(IC) PLANESCAPE: Intrigue

[Nordom]

As Orris continued to levitate upwards, his vantage point provided a haunting view of the city in ruin. The flames that consumed the buildings below cast eerie, dancing shadows on the crumbling facades. Smoke billowed into the reddened sky, obscuring the once-familiar landmarks and giving the scene an otherworldly, apocalyptic quality. Amidst this desolation, several distinct scenes caught Orris' attention.

Just beyond the alcove, Izek stood amidst the flickering glow of the flames approaching two humans by the catapult. One man was manic and fervent, while the other exuded a pragmatic air of authority. His eyes also caught sight of Grim, standing firm beside Izek, as they engaged in a tense exchange with the two strangers by the catapult. Grim's stance appeared non-threatening as one of the men approached her with a weapon.

Below Orris, Kachilk'cha found herself quickly being engulfed by the encroaching fire. The alcove that once offered a semblance of safety now burned around her, the razorvine and structures succumbing to the hungry flames. Her form was a silhouette in the inferno, and though she wasn't yet burning, it must have been getting hot. Smoke rose from the alcove and insulted his nostrils.

To Orris' right, beyond the alcove of tenements, a pile of dead bodies... some human, some orc, approximately 30 total... lay heaped together, a figure with a black bird mask stood nearby. The plague doctor was poised to set the bodies alight. The firelight played upon the bird-mask's eerie visage, casting long, shadows across the macabre scene.

To his left on the other side of the tenements, a group of armored figures surrounded a man adorned in fine blue robes. The contrast between the opulent attire and the dilapidated surroundings was stark. Were they guards? Thugs? The scene hinted at a power struggle.

Throughout it all, screams carried over from deeper in the city.

 

[DammitVictor]

Kachilk'cha reluctantly abandons the alcove-- and the possible patients within-- and moves to observe the plague doctor and make what observations she can.

 

[Nordom]

Kachilk'cha approached a scene of unutterable horror. A towering pyre cast flickering shadows over a morbid tableau—the intertwined forms of human and orc bodies, united not entirely in death - as she could make out a few survivors. The remains bore the cruel mark of what she now understood was the plague. Black ichor emerged from their skin like sinister tattoos that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly vitality. Among the macabre assembly, a handful of wretched souls writhed in the clutches of the plague's grasp. Their eyes and mouths exuded that same viscous obsidian ichor that trickled down their faces like a malevolent mockery of tears. The substance oozed from their lips, an unsettling parody of speech, as the occasional desperate moan was stifled by the curse. Even one as fervent as the thri-kreen would be demoralized by how far-gone they seemed.

The plague doctor, swathed in ragged robes moved with an air of somber purpose. The tattered attire rustled in an eerie symphony with each step, a haunting melody of despair that intermingled with the occasional moan from one of those in near-death, and the off-putting scream from the town at large. The doctor's countenance was obscured by a grotesque mask, a fusion of avian and bestial features. The eyes, hollow and devoid of warmth, bore an uncanny intensity, seeming to pierce through the fabric of reality itself. The beak-like projection, both functional and symbolic, concealed the doctor's intentions as it delivered potent elixirs and treatments with equal measure.

In gloved hands, the doctor wielded a white bone staff, its twisted form adorned with trinkets that jingled and chimed. He was humming softly as he walked around the pile, pointing the staff towards the center as embers emerged from the bony confines and onto the (near) corpses. It appeared to be an instrument to diagnose and mend, to provide solace to the tormented, or in this case - to mercifully end the agony of those irrevocably ensnared by the plague's cruel design.

For now, Kachilk'cha's approach was unnoticed.

 

[Necropolitan]

Izek had seen many horrors in his time in the Blood War. It was strangely comforting to realize there were still some he hadn't experienced.

At least the half-orc next to him seemed to be on his side.

"What's going on?"

Best not to give away too much information. No telling what would set these cleansers off.

If need be he could fight his way out or make use of a more powerful spell to teleport, but that would just leave him outside this city wherever they were. If he could get allies here so much the better and for now the others he was transported here with seemed his best bet for that.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Spoiler: Orris Hariri - Mini-sheet

Name: Orris Hariri Race: Air Genasai HP: 44/44 AC: 16 (18 shield)	Pass Perc: 10 Pass Inv: 10 Pass Ins: 13 Initiative: +2	Spoiler: languages Auran Common Speed: 35 Size: Medium
Lay on hands: 25/25 Divine Senses 3/5	Rapier To Hit: +5 Damage: 1d8+2	Spell Save DC: 15
Spoiler: Stats(saves) STR: 10 +0 DEX: 14 +2 CON: 14 +2 INT: 10 +0 WIS: 10 +1 (+4) CHA:18 +4 (+7)	Spoiler: Skills Deception: 10* Intimidate +7 Insight +3 History: +3 Persuasion: 7 *expertise	Spoiler: spells Slots 1st: [] [] [] [] 2nd: [] [] 1/Long Rest: []Feather Fall; [X} Levitate; Prepared spells Cantrip: Shocking Grasp; Toll the Dead; Decompose 1st Heroism; Shield of Faith; compelled duel; Charm Person*; Exped retreat* 2nd Locate Object, Invisibility*,Aid; Mirror Image*

---

Orris, alone, took in the scene and weighed the pros and cons. If he went with the half-orc (adventurer?) and the human...conjurer? Demonologist? - then he could possibly help them find information about where they'd been plane shifted to. Going to the plague doctor had its own benefits. He could make sure that another potential ally wasn't alone and he could, maybe, find more information from the doctor - or even better - from the dying patients.

But...the man in the blue robes had the means to help them. Orris wasn't sure what was happening but it looked like the man might be in trouble but Orris wasn't sure he could help the blue robed man. At least not against that many people. But as the fires grew, he knew he had to choose right away.

Orris landed on the roof of a building and began to run towards the man in the robes. When he came to the edge of a roof-top, he simply leaped and let momentum carry him to the next building as the levitate spell kept him aloft. He ran from building to building until he got close enough to hear what was happening.

---

Spoiler: OOC

Levitate lets you float in place and it lets you pull yourself along. I kind of figured you could just levitate low enough that your feet touch the ground so you can run and when you jump across, momentum would do the work of bringing you across...and then you lower yourself down again and keep running. the spell works for 10 minutes.

 

[Li Shenron]

As Grim feels the attempt to probe her mind, she instinctively goes on the defensive and resist a bit, even though she doesn't feel it's harmless. Trying to stay calm and to look cooperative as well as non-threatening: "Look, if you there's something you want to tell me, you can speak in the open, nothing to hide from my buddies..."

 

[Nordom]

Grim's guarded response seemed to resonate with the human, who gave her a gruff nod of approval. It was as if he recognized a kindred spirit in her cautious approach, an acknowledgment of the need for prudence in this unfamiliar and treacherous setting.

With a hint of grudging respect: "Fair enough, no need for secrets among potential allies." His voice held a rough edge.

His gaze shifted, briefly to Izek "This town's rotting from within," he continued, his voice lowered as if divulging classified information. "There's a sickness that's taken hold, a darkness that's twisting everything it touches."

His attention headed over about 100 feet to one side of the alcove entrance, towards where the thri-kreen headed, his brown eyes flashed with a glint of urgency. "Those cleansers—they're hell-bent on stopping the spread, even if their methods are... extreme. Burning out the plague, they say. It might be the only way to prevent the whole town from slipping into the abyss again."

His unstable compatriot stared unsettlingly at Izek and Grim- presumably for signs of infection.

Though Izek, Grim, and Kachilk'cha were within eyeshot of each other, the other encounter unfolding was too far out of sight.

=====


Orris rose higher, his levitation carrying him aloft as he maneuvered into a position just above the building. From this vantage point, he could observe the scene unfolding below with an unobtrusive eye.

The hunched figures came into view - five thugs.. or perhaps guards surrounding one that was not like the others. At the center stood a man bedecked in fine blue robes, the fabric shimmering with an otherworldly sheen that caught the feeble light of the smoldering surroundings. His stance exuded an air of studied elegance, his poise suggesting a man accustomed to the grandeur of arcane power.

Orris's trained eye noted the intricate sigils woven into the fabric. The way the man's fingers idly traced patterns in the air hinted at a depth of magical knowledge that went beyond mere rote spells. The arcane energy seemed to thrum around him, a visible aura of power that danced in delicate tendrils. The man's haughty voice cut through the air, laced with equal parts amusement and disdain. "Look, I did not just fall into a portal to be insulted by a group of cretins with terrible fashion sense." His tone tinged with a touch of arrogance that seemed almost fitting for a wizard of his stature.

As for the five thugs surrounding him, their brutish demeanor contrasted starkly with his refined presence. One of them, a burly human figure with a sneer etched onto his scarred face, stepped forward, pretending to respond to one of the others: "Eviscerate the fancy-boy, you say?" he growled, his voice dripping with menace. "I'd be happy to oblige."

The wizard's response was nothing short of remarkable—instead of cowering or faltering, he met the threat with an unflappable nonchalance. "Oh, please," he drawled, a condescending smile curving his lips. "I've seen more intimidating appetizers at a garden party."

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Spoiler: Orris Hariri - Mini-sheet

Name: Orris Hariri Race: Air Genasai HP: 44/44 AC: 16 (18 shield)	Pass Perc: 10 Pass Inv: 10 Pass Ins: 13 Initiative: +2	Spoiler: languages Auran Common Speed: 35 Size: Medium
Lay on hands: 25/25 Divine Senses 3/5	Rapier To Hit: +5 Damage: 1d8+2	Spell Save DC: 15
Spoiler: Stats(saves) STR: 10 +0 DEX: 14 +2 CON: 14 +2 INT: 10 +0 WIS: 10 +1 (+4) CHA:18 +4 (+7)	Spoiler: Skills Deception: 10* Intimidate +7 Insight +3 History: +3 Persuasion: 7 *expertise	Spoiler: spells Slots 1st: [] [] [] [] 2nd: [] [] 1/Long Rest: []Feather Fall; [X} Levitate; Prepared spells Cantrip: Shocking Grasp; Toll the Dead; Decompose 1st Heroism; Shield of Faith; compelled duel; Charm Person*; Exped retreat* 2nd Locate Object, Invisibility*,Aid; Mirror Image*

---

floating among the old rooftops, Orris moves closer to observe but does not intervene unless he feels the Blue Robed man needs help.

---

Spoiler: OOC

I’ll get closer and be ready to jump down in a dramatic fashion if needed.

 

[Li Shenron]

"Indeed burning everything to the ground is a bit extreme, not to mention potentially even useless... how can they be sure mere fire is enough to stop it? What if the plague is magic in nature?

But I get you two are not among 'those cleansers'. And that what's happening or risks to happen here would not be the first time. What else do you know about this threat?"

 

[Nordom]

The stack of bodies lay like discarded puppets amidst the desolation. Izek's experienced eyes scanned the macabre arrangement from a distance, noting the sinister tattoos that marred the flesh of the victims. The black ichor oozed and contorted along the limbs and torsos of the deceased. Its presence was palpable, a malign energy that seemed to defy the laws of nature. Yet, as Izek's innate sense for magic reached out, he detected no trace of the Weave's familiar threads, nor the shadowy tendrils of shadow magic. It was as if this affliction operated on an entirely different plane of existence.

The supernatural essence that emanated from the ichor was undeniable, an unsettling force that stirred the hairs on the back of Izek's neck. The substance seemed to writhe with a life of its own, pulsating and undulating as if animated by some malevolent intelligence.

===


The voice of reason regarded Grim with a measured gaze, the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes momentarily quelled by her words. "You raise valid concerns," he replied, his tone pragmatic and thoughtful. "Fire alone might not suffice against a plague of potential magical origin. In situations like this, rash actions often yield unintended consequences."

His gaze shifted towards the flames that licked at the edges of the alcove, the encroaching inferno a stark reminder of the urgency of their predicament. "As for what we know, Plague-Mort has seen its share of trials," he began, his voice carrying a weight of experience. "This is not the first time such a threat has emerged. The town has faced similar challenges before, and each time, it has required a delicate balance of strategy and force to contend with."

Thoughtfully: "Whatever your intentions, it's clear you're not aligned with blind zealotry. If we are to navigate these treacherous waters, perhaps we can find common ground." The voice of reason's words held a hint of hope, a fragile thread amidst the chaos that enveloped them.

===

The thugs closed in, their blows aimed at the figure before them. The man in the blue robes remained an island of composure. His fingers moved in swift and intricate patterns, a dance of arcane command that brushed against the very fabric of reality. In the nick of time, just as the first thug's blade descended with deadly intent, a shimmering distortion materialized beside the blue-robed man. The portal, a manifestation of the man's skill in the arcane arts, opened like a gateway to another dimension. The thugs' attacks met empty air, their weapons passing harmlessly through the illusionary afterimage that remained in the figure's place.

With a knowing smile, the man in the blue robes seized the opportunity. His movements were fluid and practiced as he stepped through the portal with a confidence that bespoke a deep understanding of the art. The rift sealed behind him, leaving the thugs bewildered and disoriented. Orris saw a shimmering glow just a few feet away on the rooftops, where the man re-emerged, locking eye contact.