The Realms of Enlightenment: The Grey Companions

[Hairy Minotaur]

I view it as a testament to your group's commitment to bring their PCs to life. Huzair isn't simply the mage, he's a force of personality with a name the drips with paranoia (Hu zair..... who's there) his name begs a question and his demeanor demands an answer.

Ixin suffered from classic race confusion syndrome, but we all got to see her twelve stepping her way through it, she had completed the hormonal replacement phase as was beginning the surgical reassignment phase. Anyone with the guts to go through that extensive of a cosmetic surgery program deserves a double shot of Bigby's Open Handed Strike spells cast on each other.

Then there's the ex-dwarf who's real dwarven name means the-sound-of-worked stone-surrendering-to-the-sculpter's hand, while he was never able to kill the witch himself, his lifetime membership in the Lollipop Guild means he would be buried tootsie pop style; soft squishy center wrapped in a hard shell (buried in full plate armor) on a stick.

 

[mdougherty331]

Huzair

In response to Harry Minotaur regarding Huzair. I wanted him to sound foreign and exotic. He is a fire genasi, which is unique since I usually have played typical races (Human and half elf and halfling) in the past.

I am a pretty quiet and calm person and figured that an obnoxious character would be fun for me to play. I love playing wizards and cant believe I even bothered with my previous characters as fighter and a thief. Huzair gave a me a place to vent during a difficult time in my life and I could take out my anger in good fun at my comrades. We have a good history together, so they know my outbursts are all in game. Also I think I did it in a kind of cool way much of the time, but I could see it getting old and draining. I do think that maybe he needs to grow up as all the bickering is getting really old.....I cant resist poking fun at Morier though. That will never stop.

I see him as a free spirit bristing at authority, especially from his old friend Morier.

It does seem like the characters are fighting more among themselves and I do not feel it is in a constructive manner as of late. We have to have everyone get in step and find their role. Hopefully all the conflicts are water under the bridge and we can move on. Dont want to give any secrets away though.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

In response to Harry Minotaur regarding Huzair. I wanted him to sound foreign and exotic. He is a fire genasi, which is unique since I usually have played typical races (Human and half elf and halfling) in the past.

I am a pretty quiet and calm person and figured that an obnoxious character would be fun for me to play. I love playing wizards and cant believe I even bothered with my previous characters as fighter and a thief. Huzair gave a me a place to vent during a difficult time in my life and I could take out my anger in good fun at my comrades. We have a good history together, so they know my outbursts are all in game. Also I think I did it in a kind of cool way much of the time, but I could see it getting old and draining. I do think that maybe he needs to grow up as all the bickering is getting really old.....I cant resist poking fun at Morier though. That will never stop.

I see him as a free spirit bristing at authority, especially from his old friend Morier.

It does seem like the characters are fighting more among themselves and I do not feel it is in a constructive manner as of late. We have to have everyone get in step and find their role. Hopefully all the conflicts are water under the bridge and we can move on. Dont want to give any secrets away though.

I think Huzair's awesome. Direct to the point, doesn't mess around with burning hands when a fireball does the job on the first volley.

My group fights all the time in game, out of game they laugh so hard we hardly get anywhere. I think as long as there's a distinct line between game and real life and you don't blur them then you've got pretty good balance.

Plus it's easier to get to one's inner self when they're in an argument then when everything is hunky dory and no one's got any complaints.

Keep up the fine work!

 

[Jon Potter]

Huzair isn't simply the mage, he's a force of personality with a name the drips with paranoia (Hu zair..... who's there) his name begs a question and his demeanor demands an answer.

Did I mention that he originally wanted to name his familiar Knock-knock? I told him it would have been great, but he changed his mind and went with Sparky.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #441] The Risilvar Escarpment

Freeday, the 10th of Readying, 1270 AE​

Morier woke Huzair early - or at least it seemed that way to the wizard. Huzair had stayed up late transferring Leomund's Tiny Hut into his spellbook and so the light of morning seemed particularly offensive to his eyes.

Shamalin was up early as always, her so-called Ring of Breakfast making in impossible for her sleep in. And she had a lot on her mind this morning anyway. She had been up and huddled in the inn's common room beside the banked coals of last night's fire when Ahlear had woken before dawn and headed out into the freezing darkness. She was still there, with a sheaf of Ledare's notes spread unread beside her when Anania woke some time later and headed out into the ashen light of predawn. She watched the elf go without a word and then turned her attention back to the bundle that Durbana the innkeeper had given her last night. Wrapped in a coarse blanket that the Mercybringer recognized from the trail was the Ring of Communication, seven loose potion bottles, and a Wand of Cure Light Wounds. Yesterday, all of them had been Ayremac's.

"He said you lot were expecting this and asked me to give it to you," Durbana had told her. Shamalin had looked inside the bundle then and felt a pang of regret touch her heart once more. There was no note.

"Did he say anything else?" the cleric had asked and after a few moments' thought the innkeeper nodded.

"Yep," she explained, turning away to attend another customer. "Said he'd be meeting up with you all later and expected everything to be in order when he did."

Shamalin was pondering that when one of the human serving girls from last night stumbled sleepily into the common room, one hand stifling an enormous yawn. She let out a little yelp when she saw the cleric.

"Gods, Mercybringer!" she said. "You gave me a start. You're up early on a Freeday!" She went to stoke the fire glancing absently at the items strewn around the priestess.

"I've a lot on my mind," Shamalin said curtly and gathered her things. She made her way up the stairs to her room sparing a backward glance at the maid as the girl tossed a cake of peat into the fireplace.



"Can you take us to anywhere colder, Morier?" Huzair cursed, drawing his cloak more tightly about his shoulders. "This pull of yours is heading us towards the south pole." Morier looked eastward shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Actually, we're headed east-northeast," Anania offered. "Or at least that has been our heading." Huzair smirked at the elf maid.

"I was only giving Morier a hard time, sweetheart," he told her. "But I am pretty deep, so I am not surprised that you did not get it right away." Morier rolled his eyes and Shamalin shook her head.

"Let's move out," Morier suggested and started to walk across the bridge separating the town from the rolling hills that led away toward the Altan Tepe mountains looming purple and majestic at the horizon.

"I'll send Sparky up to scout from above," Huzair said, drawing the bird into the cold. "I wish flyboy were here to do this job. I always relished the silence when he was not around. I am really concerned about that Kirnoth guy sneaking up on us again. He could do us in when we are bickering."

"Then perhaps we should stop bickering," Ahlear suggested with a wink and a grin as he took off after the others.

Starday, the 11th - Godsday, the 15th of Readying, 1270 AE​

The journey in the direction of Morier's pull was largely uneventful. They did not meet any resistance as they traveled, but Anania was ever wary as she led them on. On several occasions, she reported back that she'd found both tracks and spoor left by giants, and twice had them detour around an area that she suspected held a settlement of the creatures.

The land became progressively more hilly as the flatlands gave way to foothills, scrub grass became stunted bushes and eventually actual trees as they neared the mountains. And by the time they reached the Risilvar Escarpment they were fully in a woodland whose coniferous boughs left the ground beneath in near shadow even at midday. They trekked on in shadow, drawn to the sound of falling water in the distance until Anania came back to the main group.

"We've reached the cliff," she announced. "It'll be a pretty stiff climb."

"Wonderful," Shamalin huffed.



When they reached the cliff they saw that the scout was right. The escarpment rose up several hundred feet above them, towering above the modest trees that hugged its foot. Anania stood at the moss-covered edge of a pool whose waters frothed madly, stirred by the waterfall that dropped straight from the cliff above into the cataract below. A chill mist hung in the air and the roar of water was deafening.

"Let me guess," Huzair yelled into Morier's ear. "Your head says we need to go up?" The eldritch warrior looked up at the summit and nodded slowly. the mage cursed and turned away.

"I don't know that I can make such a climb," Shamalin shouted. "Not in this armor anyway." Morier acknowledged her concerns and beckoned Anania over.

"Is there an easy way up?" he asked her, hopefully and the elf shook her head.

"The climb will be challenging, but not impossible. Surely, I could make it, but I have my doubts about the priestess," Anania said plainly. She glanced over at Shamalin who was looking nervously up at the cliff. "But I did find something else."

"What?" Morier demanded.

"A tunnel of worked stone," she told him, pointing to a spot about thirty feet from the waterfall. "The mouth was concealed by some vines, but I think that might have been unplanned. The tunnel angles back behind the falls. There is a metal gate blocking the way, however. And I saw no means of bypassing it."

 

[darkhall-nestor]

Is someone carrying a really big pry bar

 

[Jon Potter]

Is someone carrying a really big pry bar

Shhh... We haven't met that character yet at this point.

But they do have a Rogue. Sort of.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

"Then perhaps we should stop bickering," Ahlear suggested with a wink and a grin as he took off after the others.

pfft.. what's the fun in that.

But they do have a Rogue. Sort of.

Yeah and his name? Huzair
Need a door opened = knock spell
Search for pit traps = Monster Summoning I
Search for secret doors = piss off the elf enough that he storms away to passively search for a secret door
Gather Information = open mouth, insert foot, cast ventriliquism, talk through foot
Pick pockets = fireball, sift through the ashes at your own speed
Use Rope = Rope Trick
Appraise = mercane
Escape Artist = check

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #442] Over, Under or Through?

"A dungeon crawl presents unknown dangers. The climb is the safest way to go," Anania offered. She glanced at Shamalin's armored form and added "Well, except for the priestess."

"You've made that clear," the Mercybringer muttered, scowling at the elf. "Huzair? Where are those Slippers of Spider Climbing?" The wizard opened his traveler's purse and drew forth the Slippers as if they had been lying on top. He handed them to the cleric and looked up at the top of the cliff.

"Yeah, like I would climb that!" he scoffed. "I can use a pinch of the Levitation Dust... but we are running a little low." He looked meaningfully around at the others.

"I have a spell that gives me limited flight," Ahlear told them. "I could perhaps ferry some of you up to strategic points... just over the really difficult parts."

"Hold on," Morier said. "Before we start burning resources let's see what we can learn about the tunnel. I think the tunnel represents a better option than a cliff climb." Anania nodded.

"I will check the area for traps," she said and, with an arrow notched in her bow she headed for the concealed entrance. Huzair grinned and released his familiar into the sky. the hummingbird circled once and then flew rapidly upward.

"Sparky will scout above and I will help beautiful locate any traps," he said and followed the elf maid.

"I can try a Divination spell to see which way would be best - climbing or the tunnel," Shamalin said. "It will take me a few minutes to cast." Morier nodded.

"Good," the eldritch warrior said. "Ahlear, you and I are on reconnaissance. Check out the immediate surroundings. You go north. I'll go south." And without waiting for a reply the albino ducked into the trees, one hand keeping his sheathed greatsword from tangling in his legs.



Huzair caught up with Anania as she squatted at the base of the cliff intently examining the dirt there. "What did you find, sweetheart?" he asked, peering over her shoulder and seeing nothing but dirt.

"Tracks," she said simply. "Dwarf tracks. More than one set. Going in and out of this tunnel."

"Huh," Huzair intoned, uncertain what to make of this revelation. "Were is Karak when you need him, right?"

Anania eyed him gravely and then pulled aside the tangle of dried vines that obscured the tunnel entrance. She paused then and studied the frame of the tunnel, tracing some cracks with her fingers. "There's carving here," she told him in a low voice that barely carried above the roar of the waterfall. "I don't recognize the script and it's too worn away to read in any case." The mage looked where she indicated, but saw nothing except weather worn stone.

"You have good eyes," he told her and she looked at him strangely for a moment. Then she looked away, peering into the darkened tunnel.

"It is my purpose," she told him and proceeded slowly into the tunnel. After creeping forward they reached a bend where the hall angled back in the direction of the falls. It was getting too dark for them to see much even with lowlight vision and the elf was obliged to shoulder her bow and light a torch. By its flickering glow, Huzair could clearly see the gate that Anania had mentioned earlier.

It was stoutly made and rust-free and it completely blocked the passage ahead. He could see no obvious locking mechanism. It actually looked as if the bars were set directly into the floor and ceiling.

"I wonder if there is a lock on the gate?" he said aloud and started to move forward. "If there is I could pick it... or someone in the party could just smash it with his ham-"

"Stop!" Anania said, gripping Huzair roughly and dragging him back. She was stronger than she appeared. The mage looked at her annoyed.

"What?" he asked, straightening his clothes while she drew out a dagger. She hunkered down again and, holding the torch high in one hand, traced a line in the tunnel's floor.

"There's a seam here," she told him and as she worked with the dagger, it became obvious to the wizard that she was right. "It's probably a pressure plate. Or a trapdoor."

"Trapdoor," he told her after a moment's study. "Standard pit trap."

"Regardless. It is not something that you would want to step on," Anania said and stood. "There is a narrow path around the pit so we can avoid it." And as proof of her statement, she darted lithely along the wall until she reached the gate then turned back to Huzair. He followed in her footsteps with somewhat less aplomb until they were both pressed up against the bars.

"I see no lock," he said, annoyed. Anania sniffed.

"But there is a way passed this gate. It is used," she told him. "I smell mineral oil. The kind used to maintain mechanical parts."

"You had better watch that torch then," Huzair said, activated the Ring of Blinking and stuttered his way passed the gate. He grinned at her through the bars and extended a hand between. "In fact, why don't you let me hold it."



Morier stepped back into the grotto and saw Shamalin gathering her still smoldering incense. The smell of it hung cloyingly in the air. Ahlear sat on a rock at the water's edge, one hand scratching his dire rat's fur. He met Morier's eyes and shook his head. The albino nodded once; he'd found nothing either.

Shamalin gathered the two men close enough for them both to hear her over the sound of falling water without undue shouting and then she related the results of her spell.

"Start at the end or end at the beginning, the middle remains unchanged," she said. "So I think that no matter which way we go the result will be the same. More or less."

"A reasonable interpretation," Morier said and looked up at the top of the cliff. "So that leaves us back where we started. Unless we can figure out some way around that gate, we-"

"I found a way to bypass the gate," Huzair beamed as he and Anania rejoined the group. "There was the nice, shiny lever a bit down the corridor on the other side of the bars that made them retract into the ceiling. It's all clear now."

"Well that makes the decision a little easier," the albino said, looking around at the others. "Is everyone agreed that we take the tunnel?"

"Thanks for opening the gate, Huzair. Nice work, Huzair," the mage groused under his breath.

"Nice work, boss," Sparky twittered into his ear. "Thanks for opening the gate." Smiling, Huzair gathered the bird into his hands to warm it and listened to what his familiar had to report.

"There's sort of a lake at the top of the cliff with an island in the middle of it," the bird explained. "There's a little sort of rocky hill on the island with a funny kind of shiny rock on the side of the hill. There's also a kind of fence or wall that runs across the whole island and some big rocks that are set up in a circle around a firepit on the far side. There are some giants and dog men there. More than us, boss. And they've got weapons. Big ones."

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OOC- I'm going to be out of town on Sunday, so I thought I'd post the weekly installment a little bit early this week. Hope you like it.

 

[mdougherty331]

That cracks me up.