robes. The heat is almost unbearable especially with the leathers he wears under his garments.

Should have never listened to my mother and got fitted for these hot clothes, okay armor or whatever, he thinks. His shield he leans near the rock, and his mace he moves so as to beable to sit better. The hot air smells bitter and sharp. Looking around to find the smells source Norian is takin aback as he sees the image of his father standing/glowing near him.

"Father?" Norian asks while shielding his eyes from the bright light. "You wish for me to follow? I am coming father." he says to the apparition. Throwing his bag over his shoulder he stands and starts to follow the image of his father off towards the west. Norian ponders his choice to set out for Tyral if his father had this kind of ability, maybe he should have stayed home and studied more.

Vertexx69 · Aug 29, 2009

Cole's eyes snap toward the lava as its level suddenly drops. The voice carried on the wind is decidedly different from whatever he had been hearing in the previous years, but the fact that it knew his name was enough to convince him. "So it is time at last..." He jumps up and grabs his pack before running down to his families compound set all around the crossroads. "There is a problem at the chasm! The lava's level has just fallen low!"

The Digger · Aug 29, 2009

Honag slowed and then stopped. He closed his eyes to try to shut out the tears but to no avail. He sniffed and opened his eyes again but she was still there calling silently to him to follow.

With a heavy sigh he walked on ignoring her please but could only manage a few more steps before sinking to his knees.

"By the Gods of Earth and Stone, why do you haunt me so? There is nothing more I can do."

But it was no good, he knew he must follow her to whatever doom she prophecied. Standing once more he turned from his path and walked after the vision of his lost love.

Voda Vosa · Aug 30, 2009

Mondel, an already verteran dwarf follows steady his grandfather. The old dwarf has been talking about that city a lot lately, and although Mondel knows the city very well, his Great Father had some sort of feeling about going there. He never acepted the new faith so openly as Mondel did. Anyhow, Mondel always trusted his grandfather's knee instinct.
"Ah'm moving already Old Father. Just too bloody hot today!"

Phaezen · Aug 31, 2009

Karesh, slows and peers west looking for the danger that is hunting the lady, his brain initially refusing to process that this is his previous incarnation running towards him.

Drawing his sword me moves to face any threat that appears, calling out "What is causing you/me to flee, perhaps together we/I can face this peril?"

Walking Dad · Aug 31, 2009

Grayven shrugs as he sees the apparition. With a quick gesture, he commands the floating hand to fill the stones into his backpack and to give him his orb. Better cautious than sorry. Look at it, it even wears Spites favored purple robe..., he thinks as he slowly follows.

[sblock=OOC]
[sblock=Mini stat block]
Grayven Glimmershadow
Perception: 17 Insight: 14 / Low-light Vision
Initiative: +2
AC 18 Fortitude 14 Reflex 16 Will 17
Hit Points: 32/32 Bloodied: 16
Temporary Hit Points: 0
Action Points: 1 Second Wind: 1
Healing Surge: 8 Surges per day: 8/8
At-Will Powers: Cantrips, Illusory Ambush, Storm Pillar
Encounter Powers: Fade Away, Orb of Deception, Grasping Shadows, Maze of Mirrors, Shield
Daily Powers: Horrid Whisper
[/sblock][/sblock]

eblue562 · Aug 31, 2009

Shaking the dust from her boots, Sathi ignores the sun bearing down on her and piercing the chainmail armor beneath the leather straps. She wipes the sweat from her brow and continues along the dirt road. Around her, trees and brush begin to protrude from the ground as she continues her journey. It had been nearly a hundred years since the end of the Old War, but things were still not as they once were. At least, that is what her father told her.

"Father," the name had barely escaped her lips when the spirits suddenly seized her. Like someone who had been dealt a blow, Sathi doubled over in pain as the world she was intimately connected to began to scream at her from all directions. Willing, begging, calling for them to stop, she forced her head up toward the path and caught a glimpse ...

"No..." she whispered, believing and not believing at the same time. A vision of her father, fleeing in fear through the bushes towards the west. Calling her shamanistic powers to her, Sathi struggled to find the will to stand. Finally, with a hefty grunt she stood. Sathi made one final gear check. Her totem, a piece of wood blessed with the blood of ten generations of ancestors lay securely strapped over her chest, partially hidden from view. Reaching her hand behind to her back, she touched the business end of her trusty javelin, and feeling the weight of her chainmail covering the upper body, Sathi had one last thing to do.

Running after her father with a start, she called to the spirits to deliver to her the last piece that would make her whole.

"Indomito, to me!" She shouted through the pain. Without question, her white panther appeared, its yellow-red eyes blazing like the setting sun. Indomito had a concerned expression on its face as he ran easily along side its master. Sathi forced a smile and returned her gaze to the road.

"Nothing, old friend," she said between huffs, "a shaman like myself can't handle." Sathi then began to fully scan the trees and brushes, looking for signs from the world or the spirits what could have caused such an uproar.

[sblock=Actions]

Minor : Call Spirit Companion (at side)

Perception and Nature checks, both +11, to discern any information from the surroundings or the nature spirits about what could have caused such madness and the vision itself. [/sblock]

Duelpersonality · Sep 1, 2009

Each of you enters a rocky area in the brush, and see a small rent in the ground. The visions that drew each of you to this place begins to shimmer and fades away, leaving a faint trail of light in your vision. You see around the brush and small hills an odd assortment of beings--dwarves, a gnome, a human, a deva, and a goliath. Suddenly the ground begins to shake violently. Sathi nearly loses her footing, but manages to catch herself. Norian is not so lucky and stumbles to the ground. The rest of you keep your feet and ride out the short but violent quake. The small rent in the ground smokes for one short breath and then, with a thunderous sound, spews a gout of molten rock which begins to flow downhill toward the south. Out of the lava crawl eight bizarre creatures, each with a gleam of menace in their glowing eyes. Two of them look like large scorpions and one appears to simply be a large mass of congealed lava with a mouth spewing more of the stuff down its body. Five of them look smaller and have much less definition. All of them approach, ready to attack. The largest one moves just a bit quicker than the others and launches a ball of magma at Mondel. Not yet registering what happens, Mondel does not duck fast enough and singed by the magma as some of it clings to his armor.

[sblock=Cole]Cole runs toward the Cinder enclave, shouting his warning. One of his brothers pokes his head out of a window and says, "What did you do now, runt?" The ground begins to shake, causing him to bounce his chin off the windowsill. Cole gets a strong whiff of lava from the north as the shaking subsides, followed by a tremendous boom. The fire spirit has returned, though it looks much more insubstantial now, and again calls him to follow to the north.[/sblock]

[sblock=Sathi]Nothing in your experience matches the state of the spirits. After witnessing the eruption, you believe it is a safe bet to say that the event had something to do with the howling of the spirits.[/sblock]

[sblock=Sathi, Grayven, and Mondel]The three of you recognize the creatures as magma beasts of various types. The five smallest look very weakly held together, though the other three seem to be much more substantial.[/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]Attack vs. Reflex to remain standing:

Sathi - 21=5+16 (rolled); hit! (immediate save - 16 rolled, remain standing)
Grayven - 9=5+4 (rolled); miss
Honag - 6=5+1 (rolled); miss
Karesh - 10=5+5 (rolled); miss
Mondel - 13=5+8 (rolled); miss
Norian - 25=5+20 (rolled); hit!
Cole - out of range

Terrain - being within one square of the lava flow will cause a creature to take 5 points of fire damage. Moving into the lava will cause 20 points of fire damage and an attack vs. Fort to be restrained. Bushes in this area are all about 7-10 feet tall. The rocky outcrop in the southwest corner is difficult terrain.

Initiative:

Magma hurler - 25 (the hurler has taken his action for the 1st round)
Norian - 21=3+18 (rolled)
Honag - 20=1+19 (rolled)
Magma spawn - 16
Karesh - 15=3+12 (rolled)
Magma claw - 14
Sathi - 13=1+12 (rolled)
Grayven - 11=2+9 (rolled)
Mondel - 6=2+4 (rolled)
Cole - 5=1+4 (rolled)

Cole is currently 15 squares away from the opening at the southwestern edge of the map.

Magma hurler attacks Mondel: hit for 11 fire damage.[/sblock]

HolyMan · Sep 1, 2009

Norian, human Cleric

Falling to his hands and knees Norian shouts out, "By Lino's Light! It is the Great Cleansing come again!"

He sees the monsters come from the rift and stares in shock, only to snap from his daze when the molten rock hits the dwarf near him. Rising quickly to his feet he moves to put the rocks between him and the monsters.

With his back to the rocks he notices the smoltering wounds of the dwarf, "Here," he says holding out a hand and placing it on the dwarf's shoulder. "Let the healing of the Light, stop the hurt done by the Flame." A coolness forms around Mondel healing his wounds.

[sblock=mechanics]
Move Action = Stand up from prone.
Move Action = Move three squares north then two west.
Minor Action = Healing Word (Mondel can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6+3 hp in addition he gains +2 to all defenses against the next attack against him. [/sblock]