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Alea Iacta Story Hour: A Mythic Rome Campaign (Baby Announcement: 8/17)
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<blockquote data-quote="Orichalcum" data-source="post: 1347631" data-attributes="member: 3722"><p><strong>AI VI: When in Rome Chp 10: No cigar</strong></p><p></p><p>Sorry about the long delay - we played last weekend, and had a great time, and the PCs finally figured out some of the main details of Black Chain Philosopher's Evil Plan. Also, more fun was had with Cornelia's mom.</p><p></p><p>When last we tuned in...</p><p></p><p>Heilyn, horribly wounded and burnt, was standing at the bottom of a stone pit, which was rapidly filling with water. Alarms had gone up all over the Temple of Mercury. Llyr had thrown his hands up in surrender, claiming complete innocence, Lucretius stood aghast as he saw his word of honor broken in front of his eyes, and Wena was looking...hopeful, but trying to conceal it.</p><p></p><p>Heilyn, meanwhile, feeling he had nothing left to lose, called forth the spirits of the Stone, as the Spirit of Earth had taught him in his dreams, and begged them to form a small laddered tunnel in the rock that he could climb. As he reached halfway up the pit, Heilyn saw the bottom of the pit open up beneath him and the water go swooshing out. He continued climbing, thrusting his hands deep into the rock itself, which gave before him, and asked the spirits to form a tunnel that led, not vertically up, but at a sharp angle back and up. Working slowly and carefully while the tumult raged outside, he finally managed to burst up into the air again...on the dais itself. On the other side of the Wall of Force. At this point, a new set of alarms went off, and the angry mages and priests of Mercury, god of, as Heilyn now remembered, magic, threw open the heavy bronze doors on the other side of the room. The first fireballs bounced off the Wall of Force, and the chief priest screeched, "You fools! Let me dispel the Wall first! And don't damage the holy relics! Targeted magics, you worms!"</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Wena, Lucretius, and Llyr pressed to the side, Lucretius holding a sword against both their necks, and decided to stay quiet for the moment.</p><p></p><p>Heilyn reached out, solemnly, and picked up the plain brown leather cap that stood on the center pedestal on the dais. He lifted the cap up, praying fervently, "Lugh, take this cap so that you may be free, and if I can survive as well, that would be a nice benefit...." For a moment, the cap shimmered with bright golden light, and then the light faded. Apparently, something here was blocking Lugh from reclaiming his cap. Looking briefly at the cap with his spirit sight, while the mage at the doorway dispelled the wall, Heilyn noticed a thin black chain stretching out from the cap and towards the door. Deciding that he had nothing left to lose, he placed the cap on his own head, and disappeared from all human sight. Heilyn concentrated for a second, and found that he could also fly at remarkably fast speeds. He contemplated grabbing the Staff of Mercury and the Sandals of Mercury, but decided that, in the end, he had ventured enough today, and now was the time to make a run for it before they figured out exactly where he was.</p><p></p><p>A mad and desperate chase ensued. Heilyn managed to fly over the heads of the mages and priests guarding the doorway, but they soon realized what had happened. Once into the shifting maze of corridors, Heilyn realized that he had no idea which way led out of the temple. However, by hovering at the ceiling and moving silently, he was able to find various crossroads at which many guards were stationed, which let him know that he was moving in the right direction. Several of these had priests standing there who could see him, and the faltering smith took several more deadly rays of light directly in the face, but while he was lost in the maze, Heilyn had healed himself of much of the earlier damage. </p><p></p><p>Eventually, after much careful maneuvering, Heilyn saw the main doorway of the Temple, with the bright sunlight of the Roman Forum beyond. He flew quickly towards the open door, but realized as he approached that the formerly still pair of oddly shining statues were now actively moving, and could undoubtedly sense him. Both reached out with their arms to grasp at him. Praying briefly to Lugh for inspiration, he poured a sack of sestertii onto the scales of the merchant statue, and threw his holy symbol into the outstretched hand of the guide statue. Both statues stopped moving for just long enough for Heilyn to squeeze through them, out into the sunlight.</p><p></p><p>At the moment that Heilyn crossed the large Ionic columns framing the entrance of the Temple of Mercury, he heard a smooth, oily, familiar voice in his head. "How...resourceful of you. I am indeed appreciative, and grateful. <strong>You will bring the cap to the Flavian Amphitheater, 300 feet to the northeast of the Temple, and fly to the highest tier of seats, on the southern side. You will do this, now, with speed and enthusiasm. </strong></p><p></p><p>Heilyn tried desperately to resist the overwhelming mental command, but his injuries and excitement had made his mind foggy, and the order seemed so clear, and so convincing. He flew within a minute to the deserted amphitheater, and arrived at the designated section of seats. <strong>Very good. Place the cap down on the top seat in front of you, young smith, and walk away. Why should I bother having you kill yourself, when it will be so amusing to watch the Roman guards do it for me? </strong></p><p></p><p>As he heard the voice in his head, and once again found himself oddly soothed by its simple, persuasive commands, Heilyn saw the amphitheater below filling with vigiles, the Roman city watchmen, and knew that his entrances were blocked. He put the cap down on the seat, becoming visible to the shouts and exclamations of the guards, and took a few steps away. When he looked back, the cap was gone.</p><p></p><p>"Throw down your weapons immediately!" the vigilis below him shouted.</p><p></p><p>"I surrender!" Heilyn called down. "I don't know what was happening! I must have been possessed - some evil philosopher was controlling my mind!"</p><p></p><p>Next time...Lucretius plays Bad Vigilis.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Orichalcum, post: 1347631, member: 3722"] [b]AI VI: When in Rome Chp 10: No cigar[/b] Sorry about the long delay - we played last weekend, and had a great time, and the PCs finally figured out some of the main details of Black Chain Philosopher's Evil Plan. Also, more fun was had with Cornelia's mom. When last we tuned in... Heilyn, horribly wounded and burnt, was standing at the bottom of a stone pit, which was rapidly filling with water. Alarms had gone up all over the Temple of Mercury. Llyr had thrown his hands up in surrender, claiming complete innocence, Lucretius stood aghast as he saw his word of honor broken in front of his eyes, and Wena was looking...hopeful, but trying to conceal it. Heilyn, meanwhile, feeling he had nothing left to lose, called forth the spirits of the Stone, as the Spirit of Earth had taught him in his dreams, and begged them to form a small laddered tunnel in the rock that he could climb. As he reached halfway up the pit, Heilyn saw the bottom of the pit open up beneath him and the water go swooshing out. He continued climbing, thrusting his hands deep into the rock itself, which gave before him, and asked the spirits to form a tunnel that led, not vertically up, but at a sharp angle back and up. Working slowly and carefully while the tumult raged outside, he finally managed to burst up into the air again...on the dais itself. On the other side of the Wall of Force. At this point, a new set of alarms went off, and the angry mages and priests of Mercury, god of, as Heilyn now remembered, magic, threw open the heavy bronze doors on the other side of the room. The first fireballs bounced off the Wall of Force, and the chief priest screeched, "You fools! Let me dispel the Wall first! And don't damage the holy relics! Targeted magics, you worms!" Meanwhile, Wena, Lucretius, and Llyr pressed to the side, Lucretius holding a sword against both their necks, and decided to stay quiet for the moment. Heilyn reached out, solemnly, and picked up the plain brown leather cap that stood on the center pedestal on the dais. He lifted the cap up, praying fervently, "Lugh, take this cap so that you may be free, and if I can survive as well, that would be a nice benefit...." For a moment, the cap shimmered with bright golden light, and then the light faded. Apparently, something here was blocking Lugh from reclaiming his cap. Looking briefly at the cap with his spirit sight, while the mage at the doorway dispelled the wall, Heilyn noticed a thin black chain stretching out from the cap and towards the door. Deciding that he had nothing left to lose, he placed the cap on his own head, and disappeared from all human sight. Heilyn concentrated for a second, and found that he could also fly at remarkably fast speeds. He contemplated grabbing the Staff of Mercury and the Sandals of Mercury, but decided that, in the end, he had ventured enough today, and now was the time to make a run for it before they figured out exactly where he was. A mad and desperate chase ensued. Heilyn managed to fly over the heads of the mages and priests guarding the doorway, but they soon realized what had happened. Once into the shifting maze of corridors, Heilyn realized that he had no idea which way led out of the temple. However, by hovering at the ceiling and moving silently, he was able to find various crossroads at which many guards were stationed, which let him know that he was moving in the right direction. Several of these had priests standing there who could see him, and the faltering smith took several more deadly rays of light directly in the face, but while he was lost in the maze, Heilyn had healed himself of much of the earlier damage. Eventually, after much careful maneuvering, Heilyn saw the main doorway of the Temple, with the bright sunlight of the Roman Forum beyond. He flew quickly towards the open door, but realized as he approached that the formerly still pair of oddly shining statues were now actively moving, and could undoubtedly sense him. Both reached out with their arms to grasp at him. Praying briefly to Lugh for inspiration, he poured a sack of sestertii onto the scales of the merchant statue, and threw his holy symbol into the outstretched hand of the guide statue. Both statues stopped moving for just long enough for Heilyn to squeeze through them, out into the sunlight. At the moment that Heilyn crossed the large Ionic columns framing the entrance of the Temple of Mercury, he heard a smooth, oily, familiar voice in his head. "How...resourceful of you. I am indeed appreciative, and grateful. [B]You will bring the cap to the Flavian Amphitheater, 300 feet to the northeast of the Temple, and fly to the highest tier of seats, on the southern side. You will do this, now, with speed and enthusiasm. [/B] Heilyn tried desperately to resist the overwhelming mental command, but his injuries and excitement had made his mind foggy, and the order seemed so clear, and so convincing. He flew within a minute to the deserted amphitheater, and arrived at the designated section of seats. [B]Very good. Place the cap down on the top seat in front of you, young smith, and walk away. Why should I bother having you kill yourself, when it will be so amusing to watch the Roman guards do it for me? [/B] As he heard the voice in his head, and once again found himself oddly soothed by its simple, persuasive commands, Heilyn saw the amphitheater below filling with vigiles, the Roman city watchmen, and knew that his entrances were blocked. He put the cap down on the seat, becoming visible to the shouts and exclamations of the guards, and took a few steps away. When he looked back, the cap was gone. "Throw down your weapons immediately!" the vigilis below him shouted. "I surrender!" Heilyn called down. "I don't know what was happening! I must have been possessed - some evil philosopher was controlling my mind!" Next time...Lucretius plays Bad Vigilis. [/QUOTE]
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