[Adventure] Marna is Missing (DM: pacdidj, Judge: renau1g)

Alnar and Cyr's impassioned pleas seem to give the wraith pause, and for a moment its face and ghostly body are still, the contorted rage momentarily abated. Perhaps sensing their master's wavering resolve, the skeletons also halt for a moment, giving you time to grab the initiative.

[sblock="Initiative results"]Undead Highest = 20
PCs Highest = 20
Alnar's diplomacy success is the tie-breaker. PCs are up first.[/sblock]

Detecting a glimmer of hope in the wraith's hesitancy, Cyr can tell that you have not yet assuaged the dead king's ire, but you may yet be able to, for it seems the undead that walk here have no love for the other invading creatures of shadow. The deva warns the rest of the party against the immediate use of deadly force, for there may be a way to avoid the battle.

[sblock="Cyr or History 19"]Frantically searching your memory, you finally seize upon something that might prove relevant. From your studies of Eladrin lineages you remember that King Paerlanthas was the only Eladrin lord from House Running Waters to have been crowned King of the Kythiran Empire, a position long held by the nobility of House Four Winds. Paerlanthas is said to have been a leading scholar of the arcane, a fearsome warrior, and an accomplished diplomat. He repelled would-be invaders several times during his long rain, and struck a peaceful accord with the human tribesmen of the Island.

His reign and lineage was cut short however by the cataclysm that decimated the Kythiran Eladrin and caused the opening of the Shadowrift. You guess that if Jezebel is correct in her assumption that this tomb is built on a site where the spirit of elemental fresh water is particularly strong, it is highly likely that the tomb is primarily occupied by the remains of the lords and ladies of House Running Waters, the greatest among whom was Paerlanthas.[/sblock]

As Cyr warns his companions though, rage returns to the dead king's face, once more contorting his features, and his minions resume their advance. If you are to seize the upper hand in this situation, you must act quickly!

[sblock="Special Rules for this Battle"]It is clear that the undead of this tomb have mistaken you for something you are not, and you may be able to persuade them that you are no threat, or even to aid you against the true threat. Each round you can spend a standard action to make a skill check or aid another roll toward the completion of the following skill challenge:

Persuade the Mad King

Primary Skills: Diplomacy, Religion
Secondary Skill: Insight

You need 6 successes before 3 failures. You may roll Diplomacy to try to reason with the king, Religion to try to recall something of Eladrin religious beliefs or make universally acceptable signs of respect, or Insight to try to gauge the king's reactions and determine if your current conversational tactic is working. Each successful Diplomacy, Insight or Religion check vs. DC 14 counts as a success in the challenge, but insight may only be rolled by one character each round. Additionally, no character can roll the same skill in two consecutive rounds.

You may also use other social skills, or any other skill you can think of an appropriate use for, but as they are less relevant to the task at hand, the DC will be 17.

For each round that you participate in the challenge, please narrate your character's words and actions associated with the skill check or aid another roll. I may award skill check bonuses for excellent RP.[/sblock]

[sblock="Tracking and Stats"]Tracking
PCs:
Alnar - 31/31 HP
Cyr - 24/26 HP
Ferris - 29/29 HP
Jezebel - 30/37 HP
Sir Exsixten - 33/33 HP

Undead:
Mad Wraith - ?

Skinwalker Skeleton - ?

Eladrin Skeleton 1 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 2 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 3 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 4 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 5 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 6 - ?

Stats
Mad Wraith - ?
Skinwalker Skeleton - ?
Eladrin Skeleton - ?[/sblock]

OOC: No changes to map yet.

It seems that we share the same quest as you. We seek to destroy the invaders as well. Come, let us band together. After we are done we shall leave you in peace. We care not for the creatures of shadowfell either. Alnar says in his most diplomatic sounding voice.

[sblock=rolls]
Roll
History= 18
Diplomacy=26
[/sblock]

Ferris, strains his memory to recall the teachings of Hyrellon regarding the Eladrin that used to populate this area.

History=6

Skill Challenge: Religion=20

From what he has seen in this catacomb, and from the fragments of Eladrin religious practices gleaned from his memory Ferris voices his thoughts.
"We honor the Water, from which springs Life eternal--it shall provide Succor as we shall keep it Untainted." Ferris clumsily attempts to anoint himself with water from his waterskin, mimicking an Eladrin greeting ritual, specific to clans who revere water, he only half remembers reading about years ago.

Insight (1d20+11=15) Phew, barely!

"The house of Running Waters and the king Paerlanthas have long history of battling the Shadow. I, through many mortal lives, have learned of that history. I even remember You were only one NOT of Four Winds to be crowned as I WAS one of Eladrin nobles. When we found the crypt imperiled, we hurried to rescue. You have after countless centuries a chance to once again defend your realm from the shadow. And we will carry the glory of Paerlanthas and his noble warriors into the world once again!

Peace to Running Waters."

Usually calm deva raises his voice in speech and hopes to heavens and back that brash warforged will connect with reality for a moment.


OOC: Cyr observes the reactions further and modifies his speech slightly if he manages to read that this isn't true king (in which case he uses third person (as in first sentence, replace YOU's with it where applicable ) or that this IS Paerlanthas in which case all references to the King go as You or Your Majesty

History 7, Intimidate 23

Jezebel takes a slightly more aggressive negotiating stance than her allies. She speaks to the leading wraith who is apparently, by the words of Cyr, a king.

"I am a paladin, not some helpless treasure seeker! If you foolishly persist in your attack against us innocents, not only will 'Paerlanthas's' reign be ended forever, your tomb fall to decay, and your body destroyed - but I will see to it that your spirit lingers in a far less comfortable locale. I would not grant forgiveness so easily."

Jezebel steps up into the hallway, placing herself (and her thick shield) between the undead and the mages. (to M51)

SIR EXSIXTEN STEPS FORWARD, READY TO MURDER SOME UNDEAD FOR GREAT JUSTICE, BUT THEN STOPS, NOTICING THAT THE CITIZENS OF JUSTICE ARE ENACTING A CLEVER PLAN SIR EXSIXTEN HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE - THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO FORESTALL VIOLENCE THROUGH VERBAL EXCHANGE! FASCINATING!

Sir Exsixten stares at the party for several moments.

SIR EXSIXTEN ADAPTS TO THIS NEW STRATAGEM WITH APLOMB AND EASE BEFITTING HIS HIGHLY CALIBRATED MAGNIFICENCE SPECTROMETER.

Sir Exsixten steps towards the foe (N51). PARLEY! I INVOKE THE RIGHT OF PARLAY! ACCORDING TO THE CODE OF THE BRETHREN SET DOWN BY THE PIRATES MORGAN AND BARTHOLOMEW YOU MUST TAKE ME TO YOUR CAPTAIN!

He leans towards Cyr and speaks in a conspiratorial whisper, I'M HELPING!

[sblock=Not really]Diplomacy: 1d20=7.[/sblock]

[sblock=ooc]Lol. You'd best start believing in ghost stories, Sir Exsixten - you're in one!

And, of course, I'd try not to get into a fight here. You have no chance to survive make your time.

Ha ha ha ha ...[/sblock]

The party's words and actions seem to soothe the crazed wraith for a moment.

Yes, I was king, it intones at Cyr's mention of the name Paerlanthas. I gave up my kingdom, my life, sacrificed my people to stop the Enemy...

Turning to Jezebel it hisses, I see you are a capable warrior tiefling, and though you serve dark powers, they are not the Shadows of Oblivion that brought ruin to my kingdom...

And you, the wraith's eyes fix themselves on Ferris, Never did I think to see the day when one of the beast people would show proper respect for mother Arthamis' waters. Perhaps you are not in league with the servants of the Unmaker. But...

The wraith's gaze locks on Cyr once more as its face contorts with rage. YOU LIE!, it roars. You have trodden on the bones of my people and stolen from the offerings for the dead. You disturb our slumber and must be purged from this holy place, along with the servants of the Enemy!

[sblock=Cyr]Observing the wraith's reactions closely, you see that you were right in your hunch and that this is indeed the shade of the last king of the Kythiran Eladrin. You can tell that your knowledge of the king's past, combined with Ferris' reverence for nature, and Jezebel's bravado, have gone a long way to overcoming the wraith's natural hatred for the living and convincing it that you are not in league with its enemies. If you can convince the king that you are not tomb robbers and assuage its anger over the disturbance of the offerings, you can likely stop the violence.[/sblock]

Reacting to the wraith's ire, the shambling skeletons fire a volley of arrows, two of which lodge in Sir Exsixten's side.

The skinwalker lurches forward, taking a swipe at Jezebel that is handily deflected by her shield.

And the wraith itself swoops down upon Sir Exsixten. It plunges its ice-cold spectral claw straight into the mechanical knights chest, its ghostly form unimpeded by shield or armor. The specter's touch seems to infuse the warforged with some of the mad king's own rage and confusion, and Sir Exsixten lashes out wildly at Cyr, the blade of his waraxe thankfully missing the deva.

[sblock="Skill Challenge - Persuade the Mad King"]Primary Skills: Diplomacy, Religion
Secondary Skill: Insight

It is clear that the undead of this tomb have mistaken you for something you are not, and you may be able to persuade them that you are no threat, or even to aid you against the true threat. Each round you can spend a standard action to make a skill check or aid another roll toward the completion of the skill challenge.

You need 6 successes before 3 failures. You may roll Diplomacy to try to reason with the king, Religion to try to recall something of Eladrin religious beliefs or make universally acceptable signs of respect, or Insight to try to gauge the king's reactions and determine if your current conversational tactic is working. Each successful Diplomacy, Insight or Religion check vs. DC 14 counts as a success in the challenge, but insight may only be rolled by one character each round. Additionally, no character can roll the same skill in two consecutive rounds.

You may also use other social skills, or any other skill you can think of an appropriate use for, but as they are less relevant to the task at hand, the DC will be 17.

For each round that you participate in the challenge, please narrate your character's words and actions associated with the skill check or aid another roll. I may award skill check bonuses for excellent RP.

Overall Progress: 4 successes, 1 Failure[/sblock]

[sblock="Enemy Actions, Tracking, and Stats"]Round 1
Mad Wraith - Move to N50; Touch of Chaos vs. Sir X610 = hit (vs. Will) for 14 psychic damage, and Sir X610 makes an MBA vs. Cyr = miss

Skinwalker Skeleton - Charge Jezebel w/ Putrefying Pummel = miss

Eladrin Skeleton 1 - RBA vs. Jezebel = miss
Eladrin Skeleton 2 - RBA vs. Jezebel = miss
Eladrin Skeleton 3 - RBA vs. Jezebel = miss
Eladrin Skeleton 4 - RBA vs. Sir X610 = hit for 3 damage
Eladrin Skeleton 5 - RBA vs. Sir X610 = hit for 3 damage
Eladrin Skeleton 6 - RBA vs. Sir X610 = miss

Tracking
PCs:
Alnar - 31/31 HP
Cyr - 24/26 HP
Ferris - 29/29 HP
Jezebel - 30/37 HP
Sir Exsixten - 13/33 HP, bloodied

Undead:
Mad Wraith - ?

Skinwalker Skeleton - ?

Eladrin Skeleton 1 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 2 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 3 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 4 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 5 - ?
Eladrin Skeleton 6 - ?

Stats
Mad Wraith - ?
Skinwalker Skeleton - ?
Eladrin Skeleton - ?[/sblock]

It was not us who stole your property and disrespected the dead. lies Alnar. It was the human who came before us. He wants to use his shadow powers to take over the island, just like his ancestors did to you many years ago. Help us destroy him so his bloodline can be wiped from the earth, never to bother the Eladrin again.

[sblock=bluff=21]
Roll.

Alnar lied about Cyr taking those things from the bones, and really does not know exactly what the warlock has planned, nor if his ancestors killed the wraith. But it makes a good story
[/sblock]

"Remember thyself, wraith!!" ferris shouts at the undead king.

"Remember who you and your people were, before your penance into this state," he says in a gentler tone. "Remember Water: healing, soothing, accepting and SEE that we are not your enemy, but could be the instruments of your salvation."

Diplomacy=25 :Crit!

Insight=19