[IC] Wandering Star : Heroes of the Middle Reaches (Part One)

[helium3]

Petra pulls chest's contents out and places them onto the floor. There are four amulets of gold and silver and four orbs of a dark crystal, perhaps onyx. One orb is inlaid with runes of gold and the other three are inlaid with silver. The final object is a large tome bound in leather died a shade of purple so dark it looks almost black. This he keeps in the crook of his arm.

He stands and addresses the group. "I will not attempt to hide the truth from you. The ritual we are about to enact does not come from a source of good. To the best of my knowledge it is not inherently evil, but the wizard from which it was long ago taken most certainly was. If you would like, you may investigate the text yourself so as to make that determination yourself.

As you may know, a hallmark of rituals that hail from a dark source is that they consume the vitality of usually unwilling participants. This allows for the creation of magical effects normally beyond the skill of the caster. This ritual is one of those and when completed it will consume the vitality of its participants.

These four amulets must be worn by those who wish to make that sacrifice. Doing so will require that they concentrate on pouring their life force into the amulet they wear. For the ritual to succeed all four of them must be doing this at the same time.

One person must be the ritual's Invoker. This person should be the one amongst us who is the most skilled in performing rituals of an Arcane nature. We will need to figure out who that is before we begin. The invoker must hold the orb inlaid with gold. Up to three others may assist the Invoker and they will need to hold the orbs inlaid with silver. I do not believe that a participant can assist and sacrifice at the same time, though a participant could hold an orb and wear an amulet and switch between one and the other.

Are there any questions?"

Pieter clears his throat and says, "I for one would like to take a look at that book. Where did you say you got it from?"

"It was given to us by the Vault of Years and they allowed us to keep it here in case we should ever need it again. I do not know who the wizard was. Apparently the wizard's name had been lost even before the rise of the Steel Faction."

Petra hands the book to Pieter, who casually begins flipping through its pages. He glances at Ranver and Jorje and tilts his head, indicating they should join him.

Petra looks at the rest of the group, "Well?"

 

[Blackrat]

I would lay my life for a worthy cause, so giving part of my vitality for this is my duty. Zarathas answers and takes one of the amulets.

 

[Sparky]

The young priest listens carefully, absorbing the details of the tale as the elder priests speak them. He bites back the temple-fresh training that makes him want to spout catechism on the destructive power of secrets and the freeing power of truth and knowledge. If there were more truths to learn, he had better not appear to be unworthy vessel. He falls back on a simpler doctrine... Keep your mouth shut, and your ears open.

One of Anhela's favorites.

His eyes follow the arc of the bag fished from Petra's pocket until it tumbles into Charlotte's hands. The lustre of the pearls in the dim light makes his heart flutter.

The book, though, the book makes his heart beat in earnest, and his neck grow warm. At Pieter's summons Ranver steps forward, "It's a sacred duty of Ioun's faithful to seek knowledge. I also volunteer. I have had some experience enacting rituals and will act as Invoker if Jorge doesn't. His knowledge of the Arcane outstrips mine."

Ranver looks sidelong at the mage before joining Pieter in perusing the book.

 

[The Digger]

Charlie stares at the pearls with a mixture of joy, greed and wonder and barely hears what is being said. It is only when Zarathas mentions "giving of his vitality" that Charlie's attention is snapped back to the here and now.

"Eh! What! Giving of vitality? Run that past me again. What vitality are we giving? Who...? What...?"

Her eyes widen as she thinks back to what was asked of the group.

"Just a doggone minute here, chaps. This thing will CONSUME the vitality of the wearer. I didn't hear nothing about consuming PART of the vitality! Just how much vitality are we likely to be giving up here?"

 

[nerdytenor]

Horto chuckles softly at Charlie's panicking, but in truth, he is doing his best to cover up some panicking of his own. "Oh Charlie, I'm sure if we were to give out lives, he would have told us."

"Isn't that right," Horto asks, a touch nervously. "At any rate, I will help you Charlie - I will wear this life-sucking trinket if it is what needs be done."

 

[Walking Dad]

Jorje nodds. "Ranver is right. I have studied the matters arcane most of us. And maybe the questionable fame of my school has me better prepared for a ritual like this, than a more 'brighter' schooling."
He follows and prepares his mind for what might be the most important magic he will use in his life.

[sblock=OOC]

[sblock=Mini stat block]
Jorje
Perception: 12 Insight: 17 Normal Vision
AC 16 Fortitude 13 Reflex 15 Will 15
Hit Points: 24 / 24 Bloodied: 12
Temporary Hit Points: 0
Action Points: 2 Second Wind: 1
Healing Surge: 6 Surges per day: 6 / 8
Encounter Powers: Grasping Shadows
Daily Powers: Phantom Chasm

[/sblock][/sblock]

 

[The Digger]

[sblock=OOC]For some reason I cannot log into enworld from home. Until I sort it out can you NPC Charlie for me. I will try to post again from this machine in the next day or so with more detail about P's attack.
Sorry all! If anyone has any suggestions about why I get 'cannot connect' I would appreciate an email[/sblock]

 

[Redclaw]

Breaking his brooding silence, Varilar breaks into the conversation. I know little of such things, and thus am loathe to trust the ritual, regardless of my trust for any individual involved. I guard my vitality rather closely, after all. I will do my best to assist Jorge with his efforts, although I can promise little.

 

[helium3]

In response to Charlie's indignant question about the consumption of vitality Petra explains, "From what I understand from having studied the book previously, the ritual normally requires the sacrifice of a single life. Spread out amongst the four wearers of the amulet, it would only take 1/4 of that from each. This would not be a permanent loss of vitality. Your body would be able to replenish itself after a good nights rest or so. Pieter, Jorje and Ranver may be able to tell us if I am correct."

Petra confidently squats down and picks up one of the amulets, placing it around his neck. "I shall wear one of the amulets as well."

 

[helium3]

Pieter hands the book to Jorje and then continues to read over his right shoulder, with Ranver doing the same over his left.

As dark and depraved as the ritual book clearly is, whoever wrote it was a masterful artist and a brilliant illuminator. The hand drawn images dance around and across the pages, weaving in and through the magical writings of the rituals and the mundane text that explains their function and execution. The artist's bizarre melding of gentle woodland creatures and macabre graveyard scenes is at times nearly humorous and at others merely insane.

The ritual book itself seems to be devoted nearly equally to magic related to the creation of illusions and phantasms and to the shaping of vital and galvanic forces. In terms of the sheer amount of magical power involved, the ritual that is about to be cast is at the high end of what the book contains.

To the delight of both Jorje and Ranver, it also contains rituals that are more squarely within the realm of what both are able to master.

After some study of the ritual in question, Jorje is able to ascertain several salient points:

• Neither he nor Ranver are capable of mastering the magical energies involved. After some discussion it is determined however that Pieter can. Thus, Pieter will need to lead the ritual and Ranver and Jorje will need to assist.
  
• The ritual is, in fact, not inherently evil. There will be no dark taint placed upon the spirits of those who participate in its casting.
  
• Petra's assertion regarding the sacrifice of vitality is correct. Though the sacrifice normally needed would indeed be enough to kill a single victim, spreading the sacrifice out amongst the four amulet wearers will reduce the loss of vitality to a mere inconvenience.

Jorje's inspection of the tome leads him to discover one other item of interest. As he handles the pages he begins to get the sense that there is a smell of magic about the book. His first inclination is to assume that the finely crafted drawings and illuminations are in fact simple glamers. A quick investigation does not bear that hypothesis out.

After additional examination, Jorje is able to ascertain that the cover of the book is magicked with some sort of illusion. As the front of the ritual book is blank, the most likely explanation is that the magic is concealing something from sight.