Scales of War #1 Rescue at Rivenroar IC

[larryfinnjr]

“I guess we are just getting paranoid...” Kyalia comments as she follows Velani to the other side of the room.

“Strange, still. There must be some reason for those Menhirs to be here...”

Freggo

"Well a little paranoia, or at least careful exploration, is in order, Kyalia. Who knows what sort of traps Sinruth or this Frazzle fellow may have laid for us. That was brave, Velani, but also a bit brazen. How will you continue to protect us if you are wounded or incapacitated? Please, next time, wait until we have a little more information."

"I'll say this though - I'm a little... jealous. Brazen or not, you ARE brave, and I'm glad you weren't harmed."

"Now, let's see what Sinruth may have stored away in that crypt... aren't we looking for a helm?"

And Freggo joins the others at the threshold of the crypt, eyes on the prize....

 

[Goonalan]

“I guess we are just getting paranoid...” Kyalia comments as she follows Velani to the other side of the room.

“Strange, still. There must be some reason for those Menhirs to be here...”

Kyalia heads across... without incident.

GM: I take it you all move across, awaiting one more answer to confirm?

 

[Goonalan]

Freggo

"Well a little paranoia, or at least careful exploration, is in order, Kyalia. Who knows what sort of traps Sinruth or this Frazzle fellow may have laid for us. That was brave, Velani, but also a bit brazen. How will you continue to protect us if you are wounded or incapacitated? Please, next time, wait until we have a little more information."

"I'll say this though - I'm a little... jealous. Brazen or not, you ARE brave, and I'm glad you weren't harmed."

"Now, let's see what Sinruth may have stored away in that crypt... aren't we looking for a helm?"

And Freggo joins the others at the threshold of the crypt, eyes on the prize....

GM: That'll do.

The adventurers make their away between the freezing cold menhirs and through the far doors. From there it's a short corridor to the west, the group peer through the doors in to yet another crypt.

Ahead is a single sarcophagi, the lid slightly askew- it's been opened or else has never been sealed.

Atop the sarcophagi is an ancient looking decorated crested helm, the frontpiece made to look like a snarling dragon, you recognise it straight away from Sertanian's description. It's one of the treasures you have been sent to recover...

Next to the helm are a pair of thick iron gauntlets, etched with silver; two of the treasures.

Beneath the gauntlets are several sheets of parchment, obviously no details can be discerned from the doorway in which you are standing.

New Map-

http://gallery.rptools.net/v/contri...3+Two+Treasures.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

What now?

 

[Thanee]

Kyalia

“Those look suspiciously like some of the items we are searching, right? Maybe they have stashed more of them into this sarcophagus?” Kyalia wonders.

“Let's have a look and then head back. There was another passage behind that magic circle, I believe.”

 

[Goonalan]

“Those look suspiciously like some of the items we are searching, right? Maybe they have stashed more of them into this sarcophagus?” Kyalia wonders.

“Let's have a look and then head back. There was another passage behind that magic circle, I believe.”

The items are indeed two of the five treasures you have been searching for, however also of interest are the pieces of parchment weighed down by the iron gauntlets.

The first is a map, expertly drawn (no image available), it shows in particular the location of Rivenroar- a trail drawn to show the route to Fallcrest (also marked on the map). The same route the Goblins took, and you followed.

The second piece of parchment shows a fairly detailed map of the city of Fallcrest, of note is a large red 'x', placed exactly on top of the Hall of Great Valour- from which the treasures were taken.

The writing, what little there is, and the images are competently done- clearly not the work of Sinruth or the Goblins. Someone has supplied the Goblins with these materials.

The items are taken from the top of the sarcophagi, stowed away- for now. Kali, Freggo and Velani move in to lift off the lid of the sarcophagus, it's very heavy.

<THUNK>

Eventually the great stone is dragged free...

Cleared to one side, or rather crudely shoved in one corner are the skeletal remains of a human- the remains have been ill treated, made to make way for the drawstring sack resting in the centre of the tomb.

The sack has little dust upon it- it has been put here recently, spilling from the neck of the hold-all are gold coins- lots of gold coins, although the container is half full it's clear that there's a heap of gold here.

Later you can count it and discover 268 gold coins.

But for now...

There's another, smaller, piece of parchment- with more writing on it, shoved into the neck of the sack.

Ah-shahran reaches in- grabs it, and reads-

"Gold enough to buy arms and favour, use it wisely. Make the citizens of Fallcrest pay for their insults past and present- the Red Hand will rise again.

The Emissary."

It's at this point that the broken Skeleton's hand lurches out- with lightning speed, and grabs hold of Ah-shahran's wrist, a steely grip.

Dots of light twinkle and flicker within the eye sockets of the skeleton's skull- although only the hand and arm seems animated, the rest of the remains still lie in a forlorn heap.

The skull whispers and weaves words in to a sibilant susurrus, like a long drawn out hiss, the wind in the forest or the rustle of autumn leaves, the effect is unnerving.

Although it only lasts for a moment- no more than a second or two.

But it's enough.

Ah-shahran collapses- folds in upon himself, Velani and Kyalia are quick to catch the Deva, to prevent injury from the fall.

Freggo and Kali are equally quick to their weapons, although too slow.

The skeletal remains are whipped by a sudden spectral wind- the bones dance for a second before turning to dust- the last to be destroyed the skull, which cracks down the centre before being reduced to fine powder and scattered in the breeze.

It's gone.

No whisper, no skeleton, no wind.

Ah-shahran's eyes are whites, without irises- his breathing is shallow and laboured, and yet his skin tingles to the touch- as if charged with some sort of new power.

Everyone holds their breath for a second- the calm before the storm... and in that moment, before the rush to remedy whatever has befallen the Deva, Ah-shahran coughs and hacks, and is back in the here and now.

The Deva is eased to his feet, although still a little wobbly, he's grinning.

"I have had a dream. A waking dream."

Ah-shahran declares.

 

[Goonalan]

Ah-shahran's Dream

The Deva does his best to recount his vision, here's what he sees, and hears and...

A flicker of light, the light intensifies, blinding light.

Goblins on the streets of Fallcrest- running amok, attacking citizens, the sounds of fighting- the creatures scream and shout, "For Sinruth", and, "The Red Hand."

Inside of a small dusty hall- packed with junk and paraphernalia- an old man reads from a parchment and sips from a mug. Unseen and unheard a section of the floor suddenly comes free- it lifts up- Goblins suddenly leap from the hole- chaos follows.

The Goblins now have the old man, clearly Sertanian, pinned down- there are easily a dozen of the creatures, items are being grabbed from cabinets and displays- the dragoncrested helm, the iron gauntlets, an ancient and ragged battle standard, a large ceremonial looking sword and three shields- all marked with the symbol of the Red Hand.

Laughter, disembodied laughter- not dark or deep, but light and frivolous- the sounds from the Hall of Great Valour fade, replaced by the laughter- Sertanian is next dragged in to the hole, the old man is bleeding, bruised and battered.

Darkness, only the sound of laughter.

The sudden lurching sensation, its at this point in the dream that Ah-shahran's eyes roll over and he collapses.

The lurching sensation lessens and then ends.

A furious fizzing crackle- like static.

The lights come on again, the pictures return, a natural stone chamber- empty save a door. There's something behind the viewer- something bright that shimmers and sparkles with power.

The chamber looks familiar, and yet... where have we seen it before? No time. The dream plunges on...

Walking down a natural passageway, towards a thunderous dull light, we emerge...

Ah...

Ah...

Ah...

Struggling to breath.

Shock and awe.

Ah...

Gulping hard- throat baked, dry.

Ah...

Breath damn it!

Trying desperately to stay in the dream, to see, to see, to see, to see... Mind drifting- fragments, something here, something stopping us...

BREATH! A scream.

A glimpse... that's all- a second, less than a second to see.

Out of the cave entrance, a path- a mountain trail leading down in twisty turn-backs to a jagged broken land. We're up high on the mountain, looking down to an encampment- tents, pavillions, crude huts, a few stone buildings here and there, and thousands, and thousands of creatures, too far away to see, to make out details. An army, several armies, encamped- the clang of armourers at work, the shouts and screams of cruel humanoids- the sounds of violence, a great host making ready for war.

That's not all...

Behind the sprawling encampment a tower- dark, twisting and forboding- reaching towards the hammerhead clouds. Lightning dances overhead... a sudden wind blows and...

Coughing, choking... Sulphur.

In the distance a great volcano rumbles, a gout of lava suddenly is shot into the air, falls like burning rain on to the broken plains beneath us, rivers of lava spew from the volcano snake their way down ancient runnels.

The sound of hammers beating out weapons of war, in the encampment, increases in pace- ragged cheers.

Birds of flame rise up from the molten streams, beasts part stone part magma wrench themselves free of the fiery spew.

The horrors are applauded and welcomed in to the ranks of the armies gathered here... in hell?

The stink of the sulphur comes again- cloying, choking.

Ah-shahran gasps.

Coughs, blinks- tears streaming, chokes... and suddenly finds himself back in the chamber with the sarcophagi, being held tight by his worried friends.

The Deva smiles, thinking it's over.

Then a whisper, that sounds like an order.

"The Hall of Great Valour must be renewed, its lost treasures returned to their places- lives depend upon it. Your life depends upon it. Do not fail me Deva. I have faith in you."

Ah-shahran blinks rapidly.

And then it really is over.

GM: Ah-shahran is changed- he has recieved Corellon's Boon of Arcane Might.

Blimey.

What now?

 

[RavenBlackthorne]

Watching the Deva collapse and then retell his story, Viator eyes seem to uncloud.

This is so much bigger than here. Than us. Isn't it?

He looks around at those older than him, panic seeming to rise.

I'm so sorry for my actions in that last battle. I forgot myself. I was so worried for Thurann...I just rushed in...and couldn't control my power. Then I reached too deep too quickly. I should have saved that trick for when we meet the bigger threat. I knew I shouldn't be trusted. A soldier shouldn't let his team down.

What if I do the same when faced with...with what you saw Ah-shahran? I'm not sure I'm ready...

His left eye twitches furiously and his smile is gone.

 

[tiornys]

Ah-shahran

As Ah-shahran strives to clear his thoughts, he responds to Viator's angst with straightforward words. You did what you thought best at the time. Perhaps mistakes were made, perhaps not. If so, learn from them. What's most important is, you took mindful action. Acting with a plan, even if that plan isn't the best, is almost always better than taking no action or acting with no plan at all.

Clearing his throat, Ah-shahran looks around, seeming to regain control over himself. As for what I saw... who is ready for that? he asks with a cackle. Leave that for later. We have treasures to measure, and only one door to explore. Let's be off!

[sblock=Mechanics]I'll have to figure out which at-will to store in the boon. Will let you know as soon as I decide.[/sblock]

 

[Goonalan]

GM: I'm not sure where the one door to explore is, but here goes anyway.

With the first two treasures recovered, and after Ah-shahran's waking dream, the adventurers head back to the chambers they recently fought of the undead to rescue the last of the prisoners- Thurann.

There are three chambers here, none of which you have particularly explored. The place looks to be deserted, you split in to pairs and head of to explore the three chambers a little more thoroughly, or at least take a little look around.

Western Chamber

Freggo and Kali investigate the western chamber, although still being careful not to step inside the ornate magical circle that has been etched in to the floor here. The chamber itself is unspectacular- save for the circle which is clearly ancient and yet still operative. The pair have already heard speak of the 'Black Sun' in relation to this magical device, and have seen its effect on undead creatures- the pair are wary. There's nothing more to see here alas, save the fact that an as yet unexplored corridor leads off to the west, although it quickly turns to head north. A peek down the corridor assures Freggo that it ends in yet another pair of metal doors.

Do Kali and/or Freggo wish to investigate anything here?

GM: Larry did you make a note of the fact that Freggo has found himself a +1 Lucky Charm.

Northern Chamber

Ah-shahran and Velani take a look about the northern chamber, again it is a mundance chamber, except perhaps for the well in its centre. The water is still and clear, and yet... every now and then the liquid seems to shimmer and take on a patchwork of other colours. It's clear that the well is, somehow, not ordinary.

Do Ah-shahran and/or Velani wish to investigate anything here?

Eastern Chamber

Kyalia and Viator get to work in the eastern chamber, there are four sarcophagi (closed) to the south of the chamber, each of the lids seems to have suffered violence some time in the past. The tombs are clearly no longer sealed. In an alcove to the east is some sort of ancient fountain, or else a water spout which produces a slow trickle of water that gathers in an ornate basin attached to the wall. The basin never seems to overflow, nor does the water have anywhere to flow away- that's odd. The liquid remains at a constant level however.

To the north the corridor has completely collapsed, Kyalia can see that the floor here is covered in a multitude of cracks and striations- it doesn't take a genius to work out that this passage way has become rapidly unstable over the years. The collapse was inevitable- the pillars are chipped and broken, the stone was perhaps poorly chosen, or else it has suffered tremendously over the ages.

Do Kyalia and/or Viator wish to investigate anything here?

New Map-

http://gallery.rptools.net/v/contri...s+of+the+Undead.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

What's to be done.

And I've received feedback from Thanee and Tiornys regarding the full colour images of the PCs (see OOC thread), can I get some more please. Is it right?

 

[Blutspitze]

Kali will use his keen senses to examine and listen to the metal doors at the end of the small corridor (locked, approximately how thick are they, any sounds from the other side), being certain to watch for traps (unusual stone colors, raised/lowered, things of that nature) on the way and avoiding the circle.

OOC: Roll a 2nd perception so 1 for the stones and 1 for the door