Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 2830995" data-attributes="member: 1210">8/16/371 O.L.G., the Hall of the Bishops Elector, in the Cathedral of Fuzia, DorhausHorbin looks around the chamber nervously.  Baron Lillamere stands close by, here to give him moral support.  There are many clergymen here, their vestments rustling as they discuss matters of theology or politics or both.  Eyes keep turning towards Horbin as they converse.  Many of them are hostile to him, including the dwarven Bishop of Valonia, whom Horbin’s companions recently killed (though he is back now).  Many more of them are no doubt wary of Horbin, given his ecclesiastically liberal reputation.  After all, Horbin is just a figurative inch away from being a heretic.And yet High Priest (and Emperor) Prayzose has nominated him for the prestigious position of Bishop of West Dorhaus.  Prayzose!  Who would have thought that he would be backing me up, Horbin thinks in wonder, and then shakes his head to clear it.  He will need all his wits for this; these men and women are free-willed, and probably strong-willed.  They are, after all, the electors of the Church of the Light, and his confirmation hearings are about to begin.  The people in the hall are slowly taking their seats, and the sounds of conversation are dying little by little.“Don’t worry,” Baron Lillamere murmurs to Horbin in an attempt to reassure his friend.  “I don’t think Prayzose would back you if he couldn’t get you confirmed.”Horbin nods.  He isn’t entirely certain whether he hopes Baron Lillamere is right or not... Bishop!  He shakes his head.  He certainly never would have expected such a high position back when he started his career.  Hell, he never would have expected it at all, ever- he was never philosophically in line enough with his nominal superiors.  Always, he has been on the fringes of acceptable theological theory.  Yet here I am, he thinks.  He shakes his head again in wonder.  It seems unreal. Some of his competition for the position is also present.  Prime among them- and the next most likely candidate for Bishop- is one of Queen Moira’s cousins, Rethona.  Maybe I should back out and let her take it, Horbin thinks wryly,giving her a quiet, polite greeting.  Her reply, while not rude, is... subdued.  Bishop Tarric of East Dorhaus studies him over a cup of wine, taking his measure.  They have never met before, yet they might soon be... colleagues, of a sort.  Usually the Bishoprics of West and East Dorhaus are, to some extent, rivals; but now, with Malford’s kingdom at war with the Tiger Empress, Horbin silently vows to work together with Bishop Tarric.Soon- slowly- the hearings commence.  There are a few short orations about Horbin’s fitness or unfitness to lead Western Dorhaus.  Soon the questions come: questions about his beliefs, hard questions about Horbin’s attitudes towards (and, by inference, willingness to obey) superiors in the church.  There are harangues about the party’s recent... indiscretions on Valonia.  Yet Horbin speaks well, persuasively arguing that his greatest interest is the good of the people of Dorhaus.  He points out that he had no part in the attack on the orcs, instead trying to stop combat from breaking out at all.  He exhorts the virtues of the Light and lays out in simple terms the good that he can do.  He declares that even Dexter traveled in questionable company (witness Lochenvare and others) and that even the most dangerous person may come into the Light (witness Dexter Himself).  He claims that he attempts to steer his companions, some of the most powerful men and women on all of Cydra, to do good.  He provides them with moral guidance.  Horbin’s words are logical, his tone is persuasive and his sincerity is apparent.In the end, of course, there is a vote.  Everyone except the Bishops Elector, a select group of powerful members of the clergy, retires from the hall.  Outside, more than one person glares at Horbin, and more than one smiles at him too.“You’re in,” Baron Lillamere predicts confidently.Within the chamber, the electors debate fiercely.  The dwarven Bishop of Valonia promises, “If you elect him, you elect trouble!  Just look at the company he keeps!”The Cardinal of Moire, a half-elf named Renderai, objects, “You can’t judge a man by the company he keeps.”Another of the clergymen answers, “You must judge a man somehow.”Cardinal Renderai says, “Yet Horbin makes a good point in his own defense.  How much worse might his companions make things were he not there to moderate them?”“Moral guidance,” nods Bishop Tarric.  “There is something to what he says.”“Do not forget,” rumbles the Valonian cleric, “he killed me.  I cannot believe we are even considering electing him!”“He did not kill you, my friend,” the Archbishop of Forinthia soothes, “his friends did.  If he truly did not get involved in the battle, except to try to prevent it, I do not think we can fault him.”“He did nothing to stop the slaughter!  Nothing!  They killed paladins!  And they decided to kill the Warlord, who is the best thing we can possibly hope for from the orcs, without thinking about the repercussions!”“They acted rashly, from ignorance,” nods the Bishop of Gorel.  He scowls.  “Horbin is careless.  I hear he is given to drink.  I don’t believe he can be trusted to behave with the appropriate discretion.”The Archbishop of Forinthia looks pensive.  “That would, inevitably, expose him to certain... sensitive information.”  He frowns thoughtfully.  “A rogue bishop of his power would be, ah, unsettling.”  He shakes his head gravely.  “I must counsel against his election.  Rethona is a superior candidate, with no blemish of scandal or heterodoxy.  I say we elect her.”“Do not give up on Horbin so easily, my friends,” Renderai urges.  “Look beyond the mistakes he has made.  Rethona is strictly orthodox, but she is... unimaginative.  She does not compell people.  Horbin’s charisma, as well as his sheer power, make him a very attractive potential bishop.”They argue for some time.  In the end the vote is nearly tied.  Horbin is confirmed over Rethona by a single vote.  ***8/18/371 O.L.G., 10 a.m., Brelana, DorhausA message to the party, in care of Baron Lillamere, arrives via orcish mage.  It is from the Warlord of Valonia.Baron Lillamere, We demand the return of our stolen gear as well as that of our murdered bodyguards.  If you refuse we will take it as tantamount to an act of war, and we will demand satisfaction from your King.Warlord of Orokeuse,Ragash ZelgarChakar snorts in disgust.  Our heroes openly scoff at the note, then promise the orcish wizard that they will back to the warlord soon.  The orcish wizard is plainly not satisfied.  He stalks off stiffly and teleports away. “Give him back his stuff,” scoffs Alcar. ***11 a.m.“We have to deal with the Bastion of Law soon,” muses Lillamere.  “I think we should take care of the worm portal near my people on Valonia first,” Gerontius asserts.  Inoke nods.“There really isn’t much point in doing something half-way,” Chakar points out.Baron Lillamere sighs.  “The longer we give the forces of Law to prepare, the worse it will be for us.  On the other hand, I can’t argue with helping Gerontius’ people first.”  “Yeah, it probably won’t take very long,” smirks Gerontius.In less than half an hour they are all gathered, armed, and ready.  Then a simple superior teleport takes them to where they need to go: the exit tunnel the worms that they had previously fought came out of.  (They decide against teleporting directly to the portal, as it is likely to be heavily guarded.)Down into the tunnels our heroes go, and soon enough they run into trouble in the form of a slaad as black as pitch.  There is a brief, furious battle, but the frog-like outsider cannot withstand Gerontius’ skill with daggers.*  It does demonstrate a deadly capability, however: its bite leaves a twisting, burning mass of Chaos on Alcar!  The Chaos sizzles and pops as it eats away at the Angel of Food.  Even after the slaad’s demise it continues, and Alcar groans and heals himself through the pain, and eventually the Chaos burns itself out.  He looks at the others, shaken.  “A few of those bites and you wouldn’t be worried about much of anything else!” he grumbles. The party continues along the way until they tire of the winding tunnels and maze-like twists and turns.  “Enough’s enough,” Lillamere declares.  “We’re just going to get lost in here at this rate.  I’m sure we can handle whatever is waiting for us.”  He casts superior teleport and the party moves with much greater accuracy to their goal.  In less than an instant, they are in a chamber whose only illumination comes from a flickering grey glow surrounding a portal.  Another of the black slaadi, looming larger than the one that they faced before, and two huge stinking worms, crawling with other worms, dance and writhe in the chamber.  Almost immediately, one of the gargantuan worms belches out a spray of necromantic acid.  It reminds Horbin strongly of Bile Mountain (-no, it’s Angelfire Mountain, he reminds himself) as the foul fluid saps the health of almost everyone.  The second worm vomits out a mass of needle-like things; it is only when the ‘needles’ assemble themselves into human skeletons that our heroes realize they are bones.  Our heroes burst into action.  The slaad proves magically potent, ruining Wankerman and attempting to implode Gerontius.  But our heroes are incredibly powerful.  Alcar’s mass heal brings the group back to full health and blows the skeletons apart, and then the party lays into their foes.  Things get rocky when another two slaadi show up, answering the big one’s call; but our heroes manage to tear them apart.**  Again, Gerontius’ lingering damage is key to defeating the slaadi.  Even when the black one pronounces a word of Chaos, there is never much doubt.  Inoke’s massive blows devastate the worm-things.  Chakar even manages to leap momentarily upon one of the worms and grapple it – if only for an instant!  Alcar charges in on one of the worms, but it snatches him from the air and crushes him in its mouth.  He groans and cries out as his blood and the necromantic acid drooling from the worm’s mouth smear his body.  Chakar springs in to try to free him, but the worm smashes him away badly mauled.  He slumps, unconscious and dying, to the ground. Another mass heal, this one from Horbin, and Chakar is conscious.  He rolls through an abundant step and out of danger, then regains his feet.  Flame strikes, destruction spells and worse blast out, back and forth.  Our heroes pour out an incredible inferno of deadly magical energy, devastating their foes!  It is only a few more moments before the worms and slaadi are finally defeated.  Then our heroes take a moment to regain their wind.  “All right.”  Inoke pulls on his gloves of seal portal.  “I’ll finish this,” he says.  With a touch, the chaos portal goes dormant, and he does.Next Time: Lester and Orbius return!  A note, delivered by arrow!  What’s the best way to keep track of a party that’s constantly mind blanked?  And- Bile Mountain??*Gerontius has the Lingering Damage epic feat and was sneak attacking the slaad about 3-6 times per round.  That means 3-6 times that the slaad takes sneak attack damage again the next round.**A black slaad and two advanced ulgustastra = EL 27.  Granted, the party is big, but... damn, they tore this up!  It was a seven-round fight though- pretty long for combat at this level.</blockquote>

Verification