Leif's The Hall of the Rainbow Mage, IC (A) [D&D 3.5]

[Leif]

The party have all been sent to check on the Mage Londar Brightrain, who lives in his mansion near the town of Hampton Hill. (You understand Londar's place to be on the other side of Hampton Hill.) You are on the road that leads to Hampton Hill, and you are just beginning to see the pall of smoke that is a hallmark of towns, so you anticipate arriving in Hampton Hill anon.

A - Are there any preparations to be made before your arrival?

B - Will you visit any location(s) in Hampton Hill, and, if so, which one(s)?

C - For a synopsis of the action so far, see post 418 of the OOC thread. There, you'll see that Sister Penora who is the mentor and dear friend of our own Blade of Justice (renau1g), went to Blade with an urgent message, to wit: "My dear friend, Learah Relight, has come to me with a problem -- it seems that her uncle Londar Brightrain, known to many as the Rainbow Mage, is missing. His mansion is near the town of Hampton Hill, scarcely a week's journey from here. I am giving you this charge: Go to Hampton Hill and discover the whereabouts or the final fate of Londar Brightrain. When you have solved the mystery, relate your findings to Learah Relight. She will be found in Hampton Hill at either the Red House Inn or the White Boar Inn. I have taken the liberty of assembling a group of companions to accompany you on this journey. They are: Whin Zacharius Roe, Nilah Jiv'undus, Kumar the Artificer, Vaidun Kale, and Lazarius Ventilius. They are all mighty men of great valor, and I wish you much success!"

Whatsamatter kinem, couldn't you remember that far back? hehe

You don't know what to expect when you get there. All you know is that Londar hasn't been heard from for awhile now. You've never met Londar before and don't know what he looks like, but you know that it would be a near impossibility for anyone to pose as a mage of Londar's power for very long at all. You're not sure just how powerful Londar is, just that he is a formidable mage. You don't know much about Hampton Hill, but I'll tell you that it's: Hampton Hill (Small Town): Conventional, AL N/G, 800 gp limit, Assets 4,000 gp, Population 1153, Mixed (human 89%, halfling 5%, elf 3%, dwarf 1%, gnome 1%, half-elf 1%).

As your reward for undertaking this task, you have each been promised a single magic item of your choice, value not to exceed 21,000 gp.

 

[kinem]

[sblock=ooc]Leif, who sent us? I take it that we are an established group and are working for someone? What do we get out of doing this job?

Are we expecting trouble (such as the mage being missing) or is this just to see how he's doing? Have we met him before? If not, do we know what he looks like? What time of day is it?

Do we have any idea how powerful the mage is compared to us?

Is there anything special in the town that we would know about, or have we never been there before and just expect an average town?

Thanks [/sblock]

 

[renau1g]

There, you'll see that Sister Penora who is the mentor and dear friend of our own Blade of Justice (renau1g), went to Blade with an urgent message, to wit: "My dear friend, Learah Relight, has come to me with a problem -- it seems that her uncle Londar Brightrain, known to many as the Rainbow Mage, is missing. His mansion is near the town of Hampton Hill, scarcely a week's journey from here. I am giving you this charge: Go to Hampton Hill and discover the whereabouts or the final fate of Londar Brightrain. When you have solved the mystery, relate your findings to Learah Relight. She will be found in Hampton Hill at either the Red House Inn or the White Boar Inn. I have taken the liberty of assembling a group of companions to accompany you on this journey. They are: Whin Zacharius Roe, Nilah Jiv'undus, Kumar the Artificer, Vaidun Kale, and Lazarius Ventilius. They are all mighty men of great valor, and I wish you much success!"

"It will be my honour Sister Penora, may the Lady of Strategy grant me the foresight to overcome any resistance in my way. I am aware of two of the men you've assembled and know them to be strong allies. My thanks." Blade of Justice replies to his mentor, leaving with a short bow and a smile, hidden beneath his dark red mask.

The party have all been sent to check on the Mage Londar Brightrain, who lives in his mansion near the town of Hampton Hill. (You understand Londar's place to be on the other side of Hampton Hill.) You are on the road that leads to Hampton Hill, and you are just beginning to see the pall of smoke that is a hallmark of towns, so you anticipate arriving in Hampton Hill anon.

A - Are there any preparations to be made before your arrival?

B - Will you visit any location(s) in Hampton Hill, and, if so, which one(s)?

As the party begins to form at their prescribed meeting place not far from town, the human who goes by Blade of Justice, or more simply Blade if the situation warrants a more expediency.

He looks over the assembled adventurers with a cautious eye, stopping his gaze momentarily on each of them. Apparently satisfied with the gathered allies, "Well met, as you're aware, we're here to investigate the disappearance of a mage, Londar Brightrain, also known as the Rainbow Mage. He is a wizard of some reputation so there are a few reasons that I can initially think of as to what has happened to him. One, A force more powerful than him overwhelmed the wizard, taking him prisoner or killing him, for reasons so far unknown. Two, the wizard fell victim to some experiments of his own doing, perhaps bringing something here, although that's unlikely as we aren't hearing any screams, or transporting ihmself elsewhere. My specialty is rooting out hidden evil, so we must take caution if the Red Knight chose to send me here. I suggest we head into town to see what the locals have heard from the mansion, or if they have any additional information on what he might have been working on." the dark-dressed man says.

He is barely five and a half feet tall, the brief portions of his skin you can see under his mask and other protective gear, glows with a soft silver sheen and his eyes are a cool aquamarine colour. Blade of Justice is of slender build, carrying a large wooden shield on his back, made of a unique deep red wood and adorned with a slightly brighter red image of a knight from a chess board. Oddly, he wears sandals despite the apparent lack of protection offered by them although you notice he leaves no footprints, or other signs of his movement behind. A heavily adorned scabbard hangs at his side, the pommel of a sword is visible, a blood-red ruby glistens softly on the pommel of the weapon.

 

[Rhun]

A tall, slender man, his dark skin advertising his Tashaltan heritage, nods at Blade's words. "Yes, we wizards are prone to make enemies, it seems. Those who crave our power." He flashes a wide smile, showing perfect white teeth, and adjusts his expenisve, well tailored vest. "For those who do not know me, I am Vaidun Kale of Waterdeep. Perhaps you've heard of my store? Kale's Fine Wines and Spiritis, at the intersection of the High Road and Trader's Way? No?" The man frowns a bit and continues. "Well, next time any of you are in the city, you should stop in."

"Well, to the business at hand. While we could spend some time in the nearby town to find out if anyone has seen or heard from Brightrain, I recommend we start at the source: His home. If we are unable to find anything there, we can return to town and ask around a bit. Unless one of you has a different way you would like to proceed in this investigation?"



Vaidun Kale

 

[kinem]

The red-haired gnome wears breastplate armor and carries a rapier.

"Well met all. I'm Sam Varso. A bit of a mage myself, my specialties are illusions and charms. I've a good eye for detail, too.

I agree, we might as well start at his home, but we will probably have to ask directions there anyway so it wouldn't hurt to ask a few other questions too."

I don't know if I should trust these guys ... but who could pass up such a lucrative offer?

Sam, not wanting to slow the tallfolk down, conjures himself a shadow phantom steed - his preferred form of transportation, although as a mere shadow creature far more fragile than he would like. The large, horselike 'creature' has a black head and body, gray mane and tail, and smoke-colored, insubstantial hooves that make no sound. It has what seems to be a saddle, bit, and bridle.

[sblock=ooc]Use shadow conjuration to emulate phantom steed; duration 12 hrs; move 240', AC 18, hp 4; water walk, air walk; can only be ridden by Sam.

He also cast mage armor on himself prior to the meeting, in case he comes under ghostly attack over the course of the day.[/sblock]

 

[renau1g]

A tall, slender man, his dark skin advertising his Tashaltan heritage, nods at Blade's words. "Yes, we wizards are prone to make enemies, it seems. Those who crave our power." He flashes a wide smile, showing perfect white teeth, and adjusts his expenisve, well tailored vest. "For those who do not know me, I am Vaidun Kale of Waterdeep. Perhaps you've heard of my store? Kale's Fine Wines and Spiritis, at the intersection of the High Road and Trader's Way? No?" The man frowns a bit and continues. "Well, next time any of you are in the city, you should stop in."

"Well, to the business at hand. While we could spend some time in the nearby town to find out if anyone has seen or heard from Brightrain, I recommend we start at the source: His home. If we are unable to find anything there, we can return to town and ask around a bit. Unless one of you has a different way you would like to proceed in this investigation?"

"I am afraid my travels have never taken me so far as Waterdeep. If I find myself there, I will be sure to sample your shop." Blade replies, "I am not sure the way to his home, just the general location. As Sam has said, I think we'll need to ask for directions"

[sblock=Rhun]
Nice picture, I always liked Valygar (and loved BGII), it brings back fond memories of my favourite CRPG.
[/sblock]

At the sight of the shadow steed, Blade turns to the gnome, nodding. "It's good to see some who are accomplished in the arcane arts amongst us. Our investigations will benefit greatly from a pair of intelligent magic-users, I'm sure your skills will show their great value."

 

[Rhun]

[sblock=OOC for Renau1g]
Thanks! I orginally used that pic for a ranger PC I used to play here, but when I couldn't find any decent pics of a dark-skinned wizard, I decided to reuse it.
[/sblock]

 

[kinem]

Sam grins at the big man (not so big for a human, but still plenty big) who calls himself Blade. "I'm sure we all will play our part."

I just hope we have a decent healer.

 

[Theroc]

Nilah stood off to the side of the others, a cloak covering his hair and obscuring his face, watching quietly as he spoke.

"I am Nilah Jiv'undus... and I am particularly good at foiling mages... and sabotaging their bodies... though I'm pretty good at killing just about anything susceptible to magic..." he made no apologies or worries over his choice of words. Simple and direct. "I suppose that makes me suited to hunt those who might harm a mage... no?" He grinned beneath his cowl, his violet eyes glinting from the light that managed to get beneath his mask. He looked about, almost always alert.

 

[kinem]

"Nilah, knowing that you are on our side makes me feel safer already.

Just remember, we were hired to investigate the disappearance, not to avenge it. We may need for the perpetrators - if there are any - to still be able to talk."