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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 2093544" data-attributes="member: 1210">Under Arrest8 p.m., an inn in the DelphinateRex is proud and powerful.  Very few individuals can stand up to him in combat.  He likes to roar and stomp around, being intimidating.  He scowls at those around him, and really enjoys demonstrating that he is not to be trifled with.  Unfortunately for him, this tendency does not impress the owner of Horbin’s portable shop; instead, he kicks Rex out and tells him not to return.Grumpily, Rex stomps downstairs and orders a drink.  When he roars in the common room of the inn, the place’s master demands he stop bothering his other clients.  When he digs his claws in the furniture, the innkeeper demands he stop it and pay for the table.Rex roars again, showing his teeth.  He is used to people quailing before him.  Being hassled is a frequent thing for Rex; he has been attacked for his appearance before, more than once.  He has learned that bluster and threat are among his best talents.Unfortunately for him, this time he is in the Delphinate, the society of magi, who put up with no dangerous disruptions.Though the innkeep is obviously frightened, he calls for the guards, and soon two uniformed, staff-wielding Delphinites arrive.  They demand that Rex leave- and threaten to slay him if he does not.Rex, by this time, is starting to act a little more diplomatically and has paid for the table, but his hot head cannot countenance the threats they are making.  He cannot help it; he roars at them again.  More Delphinite guards arrive, and Rex warily edges into the street, where he is surrounded by a phalanx of staff-wielding, hard-looking wizards.  He is starting to get the feeling that he is in trouble.  When he hears a murmuring from the crowd gathering to watch the sparks fly, and another spellcaster (attired in some ominous-looking robes) arrives, he grits his teeth.***Gerontius heads downstairs, whistling happily.  He has finished all the trading he intends to do with the portable store.  He snorts, thinking of Rex’s rashness.  Kicked out of the store! he thinks, and shakes his head.  I wouldn’t want that to happen to me!  He looks up halfway down the stairs and is surprised to see all the people in the room looking outside.  Then he hears a muffled, familiar roar.  “Oh no,” he groans, and as soon as he gets a glimpse of what is going on he rushes upstairs.  “Hey, the half-dragon is in trouble!” he tells his companions.  They all descend the stairs and rush outside.“What are you doing?” cries Horbin.  “What’s going on?” “This creature has threatened us and is obviously not to be trusted to walk the streets,” the man with the ominous robes declares.  “We are taking him away.”“Oh no you’re not,” Rex rumbles.“You will surrender, or we will drop you underwater and drown you,” the man snaps.  “You try my patience!”“Now hold on just a minute,” Horbin calls.  “He’s our friend, we can watch him for you-“The man sneers.  “And who are you?  Are you a Delphinite?  Are you even a wizard?  How can you contain a threat like this?  And would you trust someone you have never met to watch a potential mass murderer on the streets?  No, I think not.  We will deal with him according to Delphinate law and custom.”“And what’s that?  Will you just execute him, or will he at least get a trial?” Horbin demands.“The Delphinate kills no one without trial,” the wizard sniffs.Veil, meanwhile, has turned invisible.  Now she changes form, using her racial abilities to turn into an elven child.  Then she allows herself to become visible again.  She watches the negotiations, and she can already tell that things are going against Rex pretty badly- moreso once the innkeeper adds his loud voice to the complaints. More and more this sounds like he brought this on himself, thinks Horbin regretfully.  He sighs.***Proto is returning from his long debriefing with his superiors.  It took all day- longer than he would have thought- and was exhaustive.  Fortunately, as a warforged, he feels no fatigue- at least, not like a meat creature would.  Hey, what’s that crowd gathered around the inn for?  Are those security forces?  Proto double times towards the scene.  “What’s going on?” he demands.The wizard with the ominous robes turns to Proto, and the warforged immediately recognizes him.  Oh dear, Proto thinks. “This creature has been causing a disturbance,” the wizard says, and explains the situation to Proto.“I can’t leave you guys for a day without you Lestering thins up!” Proto explodes.*   “I told you to stay out of trouble!”  He turns to Rex, his tinny voice full of anger.  “You must go with these people now,” he declares.  “You will be given a trial and a chance to free yourself in time.”Rex glares all around him.“The alternative,” says the lead wizard, “is obliteration.”  Proto quails at this, but he knows he must stand by his countrymen, come what may.“No!” shouts a young voice.  To everyone’s surprise, an elven child rushes out and grabs Rex’s leg.  “He’s nice, don’t lock him up!  I like him!”  And the elven girl starts bawling.“Let go, child,” says the wizard gently.  Rex looks embarrassed for a moment, then puts his glare back on.  “Let go,” the wizard says again, more harshly.”Rex, you must go peacefully,” urges Proto.“I’m starting to agree,” says Horbin.  “Little girl, you should really come over here and let go of him before something bad happens.”“No!” the little girl cries.  “I’m staying with him!”Rex balls and unballs his fists.  The Delphinite says, “If you wish to stay with him, you will be locked up with him.”“Fine!”“Rex, will you come peacefully?” Proto demands.“...I’ve been trying to just leave for a while now,” he grits out.“It is too late for that.  It was too late when you started committing crimes on Delphinite soil.”  The head wizard again fixes Rex with a hard stare.“Crimes,” scoffs Rex.“Go peacefully, Rex,” Horbin urges.  He glances at all the spectators.  If battle breaks out here, there would doubtless be some serious magical destruction going on.  How many people might be killed or hurt?  “Yes, Rex, come peacefully,” Proto agrees.  “It is your only hope.”“All right, I’ll go,” Rex finally declares, “but you’d better watch yourselves.”Gerontius suppresses a grin at that.  Stupid move, Rex, he thinks.  You better keep your mouth shut, or that hole you’re in is just going to get deeper.The guards, accompanied by Proto, lead Rex away.  The elf child (let’s call a horse a horse and name her Veil) clings to him the whole way.***8/29/370 O.L.G.“God dammit, Rex,” Horbin mutters.  “We could have used your help, and now you’re going to rot in jail.  Dammit!!  You were in the Delphinate!”  He sighs, then turns his mind to more important things- the fiend of the Pit of Blendorag.Horbin communes.Does the pit fiend know we’re coming? Yes.Can we teleport to his locale? Not safely.Is he always true seeing? No.Can he dispel magic more than 1/day? Yes.More than 3/day? Yes.More than 5/day? Yes.Is there a limit to how many times per day he can dispel? No.Will silver nonaligned weapons harm him? Not much.Will silver good weapons? Yes.Does he have any physical entrance to his lair other than through the top of the cone? N/A.He has increased his security at the cone entrance since our previous attack on Blendorag- true? N/A.Will he come out if challenged? Very unlikely.Is he fully susceptible to sonics? Yes.Will be encountering him on his home plane? No.Is teleportation unsafe because as soon as we do a bunch of powerful beings will try to kick our asses? No.Is it because magical effects make it more dangerous? Yes.Can we teleport out of there safely? Yes.Can we gate in from another plane? Yes and no.If we try to gate in will we arrive at our destination? No.Will we gate in to the same plane as the pit fiend? Yes.Will we gating to where the pit fiend holds court? No.Is the Forinthian threat to Dorhaus growing? Yes.“Dammit,” Horbin curses again.  Then, “Thank you, Dexter,” he murmurs.  Next Time: Attack on the Stinking Pit!*The real irony here is that Proto and Lester are played by the same player. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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