DM themed play-by-post D&D game : STORY THREAD

[ian_scho]

Looking back at the grak-grak's a little nervously the half-orc replied to Westian.

"Ohhh, shall we?" It had been ages since he'd attempted to bash a door down. For the first time in his life he decided to be a little bit intelligent about it. "Here Ameena, take the torch for a second, and keep watch. Let us know if the grak-grak's move." He then placed the torch opposite Ameena in the corridor, as he remembered that she wasn't enthusiastic about fire.

Rolling up a sleeve he then heaved his falchion with both hands in the the air. This time they could do this simultaneously. A nod to Westian and it was a chop-schwing-thud in an attempt to open the door (1d20+4=6).

"Johnnies here!" Haynuus shouted for some inexplicable reason.

[Ameena]

"Of course." replies Ameena in response to Haynuus's request. She gives a little nod and, once the half-orc has put the torch on the floor, positions herself so that she's between it and the grak-graks, but over to one side so that her shadow doesn't block the light being cast - this way she can see ahead of her without being dazzled by the light. She also makes sure she's now turned round to face in the direction of the grak-graks rather than the door, but keeps an ear oriented behind her for whatever might occur there.
She ensures that no edge of her cloak is too near the flickering flames of the torch, then carries on grooming herself, keeping her eyes ahead and her other senses alert for anything she might want to pay attention to.

[oh_brother]

Westian's well-intentioned but ineffectual attempts to break down the door were probably more of a hindrance than a help. It was hardly surprising since he had never tried to break down a door in his life.

"Um...sorry, its my first time" was the only excuse he could make.

Standing back for a second he looked at how the grak-graks were getting on. He would have liked to get into the room now - the fact that there was no obvious noise coming out of it seemed to indicate that there were no monsters inside. At least not that he could hear.

OOC: Perception check was 3 + 4 = 7.

[beowuuf]

Despite the door's age, and despite the attention it had already received, the door showed its might against assault. This should be a reassurance to those who might require the peace of mind of a solid door against attacks. However, for the moment it was more of a consternation. Perhaps it would have helped it Haynuus had not been attacking the hole already in the door with his head, trying to stick his face through it. And Westian's lack of experience was twinned with his having to avoid decapitation from a bouncing falchion. Certainly, it made it hard to take a proper moment to receover and check on progress ahead and behind. Westian could only work out that the grak-graks had created or discovered a thin verticlal crack in the wall. It might be almost ready to use, or require a long time to widen for their safety.

Meanwhile Ammena had the much easier task of simply avoiding the flickering torch. The flickering was because the opening in the wall was becoming greater, and thus so was the movement of air from it. As Ameena groomed herself, there was the occasional moment of silence. Silence when the two companions behind her stopped trying to kill each other and the door, and silence when the two undead before her paused to stalk to a new angle of the wall before commencing their attack on it. During those rare moments of silence when the two pauses co-incided, Ameena could still hear the odd little rumble. Was it air? Was it water? This was still unknown. However, the more Ameena caught it, the more it sounded as if there was a rhythmn to it. As though something - somehow - was ...singing? Speaking? With such a deep and large rumble, and a noise that could be heard in the real world, it was surely no spirit girl this time.


Dun dun...oh, ok, not a huge weekend cliffhanger. Funny, Ameena's 29 still carries, especially since she's not doing much else. While Westian's 7 buys him a nicked ear, probably

Anyway, what is behind the doorway is not essential. It's simply a bonus area. And if you go too deep, it might be dangerous (even deadly). And as you are all aware, there is the very unknown 'what happens when the grak-graks stop digging' to consider.

Still, if Haynuus wishes to take 20 on the door, it will collapse. If Westian wants to help him (And have another chance at an aid another roll so Haynuus would have a total roll of 26 not 24), you might be able to do something fast enoguh compared to the grak-graks. Maybe. Choices, choices - don't you just love them Have a cool weekend people, one way or another you'll have at least one open area to explore in the next post!

[ian_scho]

With his head wedged in the door, yet the fractured and broken plank still blocking his view he could practically taste the stale air. This door wasn't going down easy, but it was obviously destructible. With no uttering of warning from Ameena, and Westian obviously more adept at smiting the undead than dead-wood, he decided to have another go. He leaned his sword against the door and spat into the palms of both hands. No-one knows why the humanoids do this practice, but to those of lower intelligence it just seems like a darn good idea. Trolls for example are famous for the rivers of phlegm they produce before a battle.

"OK Mister Westian" He pointed to the door. "Pretend it's a grak-grak." And with that he sprinted into the door, shoulder first (1d20+4=5).

It was just a pity that a grak-grak had defecated on the floor in-front of the door causing the half orc to return to exactly the same prone position as before, with his head and two canine teeth wedged between planks.

[beowuuf]

As I said, no secondary roll. The bad roll(s) before indicate the door is still pretty solid. If Haynuus wants the door down, he just needs to spend a minute or two hacking away at it with a 'take 20' action. If Westian decides to aid and OB rolls above 10, then it will go a little quickler (the DCs divide at multiples of 5 usually, so the +2 from Westian that takes Haynuus's 24 to a 26 is nothing to be sneezed at )

[ian_scho]

With his head wedged stuck between planks of the door, he uttered.

"Pull me head outta' here will you Mithter Wethtian?"

[oh_brother]

Westian ran over to try to extricate the half-orc's head from the door. Still, Haynuus was much bigger than Westian, and even reaching his head from behind was a difficult task. He tried to clamber up his back, but once up there realised he now had nothing to give him any traction. The net result was that he was being less helpful than he had hoped.

"Um..maybe I will let you finish this off yourself. It really is a one-man job I think."

Aid another was an uninspiring 3

[beowuuf]

Since Ameena - the character - is still grooming, I think I can move us on so you can all react to what is inside then!

At least Haynuus had something - the cracked area of wood was a start. Unfortunately, the timbers were still quite stout around it. Haynuus hustled and bustled around, and fortunately he possessed what the scorpions did not - agile digits and limbs. More precise than random blows, Haynuus strained at each ragged timber in turn. Westian was unable to really see much due to the lighting angle, and besides he really didn't know much about the practical construction of such doors. Tales of High Lord dungeons had been more interesting in the philosophy of them rather than the practicality of them. That meant that although Haynuus managed to open a nice wide entrance, it took a while, and was not the most practical entrance in the world.

In the end, the split widened more than elongated, and formed an oval at about chest height. Some more time might have seen it reach closer to the floor for better entrance for Ameena and the rest. Still, at least it was accessable.

Ameena could smell nothing more than stale air at first. If she had to be pressed through, there was a certain...tomb like odour there. Infact, as they stood there, more and more there was a very unpleasant trace that came out. Ameena caught it first, then Haynuus, then finally Westian. There was a rotten component, like ancient meat.

Something had died inside here. Westian could sense something stirring within him. Just like the temple beside the mummy hall, there was an odd serenity here. However, there was also a sadness stirred within him.

Behind the group, there was then a pair of hisses. The grak-graks had finished their task. They both stared with those sunken, empty sockets that made the eye water to look at. Their dirt encrusted hands flexed and their sinewy arms were still tight from their task. The wall was broken open. Ameena could hear the odd sing song rumble like a deep voice, and even the others could make out the general rumble. Time had run out. The grak-graks were ready to move on.


So there we go. Do you abandon your little find, or risk angering the grak-graks? The great thing, of course, about Soorec not being here now (and there being less grak-graks) is the following thought - would the grak-graks be followed by the group all starting to walk forward? Woudl the grak-graks - once they start moving again - notice a single member dropping back?

The answer could be yes, and the answer could lead you all into a combat very close to Soorec's room of course Nah, not really,. If you all want to hang back, then yes. However, I think one of you could easily make a quick pit stop. The real questions are - a) who? Ameena is the sneakiest and least likely to be spotted missing, but probably wouldn't carry a torch, and would need more time to climb the door and so forth. b) Westian/Haynuus? More likely to be able to make a quick visual inspection, but are more obvious in their absense (so really need to be quicker) and they aren't exactly the least noisy.

Anyway, I'll let you guys decide. You and your exploration of potentially dangerous bonus areas! Update later today if everyone re-posts, or tomorrow for sure.

[oh_brother]

Westian saw that the grak-graks were ready to move, but did not think it right that after all of Haynuus's efforts they should leave without exploring the room.

He looked at Ameena and Haynuus "You both can take a look inside. Just be quick and be careful". He proceeded to walk up to the grak-graks and began speaking.

"If you would not mind holding on for just a few moments more then our entire party will be ready and eager to proceed in the forward-orientated direction that you appear to be indicating with your non-verbal communication and associated body-language based cues. Once this is achieved you will find that we will promptly fall in line behind your lead as we have done thus-far on our admittedly short journey to this point, and a highly desirable rapid pace will result..."

As he droned on he tried to keep the monsters attention focused on him, in the hope that these creatures had - as Soorec claimed - some form of intelligence.

[ian_scho]

The half-orc picked up the torch and darted inside the door, torch in arm and then head first. If there was mummies or other monstrosities inside then they would get fire in the face but Haynuus was effectively prone. He realised that he had just left the others in complete darkness, and so would have to make the choice of either seeing the contents of the room and disappear, or... If there was something shiny and of value (screamer slices!) then he'd make a grab for it and get out asap. The imperative was on a fast exit, he thought, as the majority of his weaker colleagues lacked his superior vision.

[Ameena]

As she continues to grom herself, Ameena is distracted from her wonderings about the current whereabouts of Falkor by the somewhat less-than-unsubtle sounds of the nearby door being broken. She twitches her nose at the immediately recognisable odour of death. She finishes off her grooming, puts her cloak back on, and moves closer to the door. The smell is unpleasant, certainly, but not unbearably so. She isn't sure she'd like to get much closer, though.
Meanwhile, it seems the grak-graks are ready to move on. Ameena wonders whether she should try to speak to them, but Westian is ahead of her in that regard and moves to occupy them while Haynuus picks up the torch and sticks both it and his upper body through the newly-smashed hole in the door.
Standing behind the half-orc, but off to one side so that he won't accidentally step on her if he moves backward quickly, Ameena positions herself upright in order to speak to him.
"Maybe you could lift me up so I can have a proper sniff?" she suggests. "Although I'm not sure what I'll be able to detect over...that. It's one of those smells that so easily overpowers any other. But I could try anyway, if you can't see anything useful. Maybe I could even go in there, although...I don't know whether I'd want to. What can you see in there?"

OOC - In theory, Haynuus should be able to pick Ameena up and lower her down on the other side of the door, since I imagine getting her through the hole would be simple enough. That's if the ground on the other side is stable and stuff, and there isn't anything she wouldn't want to go near. She can't hold the torch because apart from the slight case of pyrophobia (well, alright, less of a phobia and more of a case of great nervousness), it'd be too big for her to hold. And she'd be scampering around on all-fours trying to sniff at everything. It would be too impractical. But I suppose Haynuus could cast a light pretty easily from the door, unless the room beyond goes further back than the light can reach.

[beowuuf]

And the person with the darksight takes the torch away Still, won't fault you for being cautious about mummies and other fire-fearing foes behind the door!

Haynuus takes advantage of the confusion to hope inside the hole he has painstakingly created. The flames instantly illuminate a small anti-chamber twenty feet across, that opens up at a diagonal to a long room beyond. The torch doens't illuminate it all, but Haynuus's darkvision - hapmpered by the torchlight - still makes out something at the edge of sight. Something on the very end wall, like a recess or dark wall item.

What the torchlight does show is an old bundle of rags about halfway along the near wall in the larger part of the room. The fact that the smell is slightly greater, aswell as the bony arm, highlights this was probably once a person. The rags are most likely torn (or moth eaten) robes. It appears the bony visible hand is clutching at something near where its head must be.

There seeems to be nothing living in this place, the only movements are the initial clicking of loose small stones as Haynuus's feet shift around. The sound echoes oddly, surely showing there is a nothing beyond the room that is currently hidden. The unpleasant smell has no depth to it, and is surely all that is left in this closed system. This place has probably remained undisturbed for a long while, and even that which fed on death has itself long since died.

Haynuus will need to decide if he wants to pull Ameena in as suggested, or simply make a quick grab. Ian, roll perception anyway. Once more, time might be a factor - if you want to help Ameena up, her climb score is so good that just Haynuus's presence at the door will be enough to ensure she can get in. However that means he's not instantly checkign the body. Also, if Haynuus does go right to the body, you'll need to decide if he simply makes a grab at the rthing in the corpse's hand and a quick scan of it, or if he will take his time there (or even check out the back wall)

Anyway, on to Westian's bit to show you why time is an issue...


The grak-graks do not look like they are particularly understanding of Westian's long speech. Or perhaps they simply do not care. Both creatures shift and there are disgusting popping sounds from their bodies as they quickly shift shape. The disappearing light is - for the moment - not a concern to a half-elf, and sadly Westian is perfectly capable os still seeing the two loathesome creatures wearing his face. Neither looks remotely interested in his words, even in this form. It is alsovery disconcerting to have twin images of him hissing - in steroe - back at himself.

At least the creatures were, indeed, focused on Westianinstead of his companions for the moment. However, there was suddenly a sound from the direction they had just come. It sounded like a door rattling open. It was, most likely, the sound of Soorec coming to investigate....


While Soorec wasn't focused on you, you might guess this close to his room, any disruptions in the thought process of his little ones, he can feel and then focus on. Still, deending on what Falkor ends up doing, this might be an interesting distraction...or the worst distraction possible.

At the very least, what the corpse is holding, I will hazard to guess, will be seen as worth anytrouble you guys might bring about in the next few posts!

[beowuuf]

Oh, have an updated map why dontcha



Edit: And have one with better cropping and size too!

[ian_scho]

Ameena had a plan. It was better to have the Murafu sniffing around grabbing stuff than the hulking hal-orc. He made a quick scan of the room (1d20+2=21) and then moved back to the crack to let her inside. "Good idea, but be quick and be careful of whatever the corpse was holding. I'll stay by the door if there's trouble, but we all need to get back to Westian really, really soon!"

And with that, he straightened his jaw back after the bashing it had received. CRACK

He would peer back through the hole after Ameena pops through, to check on the cleric and paladin.

[Ameena]

OOC - Oh I thought Haynus couldn't quite fit through the hole or it was an awkward climb or whatever. But if he's gone through into the room, that's cool anyway .

BIC - Ameena approaches the door, stands upright, and jumps up in the direction of the hole. Haynuus gives her a hand and she easily makes it through the bashed-up door and into the rather foul-smelling room beyond.
"I think you'd better go back." she advises Haynuus. "I think the grak-graks are getting a bit...impatient. I can catch you up if need be. I'll just have a quick look around here first."
She gives a brief (though, for a murafu, slightly explosive-sounding) sneeze which momentarily clears her nostrils of the unpleasant smell, then scurries around the room in order to investigate anything interesting which she might be able to detect. She pauses by the source of the stench, makes a quick look to attempt to identify the species (OOC - I'm guessing it's just a skeleton so can't be sure as to the species but that it's potentially a former human/elflike creature?), then noses at the thing it appears to be holding. The fact that she's poking around a dead body doesn't particularly bother her - it's not as if she's never seen one during her travels, after all. She just finds them somewhat unpleasant. And, in this place, potentially rather dangerous.

OOC - Perception check = woohoo 30 . Actually I think that last Perception check should have been a 30 as well because I think I rolled a 20 then too but forgot my perception bonus has gone up to 10. Anyway, yaay for now .
Ameena is investigating anything that looks/smells interesting in the room. You can assume she touches/attempts to pick up the thing the corpse is "holding", as long as she doesn't detect any immediate sense of danger/unease about it (whatever it is). If it seems like it might be harmful in some way, she'll be more cautious. Likewise the rest of the room - if something seems like it might do her an injury, she'll stay a sensible distance away from it. But hopefully that's a good enough Perception roll that she can detect a goodly portion of the known universe right now .
And if her current side of the door is as easy to climb (or easier) as the side she came in from, she won't mind if Haynuus buggers off to occupy the grak-graks with Westian since she can catch up easily enough - I'm sure Haynuus especially makes enough noise she'd be able to follow by sound alone, even if there wasn't any kind of scent trail.

[ian_scho]

Haynuus did as he was told, but did wait to ensure that the light of his torch illuminated Ameena's initial investigations. It was fascinating to watch. She moved double speed and her nose was one of the senses that she seemed to rely on most of all.

He returned to Westian's side, "Ohh, just been taking a piss chaps." he said the grak-graks. "Don't like to be too forward about this stuff, it's the human about me you know?." And with that he turned to the cleric. "So what's up?"

[oh_brother]

When the faces of the grak-graks changed, and he heard the sound of the door rattling behind him, Westian knew it was time to move on.

"Whatever you are going to do, do it fast" he shouted into the doorway behind him, all the time not taking his eyes off the grak-graks.

He was glad to see Haynuus appear beside him. "Well these gentlemen have become a bit agitated, and I think that someone is approaching from behind" he said in answer to the half-orc's question. "I think we should start moving again very soon. Is Ameena ready, do you know?"

[ian_scho]

"Err, she's actually... Powdering her nose I believe." They were in earshot of the grak-graks so it was prudent to not exactly tell the truth.
"Oh, she'll be along shortly. Indeed," he then waved his arms around at the undead "she said that we can move right along and she'll be bringing it up the rear. Whippee!"

[beowuuf]

As the group tried to quickly get themselves together, there was a scuffling noise coming from the corridor they had just come down. There was also an obvious light source brighter than a torch approaching too.

Hyanuus, with only a quick glance around the room, managed to spot something on the near wall above the body. It seems to be a strange brick, not quite sitting like the rest. However, it was too far to go and poke at while there was so much disturbance. Hanyuus was sure to mention it to Ameena as he helped her inside, and then tried his best to both delay as long as possible by the door, and yet get as quickly as possible to Westian's side. Haynuus's odd stretched walk was not really any distraction, which could be seen as lucky or unlucky in equal measure.

Ameena managed to spot the body in the half-light of Haynuus's torch before he left. Ameena also saw the odd black recess at the very back of the room when Haynuus made a final wave of his torch before leaving - it seemed to be some form of depressed switch perhaps? The light was poor at best and disappeared too quickly to Ameena's eyes.

Still, Ameena also spotted the odd brick, and instinctively knew it was probably some form of switch. Sadly, it was much too high for her to reach easily.

The body itself seemed to be a humanoid. The clothing looked ragged as if it had been sliced, not moth eaten. The hand itself seemed to be clutching a medallion...Ameena thought she could see a rune scribed onto it in the half-light before Haynuus's torch disappeared. She also thought she spotted something solid under the figure.

Even with the lights out, Ameena's whiskers and paws still gathered alot of information. The bones seemed to be very disjointed, as if several of them were crushed by a heavy weight. More poking around altered that perception, it was as if somethign large had attacked this figure, probably enoguh to kill him.

However, Ameena could not work out where such a massive creature could have gone. After all, she could not smell anything at all odd in the room, other than the trace elements of death.

As to the body itself, other than the broken skeletal remains and torn rags of clothing, there seemed to be something glass and smashed beside it. And just under the figure, there seemed to be something long that smelt of both wood, and faintly of that tangy odour associated with magic. It seemed to be also protruding from the figure's feet too, beside some relatively solid boots. So the stick had to be a reasonable fraction of the size of a person - would that be too much to pull out?


So yeah, in the dark Ameena might have a hard time trying to climb the wall to hit the first swiotch - or even go to the very back of the room and investigate the recessed little area. However, the wall is craggy enough she can at least try. If Ameena wants to take the staffm then she might be able to use that instead (as unweildy as it would be) to poke at things. I assume Ameena will take the pendant the skeleton is holding, since it doesn't smell bad?


It was still unknown if the grak-graks actually understood exactly what Westian was saying, and so he might have gotten away with it. And having Haynuus beside him at least meant one of the grak-graks looked at the half orc instead, taking on Haynuus's features.

The scuffling nosie and light all too soon resolved themselves into two fast moving grak-graks, one cradling a glowing gnome. There was an economy of motion where one of the grak-graks came to a halt perfectly placing the gnome on the ground. Soorec very easily started walking the moment his feet hit the floor. Just like their fellows, the two new grak-graks took on the visages of Westian and Haynuus.

"What is going on here?" said Soorec, without his usual preamble nor happy nature. His brows were furrowed, and his words were terse. He then looked left and right. "And where is the murafu?"


Heh, and I will let you guys spin more toilet-related excuses, and waffle. Though some bluff or diplomacy rolls will be needed here. And let's see how far Ameena decides to poke around. I really would strongly suggest gettign the pendant if nothing else....very strongly...

Anyway, update done. See you guys tomorrow!

[Ameena]

OOC - Heh, you assume correctly regarding the medallion/pendant thingy (out of curiosity, what shape does it feel like it is, and does it have some kind of string or cord or something attached?), since you've said it doesn't give off any bad sensations or anything when sniffed at/touched.

BIC - As Ameena explores the room, she creates her usual mental image of the aea, as gained by scent and whiskertouch. The strange pendant-type object she finds by the corpse doesn't seem to give off any kind of unpleasant feeling, so she figures that if it's magic, it's hopefully nothing that's immediately harmful. Thus decided, she picks it up and shoves it securely inside one of her pouches.
She decides that it's probably that some kind of large creature killed this person, and wonders what kind. Maybe it left the room after the killing, and was the one to seal the door after doing so. Or maybe it was in here while the door was shut and something else cause it to disappear. She wonders whether creatures can just do that, just disappear, but pushes the thought aside for now since it isn't immediately relevant to her situation.
The magic-scented wooden stick gives her pause, but when it doesn't give off any kind of reaction to her whiskertouch, she decides that it's safe enough. She heaves it out from beneath the dead body and wonders what to do with it. Maybe Westian call tell her about it - he uses magic, after all. She supposes Falkor would be able to help too, but since he's not here right now, that's not currently an option. She hopes that wherever he is, he isn't in danger. Or lonely. Oy anything else horribly unpleasant.
She is tempted by the brick-switch on the wall, but then hears a familiar gnomish voice outside and decides that the time it would probably take her to somehow reach the switch and press it would be far too long. Besides, supposing the switch is the trigger to call up whatever it was that killed this person?
Dragging the magic-smelling stick-thing over to the door, she thinks quickly as to how to play this - Soorec doesn't sound happy, but maybe she can make things alright. She's made her nature clear, after all.
She stands next to the door and lifts up one end of the stick in order to push it through the hole. She gives it a sort of awkward throw in her attempt to get it through.
"Hey, look!" she calls out in a happy tone. "I found a stick!"
Then she leaps up at the door and scrambles up the wooden surface to cling to the hole with her forepaws and stick her head through to survey the scene beyond.
"Oh, hello again, Soorec!" she says brightly. "I thought you weren't coming with us. Did you change your mind?"
She glances briefly at the grak-graks, then at Haynuus and Westian, then looks back at Soorec.
"Oh!" she says, appearing surprised. "Were you waiting for me? I was going to catch up. I...well, it's just...this room seemed so interesting. I'm a murafu - sometimes we can't help ourselves. We just have to...well, to explore new things. And this stick seemed a bit...strange, so I thought I'd get a better look at it. I mean, it seems rather strange to find a stick like this in a place like [ithis[[/i]. Sticks grow on trees, after all, and I haven't seen any of those down here."
She realises she's been unconsciously increasing her rate of speech as she addresses the gnome, and pauses a moment.
"Oh...yes, sorry." she says, at the slower rate she uses when speaking to msot non-murafu races. "Time to go then, yes?"

OOC - Umm, I'm guessing it's a straight Dex roll to see whether she manages to get the staff (or at least, one end of it) to stick through the hole in the door. I'll make a roll and you can amend it with the appropriate bonuses if I've done the wrong one. So, Dex roll = 19 (16+3). I deliberately made the narrative part regarding those actions vague in case it turns out she missed and the staff just fell on the floor. Likewise the climb up the door to poke her head through - I figured she'd at least be able to get that far from what you said about her Climb skill when Haynuus was helping her. If you want me to, I'll make a Climb roll when it comes to her fully returning through the door. She's gonna score at least 15 so hopefully that will be enough .
Sorry you didn't get to throw at us whatever's triggered by that button - my logic for leaving it is pretty much as described above, in Ameena's train of thought.
Ohh one more thing...since Ameena is (probably quite obviously, from an OOC point of view) attempting to act a bit more innocent and unknowing than she actually is with regard to talking to Soorec, I'm guessing you'll ask for a Bluff roll. I sort of hope you won't because my Bluff skill isn't exactly fantastic, lol. But I'll make one anyway, and get...ooh yay, panic over...21 (19+2) .

[ian_scho]

Haynuus was completely taken by the Murafu's ruse, and looked with fascinated interest at the staff. He had almost forgotten their orders from Brighteyes to follow the grak-grak's to wherever they must go. "And hey! Here comes Brighteyes! Hiya dude. Your grak-grak's had just finished digging out this hole" he indicated to the loose rubble on the floor of the corridor. With both hands open, in an attempt to persuade the gnome of his saintly intentions (1d20-2=13), he said "I think they're indicating us that they're ready to go now. Sweet! It's time to move along now people."

And with that he hoisted his falchion over his shoulder, and made way over the loose bits of stone to see what was on the other side of the corridor.

[oh_brother]

"Brighteyes, good to see you again. Well the grak-graks were taking an awfully long time to remove some of these boulders, and we got a bit bored waiting. So in our spare time we took a quick look inside that room. But we are ready to move forward now. And from the looks of your little ones they are ready too!"

He smiled at Soorec and nodded as he spoke - a common tactic used by people who want others to unconsciously agree with them.

Diplomacy was 6 + 13 = 19

[beowuuf]

The medallion is round, not very thick at all. When Ameena has the chance to look at it, it will seem a very cheap, tin-like metallion with a plain metal chain. Signs of tarnish. The important bit that Westian (and OB) might like will be the BRO rune that is partially obvious on it. Ameena might not understand exactly what the rune is, but Westian will feel a little dizzy, have a flood of recollections, and more importantly realise there are about four new spells he can now cast Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Soorec looks at Haynuus and Westian in turn, not saying anything and awaiting an answer. Ameena's appearance startles the mage, and he looks across at the door before looking at the group again. While a little tough, Ameena's natural rat-like climbing abilities allow her to clamber out of the door with relative ease, and despite the weight and shape of the staff she has enough poise to be able to heft it out wihtout aid.

Soorec looks to the clattering staff, and then looks to the mufafu that follows it and bustles in, speakign fast. Soorec's eyes travel to each party member in turn, as they speak their piece. He did not smile nor wave at Haynuus's enthusiastic greeting, nor did he smile and nod at Westian's explanation.


Feel free to roll a sense motive, by the way

"What made you so inclined to investigate the room?" asked Soorec carefully. "Were there any voices?" Soorec took one last look around the group, and then his shoulders sagged a little. The two grak-graks closest to him did not flinch, but the two beside the open wall reverted to their hideous true forms, and took a step back as if to indicate the party should move again. There was, once more, a fresh wave of dusty yet unpleasant oiliness of the creatures in the air.

"Please stay beside my little ones, and do not delay them. They are your guides, not your bodyguards. They do not recognise other undead as such, and their best defense against any unpleasantness would be to take on your forms to defend themselves." Soorec did not say this with any tone of threat, merely a sad fact being stated. "I have so very much to do, and so little attention left to check on your wellbeing. I would advise you to be more...careful."

Soorec looked once more at Ameena. "Indeed, I am not coming with you. I have not changed my mind, just reassuring myself that I will be be freed from distraction. Please, move along." Soorec seems to be uninterested in or forgetful about the staff, and does not comment on it. Finally, Soorec gives what approximates in a smile. "Well, good luck. I must be going once more." Soorec nods, as if to himself more than anyone else, and swiftly ambles away. His two grak-graks pause to regard the party one last time, and then they too turn and leave.

One of the two grak-graks pounds its clawed fist meaningfully on the rocky wall, and a small shower of light debris falls. It turns and moves into the darkness. The other grak-grak pauses, face turned towards the party, pausing equally as meanigfully. It squashes its eyes sockets shut slowly once as it waits.


Well, you kinda maybe got away with that perhaps. Did you really? Who knows Feel free to retcon a little reply to Soorec and some sensing of motive, but for the sake of moving us on, Soorec is heading back again. Unless you guys say something you shoulndt, in which case I might erase the end of the update

Note that the second grak-grak will actually move off if you guys look like you are all coming with them, so technically you guys do have a moment to confer together without being overheard. Or without being apparently overheard. Obviously, it's up to Westian or Haynuus if you wanna grab the staff. As mentioned already, Westian might wanna look at the pendant retrieved. I'll be sure and post the rules for the four spells I said BRO would give you - anti-poison, shield potion, heal self and heal party.

Anyway, crisis averted? Who knows...all I know is you guys can make your way onwards if you likfe!

[Ameena]

OOC - The pendant is in one of Ameena's pouches for now, so no-one will know she's got it until she takes it out. Do those new heal spells not need a flask then, or something? That would be cool .
Sense Motive for Soorec = 28 (18+10) .

BIC - "Voices? No. No sound at all. Just a bad smell." replies Ameena as she clambers back through the hole in the door, landing lightly on the ground and giving herself a brief shake.
She picks up the magic-smelling stick and, despite it being longer than she is, manages to carry it without too much trouble as she ambles over on her hind legs to rejoin the group. She gives a polite whisker-twitch in acknowledgement of Soorec's departure, then goes over to Westian and looks up at him.
"I think you might want to look at this." she says, raising the stick toward him a bit. "Well, I mean, it's...it smells faintly of magic, so I thought you might know what it's for. If it's bad magic...that is, magic that hurts people, we can just leave it behind. But if it's magic like yours then maybe we can keep it and help people with it. Or rather, you can. I don't know how to use magic - as far as I know you need to be born with some inside you to start with, and I don't think I was."
She glances back toward the bashed-in door, then back at Westian, making sure he's looking down at her before she continues.
"There wasn't much more in there. It doesn't smell too good. There was umm...someone who'd been in there a while. I mean, the remains of someone. That was where I got the staff from. Not much else in there..."
At this point, she fidgets vaguely at one of her pouches with one forepaw, making sure Westian sees it. She isn't sure why she wants to keep the small metallic object secret for now, but figures that if the dead person was holding it when they died, it might be important. And there was something about the room that Soorec seemed mildly interested in. She had no way to keep the stick a secret, short of leaving it behind, but she hopes that Westian will pick up on the fact that she has something more he might be interested in.

OOC - I dunno whether PCs ever need to do Sense Motive on each other, but I imagine, OB, that you can decide for yourself whether Westy would pick up on Ameena's little hint - if she shows him the pendant now, it will be apparent that she got it in the room and Soorec might come back and yoink it or something. She'll show it to him at the first chance she gets, however . Oh, and feel free to have Westy take the staff off her - she was holding it up for him to look at and won't mind .

[beowuuf]

I definitely hate rolling player against player for anything that alters how they are relating to each other (you guys can play your characters and intereact how you like). Unless you actively wanna hide stuff from each other, then perception and sense motive rolls are usuaully a good idea. For something sneaky like this where it's you versus the world, I'd be more inclined to make you roll for it, but in this particular case I'll be nice and let you two (or three, Haynuus could spot it too) play it how you like. If you do wanna roll it out Ameena should roll a bluff to communicate the non-verbal message (DC20). Also, Westian (and Haynuus) should make a perception check as a secondary chance to notice something. Your callls, anyway!

For the staff, really an appraise check was the one for figuring out exact magical workings. A very good knowledge (religeon) or knowledge (arcana) might be sufficient, or get the ball rolling at least

[ian_scho]

"We could always sell the staff... Or give it to Falkor if he pops out of thin air in the future." Haynuus saw the retreating grak-grak and just before he was about to follow it. "Oh, and I saw a couple of things on the back wall. There was a brick that looked like it could be a switch and a recess or maybe it was something that was dark hanging on the wall. Remember that if we come back this way. I didn't hear any voices though..." Perhaps they got lucky and moved out before any ghosts moved in on them. He wouldn't be surprised if Falkor would be playing some tricks on them.

"I'm ready, lets go." and the half-orc followed the smell of the grak-grak. He was glad to leave the gnome behind once more.

[oh_brother]

Westian acted as if he did not realise how annoyed Soorec really was, and chatted away breezily. "Voices? No, no voices. Just something to pass the time while we waited." As he walked away Westian bowed once again and waved him on his way.

Westian lowered his gaze as Ameena spoke to him. "Oh, thank you" he said as he took hold of the staff. "Let me see...hmm." He gripped the staff, and stared at each bit of it in turn. He then suddenly lifted it up and swung it over his head in a rapid motion, with an expression of deep concentration. Whether this was part of the examination or just for show was not clear.

He continued to speak to Ameena as he examined the item. "Well yes, you probably need to be born with some magical energy inside in order to embark on the road of a priest or wizard. But the good news is that almost all creatures have some spark of magical energy - or mana - inside them, even if they do not realise it. If you wish it when we have time we could check to see if you have what it takes to become a spellcaster." At that point he noticed Ameena was indicating to a pouch in her belt. Not fully sure what she meant, but realising that she did not want to discuss whatever it was in public, he simply nodded.

As Haynuus spoke he nodded in agreement. Still, he would want some explanations from Falkor before he was willing to hand over the staff. "Yes, I am ready too, lets go."

Sense motive on Soorec was 17 + 5 = 22
Knowledge (religion) on staff was 15 + 6 = 21

[ian_scho]

Haynuus cocked an eyebrow to Westian's comments about magic and it's presence within the beings that populate the lands. A little cynically the half-orc replied:

"They say that by merely shouting at a screamer is how some of the greatest priests in the lands started on their paths to greatness." It was all rubbish of course... Wasn't it?

[beowuuf]

Westian thought he understood the nature of Soorec's questioning. After speaking of the priest's power, the group acting apparently strangely was probably a worry to the gnome. And of course, focused on an apparently powerful Falkor, the gnome possibly assumed interference from the halfling.

Hopefully, the group had persuaded the gnome that it was just 'tall people' and murafu strangeness, and not anything more sinister.

Ameena, being closer to the gnome height-wise, spotted that the gnome had possessed the same look as when he had been confronting Falkor. That was worrying, because of course the gnome had been planning on killing the mage! However, once the group had spken their peace, Soorec's gaze did not seem to possess exactly the same hard quality. He seemed back to his usual distracted - if more stern - countenance for now. Ameena could feel reasonably confident that Soorec wasn't about to order thier deaths. Or at least, not until the next time the party caused a distraction. Ameena also saw the didn't care much about the room with the panic over, nor the staff - it was more likely he was worried over dangers than interesting things to discover. That was, perhaps, worrying considering the usual carefree and calous nature of the gnome.

Westian felt an odd mental twinge at seeing the staff, as if he recognised it. The feeling soon faded, but he was certain it was not only magical, but more of the priest path than a wizardly path. The staff was not smooth, possessing a bumpy and twisted form. What was undoubtedly the top was slightly oversized, as if a knot had been incorporated into the head. The staff had a 'nature' feel to it. Perhaps to do with plants, or animals. Westian felt resonably confident that - if he were to test it with some spiritual prompting and prayers - it might reveal secrets in the rght conditions. And the living wood, if nothing else, was a good conduit for a spellcaster or any persuasion to draw mana through.

So yeah, start waving it around at the next screamer and kill two birds with one stone, and prove Haynuus right You might guess what staff this is. Anyway, the mana boosting effect will be simulated by whoever holds the staff gets to cast a free 1st level and o-level spell effect each encounter. Anyone without a priest/wizard level obviously can't cast spells, but they can attempt - at a high levl of difficulty - to replicate a 0-level spell/prayer effect.

While the other two fussed over the staff, Haynuus was best placed to notice that now the wall was opened up, he too could hear much better the rushing roaring sound Ameena had heard earlier. There was also a tang in the air that reminded Haynuus of the screamer that he had just recently eaten. It was all very strange.


Right, lunch was disrupted, but managed to finish this update. I assume you guys will all be heading onwards, so I might just try and update again at some point to let you know what you are heading into! Can't beleive the weekend is almost over already!