Pathfinder 1E IC - Tideruler: The Fall of Laholt

[Archon Basileus]

EVERYONE

There is no doubt. It is an eclipse, caused by a moon... Not quite the gaelian moon, though. The heroes know that there's no eclipse scheduled. Plus, the transition happened in a surprisingly fast manner - no sign of a second luminar in the sky for the entire day, and all of a sudden that thing was there... The sphere that covers the sun hovers menacingly over the land, but the red veins are enough to determine its strange nature: this is not the celestial body that crosses the sky during the night. The thing moves at an astounding speed, hiding the last visible areas of the sun behind its own ominous form. Soon only the corolla is visible, and a strange sort of darkness falls upon the land. A red filter covers the vistas in a strange, blood-tinged night.

[Arduniel knows that this is in fact an eclipse; what you have is darkness, not mere shadows. Charlotte can precise the dates for the next eclipses, and she's also sure this one isn't expected.]


As the crowd assimilates the idea, their gazes remain fixed at the strange thing. At first, everyone remains silent, meditating about the happenstance. But soon hushed murmurs begin to surface here and there, cogitating the origin of the strange phenomenon. The Fey just stand, surprised and curious, and even the pixies are somehow enticed by the affair.

The priestess turns within Daxio's embrace, hardily finding consolation.

"I tell you... The gods deny us..." - her voice is low, trembling as it declares their fate. "Galena should have cleansed it. The spirits of the depraved lords were still there... I fear she allied them instead of banishing them..."


[Ok, anyone can present theories, if so desired, through rolls. You'll tell me the hypothesis and give me the roll. Anything, from religion to arcane knowledge, goes. But, whatever you do, you must do it quickly, because....]

From the distance, amidst the grey elevations from the east, an explosion of cries is followed by the blowing of horns. It seems as if the entire mountains suddenly came to life, raging in unison. Against the reddened skies, they look even darker, and the crevices and caves, occupied by the gnomes ages ago, seem even deeper by contrast. Suddenly, a small fire lights up, right between two mounds. Another follows, and then another, and another yet. Soon, mountains and cave mouths are all lit, small fires fighting against the enduring darkness. The cries intensify, more numerous than before, and the horns sound once more....

Pellanor rises, looking at the distant mountains...

"Treason..." - he mumbles, looking at the closest heroes. All at once, it falls upon him. Something stirred down in the caves, and was now ready to deliver the blow...
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=87106]MetaVoid[/MENTION] [MENTION=1231]Kaodi[/MENTION] [MENTION=6847138]Charlotte of Oz[/MENTION] [MENTION=6801311]KahlessNestor[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION]

 

[Kaodi]

Allowing himself to be drawn after Moss, Batknight reaches behind his back with his left hand and gives the shield strapped to his back a shake. "Wake up," he says. He pulls up the edge of his shield and a furry little head with big pointy ears pokes out, followed by a tiny claw attached to a leathery wing. The bat grips the heavy cloak and squeezes out of the hollow between that and the inside surface of the shield.

Making its way up to Batknight's shoulder it blinks a couple times and then tries to use its little claws to rub its eyes. The little bat appears to point upwards towards the sky and starts squeaking rapidly. "Yes, I noticed," he says dryly.

The knights turns his head to say to the others behind him, "Meet Bat-Bat, my companion." 'Bat-Bat' however starts squeaking very angrily and awkwardly hopping up and down even as he still clings to the cloak. "That will have to wait for later," says Batknight, raising his right hand to point towards the flickering lights on the mountain. "Our working vacation is all out of 'vacation' but has left us a pile of 'work'. I need you to fly up there and get a closer look."

Bat-Bat squeaks once more plaintively before detaching himself from Batknight's shoulder and ascending into the darkness. "Be careful," his master calls after him.

 

[Neurotic]

"I'll see what can be seen. Come after me as you can." Moss launches himself after the bat, but quickly falls lower to fly among the trees, hidden from casual observer.

[roll0]
1D20+17 = [15]+17 = 32

 

[KahlessNestor]

Laholt/Alessia
Afternoon
Round 0

“Fear not,” Daxio assured the priestess, giving her a reassuring kiss. “I don’t know much about the gods, but send up your prayers, and we’ll figure out what is happening.”

He turned his attention away from the strange, new moon and toward the torchlight flickering from the mountains, followed by shouts. “Seems like we have more trouble. Is there a safe place you can get these people?”

[sblock=Actions and Rolls]
Move:
Action:
[/sblock]

[sblock=Ministats]
HP: 122/122 NL: 0
AC: 19 FF: 14 T: 15
CMD: 20
Fort: 10 Ref: 10 Will: 13
Armed: Dagger
Arcane Reservoir: 9/15/day
Consume Spells: 5/5/day

Conditions: Detect Magic (114 r), Message (1197 r)

Spells Prepared
0 (9): Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Message, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic
1 (7/7, prep 5): Burning Hands, Charm Person, Disguise Self, Magic Missile, Vanish
2 (6/6, prep 5): Darkvision, Hideous Laughter, Invisibility, Scorching Ray, See Invisibility
3 (6/6, prep 4): Dispel Magic, Hold Person, Suggestion, Fly
4 (6/6, prep 3): Charm Monster, Confusion, Greater Invisibility
5 (6/6, prep 2): Dominate Person, Hold Monster
6 (3/3, prep 1): Mass Suggestion

Spell Book:
0: All
1: Burning Hands, Charm Person, Disguise Self, Enlarge Person, Featherfall, Grease, Liberating Command, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield, Silent Image, Vanish
2: Darkvision, Hideous Laughter, Invisibility, Scorching Ray, See Invisibility
3: Dispel Magic, Hold Person, Suggestion, Fly
4: Black Tentacles, Charm Monster, Confusion, Greater Invisibility
5: Dominate Person, Feeblemind, Hold Monster
6: Greater Dispel, Mass Suggestion
[/sblock]

 

[MetaVoid]

Arduniel looks up and frowns. "Furia, go! Check what's going on. Don't lose the bat! And keep it safe."
From his staff all the metallic parts unfurl, take the incomprehensible rune shape that flashes angry red for the moment before reforming into metallic bat. It darts off after the real one.

Raising his voice over the din of the inn the elven historian calls for order.
"Everyone, go home! Now! We'll let you know what is going on after investigation. Now hurry and don't panic, heroes of prophecy are here! Everything is happening as foretold. Pray and believe, the world is as it should be!"

To the group around him he speculates even as he follows them out.
"This cannot be a creature, it is simply too big. But it cannot be celestial event, it would require magic on the scope of the ancients epic spells. It could maybe be a curse of this land? Or powerful ritual, again, bound to this place."

[roll0]

 

[CharlotteOz]

"Instead of blaming gods and panicking, we could blame anything, up to and including illusionary magic on a massive scale, and not panic. I happen to know the next scheduled eclipse isn't for some time yet, and if we're suddenly dealing with a new moon we're all in bigger trouble than plague."

Diplomacy roll to calm folks down.: 1D20+13+1D6 = [9]+13+[5] = 27


She looked to Arduniel as they departed the gathering. "I don't suppose anyone's up for flying up there and poking at it with a stick? That typically gets results."

 

[Archon Basileus]

EVERYONE

The combined efforts of both Arduniel and Charlotte are enough to drive the mob away. After Daxio's question, a baffled priestess recovers from the sudden kiss and, shaking her head, begins to conduct the others towards the western part of the Causeway. The group makes no fuss. It simply leaves with hung shoulders and muffled voices, that same stoic nobility still showing, even in the face of strangeness and disaster. It is not yet clear what the Fey actually make of the excess of novelty and information delivered in the last five minutes: the direct association of the arrivals with prophesied heroes, the sudden darkening of the skies and the lights on the mountains. Considering their general attitude, one can only imagine a fatalist posture before the events. They seem strangely... resigned to the circumstances.

The same thing cannot be said about the pixies and the Green Knights, though. The latter ones jolt out of the area, running towards danger, followed by a few men and women willing - and hopefully capable - of fighting. The first ones, on the other hand, fly around in a strange fanfare, following Moss and the bats as they move forward - and losing Moss in the process.

As hurried steps move across the Causeway and back towards the camp, a sudden burst of light shines northwest against the dark. From the Spiral, a beam of light rises. The entire structure seems to be covered by a shield all of a sudden, while from their many walls long doors open. They release a considerable flock of griffons, mounted by figures difficult to discern, given the distance. Arcane cries and potent spells agitate the air as the Spiral mages enter formation. Horns, loud and accute, resound up north, answered by the vibrating sound of their curved, graver cousins. The Hills of War sound the alarm, and the Pastures answer.


MOSS/BAT FAMILIARS

Moss splits from the bats, flying down, but keeping them on sight. The pixies struggle to follow them, burning illusion cantrips all around them. Stupid creatures! The bats are smart, though, and shake them off before they can do any damage, attracting any sort of unwanted attention. Beyond the sunken woods and the still lakes, now thrown in shadows, Moss and the bats find the clearings that lead to the mountain's face. The vision is terrifying: things probably escaladed and bred as they trudged through the city, and their investigations only stopped them from seeing it. At the vastness of the clearing, a mass of soldiers clad in all sorts of dark armor and apron fight the very few remaining druids and rangers. Blood already gathers on the floor. Beyond, the mountain face presents thousands of cave mouths, probably used not long ago by the very inhabitants of Alessia. Now, the dimly lit areas spit out rounds of soldiers, either jumping down or flying up. Bands of bats and ravens begin to intensify the darkness above, poured out from the caves and the mountain valleys beyond. Behind them, giant bats take dark riders to the skies, as winged nightmares come forth, carrying terrible knights. Shadows, vaguely human, make for the heights, preparing to meet the troops down below. Incantations of the blackest nature fill the air as fire begins to rain over the clearing, where the verdant soldiers and the dark harbingers struggle in a mass of tendrils, vines, snakes, wolves and birds of all sorts. Arrows fly around, flaming spheres cut through the lines, rays scorch and ice obliterates, as fire falls from the sky in areas that grow here and there. The dark ones clearly have the upper hand, and soon their flying armies will reach other parts of Alessia.

Moss blinks once, twice, contemplating the chaos unfolding. Yes, he realizes, as the troops cut down the last of the resistance, showing off dark faces, horned foreheads and terrible features: Drow, the demonic Dark Fey, are here!

EVERYONE


As the heroes prepare for the worst, they see how collected the city is before its impeding doom. It is almost as if they knew all along to what this all would lead. The last straw is sung when the Castle delivers its own answer: a flock of white owls flying upwards with an army of watchers rise to meet what now appears at the horizon as a cloud of flying enemies, probably mounted. Against the grey, lightless skies, the eyes of a aprehensive nation of Fey fall. They seem to contemplate the situation as they depart, depicting the scene with gazes that move between the distant east and the nearby heroes. Deep down, the heroes see a simple reaction, almost lost between the sound of the horns and the ever-growing gloom: hope. There was no need to reafirm who they were. They knew. They seem sad, guilty, almost. It is as if the revelation of the prophecy took this long only to make them prisoners of their own tale.

Pellanor and the priestess join the mob, climbing the mound that houses the Causeway and leads towards the Camp once more. From their midst, they glance at the heroes one last time, their eyes cold, brutal and sure. A hint of regret passes through the face of the priestess. The same can't be said of Pellanor. Others turn over their shoulders. The same eyes, the same posture.

Suddenly, Zyara understands why the stories she heard hadn't happened upon her before, dismissed as children folklore by her own thoughts; Daxio jumps at the same attitude, suddenly considering why they moved through the city on a lost dance, being left behind by his old friend Goliath, even at risk; the Bat understands why such a xenophobic city was so willing to accept him, a masked traveler with no background; Aranel comprehends the reason for that statue that seemed to mirror her own image; Arduniel finally understood why he was so lost through the brief hours of investigation, even living here; Charlotte opened her eyes to the fact that she had been confined with Galena most of her time till now, forced to ignore details, facts and important matters...

They knew! The entire city knew! And all of them, all of them, committed to an act bent on sucking the heroes in.

...

Damned Fey!


[Betrayed! Can you save Alessia? Will you save Alessia, even after realizing the treachery of the Fey? Let's make this one epic. After the heroes meet, we arrive at the true overture of our game! I hope you'll enjoy! Also, for those who like heavy metal, this is the song in my mind as I write the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wuvsnV0-zI&index=25&list=RDdykNYnmXlKI]
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6801311]KahlessNestor[/MENTION] [MENTION=6847138]Charlotte of Oz[/MENTION] [MENTION=1231]Kaodi[/MENTION] [MENTION=87106]MetaVoid[/MENTION]

 

[Neurotic]

Moss strafes the front line in front of Alessia defenders with his breath weapon.
"Defenders, help is on the way! Fall back!"

He makes a sharp turn behind the defenders and soars straight up spreading his wings wide so he can be seen across the distance. For the barest of moments, he hangs in the air as an oversized bat (bat symbol! )
"Group! Arduniel, bring everyone here!"
before dropping down and slamming one of the dark ones from above. He joins the defenders, clearing melee he couldn't clear with the breath weapon.


OOC: Message spell should still be active and with our level should have range > 300'

 

[MetaVoid]

Arduniel looks toward the melee and speaks in some unintelligible language. Under his feet runes shine for a moment and he raises above ground on small shimmering disc of moving letters.

"I can fly and pull others if you can make yourself float...or carry you on the tensers floating disc if anyone knows the spell. If all but few can fly, I can provide the spell to more than one."

 

[Kaodi]

Betrayed.

The Bat supposed this was the second great betrayal of his life. The ruthlessly with which it had been executed was so familiar. But... the look in their eyes. It was not the same look he had seen etched on his parents faces. Emotions were raging inside of him and-

A extraordinary feeling that was not his own pierced his consciousness. Recognition, apprehension, and fear, all mixed together. Along with an intensity he had never experienced before. Bat-Bat had seen the enemy and there was no mistaking who they were. The drow.

This fight was always going to be his fight.

Batknight calmly unslings his black shield and slips it onto his arm. As his cloak comes free the wind catches it and it begins blowing to the side behind him. He reaches out his free hand to Arduniel and as he does so his feet seem to break contact the ground.

His voice full of steely resolve the Bat says, "We may not be the heroes they deserve. But we are the ones they need."