[Eberron] Beneath the Ice!

[Speed-Stick]

Karthak gets his fellow explorers alone in their cabin, and locks the door behind them. The others notice that he seems unusaly grave. "I have exaimed the warforged for magic, and something disturbing things have come to light. The first thing I looked at was his sheild, and it radiates faint abjuration magic, probaly divine. This is not what worries me. The strange stone we discovered inside of him has a powerfull aura of enchantment, which seems somehow intwined with the Warforged's life force."Karthak waits for the group to digest this, then continues again.

"As if that was not worrying enough, it also has a strange and powerfull aura of Necromantic magic. It is hard to describe how it acts. It almost seems intelligent, flickering and moving with a life all its own. I fear what this stone could do. Tommorow, I will continue my reasearch once I have more appropriate spells memorized. Finaly, it looks like someone has tampered with the wounds on the Warforged, as if trying to repair it. I have no idea who has the skills to do this. I suggest we keep the Forged under watch all night, to make sure no one reanimates it. I have a spell that can aid in this.I fear to give our leader this information, mainly because we have no clue if he plays a part in this, and even if he didn't, he will fly into a panic, and that will only hurt our efforts."

Karthak waits for any questions



OOC: Tommorow I want to memorize Identify in place of Sheild, and Dispel Magic in place of Fireball. Also, when we are going to go to sleep, Im casting Alarm on the Forged.

 

[Krug]

"Can we remove the head of the Warforged and drop it into the sea? Would that remove any chance of it coming alive?" says Mong. If the group isn't sure or the answer is yes, she goes to decapitate the Warforged.

 

[Speed-Stick]

Karthak looks suprised that cutting off the Warforged's head is an idea "I suppose it would kill it. However, I think the Warforged may be acting against its will. Its not going anywhere, and tommorow I will know what the stone does.". Karthak blocks Mong if she tries to go decapitate the Forged.

 

[Sorrow The Man Bear]

Norderil looks aghast at Mong, and will also attempt keep to keep her from her destructive course. "My dear, what you propose would be akin to murder!" He turns to Karthak. "I admit, it's presence has disturbed me to a degree. It might seem obvious from my physical appearance, but sleep has not come (or stayed for that matter) easily whilst the behemoth and I have shared quarters. I have begun to notice several small ferrous items seem to have been abducted or obfuscated in it's presence. One wonders if this might have something to do with the wounds. Do you think you might have some arcane means of discerning whether or not someone other than ourselves has intruded recently?" It seems there may be something else distressing him, and he almost takes a breath to say more, but closes his mouth again and remains silent.

nonamazing:

Spoiler

After the meeting, i will go to speak with Graven to find out what I can about the possibility that the ship (or my cabin in particular) is haunted. Mainly asking about the history of the ship, if needs be I'll use the premise that I'm planning a published account. As well, if it seems there's more he's unwilling to reveal I'll use Diplomacy checks to see if I can get it out of him.

 

[Krug]

Mong hisses, her brow shifting momentarily as snake-like scales appear on her cheeks. "Very well, but if it were any one of us non-metal folk, I doubt if you would be so merciful should we be returning from the dead," hisses the Shifter. Rast coils excitedly around her as she stomps off.

 

[Doomhawk]

"I agree with Norderil. I've seen a lot of weird creatures, and not all of them bad. This thing may not look like it's alive, but I've dealt with Warforged before and they're certainly living beings. And this one is a prisoner just like the humans belowdecks; we shouldn't kill it just because it's coming to." Toshanharath looks to Norderil. "I'm willing to wager that the green stone in its chest has something to do with its mysterious recovery. If we want to prevent it from waking up, we could try removing the stone."
Toshanharath looks almost embarassed for a moment, thinking to himself that he might be crazy. He then adds, "By the way... I saw some birds the other day... made out of ice. I have no idea what they are, but they're certainly strange."

 

[nonamazing]

Norderil - [SBLOCK]Gravan looks at you with surprise. "My ship? Haunted? Ah, we've been through some odd nights, the Carcass and I, but we've never run afoul of ghosts. Until we started this wretched journey, there wasn't a thing wrong with her. Now my crew are more spooked than a herd of sheep 'neath a dragon's flight. If you've been listening to their frightful talk, then no wonder you're head's full of tales of ghosts." Further question of Gravan or of various crew members gathers only the information that there haven't been any sort of unusual happenings on this ship until the last week or so. Some of the crew members claim to have recently seen a green ghost floating about belowdecks at night.[/SBLOCK]

Karthak - [SBLOCK](ooc)I'm assuming you're using the identify on the stone, and not the shield. If I'm wrong, please disregard the following. And since you don't have the material components handy, the spell will cost you 10 exp. If you want to identify the shield as well, you'll have enough time to rest and re-memorize before your party reaches the ice.(ooc)

The next morning, after carefully poring over your spellbook, double-checking your formulas and calculations, you head to Norderil's cabin in order to begin your in-depth examination of the Warforged. During the spell's hour-long casting time, you are vaguely disturbed by the feeling that you are being watched. But you managed to hold your focus, completing the invocation without missing a single word or fumbling a single gesture. The spell reaches its climax, at which point you reach out to grab the stone and bring it into the spell's envelope. You are suddenly filled with knowledge--and fear. Knowledge of the stone's magical effect, a compulsion that completely dominates and controls the Warforged. Fear as you realize the source of the domination: the malevolent intelligence that resides within the stone itself! The Necromancy aura you had seen wasn't a spell, it was a spirit, somehow bound into the rock and using its power to control the construct. As you touch the stone, you can hear its evil voice hissing into your mind, it's ghostly presence reaching out, dragging you down. Everything begins to grow dark...

...until you cry out, releasing the stone and jumping back from the construct's body. You heart beats rapidly as you realize just how close you came to being possessed...

(ooc)The stone itself is a docent component (see page 296 of the Eberron manual for an in-depth description). Basically, they are small intelligent magic items designed to as an aid to Warforged. This particular one has been corrupted--fused with an undead spirit. The corruption gives the spirit the ability to completely control the Warforged. You'd guess that it has been under control of the evil spirit for quite some time. The spirit is capable of escaping from the stone, but it is very, very weak without a host body. It has probably been trying to repair its current host, but is too feeble to do very much.

It can, however, try and possess anyone who touches the stone, as you've just discovered. A dispel magic won't drive the spirit away, but it will temporarily disrupt its link with the stone it inhabits, making it unable to control the Warforged for a short period of time.(/ooc)[/SBLOCK]

 

[nonamazing]

The second week of your journey has not been quite as uneventful as your first. The mystery of your Warforged prisioner, the strange unexplained sightings, and, not least of all, the tension among your party that occasionally explodes into minor arguments and harsh words--all of these things have keep you occupied as the Whale's Carcass makes its way through the maze of ice.

Gravan does his best to keep you all informed of the ship's progress, although he is frequently busy with the piloting of the ship. Tonight, Gravan is forced to send one of his crewmembers to deliver his status report, his presence too important on the bridge at the moment. The cabin boy, a squeaky-voiced teen whom you've frequently seen running errands around the ship, quickly informs you that the ship is currently sailing though the ice plains. Gravan and his hands are suspended off the fore bow, smashing up the ice so that progress can be made. Even so, there is only so far the ship will manage. By tomorrow, the boy tells you, the ice will be too thick to continue on, and you will have to set out on your sleds.

Only one more day until your true adventure begins, with all your lives hanging in the balance. The news both thrills and terrifies you.​

 

[Speed-Stick]

Gathering the explorers togeather one last time on the ship, Karthak explains the new devolpments with the stone. "It appears that the stone has an intelligence all its own. However, its been fused with an undead spirit, corrupting it. The stone can now control the warforged, and it looks like it has been doing so for some time. I warn you all not to touch it, while I was working with it, I touched it. I came closer to losing my will then I would like to admit. I can supress it for a few hours, but I can't completly destroy the spirits link to the warforged. Anyone have any ideas for freeing the Forged?"

 

[Barkey]

"Do ye suppose that if we simply ridded ourselves of tha stone, that the metal lad would be able to live? " Barandurr raises an eyebrow, "Or, do ye'think some of his life is bound up in tha stone? " He becomes a bit more grave as he continues, "I'd be thinking it a smart idea to destroy tha stone, but not if it be takin his life, not yet at least."
"At tha very least I don think we should be leavin it on tha ship when we be partin ways," Barandurr comments, " And, I'll tell ya, I wouldn't want to have to haul that around with us, when we do."
He begins to walk out the door, and turns back, as if in afterthought," I could try ta exercise tha spirit, but at great danger to the lad, ifn' his life force is bound up in tha stone." He takes the stone in his hand, and the air around him seems to become thicker around him, like syrup. His eyes begin to glow a firey red and his body seems to be covered in flame, he speaks some divine words and begins to violently shake.

/ooc-I'm turning undead on the stone in an attempt to exercise the spirit/