On a Spider's Advice...

[Uwohali]

Tyndra continues her study of the wizened man in front of her. The creepy feeling she got from him is faded a little, but still there nonetheless. Absently, she nods as Skaith looks at her. Quickly, she takes a look around the room, wondering what the disc could be interested in.

DM:

Spoiler

(Sense Motive against Rr'tashk [hereafter Bob] Does he really know Skaith and his family, or is he merely "feeling us out" to see what we know. Also Knowledge (local) to see if he's telling the truth about the Orrery.

Oh, and I hate the die roller by the way. I have not gotten 2 rolls above 10 out of eight. That's gotta be bad odds or something...

 

[Kelleris]

Tyndra: [sblock] Bob's not "feeling you out" with malice aforethought, but he doesn't really seem to recognize Skaith. You do seem to have piqued your interest. You don't think he's lying either, but that's really heading into Knowledge (arcana) anyway. [/sblock]

Rr'tashk stands up from his desk, pushing his eyepiece back from his face as he does so. "Yes, yes. Really, the only way you'll be able to check it out is by figuring out where the blank spot is and looking into matters there." He plucks a book off his desk and tosses it to Skaith. Looking at the cover (if you catch it), you can read the title: Planar Geometry: A Junior Mage's Handbook.

 

[Ashy]

Skaith catches the book - barely - and then looks to the githzerai. "W-What do you mean? Isn't there someone you need to notify? Or alert? Or something? Surely we can do nothing!"

 

[Ferrix]

"W-What do you mean? Isn't there someone you need to notify? Or alert? Or something? Surely we can do nothing!"

Keys smirks with an audible exhale from her nostrils causing the veil covering her face to waver for a moment. "Surely we can do nothing!" she mimes internally, my thoughts exactly. No reason to get ourselves caught up in this rant.

 

[Kelleris]

"Uhm, well, since it's pretty much impossible to get past the wards on the Orrery, nobody's going to listen to you without more proof. I mean, really, it would take a week just to untangle those things and get a look. And you guys are probably crazy anyway. Uhm, I mean... mean... erm..." He stammers to a stop and tries to regain his composure, eventually settling on a level stare as the best way to cover his gaffe.

 

[Uwohali]

"Sir, I can assure we are not crazy," Tyndra adds. "We would need more than just this book to uncover the mysteries here. Perhaps the use of your library?" We're going to need all the help we can get, she thinks to herself before smiling politely.

"I do believe you said you had a staff meeting to attend. So if you could just give us each permission to the library, we'll be out of your way. We will give our regards to Leeta the next time we see her."

She eyes Skaith carefully, making sure he doesn't jump in to correct her.

DM:

Spoiler

Diplomacy check. Also, a quick Bluff check and probably some sort of Sleight of Hand/Head check to keep Bob from noticing my oh-so-subtle look at Skaith.

Seriously dude. This die roller hates me. I cannot catch a break on this thing.

 

[Kelleris]

Tyndra: [sblock]You willing to put a little edge on that with an Intimidate check if the Diplomacy falls through? He's fairly jittery already and vague intimations of bad stuff might be the nudge he needs. If you wanna try it, just select the appropriate box from the spoiler that follow. No cheating! I'm only doing this choose-your-own-adventure nonsense because this here game needs to get a-movin'. I haven't even tried to kill you yet!

By the way, you can use the other die roller here if you like: Nadaka's Dicebox. Also, you're supposed to post the results of the diplomacy check when you make it, so I don't have to look it up myself if I don't want to. I usually just take your word for it, you know. [/sblock]

Diplomacy: [sblock] The wizard you've mentally dubbed "Bob" looks you up and down and drums his fingers on his desk before replying. "Weeell," he says, stretching the word out like a piece of candy, "I suppose I could maybe loan you a few more books, but I need to get them back and I can't just send the hounds after you... Erm, not that I would do that!" He flushes a reddish purple for a moment. "Look, I'll let you take, er, a couple more books. Three more! That's enough for all the arcane marks I have prepared at the moment. Okay?" He smiles hopefully. "And, Leeta, of course! I'd love to see her again!"[/sblock]

Diplomacy plus Intimidate: [sblock] The wizard you've mentally dubbed "Bob" stares at you for a moment before really getting your drift. Then his eyes widen a little. "Erm, well, yes, yes, you can take as many as you like, just make sure to register them downstairs before you leave. Please?" He looks hopeful; he really does want you to talk with the secretary downstairs, but doesn't seem to have anything in mind to do if you don't. The M.O.P seems agitated, like an area of thickened air palpably teetering on the edge of violence. A little shaken, Rr'trask rubs his nose for a moment and, breaking the silence, says, "And be sure to bring Leeta with you next time you come by. I'd love to meet her... again."[/sblock]

{OOC: Tyndra, tell me which one you'd prefer, and then read the spoiler appropriately. Everyone else wait until Tyndra responds, and then read the appropriate spoiler to get Rr'trask's response.}

 

[Uwohali]

[OOC: I picked the second one. Go ahead and read that one.]

"Thank you sir," she bows out and directs the other two out quickly before Skaith had time to correct him. Once they were beyond his earshot, she turned to them.

"Skaith, he has no idea who your mother is. I don't know if he even met her, or if he did and forgot. Either way, he didn't seem to bothered by any of this. I say we take what we know to the library and find out what we can." She began descending the stairs.

"Or, we could split up, find out what we can, and meet back. I need to talk to Roo and see if he knows anything."

 

[Ashy]

Skaith blinks numbly and follows in open-mouthed silence...

 

[Kelleris]

Tyndra turns back into the room and begins to pull books off the shelf, grabbing anything that looks useful, while Rr'trask looks on dumbfounded. {OOC - Basically, I'll ask for a check of some sort later if you go pile-diving and hope you grabbed the right book.) The githzerai arcanist's library is well-stocked with books on planar geometrics and related topics. Before long you have a bulging sackful, and decide to make your way out before the M.O.P. can get too much more upset. Taking the bag of semi-pilfered books, you start back down the stairs.

What does everyone want to do now? You probably have what you need to do the calculations and figure out what part of the city or surrounding terrain is being hidden by the damage to the Orrery. Also, be sure to say if you're going to talk to the secretary downstairs about the books you're taking as Rr'trask suggested.